The paranormal: some find the whole concept spooky, some find it utterly fascinating, and others find it a combination of the two.
However, an "otherworldly" experience can also be comforting, because it can sometimes feel like a message from a deceased loved one.
Now, whether or not you believe in ghosts or crossovers from one realm to another, you can't deny that there are some things that cannot be explained. Maybe it's a fortuitous dream or a vision in the middle of the night, but I think it's safe to say that all of us have had some kind of spooky or magical-seeming event happen to us at least once in our lives.
No matter what you believe about the afterlife, any sign that a deceased loved one is still watching over you is a welcome one. These 10 Reddit users revealed the surprising signs and moments they knew that someone was there and looking out for them.
Do you have any stories of a time when you knew a loved one was watching over you?
Please SHARE with your family and friends on Facebook to see if they have experienced a touching moment like these as well.
Thumbnail sources: Wikimedia Commons 1, 2
1.
"My mother's favorite animal was the hummingbird.
"Last year, shortly after my she passed away, a hummingbird came right up and looked at me as I was on my way to my car to go to work. Like a foot away, and just checked me out for a while and flew off to do hummingbird things.
"Once I got to my car, I broke down. Just sat there in the driver's seat and cried. I'd like to think my mom was somehow checking up on me. I know it's silly, but for that moment I felt like she wasn't gone and she was still there watching over me." – Fauxrace
2.
"My mother split and transplanted a rosebush from my grandfather's farm about 40 years ago. It took but never bloomed. At that point she only kept it because it grew into the fence nicely and kept us kids from climbing it.
"My grandfather died about 5 years after she transplanted it and that spring it bloomed red roses. A few years after that my grandmother died, and the spring after it bloomed white roses. These are the only two years it has ever bloomed." – TheTrueLordHumungous
3.
"In 1985 we moved in with my grandma because Grandpa just died, and she couldn't care for the property herself.
"Anyway, Grandpa would keep his watch on the nightstand every night when he went to sleep. After he died, Grandma put it in the drawer of the table. His watch would routinely (once a week?) show up on top of the stand in the morning, right where he would put it." – Ralph-Hinkley
4.
"About a week after [my brother] died, I was back at work one night, and my partner and I see [an instance of domestic abuse]. I jump out and [the man] sees me (a cop) and the foot chase was on. I was running after him, gun in hand, and he cuts through a narrow corridor under a building that leads to a courtyard in the middle.
"Right before I reach the courtyard, I hear 'It's okay' in my dead brother's voice. I hit the courtyard and the guy is against the side pointing a gun, and squeezes the trigger twice. I froze for a millisecond and then started beating him in the head with my revolver. Cuff him and walk him back to the street and find my partner. I tell my partner about him squeezing the trigger, but not the voice I heard. We unload the gun (.32 revolver) right there, and 2 bullets have strike marks on them.
"Take the gun to the lab for testing. Tell the tech the story. He puts the two bullets with strike marks back in and shoots into the test tank. Both bullets fired." – krocker321
5.
"Middle of the night, sleeping. I hear a sound like someone is taking a paperclip from my desk and throwing it against the wall and it bounces across the desk. I wake up to this noise, turn on the light right by my bed as I sit up. I look over and see nothing. Weird.
"As I'm ready to lay back down my 20-pound steel gum ball machine falls from the shelf over my bed directly onto my pillow where my head was not 30 seconds earlier. I flip out and scramble out of my bed as I'm totally taken by surprise. As I stand up I feel something under my feet… a paperclip.
"I put the murderous gum ball machine on the floor, the paperclip back on my desk and crawl into the safety of my comforter." – Armantes
6.
"A few months after [my mom's] death, I was at her house that she shared with my grandma — Mom lived downstairs and Grandma lived upstairs. I was babysitting my baby nephew while my sisters went out somewhere. He was asleep in the crib downstairs, with the light off and the door closed. I was upstairs reading a book while my grandma watched some TV.
"I heard footsteps and figured my nephew had managed to get out of his crib and was wandering around, so I went downstairs to get him. No, he was still fast asleep in his crib. Okay, I was hearing things, maybe it was the TV, whatever. I went back upstairs to my book. It happened again about half an hour later, but also with the door squeaking. Okay, I definitely heard that, so I went downstairs to get him up. No, still completely passed out (and he isn't the type of kid to get up and go back to sleep instantly). Shook it off, went back upstairs.
"I heard footsteps going down the hallway towards where the baby was sleeping, then a soft coo. I made my way downstairs and he was still asleep, but I just burst into tears because I just felt like my mom was there. In my heart, I knew she was saying goodbye to her only grand baby." – TickTick_Tick
7.
"It was my aunt's wedding and although it was a beautiful and happy day everyone's hearts hung a little heavy since my grandfather had passed away several months before. He had been the backbone of my family and had loved his children deeply.
"During the months since his death, my grandmother had begun the process of moving, since their house was big, and now that she lived alone so much space made her feel lonely. My grandmother felt very guilty about leaving their first home where they had raised my family. It was a place full of their memories.
"Sometime during the reception, my grandmother was approached by a woman who was not known by any of my immediate family, and was later assumed to be a random friend or plus-one. This woman marched up, looked my grandmother dead in the eyes and said, 'He doesn't want you to feel any guilt about moving, but he wants you to keep the couch.' And then she walked away." – existentialsunbeams
8.
"The year I was born, my grandfather died, but before I was born. And my parents said that he always went to lock this one door downstairs, even though nothing ever happened. And he was the only one that ever did that. When I was born, as soon as I could walk my parents said I went to that door and tried to lock it every day." – Howisdiscool
9.
"When I was 12, my older brother died. A few months later, I was laying in bed, trying to sleep, not tired, thinking about whatever. As clear as day I heard someone just say 'boo' right next to my ear. I sat up, not even freaking out or scared, I just had kind of a what the hell kind of moment. That's totally something he would have done.
"The only other time that happened was earlier this year, 15 years later. Same scenario, couldn't sleep, and was laying there for hours. If that was him, thanks dude, wasn't aware. Glad you're popping in and out from time to time though." – matike
10.
"My grandparents passed away late 2013. I'm getting married this year and a couple of nights ago I dreamt of my grandma for the first time since she died. She looked like she did when I was a kid, not wasted away like before she died. I knew she was dead in the dream but there she was talking to me and reassuring me that the wedding would work out fine.
"So happy she visited me in a dream, I thought she would eventually." – trustmeimabartender
Have you ever felt that you had a loved one watching over you? Please SHARE with family and friends on Facebook!
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
