I was curious, but horror wise, what's more frightening to everyone here?

Killers and things such as that, or the paranormal?

Personally, I'm more afraid of the paranormal.

My grandmother has always been able to connect to the 'spirit' world. N' her ability has been passed down to many others in my family(mostly women) I am able to hear voices/see shadows of figures. My niece is able to do the following and actually see spirits and my sister can also see spirits but she cannot hear them. I think the only reason why I cannot see them is because I don't want to and keep pushing that away, I always have.

But I personally think the paranormal is more frightening because you can't fight back unless you are trained to do so, and if the spirit is powerful enough to move objects it can physically harm someone. Not only that but you cannot hide from it either. That's what I think makes it more frightening than a killer.

It's kind of funny though because, even though I'm scared of the paranormal or more sensitive to it. I didn't find the 'Paranormal Activity' movies scary at all XD I guess that's because how it was done didn't seem believable or like it was trying to hard to be frightening which is a mistake with the paranormal because you don't really have to try hard with it.

I find Killers and paranormal to both be scary.
I agree with paranormal things being scary because it is hard to fight back, but a human more realistic killer is also scary because things like that can really happen.
I hated paranormal activity I saw a preview the other day for the sequel :O It'll suck just like the first one.

Frankly, I'd much rather deal with the paranormal. My encounters with the paranormal have been relatively benign, even soothing on occasion.

While waiting for my daughter to interview the owner of a supposedly haunted seminary in the area, I distinctly heard, in my head, a voice telling me that it was "Ok, that 'they' didn't mind" my daughter being there.

I have had what feels like my long-deceased black cat jump on my bed when there was no sign of my currently living cats.

I have had some incredibly accurate Tarot readings, since I dabble in the cards on occasion.

All in all, not scary stuff. I think that spirits, ghosts, or whatever residue lingers after death, just need some kind, compassionate, understanding to either assist them on their way, or accept them as they are. Yeah, I'm an odd one, but I like it that way!

~~Wiccan~~

@Wiccan- You seem to have had good luck with the contact you have had with the paranormal, but I agree with the 'good' spirits they aren't very scary. Because it's rather easy to get them to go away, just a simple 'I don't appreciate you being here and ask you to leave' usually get's them to leave.

Most are usually lost or don't realize they are deceased but there are some which are 'bad'.

Those one's usually feed on fear and can become stronger from fear and anger. So, It's better if you do encounter any spirit not to get scared.

But as for the bad ones, they can be really scary. I was watching this documentary about 'hauntings' on TLC. This one family had a spirit who was killed due to something with drugs that was going after their teenage daughter. It would stay in her room and when investigators came in they were asking the spirit 'Why are you here, what do you want' and they had those machines which could pick up spirit's voices and when they looked the tape over later the voice said 'I want the girl, I want the girl'.

N' this spirit was strong and violent anyways, because it could move objects and it kept showing itself to the girl mainly(though others could see it too). But the mother tried to do a cleansing of the house and the spirit freaked out on her when she was trying to purify it out.

So they moved after hearing the recording of the spirit, but as the girl went into her room to get the last of her boxes the spirit closed the door and she nor her parents could open the door and the window was sealed shut so they had to get her out through the venting and even when doing that the spirit tried to pull her back in.

That's pretty freaky. Personally I've never had an experience with a bad spirit but seeing the shadows and hearing some random voices does frighten me from time to time.

My grandmother told me the way to tell the difference from a good and bad spirit is the air. A bad spirit will make ice cold air, and the good spirit will generally have warm and soothing air.

I use the tarot cards too, and those are fine. But just a warning to everyone never use a Ouija board. Those things are terrible and are basically opening portals to evil spirits and they only contact evil spirits. Or if you do use them, do not ask them to 'prove themselves' because that is you inviting them into the house and a portal will be left open. The spirits that deal with board are nasty things.

N' by the way odd is good

I grow up on the coast of Virginia, right by Yorktown, Jamestown and Williamsburg. Lots of battle grounds and old native site. Lots of blood and death there souring the ground. When I was little I really didn't know that some of what I was seeing was ghosts. While there are those that have rather nasty attitudes, most just wanted to have someone listen. Personally I fear the living more then the dead. The dead can only have sway on you if you allow it, the living, well they can make you one of the dead.

And I cannot agree enough with PRVN... those boards are portals. My father had one he tried to throw out and it kept return... ended up burning it, and the damn thing screamed. Needless to say they are NOT allowed in my home for ANY reason. The sight of them creeps me out.

I am not scared of either. As a kid it was ghosts. In my early teens it was the living. After that. I stopped being scared.

I honestly can't say that either one are frightening. I find the paranormal to be truly fascinating. While I have never before seen ghost I have had a couple things happen that made me scratch my head.

A few years ago I lost someone that I loved very much. We had worked together for nearly 10 years and we had both helped one another through difficult times in our lives on many occasions. Our romantic relationship was unlike anything either one of us had ever had before and unfortunatly it was cut short when he died of heart failure. It was the last straw in an emotionally crippling year. Earlier that year my now ex fiance and I were expecting twins when I suddenly miscarried both children about 5 months in. It was devastating and eventually my ex and I split. I,however was left a hollow shell of my former self and it was something that I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. When the one who picked me up and put me back together died I was done. I didn't care about anything anymore. Eventually I met my husband and began to rebuild my life. Before I started to get serious in a relationship I went to visit the grave of the one who left me. I just sat and cried for hours. I told him everything and anything that was going on even though I knew he wouldn't be able to answer me. Before I finished I asked him a very simple question: "Is everything going to be okay?" I waited and to my surprise I received an answer just not in the form I was expecting. As I sat there a stray dog came out of the woods and headed right for me. The poor thing looked hungry and dirty and at first I was a little worried what might happen. But the dog just walked towards me and sat down right in front of me. He licked my face until the tears were gone and then put his head in my lap. When it was time for me to leave I tried to get the dog to follow me but it just looked at me straight in the eyes and left. I knew then that I had my answer: Everything WOULD be okay. It was then that my life began to change. I left the state police after 11 years and began a new career and eventually gained a new life with my husband. The memory of what happened that day has stayed with me and I can honestly say that the paranormal world does not frighten me one bit, if anything that encounter fueled my desire to learn more.

although i have never seen either movie i do have something that may be a little creepy. when i was young my brothers owned a nintendo 64 and one of the games had skulls in it. every night my mom would tuck me and my younger sister in bed and undo our cabbage patch curtains so that they were closed. she would then kiss us goodnight and leave the bedroom shutting the door behind her. i would wake up hours later to the curtains open and there would be skulls circling the window shrieking and clacking their teeth together. being 5 to 6 years old that can put some trauma on the brain. another time my then 7 year old sister went up to the barn to play with the kittens i needed to feed them so i went with her. suddenly she comes busting out the barn door white as a ghost she tells me that there was a man cloaked in black running through the barn so i was like there isnt anybody there.now normally our barn was very warm but when i walked into the barn the first thing i noticed was the icey temp in the barn. years years before we had bought that farm there had been a fire and both the house and the barn burned down

I think they are both scary in their own ways.

I am fascinated with the paranormal and I love watching Ghost Hunters on SciFi (The TAPS team are the only "ghost hunters" I'll watch). But I would NOT want to see a ghost with my own eyes! When I was younger, I was a lot more sensitive to the paranormal which is common in adolescents. I could walk into a building or house and would get that sixth sense that a) we weren't alone or b) something bad had happened there once.
For example, we own a cabin in Northern MI and there was a point on the trail in the woods on our property that I would NOT pass, only to find out when I was older that a man had been killed very close to that location. And my Grandfather who had been hunting on our property at the time saw him being chased by his killers. (long story short, some 20 years later they caught the guys.)
I'm not as sensitive with that stuff now but every now and then I get that familiar sensation. I love to hear peoples experiences though ;p

And, well, when it comes to killers. That is terrifying. If some serial killer is in your area, it certainly makes you look over your shoulder and double check the locks on the doors every night. It's something a lot of people think "oh that will never happen to me," but you can't be too careless of that thought either.

I'm not really scared of the paranormal considering I've had a few run ins with them. Its especially common in where I was born which was Vicksburg, Miss. was alot of civil war battles were fought. The military park is very haunted, I get cold sensations just stepping foot in there. The place where I was married, a own planation home that was turned into a bed and breakfast was haunted as well. I remember waking up to the room being like 30 something degrees and it was the middle of October (this is right before Halloween too!). And in Miss. around that time the coldest it gets is like 64 in the evening. I kept hearing what sounded someone walking outside our door on the balcony. But when we opened the door no one was there.

Another instance I've had with the paranormal is that I have a sixth sense to a degree. I can almost always guess what it going to happen when it regards my family or friends. Two years ago when I was getting ready to go to class I all of sudden decided not to go because I had a bad feeling. I didn't know what it was but it was bad. I get a call later that afternoon from my mom telling me that my great- aunt had passed away. That was my bad feeling, it was devastating of course but I could not believe it. I also get "vibes" you can say from certain things, whether it be a building or person etc. I'm usually on the money with these things. lol Now if only I could guess the lottery I would be set!

I agree with PRVN I will not go near a Ouji board. Never. The only thing that really scares me more is spiders! ewww

I think it depends on the moment. Ghosts aren't scary until you meet one and you can joke about them but a serial killer is a very serious issue.

I never find ghost movies scary while I'm watching them but I find they come back and haunt me right before I'm going to bed. When ever I watch a show like Ghost Trackers or talk about them I get very jumpy, like I am right now after reading all these stories, and feel like I can't go to bed until I read or watch something funny and forget about it.

I've always been very sensitive to the paranormal. When we first moved into my current house I was really little and my mom remembers me coming into her room and crawling into bed with her and saying 'the old ladies staring at me again and I can't sleep.'

I didn't know what it was so I wasn't scared. We had many sightings in my brothers room. One time we both saw her and tried to both go out the door at the same time and got stuck. She wasn't dangerous but I think it was the original owner who died in her sleep.

but... We had another ghost in my parents room who would make a banging noise on the table that sounded like a phone book dropping which always woke my mom. Then we got a white boxer dog which scared the ghosts away and then our next door neibor was complaining of the same noises and sightings, so it's all good now.

Also sometimes when I look out into the darkness in the hall I can see a shape that looks like a person sometimes. It happens once every few months but sometimes I randomly get pulled farther down my bed. I really hope it's just a weird muscle spasm but it only ever happens in my own bed...I got a night light for the hall and it hasn't happenned since.

I love spirituallity but it can be really creepy sometimes.

Alright, so since everyone else is sharing their personal experiences with the paranormal I thought I'd share a few of mine too.

The first experience I really remember that frightened me was when I was about 11 and in class at school, everything was fine and I was just sitting there and then I felt these hands wrap around my neck and start squeezing. It hurt so bad and it kept getting worse until I was literally struggling to breath, when my teacher and classmates finally noticed(I was trying to keep calm about it but I guess my face was getting pale) the pressure and feeling like someone was squeezing my neck went away. However, all day afterward there were red hand marks around my neck they faded that night but everyone kept asking me what happened all day and I couldn't really reply 'something was choking me in class' but that event left me rather shaken.

Then there was this other time where I was laying down in my bed and I felt like something was pushing down on my chest, when I tried to get up I couldn't. Then my eyes closed and this guy's life started just flashing by like I was dreaming or something but I knew I was awake. I couldn't speak either so I just kept thinking 'stop it' in my mind and the pressure on my chest left after a few moments and I was able to move and open my eyes again. It freaked me out and when I told my grandma about it she said the guy whose life I saw was trying to possess me or something and I was lucky that I was able to fight him off.

The latest experience(though not as frightening as the other ones and the first time I actually saw a spirit) I had was about a year and a half ago, it started when I was staying at my aunts house. I swear she has about 30 or more spirits residing in her home, although only two can actually materialize so you can see them(An old man and a little girl). Anyways I couldn't really sleep well there because of that many spirits being around but when I did sleep it was really rough, my aunt kept saying when I went to bed all the lights and electronic devices would flicker on and off for an hour or so then suddenly stopped. Anyways one night I woke up early and felt something beside my bed so I looked to the side and there was a guy standing over the bed just looking down at me. I was like 'ack' and turned back over trying to pretend he wasn't standing there. After a few moments I still felt the presence there so I peaked over and the guy was still standing there but he was smirking like he was amused. But anyways I turned back over then felt the 'guy' leave and then when I looked back the guy was really gone.

So anyways after that I didn't see him again, then I came back to my house(which is in another state) One night I went to the park nearby to go on the swings with my friend, anyways we were the only one's on the swings/in the park and I looked back and I saw someone standing there so I was just thinking 'creepy' and while on guard I continued to swing, but when I glanced back again the person( a guy) was closer and I recognized him to be the same one I saw back at my aunts house. He smiled again when I looked at him and then I jumped off the swing and my friend was like 'What's wrong?' and I replied 'there's a guy there!' It freaked her out so she jumped off too but when we looked back no one was there. I haven't seen him since then, but I always feel like someone is nearby or following me(I mean I know he means no harm but It's still freaky sometimes).

Also, @ Daniella – Your event made me get teary eyed, it was very touching. I'm glad everything did work out for you in the end, I'm also sorry about your lose but at least now you know even though he's gone, he's still with you watching over you

I can't really say that I am frightened of either, although I recognize real criminals as being a more likely danger to me.

I have a great interest in stories about paranormal activities. I love reading tales and watching shows about hauntings, and a few weeks ago, I actually went on a ghost walk in downtown Wilmington. The stories about the various places we visited were interesting, but I can't say that I actually saw anything out of the ordinary.

Overall, I've never experienced anything that I can say is definitely paranormal. Occasionally at night, I'll feel something run across the foot of my bed, but none of my pets will be in the room at the time that it happens, but that could just be my imagination. Sometimes when my cats come into my room, they'll pause at the door and kind of sniff around as if they want to come in, but something in the room is making them uncertain. Again, that could just be my imagination and cats just being cats.

I'm just one of those people that would need something definitive, like a book flying across the room, before I believe that it's not just my mind playing tricks on me.

I think they are both scary but if I would have to choose one it would be crazy people and killers. Paranormal things in my humble opinion don't happen all the time. They also usually happen as far as I have read are in certain places more connected with death or places of some significance. There are crazy people everywhere and unfortunately with them it's not always nice or evil. Sometimes it just depends on which personality is in charge. Shivers

You walk out a movie about a pyscotic serial killer go home and turn on the news to find someone just got set on fire in mid day. So I must say crazy people win for me everytime.

Well that and I work in a jail. Sometimes I feel like those people in old horror movies running around talking about them being all around us.

If I were in a movie I would rather be facing a serial killer than a ghost. Movie ghosts are nasty buggers. At least if I was face to face with a serial killer I could actually hurt it.

In real life, though, give me a ghost any day. I've had a few dealings with them, and while weird, I could easily go about my way once the encounter was over.

I'm also a big fan of TAPS. They are probably the best group of investigator on TV. They are very respectful when doing their investigations to both the living and the possible dead. I live about 20 minutes away from the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum and was super excited to get to watch them investigate it a few years ago (they have since returned there with the Ghost Hunters Academy and members will be doing another hunt in Aug). I've seen other "professional" hunters investigate the place and have been sadly disappointed. Some idiot from the Travel Channel thought it would be brilliant to bring in a machine that produced extremely high volts of energy in the hopes that something would manifest. Keep in mind they did this in a building that housed the clinically insane. On live TV. At midnight. On Halloween. My roommates and I were hoping something would come through and eat the idiot.

And Ouji boards. BADBADBADBADBAD. *shutter* Whoever thought that was a good idea needs to be shot in the head. I was a little more than freaked out to find out that there was one painted on the floor in the attic of the dorm I lived in for three years. I've seen it, it's was actually almost above the room I lived in. I'm not religious in the least, but I went and became friends with the holy water in the chapel the next day.

And people wonder why students say that Aggie is the haunted dorm...

I have too much faith to really be bothered by the paranormal. RL people worry me a little bit, but not enough to keep me from my current profession.

I'm gonna go with paranormal killers.

No seriously, paranormal scares me more. Killers are such a part of every day life, that I've learned to accept them as 'normal'.

Paranormal things are well, paranormal. Anything that deviates from the norm throws me off, and has the potential to scare the begeezus out of me.

After I saw the movie "Paranormal Activity", I had a VERY hard time sleeping! *shivers*

Paranormal doesn't really frighten me, because as someone that was raised in both the pagan/native american beliefs, and Christianity there are ways to protect yourself from spirits. I have always been able to see spirits and attract them to myself, you learn in my family very early how to cast protection charms and things of that nature.

I am from Virginia as well, however I grew up smack in the middle of some major civil war battlefields, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania, Manassas, or Bull Run as it was known as. Not to mention some of the local legends in our area, My family settled our little area of the county and there is the legends from my grandfathers tribe. I have seen a complete wedding party walk down the isle, then vanish, seen little children who had died on the side of the road, watched soldiers walking down the road and fade from sight.We did a seance once when I was in my early 20's with a medium, scared the hell out of alot of people there, and the medium refused to allow me to participate in any more because I overwhelmed her she said.

This reminds me of something my kids did last month, they all insisted they saw spirits, trolls is what they called them. Well to help them sleep and feel safe, at 1 in the morning I was laying a salt circle around our house, and then a stroke of genius hit me, we have young pygmy goats, I told them that the 'trolls' were afraid of the goats remember Three Billy Goats Gruff. The kids were all ok after that and accepted it. The goats got special treats from the kids for a week after that incident. For those wondering salt is a purifier in most rituals, in most religions and making a circle keeps evil out or in depends on what the circle is for.


Real killers frighten me more because you never know who the killer could be, that sweet little old lady down the street could be a serial killer, or the quiet yet helpful young man next door, remember psycho's look just like everybody else. You don't know your in danger until its too late most times. There is a saying my grandmother taught me, Cats guard the soul, Dogs guard the physical form, so I have always kept both animals, and it has has always given me peace of mind. We had a series of home invasions here last year, 15 in a 9 month period, I didn't worry because I knew between my dogs I would have enough warning to arm myself and call the cops.

The "paramornal" doesn't scare me one ioda as its a part of my life - to me its just normal.

Murderors, Rapists, and the like... THAT scares me.

I agree im scared of the paranormal stuff since i believe in them, the movie that scared me was paranormal activity,, even still my fave movie genre is horror but ill definitely wont watch any paranormal themed movies again but i really wanna see Paranormal Activity 2, im not really sure.... I guess the reason i was scared was because my friend he kept on surprising me through out the entire movie

PRVN wrote:

My grandmother has always been able to connect to the 'spirit' world. N' her ability has been passed down to many others in my family(mostly women) I am able to hear voices/see shadows of figures. My niece is able to do the following and actually see spirits and my sister can also see spirits but she cannot hear them. I think the only reason why I cannot see them is because I don't want to and keep pushing that away, I always have.



Are you my long lost twin sister..lol. My grammy was clairvoyant and she used to see all kinds of dead people, even saints on occasion. Funny thing about her was that she was a skeptic in other things, so when she said she saw something everyone believed her.

My mother's gift works differently than mine. She usually sees spirits in phrophetic dreams. I am the senser/feeler type too (clairsentient) and I'm very sensitive to changes in my environment. I found that if you tell most ghosts to GO AWAY in a firm tone they usually do. I've had one or two who stuck around and it was a very scary feeling to know someone was there and you couldn't see them but felt them staring at you. Those type will try to siphon some of your energy/light. It feels like something cold brushed against you and then you feel very tired.

Every house we've moved to growing up, I always had ghosts or dark shadows in the corners of your eye that move really fast around me. So I assume it could also be the actual person the ghost is attracted to and not the location necessarily.

My father thinks my mother and I are crazy. He is the type that prescribes to the idea that if you can't see it, it's not there.

So I guess I am more scared of the supernatural than killers. I also scream like a banshee when I see a house centipede so that's up there on my scary meter too.

The paranormal doesn't exactly frighten me, but it gives me a few goosebumps. I remember when I was young and my family would go visit the Philippines to see some relatives, my cousins would scare me by telling tales of white ladies and ghosts that haunt the empty houses near my dad's family home. The stories would usually be some lady who died alone or a baby crying in the middle of the night. My cousin used to see those things, but I don't know if she does anymore :/

I remember one incident though, we were in my mother's family home and I was coming out the shower, my cousin saw a ghost behind me D: And also, I distinctly remember seeing a ghost float/walk/whatever they do down the stairs (of the same house). Needless to say, it scared the crap out of my seven year old self. His face was kind of...disfigured. Oh, god, then there were the trees in the backyard D8 My grandmother used to have banana trees in the back (thank goodness they're gone now), but my dad would tell me stories of ghosts who stay in trees and mess around with people at night. When we slept there my whole family stayed in the room that faced the banana trees DD8, I had a hard time sleeping and the I was the last to wake up. I ran out that room as fast as I could.

My dad says that house has ghosts because no one lives in there D8

But that doesn't bother in the least. What does scare me are mice/rats/whatever the difference is between the two. And creepy noises the house makes whenever I'm by myself.

I can say that the paranormal doesn't scares me, since I haven't had anything terrifying happen to me. I remember one night I was in the stage of between sleep and being awake when I saw my grandma (she died of cancer when I was 2) stand in front of me and smile. I knew it was real because I saw the nightgown she wore at the funeral (my mom told me about it after my sister saw her on our way to school when I was 10, about 9 years ago) so I said "hi" to her and said I love her. And she smiled at me and said she did too. Another time the music box she gave to me just turned on, and I knew she was there. She also likes to hide my moms car keys and lets herself be known by tiny things, like the lights and TV flickering (doesn't happen very often, though). And I also LOVE Taps and the show Paranormal State. Ryan Buell (sp?) really cares about helping families who have trouble with the paranormal.

But when I go up the stairs to my room at night I run, even if I'm not scared or anything. It's really anoying. I do it ALL the time. Maybe the first owner/builder of my house is watching me? Maybe...

@ PRVN: maybe the guy you saw is your spirit guide or guardian angel, if he just smiles at you and doesn't hurt you. Just a thought. My mother is a fan of the psychic Sylvia Browne, and she says that there arent any bad spirits, just lost or misguided.

But serial killers and just bad people in real life is what I fear. You can never be too careful

Ouiji Boards just freak me out. I wouldn't touch one or use it even if someone paid me.
And yeah, the movie Paranormal Activity scared me only the first time. I might go see the second one, only when it comes out on DVD

I really like this thread! I must say, I would rather deal with the paranormal than living humans... the human psyche is much more intimidating to me than any spirit.

I also grew up in a house that was haunted. A girl decided to hang herself from a tree in the back yard, and I could often feel (sometimes even see) her spirit, though we never actually interacted. She did enter one of my dreams once, but she did not do it again after the first time. We lived there for quite a while before we moved to the reservation, so I just got used to it, I suppose. My aunt, a traditionally trained medicine woman of the tribe, came to the house and immediately felt the girl's presence. Medicine Power runs strong through the women of my family, which was why my mother and I were the only ones to be bothered by the presence. As time went on, the spirit no longer minded our habitation of the house and I noticed I no longer got such bad headaches or suffered from insomnia. Once we started planning the move, we began feeling her presence pressing down on us once again and had to resort to smudging with sage and blessing every room of the house. The day we moved out, my father turned the key in the door for the last time and a scream came from the other side.

As far as sensing things goes, have you ever seen those boards they have at some stores, such as Walmart, where they post fliers about missing children? Once when I was little, I pointed to one and asked my mother why they had a picture of a dead girl on the board. She responded that she wasn't dead, she was missing. Four days later, they found the girl's body. The picture they showed on the news was the same one on the flier.

All in all, I believe that we all have the power to connect with spirits, we just choose not to. If your spirit is not receptive, then the spirits of others will not be attracted. If you really want to be in touch with what is around you, it's completely possible, as long as you stay open and acknowledge the spirit world.

And I have to agree with the others. Ouija board is a definite no-no. Those things scare me like you would not believe. Opening a portal to the next world is a bad idea. I know a girl that used a ouija board on the night of the new moon, a time when the barrier between worlds is thin and the power of the moon is given to the earth and its people. The spirits did horrible things to her mind because she was unable to cope with the rush of energy.

We also tend to have a lot of hauntings here in Mass., simply because it's a historical area that has seen a lot of death and grief. The spirit world is not that scary to me, simply because I have been trained to handle it. But a serial killer? I can't stop a bullet with my mind or strength of spirit, and I certainly cannot predict what a psychopath will do in any given situation.