Sensing the unexplained when you can't see it

It began with linoleum flooring

ESP is an extra-sensory perception that some are born with. Satan cannot give spiritual gifts, but he can manipulate them. Those who don't yield their gifts to the Lord may find that spirits other than His Holy Spirit are guiding them. This gift outlined in I Corinthians 12, heightens awareness, although you may not see any paranormal activity. In the church, it's called discernment of spirits and the gift of knowledge.

In August 1975, my great-grandmother, with whom I shared a bed, was hospitalized. Anticipating her release, my mom and grandmother put new linoleum flooring in our bedroom. They chose a bright green pattern with flowers from a store on Hollins Road in Roanoke, Virginia, that is no longer in business. I never even knew the name of the company.

The image above is the building where we purchased the linoleum as it is today. The sunlight caused blurs and bright spots on the windows, but there is furniture, inside and outside of the building. In 1975, linoleum flooring rolls stood upright in front of the store. I assume no one ever stole them because they remained for many years after.

Strange encounters in my new home

We moved into the house in 1968, the summer I turned 10 years old, and I had frightening experiences in that bedroom. There was an old dresser that I dreamed about at least twice. Both times, I was smiling in the mirror when my mirror image grimaced back at me.

I began having night terrors within a week of moving, where I felt paralyzed and could not move or speak while I sensed an evil presence. Sometimes, I felt pressure, as if someone sat on the bed or touching my legs. This happened with my great-grandmother sleeping next to me.

I was so frightened I put Bibles and crosses underneath my pillow, but I never told anyone. When I tried calling out to Jesus during these episodes, it was as if my speech would not come out properly.

Unwelcome changes

One night, when I was 14 or 15, I woke up and looked out into the hallway. I was fully awake. I saw a ball of fire heading toward the back door and ducked underneath the covers. My grandma began sleeping in the bed with me after her mother died, and I don't recall anything happening after that, but I had later sleep paralysis occurrences at different homes as an adult.

I was 17 when my great-grandmother passed, and I still recall how the old linoleum was pulled up to expose a hardwood floor. As soon as the floor was bare, I felt uncomfortable in my bedroom. There was this sense that something had been disturbed.

Even when the new, fresh-smelling carpet was placed on the floor, I felt uncomfortable, as if we had made something unseen angry. I felt the same when I stood near a tree in the back corner of the house near my bedroom window.

The old house had only happy energy

My friends and I climbed a massive tree at my old home about 75 feet away. We also put a rope in it and climbed. This tree had a happy feeling, and I felt like I was heading to heaven when I stood on the branches. Birds would hatch their eggs in the tree, and I was sad when the tree and our old house were torn down after our move.

I used to go inside the old house alone and play the summer after we moved. I never felt anything except joy and happiness, with fond memories. This is why I believe something was attached to the property of the home we moved to in 1968.

Memories linger

After we moved to the city in 1979, the house we were living in was torn down. In 2021, I went back and stood on the spot where my home had been. The front yard, which had been filled with bright green grass and four-leaf clover, was practically bare.

Instead of warm childhood memories, I felt no longer welcome in this space, so I left. I saw nothing but the energy felt unwelcoming as if something was implying to me "Get out, you don't belong here anymore."

Each time I pass the building in the picture while driving, I recall how my great-grandmother died in the hospital and never made it home. I also remember my experience when the linoleum was nailed to the floor. I had that feeling a few weeks ago when I entered a Subway restaurant.

They were short-staffed, and I had to wait for my order. Everyone else seemed fine, but I had this cold chill and was very uncomfortable. I felt nothing when I entered the Pizza Hut and Kroger in the same strip mall.

Sensitives and perceivers

A former pastor's wife once taught about people who are perceivers; in our modern world, there are those called sensitives. Both describe individuals who can feel things and perceive what others do not. I don't care for labels; I am who I am.

I have friends who say they see spirits, but I am good with my sensory abilities. I have prayed that I don't see anything unless the Lord chooses to reveal it to me. I stay prayed up and take my grandmother's advice to heart. She said if I encounter anything strange, I should ask what it wants in the name of the Lord. If it's evil it will disappear.