The Spirit Realm & Other Stories

It’s that time of year again in the northern hemisphere – when the nights get longer, the days get darker, Hallowe’en is just around the corner, and many people’s thoughts turn to otherworldly things. Since we’re in the mood for the paranormal, Courtenay S Gray shares some of her spooky experiences with us.

Enjoy Courtenay’s stories, and please do tell us if you have some of your own! – Kate

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Over the years, I have discovered I have a gift. I have always been very in tune with the other side and all things mystical. I have collected crystals for years, and used to sit at my computer and read about spells.

I have always been able to see ghosts, and have felt them and heard them. I shall take you back many years to when I was around six years old.

My school was taking us on a trip to a place called Hall I’th Wood. It’s an old Tudor House. We were told to dress up, so my mum dressed me as a maid. We were being given a tour of the upstairs. The room where this experience happened was called ‘The Star Chamber’. It was just a bedroom but with a fancier name. I was facing a big double bed that had curtains around it and four posters. The rest of my class were being led back down the stairs, but all I could do was watch. I could not move. I was rooted to the spot. Then, I felt this huge gust of breeze go past behind me. After that, I was able to move again.

When I turned around I saw white wisps in the air, which I believe to be the remnants of whatever spirit was responsible.

In the same building many years later, I was bent forward looking at souvenirs. I felt someone tap me on the back with one finger. It felt like a man’s touch. I looked around expecting to see my Grandad up to his old tricks, but everyone was on the opposite side of the room. I shrugged it off and went back to looking.

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My Grandad on my Dad’s side used to own a caravan in Conwy, Wales. I have many fond memories of that place but this one night will always stick with me. There is a beach attached to the caravan park site. You walk through the site, over the grass, and there is the beach. One night, we had taken a stroll on the beach and were walking back.

As we were walking over the grassy hill, I felt the most intense urge to look to my left. I have never felt anything like it. Naturally, I obliged. What I saw will never leave me. It is still something we talk about years later. I saw the fully black silhouette of what appeared to be a witch. She was floating and her arms were outstretched in front of her like a zombie. She was also running. It appeared that she was running from someone. There are public toilets that are closed off and they were in front of her. There was a flash in there, and she disappeared into it. I believe that it was a portal. As all of this was happening, I notified my cousin who was next to me and he told my Grandad, and we all stood, mouths agape, just in total awe.

We always talk about that night. Nobody would have believed me if it wasn’t for the fact that all three of us saw the same thing.

I did a bit of digging last year about witchcraft in Wales. I tried in the past but never found anything. However, I did find an article about there being a spate of the occult, and ritualistic people, around Conwy in the 1980s/90s. According to the article, these people were messing with things they shouldn’t and conjuring dark forces. I assume that there is more to this story going back centuries, but I could not find anything.

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Moving on to the more psychic side of things, I once had a vision. It was a vivid vision and it came true within seconds. I was stood on my porch at my Grandad’s house. (The same Grandad from the witch story.) He was with my cousin and they were trying to start his motorbike. As I was watching, it felt as though someone had covered my eyes and I was inside my head watching this scenario play out. I saw my Grandad start the bike and it started to move off. My Grandad then fell off and rolled onto the driveway. I quickly came back to reality to then witness exactly what I had just saw. I believe my third eye was responsible for this.

This story is about a psychic dream I had. My mum planned a day out for me and some of my close family. We were going to this shopping centre on a bus. We hadn’t been there on the bus before, only by car. The bus station has letters corresponding to different points where certain buses pick you up and drop you off. We knew the number of the bus, but we had no idea which stand it would be. We figured that we would just see when we got there. I had not yet picked out my outfit for the next day and went to sleep.

I had a dream that we got to the bus station and I was pushing my cousin in his pram. The rest of my family were running towards the bus. I look up and the stand is ‘R’. The next day rolls around and it dawns on me that I am pushing my cousin in his buggy. I see my relatives running for the bus and I see the letter for the stand… ‘R’. I look down and notice that I am wearing the exact same clothes from my dream.

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Finally, I bring us to my last and most recent story. This is also the scariest experience I have had. My mum was driving us home after we had been out for the morning. There is a point where one side of the road veers off to another direction. The car in front of us all the way to this point had been very slow. As this car was going away from us, I glanced over to see who was driving the car. What faced me was inhuman. It was a deformed face with these bulging eyes. It was not someone with a condition but something entirely different. I could see the whites of its eyes. As soon as I looked at it, I felt as though I needed to look away. It scared me. As they were going further, I looked again to see if I was mistaken. It had gone. All I saw was an empty seat and then the legs of the driver on the other side.

I continue to have many weird experiences and I believe I do have psychic abilities. These experiences fascinate me, and I love reading and hearing about things that others have experienced. Aside from the last experience, I have never feared these spirits. I acknowledge them and peacefully carry on. They have shocked me yes, but it just feels normal to me. It is my reality I suppose.