Frightening Childhood Memories

I have had two unusual experiences, both involving shadowy figures, both seemingly male, and both that have haunted my memory for years.

The first occurrence happened in 1994, when I was a small child. I was living with my mother and father in an apartment complex in Virginia Beach.

Our apartment had a very long hallway extending from the living room to the rear of the apartment, where my bedroom was located. I can remember to this day, how long and dim that hallway was.

It was in the middle of the day, probably around 4 to 5 P.M. I remember distinctly that my father was home from work, and my mother was in an altogether different section of the apartment, either the kitchen or the living room. One of our apartment's two bathrooms was located on the left-hand side of the hallway. I was walking through the hallway to my bedroom, when I saw him. There was a tall, VERY tall figure of a man standing in the darkness of the bathroom. He was as tall as my father, who was 6'3, if not taller. He was dressed in Black and he was a very DISTINCT figure--meaning that these were not clothes upon a hanger. The figure had bulk and substance. I saw the outline of a man's body; his arms, legs, shoulders and most importantly of all, I saw the outline of his face. There was no light on in the bathroom, not even a nightlight, so I did not see any facial features or details, but I saw a very real male figure standing in the corner of the bathroom, shrouded in the shadows.

I stopped dead in my tracks and called out "Is that you, Daddy?" The figure said nothing and did nothing. Once I realized that this was not my father, I ran screaming. I immediately asked my father if he had been in the bathroom, telling him I thought I had seen him there. He had no idea of what I was talking about, shook his head and said "No." My parents seemed to think that all I had seen was a shadow, and I didn't persist. I already wanted to forget this frightful experience, but I was left shaken, disturbed, and left somewhat dreading that long, dim hallway.

The second experience happened 5 to 6 years later. Life had changed a lot between the two events. My father had passed away (cancer) and me and my mother had moved to a different apartment.

In this new apartment, my bedroom was attached to my mother's bedroom by a bathroom. The bathroom had two doors, one on the side of my mom's bedroom and one on my side, and when both doors were opened up I could see straight through to her room. I remember it taking a long time for me to get to sleep, as long as 30-45 minutes much of the time. Therefore, I would just be in my bed staring at the walls or ceilings, waiting for sleep to come. This night, I remember having a palpable feeling of fear, as if I was waiting for something bad to happen.

It happened.

I saw the dark, shadowy but again, DISTINCT figure of a man crossing my mother's bedroom (where she was sleeping) to the left side of her room, where a writing desk was located right in front of a window. He was walking so quickly, he was almost gliding. I know I should have woken up, called the police, screamed, done SOMETHING, but I was young and terrified. I pulled the covers over my head and hid, paralyzed with fear. I believe I didn't open my eyes again until morning, but nothing had happened. Nothing was stolen, we were both fine, so I did not mention it to her. I made myself believe it was just a shadow on the wall I had seen, and forced myself to forget about it.

I didn't want to accept it was anything "bizarre". However, I am now older, have long since moved, and have to come to believe that I DID indeed see something unexplainable. What I saw was a distinct figure, crossing from one part of the room to another. Shadows on the wall don't do that.

That is my story. Thanks for letting me share it.