The Other Side

I have always thought that everyone has a spirit guide, or guardian angel that follows them around. Over the years I have had a couple of experiences that reinforce this belief.

*

Mind you this is rare, but sometimes as I'm going to sleep, I will hear a woman's voice. She sounds young and is always in my right ear, never my left. It's been several years since I've heard the voice, but last night I heard her again. The last time I heard her, she sounded like she was talking to someone else. I got the distinct impression it was another woman. I was drifting off to sleep very slowly. I heard her say "Oh look, he's falling alseep.", and then I did fall asleep.

*

This time, It was very late because I was up working on the site. As I was drifting off, I felt her next to me on my right side. I felt her lean in and breath a word on my ear. She said "Bill". She only said this one word but it carried with it such weight. I know a few Bills and I knew she was saying someone's name. But, I don't think that she would waste this oppurtunity to mention someone's name if it wasn't important. Like I said it's been literally years since I've heard her voice. I have an uncle named Bill that I care for very much. He is not doing well with his health and I had the disctinct impression that she was referring to him.

*

This post is for anyone who has heard these whispers. I'm referring to those odd moments in life when you hear someone call your name when no one is around or those late night conversations that can be heard when you're falling asleep. Any variations on this theme are more than welcome.

This is an experience that I had. At first I passed it off, until I heard a show on Coast to Coast am about the Chupacabra. In this particular show they postulated that the Chupacabra may be more insect-like in nature. Recently a man named Dub, who also lives here in Texas, posted a picture that looks very similar to what I saw. I sent Dub and email and the below portions are what I wrote to him and his wife.

*

One afternoon I was riding in a car going south on highway 183 in Austin. If your not familiar with this part of Austin, this was in 1999 and was under construction at the time. Just a couple of years earlier this area had been mainly trees and hill country. It was in the middle of Summer and very hot. My brother and roommate were in the front seat and I was in the back staring out the window. Traffic was kind of heavy and we were beginning to pass a grouping of trees next the highway. I looked up at the top of the trees (which was about 30 feet up). I saw something floating about 5 or 6 feet above the trees. At the time there were just a couple of businesses beginning to pop up in the area. Close to this group of trees was a small used car lot and I assumed what I was seeing was a group of black balloons or something used for drawing attention to the lot. I was about to pass it off, but as we got closer I realized it was something completely different.

*
I can only describe it as a creature 4-5 tall from end to end. It was jet black and had a little bit of a sheen to it, which is why I thought it was balloons at first. Its shape was almost exactly like a Cricket with its arms drawn up in front and its legs bent backwards like in your drawing. Although it wasn't horizontal, it was actually floating upright and vertical with its "face" staring towards the road. When I realized what I was looking at I got chilled. This thing was hovering motionless just above the tree line, perfectly still. I got the eery impression that it was overlooking everything. I have never seen something that was so real, yet so unreal and out of place. It remained completely motionless and did not waiver back and forth, even with a slight breeze blowing that day. I kept looking for some string or stick underneath that could be holding it up, but there was only empty space underneath it. As we passed by the trees I tried to get my brother and friend to look at it, and although we weren't going very fast, by the time I could get their attention we had already passed it. They never saw what I was talking about.

So, my first real post is about something that has fascinated me all my life. Over the years I have heard more than one person mention seeing a man in a black hat. Now, being from Texas you would assume that they've just been watching old Westerns. But, not so. This man is usually only seen when a person is falling asleep or at least letting their minds drift. I say it is a man because he is always described as one. He is always pale and there is never any mention of hair. He is always dressed in black, although the style of the clothes differs from person to person. This is the same for the trademark hat. The man in black has always worn a hat of some kind. It has been described to me as a cowboy hat, bowler, stovepipe, etc.

The man is always seen just staring at the person. I have never heard a story of someone getting touched or attached by the man. Most often he is seen standing at the end of a person's bead staring down at them. Although, I have seen many similar creatures in my day, I have never actually seen this one. But, too many unconnected people have devulged this story to me over the years for me to dismiss it as chance. Also, I am not so sure that this "man" is actually one man at all, but several. So, I leave this post open for anyone who has either seen this man, or know someone who has. I know I've always enjoyed this story, especially late at night.