The Paper Man

By inxsgal
(1 stories) (3 posts) (the author is a senior adult)
Date: 2016-07-21
Country: United States
State: Tennessee
Paranormal Category: Apparitions / Voices / Touches

If I am posting this in the wrong place I am sorry, but I need direction on where to find help with this.

About 10 years ago when I was around 42, my husband and I divorced and I was living in an apartment alone. It was my day off and that afternoon I decided to stretch out on the couch and relax for a bit. I turned my TV on and got comfortable. I looked at the end of the couch, at my feet, and there stood a small man. Well, I'm thinking it was not a man. He was very short, wore no clothes and had no hair. His left hand rested on the end of the couch and his right hand was near his face, with a finger on his cheek like he was studying me. But his skin! The only way I can describe it was like old parchment paper - wrinkled maybe and old looking. Not sure really how to give a description. I can remember no details about his face, it seemed like eyes were the only thing I was aware of.

I said in a low, quiet voice, "What do you want?" and he said nothing. Then I hissed very loudly like a cat - I have no reason why I had that reaction! Then I said, "Go away!" and he was gone. I was afraid to move and just felt cold and numb all over, my adrenaline was pumping like crazy.

For over a week I could not sleep in my own bedroom - it was at the very back of the apartment and I felt afraid to sleep there. I slept on the couch so I would be near a door. I was confused and terrified I might see him again.

It is 10 years or more later and I still feel terror and total fear thinking about it. It had a huge effect on me. I thought maybe I had fallen asleep and dreamed it, but I do not believe that happened. It is as real today as it was then.

I would like to know if anyone has had a similar experience. If I need to be directed to another site please do so. I just want to know I'm not crazy!

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Comments about this paranormal experience

The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, inxsgal, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will participate in the discussion and I need help with what I have experienced.

Mimi81 (203 posts)

8 years ago (2016-08-23)

Inxsgal, I hope you share with us any info you may find. You were right to listen to your instincts about not sleeping in the bedroom. I truly believe listening to our instincts is the smartest thing to do in any paranormal situation

inxsgal (1 stories) (3 posts)

8 years ago (2016-08-23)

Mimi 81, doing research on the land would be a good idea, thank you. I think my description wasn't a good one though - this was actually a duplex. It was a "shotgun" plan, and I believe it may have been an old house at one point. It was on a street with older houses As I mentioned, the hospital was a block away. I'm curious now as to the history of this place where I lived.

Rook asked about me sleeping on my couch where the incident occurred. I slept on the couch but did not sleep well for a long time. I slept with the tv on and a lamp also. I just felt like I had to be near that door. It was my only access in or out and I had a straight shot from that couch. As a said, it was "shotgun" style - all the rooms in a row, kitchen on front, then living room, a bedroom, a bathroom, then my bedroom at the end of a hall. For whatever reason I could not bring myself to go to the bedroom and sleep in the back. I had to be near the door. I'd had nothing happen in a bedroom, nothing to make me fearful of being there, no reason the couch was a better sleeping option. I just kept thinking I had to be able to get to that door if I needed to.

It's strange to talk about it and I'm so glad for the feedback. Like I said it's made me see it in a different way.

And Tweed, I did read the story you posted. It was similar and interesting. The only difference seems my "little man" was very solid and clear. All but his face which is strange to me. I don't know. I think I'll never know what he was. It's made me much more aware of how many people see things they can't explain.

Mimi81 (203 posts)

8 years ago (2016-08-23)

Inxsgal, thank you for sharing this. I think if you want answers to what you experienced you're probably going to have to do a lot of research. If I were you, I'd find out as much as I could about the land the apartments were built on. I think someone else was right when they mentioned a nonhuman entity. It wouldn't surprise me if you found accounts of weird things happening in the area around the building.

Sleeping on the couch makes sense to me. Your instinct told you what you had encountered was negative. Being able to make a quick exit was the smart thing to do.

rookdygin (24 stories) (4458 posts)

8 years ago (2016-08-23)

This incident happened on the Living room couch and yet you were afraid to sleep in your bedroom at the far back of the apartment? You were however able to sleep where the experience occurred?

Did something happen in another apartment that may have affected you in your bedroom during this time period? It just seems odd to me that you were comfortable enough to sleep 'on the couch near the door' despite..." I was confused and terrified I might see him again."

Or perhaps something 'bad' did not happen to you because you were on your couch rather than in your bedroom during this time. I am not trying to 'scare you' or freak you out but a spirit manifestation/visitation, if not residual in nature, usually has a reason for it, some basic reasons are they are looking for help, they are attempting to watch over you or they are seeking recognition just to prove they exist.

Thank you for sharing and welcome to YGS.

Respectfully,

Rook

Tweed (36 stories) (2529 posts)

8 years ago (2016-08-23)

Hi there Inxsgal,

With apparitions which have limited detail, as this one seemed to resemble papered skin with eyes, I wonder if what we recieve is a semi-manifestation of sorts. What I mean is this little dude may have more to his aesthetics than what he was able to manifest to you. Either that or he really did resemble paper, hey why not, there's probably entities out there that look like all kinds of things. I also wonder if your awareness of him was an accident, that he didn't mean for you to wake up and find him there.
There's been accounts on here of 'static people' apparitions which make me wonder about the role static plays in the universe and what we know about it through science/physics. So I wonder if the nature of these odd apparitions, be them static, paper, or anything else, is linked to our ability and the ability of the entity to send and receive information, either intentionally or not.
Here's a static person submission for some bizarre reason it reminds me of what you describe with the paper man.
Http://www.yourghoststories.com/real-ghost-story.php?story=21777

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. 😊

inxsgal (1 stories) (3 posts)

8 years ago (2016-08-23)

Well that's interesting. My Grandmother always read to me when I was a child and my favorite story was "The Elves and the Shoemaker". I still have the book she always read from.

At the time this happened I was going through a very difficult, emotional period in my life and I wonder if maybe this was a spirit or elf watching over me? Just a thought.

At least it has made me look at this in a different light, and my fear has been replaced by curiousity. I'm very glad I found this site!

shelbyloree (5 stories) (285 posts)

8 years ago (2016-08-22)

Rumpelstiltskin? He wasn't associated with any natural elements, in fact, he was a very industrial little Sprite, like the Shoemaker's elves.

Household (industrious) elves are called Brownies, I do believe, and people would leave food for them so they would stick around. Traditionally very lucky creatures. What they actually are, no idea.

There are quite a few in Brian Froud's illustrated Good Fairy/Bad Fairy book, in exactly the position you describe. Apparently if you make them mad, they'll tangle your horse's tail hair and twist its mane in knots.

inxsgal (1 stories) (3 posts)

8 years ago (2016-08-22)

Thank you for the warm welcome. After thinking about it Lady-glow may be right - I did maybe frighten him away, but I was frightened! Now I might find myself a little less startled and curious if I saw "him" again. And no, no woods or water around me. But there was a hospital a block away. Interesting. It helps knowing someone believes me. When I told a few friends they laughed and one suggested I had been "visited" meaning an alien encounter. But I had the feeling that wasn't it. It was all very odd but so real to me.

lady-glow (16 stories) (3194 posts)

8 years ago (2016-08-22)

Welcome to YGS.
First of all, you are NOT crazy.

Although I have never seen one, your description of this little man makes me think it was an elemental spirit of some sort, there are many other stories in the site about encounters with these spirits; perhaps knowing that you are not alone will help you to feel better.

Aside the understandable fear at seen something (someone) that 'shouldn't' be there, -what was your gut feeling at that moment?
It seems to me that the little guy was only curious about your presence and didn't try to make any further contact after you made it clear he wasn't welcome.

Could you be a little more specific about the location of the place? Were there any woods or body of water nearby?

There are many stories similar to yours in the site, I'm sure you'll get directed to some of them. Try looking the stories under the "non human entities" section.

I would suggest for you not to worry anymore after what happened ten years ago and accept the fact that you had an encounter with "the unexplained" side of the world... It was unsettling, but it seems that you were never in danger.

Thanks for sharing.

RANDYM (2 stories) (266 posts)

8 years ago (2016-08-22)

inxsgal,

First off welcome to YGS
And
No, you are NOT in the wrong place but in the perfect place.
This is a place where you can share your experiences without fear of ridicule. Millions of normal people just like yourself have experiences similar to what you describe. Seeing, hearing, feelings, etc. Things that don't seem like they should happen but do.
I think you will find a very happy home here with many folks like yourself who experience things out of the ordinary and want to share them in hopes of having a better understanding of what happened. While you may not find the exact answer to what happened to you, what you may find here is people having similar experiences that can offer you suggestions that might put it in better perspective.
While I can't give you an answer I would encourage you to check back often and feel free to continue to share as we all are only trying to understand things about this world that we don't currently understand or have answers to.

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