Things that go "bump" in the night...

[The_Universe]

I think this is the thread you're looking for. Went through it a few days back. *Great* stuff in there!

That's the one. It's still one of my all-time favorite threads, here.

 

[Aeric]

Dunno if it counts as supernatural, but it really freaked me out at the time:

I had a real problem with sleepwalking when I was a teenager. I remember one time walking downstairs, unlocking and opening the front door, and standing there in the doorway. I don't know what prompted me to do this, but I remember that outside the door was the largest, most inpenetrable mass of darkness, like a void, filling the entire cul-de-sac. After a minute or two, I closed and locked the door and went back to sleep. It didn't scare me or anything, either. I remembered doing this the next day when my mom asked me about it. Nice of her to make sure I wasn't wandering out in the street in my underwear in the middle of the night!

 

[The_Universe]

Any and all of my encounters with the supernatural or paranormal have been (at best) peripheral. I grew up in eastern South Dakota, smack dab in the middle of the great plains. Though there are (theoretically) no large hunting cats thought to live within 400 miles of where I grew up (our native predators have been Coyotes and Foxes since the introduction of Man to the region some few thousand years ago - mostly due to an utter lack of native tree cover), there were always sightings and rumors of "wampus cats" and "panthers". Every once in a while, someone would lose some livestock or see a big cat crossing a highway late at night - usually, the events were connected. In all the tales are common all across the United States, and Great Britain's Beast of Exmoor is fairly similar, as well. The university biologists insist that no such large cat could exist as a native of the region, and there have been no documented zoo or circus escapes within a thousand miles, ever. No spoor or prints have ever been found or documented, but people still see Wampus Cats in the shelter belts around their houses, or slinking through their cornfields...

These phantom panthers are real enough to be seen over and over again for generations by otherwise honest men, but ethereal enough to avoid all other modes of detection. Folklore? Myth? Reality? Something in between, I suspect.

Me, I've never seen one...but I've heard their roaring screams. There's something out there.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

I hate it when I'm holding a cat and they suddenly stare up into the corner of the ceiling and then run away in panic. Bleh.

I was just saying to The Universe the other night before bed that I am really glad we have a cat. Because, while I don't believe in ghosts - I would pretty easily believe that if there were cats could see or sense them.

So - because our cat doesn't freak out in our new apartment - I'm pretty sure we don't have ghosts (that I don't believe in*).



*I have to repeat that a lot because I scare easy.

 

[Turanil]

I hate it when I'm holding a cat and they suddenly stare up into the corner of the ceiling and then run away in panic. Bleh.

In Lovecraft stories, students of the Esoteric make sure to add plaster (or what not) into their rooms' corners, as they well know that supernatural (and evil) beings come through such corners. It is especially the case with Hounds ofg Tindalos which come across corners in the ceilings.

Where did you say your cat would look at and be afraid?

 

[The_Universe]

Mirrors are also (traditionally) a gateway to the spirit world. An unguarded mirror is said to basically drag ill-feeling spirits into your home.

It's a recurrent theme in several "magical" traditions, including hoodoo, voodoo, and witchcraft.

Or at least that's what they say at www.coasttocoastam.com .

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

Mirrors are also (traditionally) a gateway to the spirit world. An unguarded mirror is said to basically drag ill-feeling spirits into your home.

It's a recurrent theme in several "magical" traditions, including hoodoo, voodoo, and witchcraft.

Or at least that's what they say at www.coasttocoastam.com .

The mirrors are supposedly going to be a big deal in the new film The Skeleton Key which looks most excellent!

 

[tarchon]

Any and all of my encounters with the supernatural or paranormal have been (at best) peripheral. I grew up in eastern South Dakota, smack dab in the middle of the great plains. Though there are (theoretically) no large hunting cats thought to live within 400 miles of where I grew up (our native predators have been Coyotes and Foxes since the introduction of Man to the region some few thousand years ago - mostly due to an utter lack of native tree cover), there were always sightings and rumors of "wampus cats" and "panthers".

South Dakota has a very real cougar (mountain lion, panther) population these days. They're relatively rare in most states, but it's not like seeing a dinosaur or something. Arizona even gets jaguars occasionally, but you have to look pretty hard to find them.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

South Dakota has a very real cougar (mountain lion, panther) population these days. They're relatively rare in most states, but it's not like seeing a dinosaur or something. Arizona even gets jaguars occasionally, but you have to look pretty hard to find them.

I'm sure there are mountains lions in the western quarter or so of the state - where the mountains are.

The Universe is talking about sightings of mysterious cats on the plains. There have been sightings of anything from panthers to pumas in the far eastern side of the state - hundreds of miles from where any mountain cats could or should be found. Once every couple of years - there will be a rash of sightings or complaints of livestock being ripped apart and eatten, but nothing is ever confirmed/no giant cat is ever found.

It is very creepy.

 

[tarchon]

I'm sure there are mountains lions in the western quarter or so of the state - where the mountains are.

The Universe is talking about sightings of mysterious cats on the plains. There have been sightings of anything from panthers to pumas in the far eastern side of the state - hundreds of miles from where any mountain cats could or should be found. Once every couple of years - there will be a rash of sightings or complaints of livestock being ripped apart and eatten, but nothing is ever confirmed/no giant cat is ever found.

"Mountain lions" aren't restricted to the mountains by any means (panthers, pumas, cougars, mountain lions, and catamounts - yes, even catamounts! - are all one species, Felis or sometimes Puma concolor). They're quite happy in a wide range of environments, mountains, plains, forests, swamps, etc. Most sightings by random Joe Schmoes aren't
actually pumas for sure though, mostly large house cats. It often reminds me of the guy in my condo complex who was frantically taking pictures of a buzzard (turkey vulture), convinced it was a california condor.
http://www.easterncougarnet.org/prairiestates.html has a map of plains sightings.