What would it be like to know things before they happen?

Even though I’ve always found the paranormal world fascinating, I’m not very sensitive to it. I’ve had one experience (See my first blog post) but other than that, I haven’t witnessed much.

So of course it was very exciting for me when I received this story from one of my readers, Erica Chambers. Erica happens to be an empath and she’s had ghostly experiences her whole life.

Here are some of the questions I asked Erica:

HP: How often do you feel things or know things?

Erica: Well I've been an empath my entire life so it can be every day. I know my Omie & Opa (German for Grandma and Grandpa) are around me because I'm surrounded by butterflies. Knowing that gives me a warm feeling inside. Especially if I'm upset, I'll see so many butterflies around me it's unreal. 

HP: Is your being sensitive to the spirit world usually a positive thing or does it frighten you ever?

Erica: I've seen positive things such as if you have Deja-vu, that means you’re on your correct path in life.

I've actually seen my son who passed away in utero. He was a vanishing twin. My oldest son talks to him all the time.

One morning I had to get my son up for one of those super early school field trips. I saw a shadow form of him running to the bathroom. A couple of minutes later, I went into his room and noticed he was still asleep and in his bed asleep.

That was when I realized I’d just seen my baby boy "shadow" (that's what my son calls him).

Sometimes having the gift isn’t so great. For example, we had a ghost in the house we lived in in the basement. Sometimes you would literally run up the basement stairs if she was mad at you for some reason. You could feel it down deep. It can actually bring on panic attacks.

HP: What do you feel?

Erica: A house or object just doesn't feel right. They give off vibes. It's hard to explain. Kind of like an electric shock.

HP: Does the information you know come to you in thoughts in your head or do you see it like a movie?

Erica: Both. The worst experience I ever had was when I was in high school. I was in the marsh going through weeds all of a sudden I had excruciating pain in my knee I looked down and saw red.

Next morning, I find out a friend I grew up with since kindergarten was shot accidentally in the knee in a duck hunting accident.

Another time I flashed into the image of a black, four lane road. I'm going across it and feel myself suddnely sitting the roof of a car, then the hood as the windshield shatters. There was blood everywhere. I woke up screaming.

Then I get the call I already know is coming. My friend Ricky was crossing a four lane road. A woman who was playing with her radio plowed into him without even putting on the brakes. He hit the roof of his car, then the hood and lastly the windshield. He was only sixteen.

HP: How do you know the things you do?

Erica: I truly don't know. The gift is on both sides of my family. Three generations on one side and maybe two on the other. My son and I both have it. Everyone has a little bit in them. It just depends on how open you are, I guess.

I also can tell when people are about to pass over. I know when my sister (not by blood but by choice) is in pain, hurting, depressed, etc.

HP: How do you know when someone is going to pass over?

Erica: I get a feeling of urgency like I need to get there right away. Sometimes they have a smell that’s hard to describe. I can’t pinpoint an actual date that they’ll cross over. I just feel like I have to rush to their side. It’s this feeling that I have to be there. No matter what the cost is.

Especially when my Opa passed, he waited until his very last grandson was born. My mom and I got the next flight from New Jersey to Illinois and my aunt came in from Turkey. We all were there and he was half there. He was basically waiting for the good-byes.

Not a day or two later, I was finishing up a shower listening to music and my music paused.

He passed away. It was peaceful, He took one last breath then he was gone.

I also knew when my grandma on my father's side passed (she was also an empath and born on Halloween). I was in Illinois, visiting family, when I heard the phone ring. I didn't answer it because I already knew.

HP: What other experiences have you had:

Erica: Last August 2018, I was visiting my BFF in Bayville, NJ. I keep getting woken up at night by a creature of some kind. It definitely had four legs and was walking around my bed. I turned on the light but couldn’t see anything. So I went back to sleep. I heard it again and turned on the light but… nothing.

The next morning, I asked my BFF if anything died in her house. She said no but during hurricane Sandy, her in-laws stayed in the guest room. And they did have to put one of their cats down. I told her to tell them that the cat was okay and loved waking me up at night.

Then, as my BFF and I sat in the back yard, I started to get dive-bombed by dragonflies. And I was the only one. Again, I asked my BFF if her dog, Simba, liked to chase dragonflies. She said he only chased bees but her husband said he chased dragonflies too. I figured it was just Simba saying hello.

Thank you so much to Erica for her story and for helping me to better understand what it means to be an empath!

If you have a ghost story you'd like to share on my blog, please email me!