The Scariest Few Seconds Of My Life

I should have submitted this story years ago, as it is still the most blatant paranormal experience I have ever been through. I was speaking with a friend I was with when it occurred yesterday, and this reminded me I have to submit it now before my memory decreases further. I can't put an exact date but this happened approximately 5-7 years ago, just at the start of when I began to join a paranormal group. However this happened not during an investigation, but during a drive with my friend - in my car.

Right, just to paint some kind of a brief picture. I used to live in a village called Capel-Le-Ferne, I had spent maybe 19 years of my life since birth - there. It was a small village with roads linking to the nearest two towns. There were also lanes which linked one town to the village. These lanes stretched for miles and were many that linked with each other; there were very few people around for obvious reasons, during the day or night. The odd farm house, the odd car going between towns, and the very rare person on foot who I guess didn't have enough money for a taxi. At night you would never see people walking these lanes, they were very deserted. It was very rare to even see someone on a bike. So, having lived in the village on the outskirts of these lanes for so long, I was very used to driving down them.

I have now moved to a town 3 miles away, but since then I would often drive there with my friend, as I would let him drive my car there sometimes (He would only drive a few hundred metres, and knowing the lanes off by heart I trusted myself in trusting him). Often we would use the lanes to go between towns, as it was the scenic route so to speak. This time, we were doing exactly that. Only we had no real destination. I have never been scared while in a car in any parts of these lanes - I have on foot, but that's natural.

Right. So I let my friend drive the car... Which was fine, I knew where he was going to stop and it was basically one straight road with 2 corners and then one road he had to turn into. This is when something strange began to happen. I could not understand it, he was driving, and when I sat down and he began to slowly accelerate to 30mph, I began to get a feeling that something was in the area. I didn't put it to paranormal or anything... Just, something. The weird thing is that it only happened in one area of the lane. It was so bad that I could not look further than 1/2 metre in front of the car, I found myself staring at the road in front of the car, almost too scared to look anywhere else. I couldn't understand why I felt this way in a road I had been down so many times, for so many years. Suddenly, as my friend drove past a certain tiny road (a road that led to a dead end, where a farm was situated at the far end) once past this road it all lifted. The feeling of which made me so stiff in my chair, hairs raised, that left me motionless and staring only in front of the car lights, disappeared in a flash, and I felt fine. I didn't know what/why this happened, I couldn't even assume it was myself. I kind of knew it wasn't, but couldn't put a reason or explanation to it. I did not mention it or anything, and since feeling fine after driving past this side lane, I soon forgot about it.

It's a feeling I have never had before, or since, only it is the first time I've ever truly been somewhere and the only thing I could think was that I do not want to be there, that I shouldn't be there, that something is waiting for me. That's how I felt. I dreaded every second; it was the only time in my life that I could truly define the meaning of dread. Ok, so he drove past this side lane and it lifted, in the flick of a finger. Which was so so so weird, considering we were miles deep into these lanes - in the middle of nowhere. He drove on, I didn't mention it to him, nothing about how I felt, and once I got back in the driver's seat I didn't think another thing of it. We soon parked up - still in the lanes, but in an area we would often sit and stare at the stars, it was so hidden and away from the world we would often visit there and just smoke a cigarette before continuing on pointless journeys as we liked to do while driving. We sat there, smoked, talked about random crap... And then after about 30 minutes decided to drive off. I was driving now; I decided to take the same road back that we had come up. There were choices but I had honestly forgotten how I felt earlier, despite it being so unusual and, uneasy on the mind. I began to drive, slowly... No more than 25mph. What happened next was something I have not come close to experiencing in many paranormal investigations; it was so blatant it was just unbelievable.

As I approached the side lane that I spoke of earlier, of which when my friend drove past the 'feeling of dread' instantly lifted. As I approached this lane, (which was now on my right, closest to me)... Something appeared in the middle of it. It was so bright I had to shield my eyes and squint. I could almost not look at it because I felt it was going to jump in the car, it reminded me of the shape of the evil killer in scream when he is chasing the victim. With the arms in the air and in attack stance. Later I talked with my friend and we both think that while the arms are like that, the arms could also be in the position of someone who was trying to stop themselves being hit by a car, while being alive. I am not sure. But never have I thought in my life that something is within any moment about to 'get me'. It was a silhouette shape, with no head and no feet or hands, just the outline of a body up to the neck and down to the ankles. And completely see through. Its arms were in such a fashion that I thought whatever it was was going to jump into the car and attack me, they were not by the sides of its body but sort of up and at weird angles (the arms). I could barely look, but at the same time I could not look away. I froze while driving. Stiff as a board. This was so close to me I did not feel safe, at all. I was so sure it was going to at any moment attack me that I just kind of waited for it... But it never happened. I didn't think to stop on the brakes, nor did I think to accelerate, I just continued at a slow pace, staring forward preying that this thing would not get into the car.

I knew what I had seen, only I didn't want to mention it to my friend as I wanted to hear what he had seen - if anything, so I could be sure that I myself had seen it without us both kind of agreeing with each other. I looked to my left and drew somehow a very clam face, I don't know how - I was not calm. I looked at my friend, my friends jaw was almost at his feet. I acted calm, said nothing - other than "what, what's up?" as you would, if you saw someone who's bottom lip was touching the floor. I basically wanted to know everything he saw, without giving any hint that I too had seen it, this was for my own verification. I knew he had seen it obviously the moment I looked at him, I had not seen this look on his face before, and so I continued acting as if I was surprised as to why he was in such shock. I asked him to explain to me what had put this look on his face of which I have never seen him produce before (or after).

He said that, he saw a silhouette shape, so so so bright, in the middle of the side lane we passed, in the air just about 6/7ft in the air. No feet, no head, and the arms were in a weird shape. He said that he stared at it while it just appeared, and disappeared, as we drove past. Of course, I'm driving, so I cannot watch it disappear unless I hit the brakes, and I was frozen, so just kind of rolled on. I saw it appear but not disappear. He saw every second of its appearance and disappearance. I'm so glad that I didn't let him know I had seen it, that I questioned him as if I had no idea as to what he had just witnessed, because every exact detail (more than I can write here now, as it's been a long time) was exactly what I had seen. The shape of the figure, the way its arms were - everything. He even done the shape of the arms, which was exactly what I had seen.

His response was, "Ad, WHAT THE **** WAS THAT". He said, I don't believe in ghosts, I never have... But, that had to be a ghost. I said yes, it was.

I had not stopped to think that previously I had felt something while driving up to/past that lane that night. Something that made me feel unwelcome, or aware of it. Something that made me feel dread. It was only later that night which I realized the feeling was indeed linked with the occurrence. I know it was, because I have driven that lane maybe 150 times. I have been in passenger cars in it, and on foot/bike. And I have never felt anything like that, and I know nothing can cause it. So since that day I realized I had to be sensitive, and I know now that I am - yet still I don't know how much.

Sorry for the bad explanation, but it was a while ago.

We drove on for some time, thinking/talking, and he was never a believer in ghosts but he is since that day (my friend). 10 minutes later we realized we was still driving aimlessly through these lanes, to which I agreed to his suggestion to "get the **** out of these lanes". It took us a few months to dare to drive up there again. I have taken a sensitive friend there, who claim that they feel things, and I have been there alone since, but it took a while to do that (I don't know how I got the courage for that at midnight either... Considering the nearest main road is probably about 2 miles drive away (but hey, we only live once).

I have checked many times in both dark/daylight as to what could possibly cause this. Nothing can, it appeared in the centre of the side lane as we drove past, in the air. Nothing could reflect it or make what we saw appear so close to us. I knew that anyway, but being a paranormal investigator as a hobby sort of thing, it's something I have to do... To check for any possible cause. So I tried to rule out anything and everything, but there was nothing to rule out. There was a farm house far away at the end of the road, but this happened less than 2mtrs away from my car, very close to my side window. There was nothing there other than tarmac and a bush separating the field from the road. I can't express that enough, that feeling. That I felt it was going to get me.

Later, upon reflection, knowing how often I have driven those lanes at stupid hours, I must be one of - if not the most common user of them. Most probably the latter. I have this feeling that it decided to show itself to me, seeing as I have drove up and down that lane in particular, including letting my friend drive there. I guess that if anything wanted to be known it was there, I was a candidate, seeing as it would see me drive there and pretty much nobody else during dark hours.

It was the scariest moment of my life, and I have seen/heard/felt/experienced many paranormal things since, nothing compares to the fright it gave me. Sorry that I didn't write the story as well as I could have, or as well as I did write it on another ghost website, when it first happened. Hope it's understandable this time as the MOD didn't understand it last time I wrote it, but I wrote soooo much trying to explain every detail, it's probably not surprising he/she got confused.

Thanks for reading,

Adam.