I'm not sure if this is related to ghosts/spirits or not this time around. Since I usually only have "that feeling" in haunted places, I figure I'd post this experience here.

Anyway, I went to the mall during my lunch break, to pick up a DVD for my friend who's still in the hospital (we're visiting him tonight). Since I like to walk the mall, I parked on the other side of the mall and walked through the mall to get to the store where I was going (Best Buy). All of a sudden, just as I was walking past the Fye record store, I was hit with "that feeling." It was as if I walked past, or through, something. It intrigued me to the point where I stopped and retraced my steps, but the feeling wasn't as strong the second time around.

At that point, I figured it was either a fluke, or I passed by a ghostly mall walker, and went on my merry way. I found the DVD I was looking for, paid for it, and then decided to walk around for a while. After a few minutes I realized that the feeling was still with me. I couldn't shake it. Although it didn't feel like hypoglycemia, I figured I should eat something to rule that out. So I went to the food court and had some Chicken McMaggots. =) The feeling stuck with me as I ate, and as I walked for a few minutes afterward. It didn't go away until I left the mall and got back into my car. By the time I got back to work I felt normal again.

Any thoughts on this? I've been to the mall many times (I was there yesterday in fact) and I've never felt anything there before. If there are ghosts/spirits there (hey it's possible), wouldn't I only have the feeling when I'm near one? Maybe one was tagging along as I walked? Maybe it noticed that I noticed it? Or maybe it was something else? My mind playing tricks on me perhaps? It's interesting stuff!

Well, if your mall is anything like ours here, it very well may be haunted. It is also possible that a spirit with something to say, sensed that you were "receptive" and followed you trying to "get through".

There is a game I play whenever I go to our mall that you might want to try. You know how most of the storefronts are all glass? I watch the reflections in the windows and then try to match them to the shoppers walking around. Sometimes I see reflections with no corresponding shopper around. Once I saw a teenage male in a white t-shirt but when I turned my head to locate him it was in time to see a male in a sweatshirt removing it to reveal -- a white t-shirt. It would be interesting to see if you notice a similar phenomena where you are.

I wish I was more receptive. It seems like I can pick up the "signal" but can't decode it at this point. I'd love to strengthen my abilities somehow. I guess awareness is the first step though, and I've learned a lot in the past year since I discovered that I "feel dead people!"

I'll have to check the reflections more carefully next time I'm there. That's pretty freaky, what you saw. I doubt our mall is very haunted, since I've never heard anything about it, and in the zillion or so times I've been there, I never felt anything until yesterday. If there are any ghosts lingering there, it's probably just one or two, and there's a lot of square feet to cover so the odds of stumbling into it during a given visit are probably slim.

Maybe I'll go back there at lunch and do some more walking!

[ May 20, 2004, 09:09 AM: Message edited by: Kevin P ]

Ok update... I went back to the mall today, just to see if I'd pick up on anything. I felt the same thing, but not the sudden hit like yesterday, but I had the lingering feeling of being a tad "spaced out". I wonder if it has something to do with the air in there, they have the A/C going. It didn't seem to vary much by location, it just felt the same everywhere, until I went outside.

So maybe it's not a ghost but bad air quality perhaps?

I watched the reflections in the glass like grumpieone mentioned, but I didn't see any reflections that I couldn't account for. I did think of something though... sometimes when there is more than one piece of glass, say at different angles, they can cause multiple reflections that at first might fool you into thinking you're seeing a reflection of a person who isn't there. I did a couple double takes because of this. Maybe that would explain some of the things grumpieone sees?

That's part of it... But also the way the glass is made the reflections are somewhat distorted at best -- that's why I didn't holler "ghost!" at seeing reflections I couldn't account for. The kid in the sweatshirt/t-shirt did freak me out because I couldn't account for it logically.

What the "game" does is distract your mind enough that if something is trying to "speak" to you then it has a higher chance of getting through.

Another fun game to play if you want to stretch your abilities is to snag a window seat at the next restaraunt you visit -- especially if it is in a shopping center or someplace with a large parking lot handy. Then attempt to match the people leaving the restaraunt or stores to their cars.

You know, coming in & re-reading this last post here, it really didn't emerge in words the way I was seeing it.. I didn't explain myself well. Sorry, been busy,a little frazzled.
You see, I work with this 1 particularly cranky senior citizen, but he's a riot! Oh, the stuff that comes out of his mouth!...He's rude, crude, & says exactly what's on his mind...
I find it a neverending source of amusement!...
He's a self -professed mallwalker, & I could soooo see him going back to catch an eye, or nudge a shoulder or 2, scare the bejeesus out of someone- just for laughs!

[ May 25, 2004, 12:18 AM: Message edited by: hallowseve ]

Hallow, I was thinking along the lines of the spirit of a senior citizen too; or perhaps a young person whose life ended abruptly and is visiting one of their favorite "haunts". I think a mall sounds like a pretty good place to find ghosts.

Kevin, that is an interesting idea about the air quality. I've been to places like that and I could see where it might make you a little woozy. If you are with someone else, you might try causally asking if the place makes them feel a little funny.

Ok, I'm ready to try the reflection game! Sounds pretty nifty!

I went there today (yes, to pick up another DVD) =) It's been cold this week so I figured this would be a good test since the mall wouldn't have had the A/C on as much the past few days. Anyway, I felt it again, not as strong, but it seemed strongest in Best Buy this time. So it could still be the air, or maybe I'm becoming more sensitive to the paranormal. It's hard to tell which it is, since I can't prove, much less determine, that there are ghosties around when I feel funny. =)

I'm hoping one of these days I'll encounter a cold spot, apparition or something to back up the "dizzy" sensation. But I would have to spend a lot more time in haunted places. I wish I'd discovered the mall "ghost feeling" while I was laid off, I would have spent the whole day there. =)

Easiest way to find out if the mall is haunted? Chat up the security guards. At our mall in Augusta, there is a security guard who is still doing his rounds -- despite being dead for over 10 years. There are a couple of patrons who have died in the mall who (according to the guards) have not left it yet. Most of the activity though has been concentrated in two stores (according to mall employees): Spencer's and the Disney Store. I can't go into Spencers at all without getting ill. I end up with a blinding headache and nausea every time. The Disney Store just feels oppressive. Spencers employees claim that when tensions are high among the employees there, things start falling -- on at least one occasion something flew off the shelf and hit an employee in the head. Don't remember the exact circumstances though I'll have to ask DragonFX -- he was the store manager at the time.

Malls are strange places. Patrons die there much more often than you know or ever hear about. People who work there tend to be ... ummm... kind of twitchy and often paranoid and superstitious even if they weren't like that before they started working there (at least that's what they are like here).

Wow, grumpieone, you sound like you have one of the more haunted of malls there. If I'm ever in Augusta, GA I'll have to check out Spencer's! =)

Our Disney Store feels oppressive too, but it's just because everything is way overpriced in there! =P

Our mall is medium sized, 120 stores, 5 restaurants, and a 550-seat food court. It was renovated and expanded a few years ago. Next time I'm there I'll have to see if the "feeling" is any different in the newer section than the older section. Not that it would prove anything--though the older section is more likely to be haunted, it's also more likely to have poorer air quality.

Hi Kevin

It sounds as though you have walked across every womans dream shopping in the after life, I must make sure my credit card is with me when my time comes

I think you maybe more receptive to these things now that you know what the signs are good luck next time your going through and see if you notice the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end that always tells me someone is around.

Lynne

I went back there yesterday, and walked around, trying to figure out if the "feeling" was stronger in certain places or not. It seemed like the strongest feelings were in Best Buy and the food court. Both are in the older part of the mall. The feeling wasn't as strong elsewhere. It seemed weakest in the newer section of the mall.

Another thing I noticed, was the feeling I had in Best Buy was different from the one in the food court. The Best Buy feeling was more in the back of my head, more subtle, almost like a lower "frequency," where the sensation in the food court was more "up front". I don't know how to describe it adequately.

I'm planning a trip to one of my other "haunts" (the downtown sandwich shop), so I can compare the sensation I have there with what I felt at the mall, to see if there are any similiarities or differences.

Lynne, I've never noticed the hairs on my neck standing up, at least not yet. Maybe if I felt something cold or creepy... so far I've only had the feelings inside my head.

Never had any such an experience in any of the San Antonio malls.however,one night at TJMAXX
I was in the back room putting up the trash and hangers from the fitting room,when I heard a loud whistle. I really didn't think anything of it
and keep on putting hangers up.
i heard it a couple of more times but saw no one.
I thought maybe it was a night bird i heard from out side.But this whistle seemed to be right there with me.I started to get nervous and scared and left as soon as I could. I was worried as it could have been someone hiding in the store till we left for the night and then rob us blind.
By the way,last night i had to clean up the kids section in the store.i pushed my cart of books and things over to were the books and toys are.THERE WERE NO KIDS IN THE STORE,but I swear I heard the sound of soft children's giggles.Then i heard this toy come on. Really strange. The store is in the Olympia Forum Shopping Center.It was once wooded land and where the Unviversal City Golf Course is,they found some native American artifacts and i think even some small family cemtery plots from the pioneer days.There is a little family plot right in back of Chatman's Fried Chicken on the grounds of the UC Animal Shelter.
North Star Mall in San Antonio supposedly has a few ghosts. Employees have seen shadows and heard voices,and supposedly someone died of a heart attck there.

Wow, that must have been creepy Fritos56. Did you feel anything during those experiences? Cold spots, disoriented sensations, anything? Just curious. I'd love to experience something else, such as a cold spot, smell, sound, apparition etc. to back up the "dizzy" sensation. I guess that's why I keep going back to these haunted places! =)

I went to the sandwich shop at lunch, but I didn't feel much there this time around.

I have another experiment I'm going to try next time I go to the mall (fortunately the mall is only about 5 minutes from where I work). In order to rule out the "air quality", instead of walking through the mall to get to Best Buy, I'll go straight there from outside, and take a deep breath right before I walk in the door. Then I can determine if the feeling is related to the air inside the store or not.

Fritos, I was born in San Antonio and still have family members in the area! Great city!!!
I've heard about North Star Mall, but I've never checked it out.
Lots of great haunted spots in San Antonio! Everytime I walk into the Alamo and some of the old missions, I get a feeling similar to what Kevin has written about. Of course, with the history surrounding those places, you'd have to have the sensitivity of a doorknob not to pick up something there.

I was in another location where I picked up on something, though I don't think it was a ghost, but probably just imprints left by history. My wife belongs to a group who did a trip to a nearby lake last weekend and we spent the night in 2 old houses. I could feel something upstairs in the house I was in, but it wasn't confined to a particular location. More like the entire house, especially the top floor, was one big "imprint". I slept there one night and nothing unusual happened. The other house caused an impression too, but not as strong/slightly different.

I wonder if what I feel at the mall is similar. Not ghosts but just an accumulation of "impressions" built up over the years.

I've definitely become more aware of these impressions recently, because I recognize them now. I bet lots of folks feel them but don't give them a second thought.

Here's an update on the mall. I went there yesterday and went into Filene's this time. I don't go in there often, since their stuff is so overpriced, but I wanted to see what they had for men's clothes. I had the same sensations I usually have when I'm in the mall. When going from rack to rack in the mens department, I felt a stronger sensation near one of the racks. Let's just say that to the other patrons I probably looked like I was really interested in the clothes on that rack! =) I browsed around the general area, and the feeling was definitely stronger near one particular rack. I moved away from that area and came back a few minutes later to confirm it. Maybe a ghostly shopper? I wonder if ghosts pay with cash or credit cards!

What's interesting, is Filene's is in the newer part of the mall, built about 5 years ago. I don't remember if part of the mall existed there before or not. It's 2 floors now, and it wasn't before the expansion, and I had the sensations on the 2nd floor, if that means anything.