Some of My Experiences With the Paranormal by Nikki Hilderbrand
The article, “Some of My Experiences With the Paranormal” by Nikki Hilderbrand, narrates personal ghostly encounters from childhood to adulthood as a ghost hunter. It recounts chilling events like spectral figures appearing in her home, her son recognizing long-passed family members from unseen photos, and paranormal activity in haunted locations like Gettysburg. Memorable incidents include being physically smacked by an unseen force at Little Round Top and a whispered interaction with a spirit named Brittany in her apartment. The piece captures a blend of family connection, personal experiences, and investigative intrigue.
I have experienced the paranormal since I was a little girl. I’d come in the house and they would just be sitting in front of me looking at me, kind of blankly as if to say, “Do you really see me?” So, being somewhat frightened to see a strange person in our house I went to my mother. I told her of what I had seen in the living room and she dismissed it and told me that I was just seeing things and to stop making things up. So, I kept telling myself, “they’re not real,” over and over again until finally they did not show up to me anymore.
After becoming a young woman, I became more and more interested in the paranormal to the point of becoming a “Ghost Hunter.” In doing this, people have taunted and told me I was crazy to be going after something that I can not see. However, I believe this is where I should be looking. I have had many different things show up on camera and have recorded some EVP during my years as a “Ghost Hunter.”
I have a 6-year-old son, Chase. Now keep in mind, my great-grandmother died in 1995, and my grandfather died when I was only 5 years old. Chase looked at me when he was about 2 years old and said “Mommy, I miss Grandma and Grandpa.” I told him that they are still here, thinking he meant my mom and dad; however, he did not mean my parents. He went through a photo album in which he had never seen (box in closet). He pointed at my Great-Grandmother and my Grandfather, whom he had never met while they were alive, and told me they were the ones he missed dearly. He would bawl uncontrollably and told me to put their pictures on his wall.
I have been to a few different places while “Ghost Hunting.” Gettysburg has been where everything usually happens to me. [It’s a powerful place, brimming with energy.] I was sitting by my friend on a rock in the middle of Little Round Top. We were there at night, and seeing was very limited. Knowing we each had a camera in one hand and a flashlight in the other, it was indeed odd for me to get smacked on my backside. This was an audible and painful smack. I yelled “Ouch!” and everyone started taking pictures of me.
At my apartment here in Frederick, things are always happening. For example, one evening I was putting together a puzzle and got frustrated. So, I let it alone for a little while and went to fix some dinner. I went back into the living room and found puzzle pieces thrown across the floor. When I walked in a piece came across to the other side of the room, as if had been thrown. I was there alone at the time.
My cousin Jennifer was staying over my apartment one evening. Everyone was sleeping when, all of a sudden, she becomes chilled (thermostat is OFF). Then, a little girl’s voice whispers in her ear, “My name is Brittany, what’s yours?.” My cousin felt the breath of the little girl, heard her, and felt her cold atmosphere that she brought with her. She immediately took out her EMF meter and the whole room was lit up in red. She couldn’t get back to sleep and immediately woke me up and told me what happened. By the time I got out there, my guess is that my cousin scared her and she left. Everything was normal again.
These are just a few of the stories that have either happened to me or someone close to me in the last 7 years in which I have been a “Ghost Hunter.” Perhaps I will write more for a later article.
SOURCE: v4 MGSA Oct 2003
