Black Apparition

I am a police officer with a major Northwest American agency. In 2000 I was working a 10 pm - 6 am shift in a one officer car. I was dispatched to back another car which had two officers (a rookie and his Field Trainer) on a residential burglary in-progress, in a remote farm area. The residence was a large, old, three story house with a very large unfinished basement (so four levels altogether and a very unusual design for the NW) and was situated at the end of a long dirt road (1/4 mile) that was gated and locked at the road entry.

The caller was a 15 year old girl who was babysitting her younger sister and a neighbor child (both about 8). They were in an upstairs room playing and heard several large crashes downstairs. They called 911 (could not reach the parents' cell phones). While on the phone with the dispatcher they began to hear heavy foot steps coming up the stairs. The steps would stop near the top and then begin again at the bottom. Both I and the other unit were a fair distance from the area and we were both running "code" (lights/sirens) for about 10-15 minutes to get there. While enroute the dispatcher was updating us via our radios about what was happening as she talked with the children. The dispatcher said the kids were extremely frightened, crying and that she (the dispatcher) could hear the crashes and the heavy footsteps coming over the telephone line.

I arrived at the gated dirt road about 1 minute ahead of the other unit. It was dark and therefore I could not see the house from the road. I also could not get the gate open, so when the other unit arrived, the three of us jumped the gate and started on foot towards the house. The dispatcher told the children we were coming and the kids decided enough was enough. They left the house by a back stairwell and window and at a full run they met us about half way down the road. We directed them to a neighbor who was awake and curious about the police activity and then continued to the house. The house had a huge front bay window (about 12-15 feet high and about 15 feet wide). About 50 yards from the front door I could see into the lit house through this window. As we approached I saw a black figure, the height of the window, and about 5 feet wide, shaped like the "grim reaper" black robe (head, shoulders, body) move into the window, look at us for a few seconds, even though we were in the darkness, and then it disapeared. I actually "felt" it looking at me. I was shocked, stunned, amazed. I didn't say anything at first until one of the other officers asked if we had seen that. We entered the house and heard an immediate crash in the basement. We ended up checking the whole house and never found anything. There were no other unlocked exits except where we entered and the girls left. Our rookie was blocking the door to prevent an escape as we checked the remainder of the house.

I've never been back there, but I know the family moved shortly after that.

[edit on 2/8/07 by Valhallas Butler]

Thats one hell of a story. Have you looked into the history of the house? the builder? past residents? what the land was previously used for?

that might provide some clues as to who or what that thing was and why it was bothering the residents.

Val--

I'll give this one a bump--need to get some of our Paranormal people in here. Agreed, heck of a story, Val. I haven't a clue what you saw, but I know dam well you saw SOMETHING, and it wasn't normal. I've had some experience with Dark Apparitions before, but they have always been more or less formless--not like the one you saw at all.

Was it black in the sense that is was NEGATIVE energy (vacuum sucking not like evil just opposite of matter which is slowed down light - a black hole basically in the form of a Led zeppelin album cover?)

To Ed and All-

Thanks for the interest and the replies.

ISO- I have not checked up on any of the items you suggested, although I have often considered following up (privately of course). The night this happened we were able to finally get in touch with the homeowner (the father of two of the girls). He was less then happy over the whole incident. He wanted either a bad-guy in custody and ready for punishment or to be told his daughters had either spooked themselves or made the whole story up and were ready for punishment. He did not want to be told we saw "something" that was not sitting in handcuffs right then and that his daughters were probably right in being terrified and calling 911.

I also have issues with going back to the present owners and saying "Let me tell you a story about your house..." and maybe disrupting their lives. I have kept my eye out and as far as I know there have been no other 911 calls to that residence. Of course, that does not mean nothing is going on, just perhaps not being reported.

Queen- This shape was black like a shadow is black with no light coming through. Just absolute black. I don't think it was a "hole." After seeing it, the very first thing that entered my mind was that there was a guy in a black hooded sweatshirt standing in the living room. Then it disappeared and I realized just how big it was. The "head" touched the top of the window and the body went to the lower window sill. The "shoulders" had to be 9-10 feet high. I could see no features at all in the blackness but I am absolutely sure it was looking directly at us.

Originally posted by Valhallas Butler
ISO- I have not checked up on any of the items you suggested, although I have often considered following up (privately of course).

Of course, i wouldnt even begin to assume you'd persue this in a professional capacity, lest you be run out of your job.

I also have issues with going back to the present owners and saying "Let me tell you a story about your house..." and maybe disrupting their lives. I have kept my eye out and as far as I know there have been no other 911 calls to that residence. Of course, that does not mean nothing is going on, just perhaps not being reported.

again understandable. Imnot sure how i would take it if some guy came up to me with this story and told me it took place in my house. but how about an annon. letter with a phone number? that way if there are disturbances, at least these people wouldnt feel completely isolated and crazy. just a thought.


thanks for your story man. another one for the file.

be safe out there.

Umm,wait a minute,I seem to remember a thread about 2 months ago where a police officer and his partner arrived at a break in and saw something exactly the same,a large black figure that charged at the 2 officers to run out the door but the Officer fired a shot that went right through it's body and the bullet only hit the wall.He says he did not miss ,the bullet just passed right through it.Then the shadow vanished outside.are you the same police officer or is this some new alarming situation starting to happen in peoples houses?

I would be interested in reading that thread if you could find it. Today is the first time I have ever written anything on ATS. This week is the first time I have read anything from ATS. So to be clear the "shooting" incident was not me, nor either of the two officers I was with (unless one of them GREATLY embellished the story). That leaves your alarming trend to consider.

I will try to dig up that other thread ,this is getting spooky now if that other thread was a different police officer.I want to go lock all my windows and doors....

Ok found it,top of page#4 here...
www.abovetopsecret.com...

[edit on 8-2-2007 by mistr_b2]

So do you know this other Officer boaz1234? of course he could be anyone since we don't know anyone's real names in the forum.

[edit on 9-2-2007 by mistr_b2]

I remember the other thread too. Checked the date of this thread's OP, to make sure it wasn't a different version of the same story, in fact.

Seem to remember the other guy copped a fair bit of sceptical questioning from other posters, re: official investigation into the bullets he claimed he'd fired at the entity (described by him as utterly lifelike in appearance).

I just re-read that other thread and at the end I get the feeling it could be a hoax as he did not want to answer any questions that would make his story credible.This new story sounds almost the same but who knows he could be really a different guy with a true account of what happened.

I just read the thread provided concerning the shooting. It certainly wasn't me or the two others I was with. The facts of the story are entirely different. I am providing you a story of what happened to me. The option to believe is yours, obviously. If you have questions concerning my incident I will try to answer them, if you have comments, I am here just for that reason. I am not going to waste effort trying to prove I am not another "poster."

Ok you sound like you are sincere,it is freaky because I myself ,have seen a weird old lady with black eyes that made me question my beliefs of what is real in this world.If this kind of shadow thing is really entering peoples houses,what is it that they are after?Damn spooky.

Through the ages of 11 to 13 I used to wake up at night to a black cloaked figure, about 3 feet high. It didn't ever give any clues as to its' gender, but I knew it was male.

It used to walk up and down my hallway, passing my open bedroom door as it went. Back and forth it would go, walking up and down the hallway, never stopping at my doorway, although I knew that it was there to contact me. The hallway light was always left on, and it was indeed a black shadow entity.

One night, as I lay in bed, the horrible happened. I had been watching the entity pass back and forth for about an hour, and then it stopped, suddenly, at the entrance to my bedroom.

I knew this wasn't good, for it gave off a sinster energy that I can only describe as sickening. It then proceeded to float, with determination and patience, into my bedroom. As it got closer to me, the sickening feeling got stronger. Just as it reached the foot of the bed, I whimpered silently, and threw myself under the bedsheets.

I stayed under there for the rest of the night, afraid, tired, but not prepared to leave the safety of the sheets.

The next morning I told my grandmother about it, and she told me that because I had spoken of it, it would go away.

She was right.

Hi there, I will add my knowledge on this subject, it's not much, but hopefully a start for you. Check into a phenomena called Shadow Men. I'm not sure what all the characteristics are, but some sound just like what you describe. My own experience with this entity looked quite different, in that it was see through dark matter, but there are many different cases. If I recall, Shadow Men are often reported wearing hoods/hats. There are some threads on ATS or you could Google the topic to come up with some interesting material. I hope this helps you to find a begining to some answers you seek.

Scary story too, by the way. If you find any history on the house, let us know. That could be interesting to see if it originated from something in the past. Also, before this encounter, as far as you know, did the family or past families ever report anything weird. You might try looking up old police records on the home to see if anything had been reported in the past. Good Luck.

I had a "vision" about 10+ years ago working security from 12AM-8AM one evening. Driving in to work, it was pouring, pouring rain. I had to drive about 35 mph on the highway it was so bad. Just before my exit (in a semi-rural area), there was a lightning flash, and for some reason I instinctively looked to my right. Off in the highway easement there was an enormously tall man, weather an old leather duster or trenchcoat, a broad-rimmed hat, deep-sunk "dark" eyes, and a very long, heavy, but pointed beard that went down close to his belt. He just stood there with his arms hanging down and crossed at his waist, clasping his hands together. He was just standing there. I had a chill and thought it was "Old Scratch". He rather looked like a cross between Rob Zombie and "The Undertaker".

A friend of mine told me a story from when he was a kid. His parents were going through a divorce, and stayed at the home of one of them one weekend. The home had a finished basement used as a playroom, and he fell asleep on a couch down there. He said he woke during the night and saw in the middle of the room, a little man (described as an "evil-looking Lepruchaun"), just looking at him, leaning on a table, and grinning wickedly and being totally luminous in a purple light. He described the smile of the vision as being abnormally large and wide, and the thing had more teeth than a human would. He closed his eyes, thinking they were playing tricks on him, and upon reopening and rubbing his eyes, the thing was still there. He then said he got up, approached, and touched the vision, where it thereby vanished. My friend described it in such detail I remember the story very vividly.

I second what dirty_underground said.

Being a policeman you could easily research the house. Whatever you don't find in your records could be found at the library or in city records. You could also talk to neighbors without bothering the new owners. Neighbors that have been there for a long time may know quite a bit. Do you mind mentioning the town? Did you know the area well?

You say there were big crashing sounds but don't mention if you found any damage, broken property, etc...

Is there any possible way that the image was a reflection or projection? Is it possible that there are hidden passageways in the house? It sounds like a house that would possibly have a hidden room or two just by the sheer size and description.

I have awoken before to have what appeared to be a black shadow zipping up and out of my room. It made a noise as it left. It's like it didn't want me to see it.

The only other thing I could come up with as an explanation was something casting a shadow from my night light over on my dresser, that's where the noise came from.

It's not the only time I have awoken to odd things.

Troy

I will follow this up with some research on the property, previous owners etc. I cannot use any police records that are not subject to the FOIA for obvious ethical reasons. But I will do what I can and post it all.

Was there damage from the crashes? None that could be seen in the upper living portion of the house. This was a large house and the girls were on the upper floors. The crashes came from the lower floors but were loud enough to be heard over the phone lines in the bedroom the girls were in. There were no signs of forced entry to the house at all and nothing was out of place or broken.

In the basement there were piles of lumber, tools, etc that makes me think it was being used as a project room. But again, beyond the clutter there was nothing really wrecked. Maybe some of the piles of lumber could have been knocked over, but the crash we heard did not sound like lumber to me. Next question...what did it sound like? I don't know. Not lumber, but a loud bang. Maybe a door being slammed very hard.

This house looked old, but I do not think it actually is. The design is unusual for the NW. It was a design I have seen often in the NE states, but not here. Also, the basement was what I have always considered to be a root cellar. Many smaller rooms off off a larger area. The rooms would have been cool and dark in order to keep potatoes, roots etc. Basement are unusual out here because of the high water tables in the soil. This was the first and only "root cellar" I have ever seen here. This design leads me to believe it is not a true "old" house, only built to look like an older NE home.

Could the shape have been a reflection? I don't think so. There were no other "people" shapes in the area except for us. We actually stood at the widow after checking the house, talking about what we saw. We tried to re-create the shape with house lights, porch lights, flashlights, everything we could think of and nothing came even remotely close. This shape was not amorphous. It was a head, shoulders, body (no arms). It looked at us. The only outside lighting at the time was from a barn about 100 yards away from the door and the light was so dim as to not cast any light as far as the house. No moon, no cars, no motion lights, etc.

Do I know the area well. I live about 20 minutes from there. Never heard of anything out there. We have a local town nearby that has a "haunted" graveyard. Stories of old miners etc. But nothing like this, and no known connection (I'll research that though). No other information exists on this particular house concerning paranormal activity before or since, that I know of.