Paranormal Skeptics Share The Moment When They Started Believing In Ghosts, And Now I Can't Sleep Anymore
Yahoo10-05-2025
Recently, I asked former paranormal skeptics in the BuzzFeed Community to tell me about a time that turned them into ghost believers. And let's just say, I'm shaking in my boots,
From spectral encounters to eerie coincidences, ya'll did not hold back. These are some of the standouts that left my jaw on the floor:
1."We moved into a house built in 1907. All kinds of weird shit happened but the one that really scared me was when my kid was about two. He started crying in our dining room, and our dogs started going nuts, and I didn't know why."
"We have this dresser-turned-bar cart in our dining room, and I went to pick up my kid while he was crying, and the dresser drawer opened behind me. It was full, with three heavy photo albums. Also, we would hear change dropping all the time. We had the house blessed by some ghost hunter people, and never had any issues after that. I sage it regularly too."
—ac33
2."I was never sure if I believed in the paranormal, but one day I walked into my dining room and the hamster's exercise ball came flying toward me like it had been thrown."
"I had to duck to dodge it. Not only was there no one else in the room, but it came from a corner of the room where a big table was, so no one could have gotten into that corner."
—emmalouiseh4e6e87681
3."I have always been on the fence about the paranormal, especially ghosts. However, I was flipping through an old photo album recently that unlocked some memories. I came across one picture. I'm maybe 5 in the image, and I'm sitting with my great-grandmother in a three-season porch. Behind us, in one of the windows, you can clearly see an outline of a man with a large beard."
"The figure was completely white, and you could tell it was outside the window. This picture was taken on an original Polaroid, so no Photoshop. That day, I remember asking my mom who the man was in the picture, and they told me it was Santa!"
—surpriseddog193
Related: "Something In My Head Said, 'Don't Get Up'": 16 Older Adults Reveal The Wildest Supernatural Encounters From Their Childhood
4."I was working at a rehab center in a renovated elementary school. It was shift change, around midnight. I started up the hallway to use the copier at the administrative offices. Up ahead of me were a double set of glass doors typical of the entrance of old schools. In the reflection behind me, I saw a woman with brown hair and a little girl about 4 or 5 years old holding the woman's hand."
"At first, I thought someone had let her in through the kitchen door. As I turned around, I somehow knew there wouldn't be anyone there. The hallway was long, and there would have been nowhere they could have gone in an instant, and there was nothing behind me that would have thrown a false image in the reflection. So, yeah, ghosts are real."
—truthmatters
5."I was in bed, and I felt something grab my ankles and drag me out of the bed. Since then, I've slept in the other room and refuse to sleep in that same room again."
—stylishdog795
6."When I was younger, around 13 or 14, I stayed at my buddy's country house for his birthday. The dog kept scratching at the bedroom door late at night..."
"When I opened the door to let her in, she was 20 feet across the room, sleeping. I slowly shut the door, crawled into my sleeping bag, and stayed awake all night."
—lazytooth152
Related: 101 People Who Woke Up One Morning And Promptly Had The Most Painfully Awkward And Embarrassing Day In Human History
7."Before my now-husband moved in with me, he lived in an old farmhouse that was built in the late 1800s. Almost everyone in our friend group had an experience at that farm. I was skeptical until one day, we were sitting outside drinking coffee on the porch at around 10 in the morning."
"I saw an older man dressed in jeans and a work shirt walking across the yard and looking at a new garden that was just planted. I thought it was the neighbor. Then, the figure stepped on a stick, which made a noise. I looked over, and the figure saw me looking, seemed surprised, and then just disappeared. My now-husband had his back to the garden, so I asked if he heard that. He said, 'What, the stick snap?' So he heard it too. It was a life-changing experience because at that moment, I knew ghosts were real. Since then, I've seen some weird things that would convince even the most skeptical person."
—Anonymous, 48
8."The year was 1998; I lived in a brick apartment on Capitol Hill in Seattle. The laundry room and storage area were downstairs in the basement. I was loading up the washing machine when I felt something watching me, so I abruptly turned around and saw a shadowy figure standing near the storage area."
"I asked it what it wanted, and it waved at me to follow it, so I did. The storage units were made of wood and chicken wire, which were very simply made. The shadowy figure stopped in front of one of the storage units, and the lock was unlocked, so I went in. It was filled with antique furniture and boxes. The first box I was drawn to said Native artifacts, I opened it and saw old yellowed newspaper. I picked up an item and unwrapped it to find a human skull. I nearly sh*t my pants. I took the box upstairs to my roommates, and we unwrapped the rest of the contents of the box, which had a nearly complete skeleton. I ended up calling a Native friend of mine who eventually placed the bones in a burial ground. I have many other frightening stories of spirits and ghosts, and I have even caught a few pictures of ghosts on camera."
—Mystic, 53, from Georgia
9.Since my family and I moved to Australia back in 2004, we have rented eight homes and moved to two states because of my job (we have since bought a home in the state of Victoria). I was skeptical of anything related to the supernatural until an experience in one of the rented homes completely changed my mind."
"My wife and son were on holiday overseas, and I was left alone. One morning, I woke up to find an older gentleman standing in the kitchen looking out the window. I thought he was from the real estate company and was doing a home inspection. I greeted him, and he turned towards me and smiled, then slowly faded away right before me. That changed my mind, and I concluded that there are things we cannot explain in rational terms."
—Ron, 60, from Australia
10."Oh my gosh, I was just thinking about this, actually, because things have gotten a little ~ spooky ~ around my house these last few months. Last July, my grandmother passed away. I inherited her jewelry box. I placed a ring holder in the shape of a high heel on top of it. She also happened to have gifted this ring display to me. Well...before my grandmother passed, nothing out of the ordinary ever happened to this ring display, but over the last few months..."
"...I always keep the display facing forward because that way, you see the rings, but every few weeks, I find it turned to face the wall. I know that I am not doing it; my cat can't reach the area it's in, and no one else in my house touches my dresser. So, all I can think of is, 'Grandma? Girl...are you haunting me?' but also, 'Grandma, stop moving my stuff!'"
—Anonymous, 32, from Ontario
11."Years ago, I was at a cemetery with a friend. We were visiting her grandfather's grave. It was a sunny day. We were walking and talking as we made our way over to where he was buried. Out of nowhere, it felt like someone slammed into me. So much so, I said 'I'm sorry' as if I bumped into someone. Then it hit me, no one was there but my friend and me. I'll never forget that. I was freaked out. It still gives me chills to this day."
—Anonymous from New Jersey
12."I used to live in this really old apartment in New Jersey. One time in that apartment, while I was in the living room, I specifically heard the dish rack go back and forth really quickly a few times. The next day, the dish rack was positioned off the edge of the counter surface, halfway over the sink. I didn't leave it like that."
"One day in that apartment, I happened to see a sparkling light rising from the bathtub going toward the ceiling. Another time, I was lying in my bed during the day, and in the corner, I saw that same type of sparkling light. It was sunny and bright outside, but this light could not be outdone! Another time, I was lying on the couch bed in the living room. It was daytime. On my mattress, I specifically heard pounding near me. There was nothing to see! Foolish is the man who doesn't believe. I've had more, but I'm keeping it here for now. There is so much more to what we see."
—Anonymous from New Jersey
13."I haven't seen anything, but when I was a kid, Dips, one of my cats, passed away after being sick for a while. I was really close to him, and until we moved out of that house, I would feel one of my cats rubbing against my leg under the table, look down, and there wouldn't be either of them there. I like to think Dips was watching over me as I grew up."
—Messymagician608
14."I had always been on the fence about ghosts. But one day, I was in the shower with my ex-boyfriend, holding him, when he suddenly said, 'I just got this super weird flashback to my dad giving me a bath as a kid.' Literally out of nowhere. Two days later, we found out that was the exact moment his dad died alone in his apartment. It was like he was saying goodbye to my ex."
—Anonymous, 26 from Texas
So, have you had any paranormal experiences that changed you from a skeptic to full-on believer? Let us know in the comments below!
Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
Also in Internet Finds: People Revealed The Creepiest, Cult-Like Towns In The United States And, Jesus Christ, It's Icky
Also in Internet Finds: 27 Extremely Disturbing Wikipedia Pages That Will Haunt Your Dreams Until The End Of Your Days
Also in Internet Finds: 27 Influencers From This Year Who Proved Why Everyone's Getting A *Little* Sick Of Influencer Culture
From spectral encounters to eerie coincidences, ya'll did not hold back. These are some of the standouts that left my jaw on the floor:
1."We moved into a house built in 1907. All kinds of weird shit happened but the one that really scared me was when my kid was about two. He started crying in our dining room, and our dogs started going nuts, and I didn't know why."
"We have this dresser-turned-bar cart in our dining room, and I went to pick up my kid while he was crying, and the dresser drawer opened behind me. It was full, with three heavy photo albums. Also, we would hear change dropping all the time. We had the house blessed by some ghost hunter people, and never had any issues after that. I sage it regularly too."
—ac33
2."I was never sure if I believed in the paranormal, but one day I walked into my dining room and the hamster's exercise ball came flying toward me like it had been thrown."
"I had to duck to dodge it. Not only was there no one else in the room, but it came from a corner of the room where a big table was, so no one could have gotten into that corner."
—emmalouiseh4e6e87681
3."I have always been on the fence about the paranormal, especially ghosts. However, I was flipping through an old photo album recently that unlocked some memories. I came across one picture. I'm maybe 5 in the image, and I'm sitting with my great-grandmother in a three-season porch. Behind us, in one of the windows, you can clearly see an outline of a man with a large beard."
"The figure was completely white, and you could tell it was outside the window. This picture was taken on an original Polaroid, so no Photoshop. That day, I remember asking my mom who the man was in the picture, and they told me it was Santa!"
—surpriseddog193
Related: "Something In My Head Said, 'Don't Get Up'": 16 Older Adults Reveal The Wildest Supernatural Encounters From Their Childhood
4."I was working at a rehab center in a renovated elementary school. It was shift change, around midnight. I started up the hallway to use the copier at the administrative offices. Up ahead of me were a double set of glass doors typical of the entrance of old schools. In the reflection behind me, I saw a woman with brown hair and a little girl about 4 or 5 years old holding the woman's hand."
"At first, I thought someone had let her in through the kitchen door. As I turned around, I somehow knew there wouldn't be anyone there. The hallway was long, and there would have been nowhere they could have gone in an instant, and there was nothing behind me that would have thrown a false image in the reflection. So, yeah, ghosts are real."
—truthmatters
5."I was in bed, and I felt something grab my ankles and drag me out of the bed. Since then, I've slept in the other room and refuse to sleep in that same room again."
—stylishdog795
6."When I was younger, around 13 or 14, I stayed at my buddy's country house for his birthday. The dog kept scratching at the bedroom door late at night..."
"When I opened the door to let her in, she was 20 feet across the room, sleeping. I slowly shut the door, crawled into my sleeping bag, and stayed awake all night."
—lazytooth152
Related: 101 People Who Woke Up One Morning And Promptly Had The Most Painfully Awkward And Embarrassing Day In Human History
7."Before my now-husband moved in with me, he lived in an old farmhouse that was built in the late 1800s. Almost everyone in our friend group had an experience at that farm. I was skeptical until one day, we were sitting outside drinking coffee on the porch at around 10 in the morning."
"I saw an older man dressed in jeans and a work shirt walking across the yard and looking at a new garden that was just planted. I thought it was the neighbor. Then, the figure stepped on a stick, which made a noise. I looked over, and the figure saw me looking, seemed surprised, and then just disappeared. My now-husband had his back to the garden, so I asked if he heard that. He said, 'What, the stick snap?' So he heard it too. It was a life-changing experience because at that moment, I knew ghosts were real. Since then, I've seen some weird things that would convince even the most skeptical person."
—Anonymous, 48
8."The year was 1998; I lived in a brick apartment on Capitol Hill in Seattle. The laundry room and storage area were downstairs in the basement. I was loading up the washing machine when I felt something watching me, so I abruptly turned around and saw a shadowy figure standing near the storage area."
"I asked it what it wanted, and it waved at me to follow it, so I did. The storage units were made of wood and chicken wire, which were very simply made. The shadowy figure stopped in front of one of the storage units, and the lock was unlocked, so I went in. It was filled with antique furniture and boxes. The first box I was drawn to said Native artifacts, I opened it and saw old yellowed newspaper. I picked up an item and unwrapped it to find a human skull. I nearly sh*t my pants. I took the box upstairs to my roommates, and we unwrapped the rest of the contents of the box, which had a nearly complete skeleton. I ended up calling a Native friend of mine who eventually placed the bones in a burial ground. I have many other frightening stories of spirits and ghosts, and I have even caught a few pictures of ghosts on camera."
—Mystic, 53, from Georgia
9.Since my family and I moved to Australia back in 2004, we have rented eight homes and moved to two states because of my job (we have since bought a home in the state of Victoria). I was skeptical of anything related to the supernatural until an experience in one of the rented homes completely changed my mind."
"My wife and son were on holiday overseas, and I was left alone. One morning, I woke up to find an older gentleman standing in the kitchen looking out the window. I thought he was from the real estate company and was doing a home inspection. I greeted him, and he turned towards me and smiled, then slowly faded away right before me. That changed my mind, and I concluded that there are things we cannot explain in rational terms."
—Ron, 60, from Australia
10."Oh my gosh, I was just thinking about this, actually, because things have gotten a little ~ spooky ~ around my house these last few months. Last July, my grandmother passed away. I inherited her jewelry box. I placed a ring holder in the shape of a high heel on top of it. She also happened to have gifted this ring display to me. Well...before my grandmother passed, nothing out of the ordinary ever happened to this ring display, but over the last few months..."
"...I always keep the display facing forward because that way, you see the rings, but every few weeks, I find it turned to face the wall. I know that I am not doing it; my cat can't reach the area it's in, and no one else in my house touches my dresser. So, all I can think of is, 'Grandma? Girl...are you haunting me?' but also, 'Grandma, stop moving my stuff!'"
—Anonymous, 32, from Ontario
11."Years ago, I was at a cemetery with a friend. We were visiting her grandfather's grave. It was a sunny day. We were walking and talking as we made our way over to where he was buried. Out of nowhere, it felt like someone slammed into me. So much so, I said 'I'm sorry' as if I bumped into someone. Then it hit me, no one was there but my friend and me. I'll never forget that. I was freaked out. It still gives me chills to this day."
—Anonymous from New Jersey
12."I used to live in this really old apartment in New Jersey. One time in that apartment, while I was in the living room, I specifically heard the dish rack go back and forth really quickly a few times. The next day, the dish rack was positioned off the edge of the counter surface, halfway over the sink. I didn't leave it like that."
"One day in that apartment, I happened to see a sparkling light rising from the bathtub going toward the ceiling. Another time, I was lying in my bed during the day, and in the corner, I saw that same type of sparkling light. It was sunny and bright outside, but this light could not be outdone! Another time, I was lying on the couch bed in the living room. It was daytime. On my mattress, I specifically heard pounding near me. There was nothing to see! Foolish is the man who doesn't believe. I've had more, but I'm keeping it here for now. There is so much more to what we see."
—Anonymous from New Jersey
13."I haven't seen anything, but when I was a kid, Dips, one of my cats, passed away after being sick for a while. I was really close to him, and until we moved out of that house, I would feel one of my cats rubbing against my leg under the table, look down, and there wouldn't be either of them there. I like to think Dips was watching over me as I grew up."
—Messymagician608
14."I had always been on the fence about ghosts. But one day, I was in the shower with my ex-boyfriend, holding him, when he suddenly said, 'I just got this super weird flashback to my dad giving me a bath as a kid.' Literally out of nowhere. Two days later, we found out that was the exact moment his dad died alone in his apartment. It was like he was saying goodbye to my ex."
—Anonymous, 26 from Texas
So, have you had any paranormal experiences that changed you from a skeptic to full-on believer? Let us know in the comments below!
Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
Also in Internet Finds: People Revealed The Creepiest, Cult-Like Towns In The United States And, Jesus Christ, It's Icky
Also in Internet Finds: 27 Extremely Disturbing Wikipedia Pages That Will Haunt Your Dreams Until The End Of Your Days
Also in Internet Finds: 27 Influencers From This Year Who Proved Why Everyone's Getting A *Little* Sick Of Influencer Culture
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