The Paranormal Blog

Each Friday we will have a look at the stories and experiences that have been related to us over the years that are amongst our personal favourites. These will include Crypto, Ghosts, Hauntings, UFO's, and other strange events that may be considered Fortean, from in around the Toronto, Canada area .... and since they are from our own personal files will likely not be found elsewhere on the web .... enjoy!

We received the following in summer 2009:

"As a young adult, I worked for an environmental activist organization in Hamilton, Ont. It was fairly common practice to go out and have a few drinks after work to wind down. In those days, I was in the practice of walking everywhere including the long walk from downtown to my home up on the West Mountain.Unlike many other unremarkable nights, I found myself growing increasingly apprehensive as I approached the escarpment. For reasons I could not understand at the time, I felt drawn to certain objects along my journey that offered a sense of relief from this mounting anxiety: a flower petal here, a shiny rock or a lone tree there. In this way I progressed along my path towards the stairs that would lead me home. I believe these were the stairs at the top of James street? Going out of my way would have added an hour or so to my journey and being an impoverished young idealist, taxis were out of the question.As I approached the bottom of the imposing flight of steps to the top of the escarpment, I saw something that filled me with both wonder and dread. I should state that I am not a religious person in any way shape or form but the sight of this "entity" made me fear for my very soul.It was a large cloud of black smoke, perhaps twenty to thirty feet in diameter which seemed to move purposefully and in no way related to the light summer evening breezes. I was aware of what I would describe as a malevolent sentience and I broke out into a cold sweat, frozen in place watching this cloud move. I could feel a sort of electricity in the air, similar to being under the northern lights but much more intense. I could not be sure that "it" was aware of me or not but I believed that if it were, I would not be here to relate this story to you. This entity was some distance off, perhaps fifty metres or more and would stop, change direction and speed in ways that smoke or mists cannot.Once it had passed the bottom of the stairs to the point where I felt I could make a run for it, I broke into a fevered sprint. I raced up the almost fifteen-hundred steps which are as near to vertical as a staircase can be before being called a ladder and continued on for another three or four blocks until I no longer felt the presence of this malevolent thing.Certainly, the adrenaline caused by fear and trepidation played a significant role in my seemingly super-human endurance but even this is not enough to convince me of how I was able to manage such a run. I was a heavy smoker and drinker, despite my predilection for walking, I did no sort of exercising whatsoever and world class marathon runners challenge themselves by training on these stairs up the Niagara escarpment. I was barely winded. To this day I believe that I had help of some sort, the same sort of help that directed me towards those objects that gave me the strength to carry on towards this entity."

Our thanks go out to the witness for sharing this experience with us.

Do you have a real life ghost story, an encounter with a UFO, or other paranormal experience/s you'd like to share? If so, we'd love to hear from you! Post your own experiences in our comments section or send us an email. Please post only true life experiences ... we love good fiction, but there are other fantastic blogs out there to post fictional accounts to.