A few months back I posted an experience I had at a haunted restaurant (see thread Odd feelings caused by ghost?[/URL]), where I experienced a dizzyish/disoriented sensation when the resident "ghost of the house" was presumably nearby. This piqued my curiosity, and got me posting on this site.

Anyway, to recap, whenever I make a trip to the bank (which I don't do often since it's out of the way), I've made it a habit to have lunch at an allegedly haunted sandwich shop downtown, not far from my bank.

Today, I had to run to the bank at lunch, so afterward I went for my steak 'n cheese at this shop. So far, other than the first time I went there in May, I haven't felt anything out of the ordinary there, beyond the general "feel" of the place. I think this was the fourth or fifth time I've gone there.

When I first entered, it was pretty crowded, and there was a line at the register, where you place your order. Once I placed my order, I went to find a table. There were two empty tables, a rectangular one in the middle and a round one near the counter and a rack where the bags of chips are. At first I sat at the rectangular table. I hadn't felt anything to this point, so I figured it would be another uneventful day at the sandwich shop.

After a couple minutes I decided to move in case a group of people wanted to use the table I was sitting at. The round table had only one chair, so I sat there. Immediately after I sat, I had that disoriented feeling come over me. I said "Whoa" to myself, as it was obvious and I recognized it right away. I must be near something. When they called me to pick up my sandwich, and I sat down again, I could tell the feeling was stronger when I sat at that table. I wonder if I took the ghost's favorite chair?

I didn't feel anything physical, such as cold spots or anything, nor did I see anything (I made sure to check the mirrors!). The only sign of anything was the disoriented sensation. It seemed to get weaker after I ate, but maybe I was just getting "used" to it at that point.

Anyway, it seems as if this disoriented feeling is proximity-related somehow. I only feel it if I'm in the right spot. I'm curious as to how close a spirit has to be in order to be "felt" this way. At the sandwich shop, I felt it after I moved to a particular table (now I know where I'm sitting from now on when I go there!) At the restaurant my wife and I went to in May, the feeling came on after we were seated for a while, as if the ghost had come by to check us out.

Any thoughts? It seems as if I have a working spook detector!

Kevin, you mentioned the place has a reputation for being haunted. Have you thought about striking up a conversation with one of the staff? Maybe you could ask if anything unusual had happened there lately, or if anyone working there had any weird experiences. What sort of incidents have given the place the reputation for being haunted? Have people actually seen things, is it furniture and objects being moved...? What is the history behind the place, and have there been any untimely deaths connected with the building? I'm just full of questions today! I'm thinking that at least one of the people on the staff has probably had a similar experience.
Sounds like a neat place. By coincidence, hubby and I have a haunted cafe near our bank. I haven't got any of the servers to really warm up yet, but I'm working on them.

Carrie, here's a couple links that mention the place:

Real ghosts of NH[/URL]
About NH - Haunted Places[/URL]

The first site refers to it as Psaris Bistro, but it's now called Bob Shaw's Italian Sandwich Shop. Their description is paraphrased here:

quote:

Hi Kevin,
That is weird. Ive never had that feeling before.
I have felt uneasy. Once at a house my sister
was renting. I was going down the stairs and
just sat down. The feelings were over powering.
I stayed the night on the couch and couldnt
sleep very well. I smelled pipe tobacco. I knew
if I turned over I would see something I didnt
want to see. So I pulled the covers over my head
and prayed like crazy. I never did go back into
that house. Even when she moved. I stayed outside.
The other place that I had really strong feelings was at Gillette's castle in East Haddam
connecticut. I had gone there with my parents
and I was a teen. I was on a tour of the place
and everyone was looking in this one room. I had
trailed behind. I remember just looking in the
room, my hands resting on the velvet ropes .
Something whispered in my ear. I turned around
thinking it was my mom, telling me to get with
the group. So I stayed there and all of a sudden,
something screamed in my head "GET OUT!!!!"
well let me tell ya, I listened and pushed
through the group and downstairs and outside.
I refused to go back in. I know, it sounds like a
bad scary movie, but I remember standing there
being so calm and thinking about what it must
have been like to live in that castle.
Weird. If your ever really bored of your
sandwich shop, my mom's house has a ghost that
folds her bathrobe and puts it on the end of
her bed, along with her slippers. She's in
vermont. She claims it's my dad, but he never
folded laundry in his life! maybe he's making
up for it!
Doreen

Hi

I get that "whoa" feeling too. I have seen things but mainly get that feeling. It happened to me in this pub I went too with my family. The pub seemed ok it was in the country - it was old and that but inside was normal. There's a kind of extension (old one) were the toilets are as soon as I walked down this narrow hallway I can't explain the feeling I get - just fear I suppose in a way and a knowing that something has happened there or that some paranormal activity is going on. I went into the toilet and it got worse I couldn't breath and started to get panicky. I just wanted to get out of there I was really scared!!

The thing with your cafe is that ghosts don't normally appear when there's alot of people around and if your going when its busy there's little chance you will see anything. But you never know good luck with your ghost hunting!

CarolAnne, when you had your "whoa" feeling, did you feel disoriented, or just uneasy? It seems for me anyway that my head doesn't feel right when I'm in the right "spot" in a haunted location (I'm guessing, when I'm near the ghost). The first time I felt it I described it like being on a boat that's rocking a bit. It can also feel like medicine head or like a "dreaming" sensation. That's the best way I can describe it.

I didn't feel uneasy or like someone was watching me or anything like that, but then I was in a cafe with a bunch of people. I wonder if I would feel differently if I was alone. So far I've only felt this two or three times in (so far) two known haunted locations, so I'm just filling in the blanks and assuming the disoriented feeling is related to the haunting.

It's possible that different people "feel" different things. Maybe depending on one's sensitivity to psychic phenomena, maybe you'll feel nothing, or dizzy/disoriented (like me), or uneasy (like Doreen and CarolAnne). I'm not psychic as far as I know, and other than these sensations I've never knowingly encountered anything paranormal.

To throw another wrench into the works, Monday night I felt a similar "disoriented" sensation. There have been problems with homeless people camping out behind our neighborhood recently. Monday night the neighborhood got the police involved, and we were outside one of our neighbor's houses talking with them. Two officers responded, and after they returned we were talking with them for a few minutes. One time when I was near one of the officers (within about 2 feet of him) I felt that disoriented sensation. I have no idea why. Maybe my mind was playing tricks, or maybe he had a ghostly stalker, who knows. I didn't experiment or anything (he probably would have looked at me funny if I started getting closer and then backed away several times!) but it felt just like what I felt at the sandwich shop. It makes me wonder what I'm really picking up.

KJP

I went to the sandwich shop again at lunch today, and sat in the same spot as last time where I had the "whoa" feeling. No "whoa" this time, but after I was there a while I noticed I felt a little off kilter, so it was weaker but still there. Just another data point to add to my analysis I guess, but not much new to post.

Hi Kevin;
I am thinking this is just your way of responding to the energy.
This is going to sound silly, but sometimes I get the feeling of acting like the robot in Lost in Space, "Danger Will Robinson!" I did that tonite.
My youngest son is 25 years old and he gets headaches? He says like a tightening of his temples.
So, yes I do beleive we all react differntly and also how much you get used to it.
Like today? You said it felt weaker, but yet you still felt it? Are you getting used to it? Getting your sea legs so to speak?
Just a thought!
Hugs!
Piggster

When I said weaker I meant compared to when I went in September. In September the feeling came over me suddenly when I sat at the round table. This time around I didn't notice it right away but I realized it was there after I was there a few minutes. Thus it seemed weaker. Maybe the ghost was hanging out in a different spot?

I'm hoping some day I'll experience something else to back up the odd feeling. Like a shadow in a mirror, or a cold spot, or something else to tell me "ghostie is in THIS spot," then I can say, ok when I'm within X feet of ghostie I feel funny.

I want to go back to the Country Tavern. I have to somehow convince the wifey...

[ October 11, 2003, 02:24 PM: Message edited by: Kevin P ]

I used to get that same feeling when around a ghost. It has over time refined into what I call my 'radar'. I've gone from being dizzy and lightheaded to being able to 'feel' a ghost and where they are in 3D space. For example, before I could 'see' them, I would be sitting in a room and could feel when a ghost would enter the room and that it would be behind the couch or next to the table, ect. Maybe you are taking the first steps towards opening up more psychically.

Kevin,I have a seriously disturbing colonial family history,& I'm from Ma.I'm related to a Pilgrim who came over on the Mayflower.
If you've heard of Sturbridge Village,I went on a fieldtrip there as a child.(its a real functioning colonial town)Well,I had run out of several of the sites they took me into as I was overcome by a crowding nauseating sensation,like a weight of history smothering me.
At that time in my life I had no inkling of my roots yet.
The older I get,the more I feel I may have empathic qualities...like I tend to take on other peoples problems & thier emotions at times exhaust me...I'm also quite antisocial.(when I'm not on a message board-lol)Perhaps you have felt similar.
Anyway, I'm sure from the enthusiastic responses you've gotten,you realize you are not alone.

Snoopy, that's what I'm hoping I can do eventually, refining my "ghost detector" beyond just going "beep...ghostie present". =) I just don't get many chances to be around the little spooks, in order to refine my "abilities." Maybe next time I'm job hunting, I'll try to get work in a place with a ghost!

Someday I expect I'll be able to walk into a place, that I've never been to, and "know" that it's haunted, without any prior knowledge.

Hallowseve, I've never been to Sturbridge Village but I've heard of it (it's a few hours from where I live). Have you ever been to Plimouth Plantation, and seen the Plymouth Rock? I've been there and it's fascinating stuff.

Nope,never been there.I don't live up there anymore...it would probably just make me sick anyway.
I haven't tested my powers of that kind of perception in my adulthood...to be honest I'm afraid of it.I doubt it has gotten weaker.
I can't even walk into an old church without feeling sick.I'd like to point out that it has nothing to do w/ religon,its a history thing ...too many impressions left by the past
Happy haunting hunting Kevin!

This is very interesting. I've recently noticed that I get different feelings/sensations in different areas where spirit energy is present. The one main feeling that I have always had and it's the most common is that "Fight or flight" panicky, hair-standing-on-end feeling that makes me feel like I have to run away from that area as quickly as possible...and sometimes I have had to do just that because the feeling is simply too much to handle. I've had to go outside and take deep breaths and get myself together. I have also experienced what feels like a "Pushing" force field in areas..like I am literally pushing against some force just to walk through a room..this is pretty overwhelming and very draining...I have only experienced this a couple of times and hope I never do again..the power involved is incredible and quite menacing. Then there is is other feeling that I have gotten and only recently began to recognize it..walking into an area I've gotten this dizzy, light-headed, unreal feeling and it seems as if it's hard for me to get my breath like the air is too thin..like being at a very high altitude. This started happening to me at this antique shop in the historical part of town and when I walked into this certain room I would become light-headed and weird-feeling and it would drain me so badly that I would literally have to sit down for a minute. My gf was with me and she said she was feeling the exact same thing, too (she is also sensitive) and she had felt it before. So we decided that there may be something to this feeling we were experiencing in this historical building housing the antique shop. There is also another place here where we get that "Unreal" feeling..it's a local Mexican place and we visit often and there is a certain spot on the floor and the booth right next to that spot where we feel dizzy and "Out of it". One time we were there sitting at this booth and I noticed my gf has a strange look on her face and I asked her what was wrong..she told me she just felt "Weird" there and I had been feeling the same thing, but neither of us thought it was anything..we thought it was just "Us", so we didn't mention it. Once we started talking about it we found out that we BOTH were picking up some very strong sensations from that area. We don't sit at that booth anymore, it just feels too weird there. We are both pretty sure that something is going on there in that place or something happened in that spot at some time or another. What I'm wondering is what is the signifigant causative factor determining these different feelings? Why sometimes the "Panicky" sensation, other times the dizzy, light-headed, unreal ones? I can't help but wonder.

Wow, Pretzelogic, you've had some interesting experiences. I've only been in a couple of places that are haunted, and the ghosts in these places are/were friendly, so I haven't experienced any menacing/urge to flee feelings, not to say I won't some day when I'm in a place that the resident ghostie doesn't want me there!

But when you mentioned a dizzy, light-headed, unreal feeling, that's exactly what I've felt. That antique shop and Mexican restaurant definitely have something you and your gf are picking up. It's funny, I've been to a haunted Mexican restaurant around here too, though I haven't sensed anything significant there (yet).

At the Mexican restaurant, is the odd feeling always in that spot, or does it move? I wonder if it's some sort of residual haunting (imprint) that causes this. Maybe you could ask someone who works there if they know about anything that's happened there.

Everytime I've felt something at the sandwich shop I frequent it always seems to be when I'm near a particular wall. Twice I've felt a bit "off" when sitting at a particular table; once it hit suddenly when I sat there, and another time I didn't notice right away but I became aware of it as I sat there a while. I wonder if that too is residual.

However, at the Country Tavern, which is the first time I experienced this feeling, the presence seemed to move. Instead of me feeling off kilter continuously while in a particular spot, I didn't feel anything at first, then the feeling came on somewhat suddenly and got stronger and weaker several times over the next 10-15 minutes. At one time it got so strong I felt like I was dreaming or "out of it" so to speak, there was no ignoring it. But since it went from nothing to strong and back more than once, I figure the resident ghost had stopped by to check us out, and then moved on. It was this experience that got me going on a hunt on the internet for more information, and I wound up joining this board as a result.

quote:

Thanks for replying Kevin =) . It's great to hear from someone else who has these same feelings/sensations in certain areas. You know, I think the panicky, fight or flight feelings are so intense in such an unmistakable way that this is what I presume to be what I will feel any any area that has energies going on. But I found that is not the case. It's really strange because I can pinpoint the exact time and place that I started having these other "Dizzy and unreal" feelings and they scared me to death because I thought there was something wrong with me..like I had some sort of physical disorder or something..only within the last couple of years have I started to notice where and when I feel this and the connection to certain areas. When my gf started telling me that she had these feelings in places, too, I started realizing that there may be more to it than anything I had ever imagined. We are all conditioned, in our skeptical society, as what is "Normal" and what is "Abnormal" and UN-learning that can often take much time and experience. Well, my story is a bit lengthy but I will try and keep it as short as possible. The first time I ever experienced this was when I was sixteen years old and on a summer trip with my high school band to Six Flags over Georgia. Everything was great until we went on this one ride..it wasn't a scary ride, but it was through a tunnel on a boat and it was fairly dark..right before the end of the ride I felt something "Wash" over me...just like someone had poured warm water over me and I felt completely "Detached" from everything, even though I was aware of everything that was going on..I felt "UNREAL" and light-headed and , of course, I was freaked-out by that feeling and I felt this way even after we got off the ride. My Mom was with us and I finally told her that I did not feel "Right", but I just couldn't explain it. Whatever it was stayed with me and it would come and go. I went to the doctor after we got back home and she could find nothing wrong with me. Eventually it got better and better and finally went away. What was happening to me was that I getting these sensations that I did not know how to explain or where they came from and I was getting even more freaked-out..which made them much worse. I learned NOT to panic when they happened and then when they did happen, they were mild and short. Basically what I taught myself to do was ignore these feelings of "Unreality"..you CAN do that. But, today, I do believe that I encountered something on that ride..something happened in there and it set-off those weird feelings. What came next were the much more intense feelings of adreneline fight or flight. I must say that I only get these in areas of extremely HIGH levels of energy and activity and they are very uncomfortable to experience. A lady once told me that these fight or flight feelings are a result of spirit energy penetrating one's aura and in order to prevent that from happening, you must surround yourself with white light energy and protective shielding. This info was light turning on a light swtich..it made complete sense as to what I was feeling. But the dizzy, unreal, light-headed sensations..what about those? Here's my humble theory..and it's just an idea..but I can't halp but think it might be something BESIDES actual spirit activity..I think it could be something like RESIDUAL energy that lingers in a certain spot or an area..like where something happened. There might be spirits along with it, but maybe it's some sort of "Energy-marker"? Like that spot on the floor is where some event happened? A murder? a sudden death? A crime? Like a "Thin spot" between dimensions. There's something definitely different about it than the other feeling that I get. The "Unreal" feelings are nowhere nearly as unsettling to me as the fight or flight ones..maybe because the "Unreal" ones came first and I was already used to them and learned how to NOT pay any attention to them? These are just some ideas, but very much worth thinking about.

Talking about the Six Flags experience, many of these parks ARE haunted and the rides, themselves, are haunted. The thing is that you often won't hear about what goes on there unless you hear it from someone who works there..especially the security people who work there at night when it's closed and they experience all sorts of things. I know I've read about some of these places on the web, but the one in Georgia I haven't seen any info on..still, after what happened to me there, I can't help but feel that something out-of-the-ordinary was going on there. It's true, though, the "Unreal" dizzy feeling is not THAT scary once you get used to it and recognize it..the other one is quite terrifying. If you feel it in different areas, like it's moving around then perhaps it IS a spirit energy and not just an area or it could be both. I do know that the "Unreal" feeling is not one that I associate with "Danger" and that leads me to believe, by my instincts, that whatever energy it results from is not malicious or negative. The terrorizing fight or flight sensation is just that...I feel threatened and I feel that my space is being invaded by something..it's just that it's something that can't be seen with the physical eyes..but it's there. I can tell you some of the places where I've felt this..in a house that was for sale that I went inside to look at, in a pub in Mobile Alabama that used to be a civil war hospital, a hotel and also a crematorium..that place was the WORST and in the one room where the restrooms were located I felt like I would come out of my skin..this is where I felt the "Pushing" force field like something was trying to push me out of there and I could barely put one foot in front of the other..at point I ran from the room. I talked to the bartenders there and they were more than happy to fill me in on all the things that went on there and one guy even said that he REFUSED to go back there..that he would go across the street for a bathroom before he would go through that room to use those back there. So I felt the terrorizing sensation..and then it was verified by the staff who worked there. Another place I felt it was a castle that I visted in Denmark that dated back to the 1300's in parts of it...I stepped in the front entrance and almost couldn't make it down the main hallway..the energies there were just overwhelming and I was not prepared for them. Another place was an old high school from the early 1900's that was being used as an antique mall (I have lots of problems in antique places) and I had to go outside and breathe and re-group before I could go back in. The basement area was where I felt it. So were these threatening energies? Well, I know that the ones I felt pushing at me in that pub and whatever it was that I felt literally fly in my face in that old house I was looking at...plain and simple, they did not want me there and , yes, they were hostile. A lot of people say that we tend to make ALL spirit energies out to be negative..that's not really true. We tend to fear the unknown..BUT there is such a thing as spiritual "Discernment"..knowing what you are dealing with spirit-wise..being able to sense negative and positive spirits..or those that are just middle-of-the-road. And, like you said, this is a sixth sense that helps us. Just like dealing with flesh and blood people..not all of them are nice and some of them are downright nasty and dangerous and should be avoided at all costs..some are very pleasant to be around, but you have to know what is what. Same thing with spirit energies. I've found that the more you experience these feelings in places of spiritual energies, the more sensitive you will become..it's like developing a muscle..the more you use it, the stronger it gets.

Wow, you've had some interesting, and frightening experiences. I wonder if all people are sensitive to some degree, or if some are completely insensitive, and how they would react if they went into the restroom at that bar. If you don't feel the dread, could the spirits harm you? It makes you wonder. After I had the odd feelings at the Country Tavern, I asked my wife if she felt anything strange, and she said no, and that I must be crazy or something. =)

quote:

I have to wonder about a combination,remember I posted that thread about Einstien & String Theory.Well,it discussed a way to bring Quantum Physics & Law of Gravity together.In String Theory scientists have been discussing the possibilty of 10,11,dimensions or more!(BTW,Nova will be rerunning that.)

You have to wonder,like this part of one of my posts.-I can't even walk into an old church without feeling sick.I'd like to point out that it has nothing to do w/ religon,its a history thing ...too many impressions left by the past...

Maybe there is a person there at times,but the timing isn't perfect or something & you are actualy seeing or feeling a real live sentient being.I do believe in ghosts of course.(been visited by one of my friends)But like w/these hotspots of energy maybe the fabric of a dimension is a little thin there though.
What do you guys think?And what about Ley Lines?

Pretzelogic,your posts are fascinating.I have felt like I was trained not to pay attention to things that I would just somehow know ahead of time,among other things.So I'm in agreement with both of you...it's a pity.

[ October 29, 2003, 11:50 AM: Message edited by: hallowseve ]