From: Ashley
Date: March 6, 2021 at 12:17:39 PM MST
To: The Official Shadow People Archives
Subject: My experiences.

I live in Canada and I grew up here. Growing up I was not surprised to see spirits or be able to sense them. I'll start off with smaller experiences then end with the experience that I think was the best out of them all.

When I was a kid, my family and were driving home late at night.. I stared out the window but was too young to understand what I saw. I noticed in a dimly lit field a black figure of appeared to be running when I saw another little taller shadow running after the first. The second one grabbed the other's arm and spun the first shadow around. It raised a hand up holding something that was hard to make out only to slam it down onto the first before they both vanished.

The first had appeared in a terrified stance, leaning back as if trying to get away. They looked like thin black human shaped beings. One was definitely aggressive and the other terrified.Years later, I began to wonder if I had seen someone reliving their last moments alive. I didn't remember the exact spot so I couldn't try to look it up. I just remember it looked like somewhere out in the countryside.

My next experience: As I became pretty much a teen, I enjoyed going for walks just for the sake of walking. I even would listen to music. There were two times I saw dark mysterious figures on the walks and once when it was more "ghost" than shadow.

One was pretty minor. I was walking around the side of my junior high at night, when around a shed, dark huge bulky looking humanoid shadows rose up from the ground and stood around. They had eyes like holes in their heads as they seemed to stare at me. I left the area right as soon as I saw them.

My other walking experience with actual dark shadow people was at another school a little past my junior high. I was using a path that night; sometimes I walked this path during the day and other times at night as a short cut to get home. It usually was okay in the area during the day. That night was different. I was tense and sensed something terrible, like dread. I felt so terrified that I turned off my music to listen for footsteps. I was ready to bolt. I kept glancing behind myself looking for any sign of danger or anyone. No one was seen until the last time I looked back. At this point I froze for a second or two. Scattered behind me was a group of dark figures standing there with wide stances as if being threatening. I could feel eyes on me. They just appeared out of nowhere during the short time between glances. They were standing in the field by the sidewalk with wide spaces between them as if to cover as much ground as possible. Some were closer to me and others, further back. All just looking like people just standing there. I was terrified out of my wits and took off running. I didn't hear them chase me and when I stopped to catch my breath, I glanced back. No one and nothing was there.

For my walking experiences, this last one is more ghost than shadow. I was walking along a path past some have houses and a completely different school. I was heading towards a spot where, across the street, is a bar. I was gonna turn to head home when, suddenly, I felt this huge urge to look behind myself as if, something that shouldn't be, was there. So I glance back and saw a head staring at me from behind a car. The head was perfectly "sideways" and there was no indication of a body attached. The main thing I remember about it was it was white with brown or red hair. My instincts made me run as I felt like I was in danger. I took off running and just in case it was a person, I kept looking back. The head remained in the exact same position and height off the ground. Even though I looked back enough times that it wouldn't have time to try to hide again, it followed after me. Sometimes it'd even skip cars between each time I glanced back. I turned the corner heading towards a gas station just further down the road where I again turned and glanced back. The head was behind a sign for some apartments or homes since there was no cars parked on the side of the road. Then it vanished and I never saw it again. Was still very terrifying though.

And now the best experience that I saved for last. This was still in my teen years. Me and my family took a trip to the US as a vacation. We traveled around in a rented car to a different spots in certain areas like San Diego. One of the stops we made was to Alcatraz where I got the only ghost photo I ever got as far as I know, however this isn't about that. I had gotten that one without realizing it and it was looking into an area we couldn't enter.

We arrived in one area where we had to wear hard hats. I don't know how my parents convinced a staff member to let us into this area they were getting ready for tourists to arrive, but they did. I was checking some pictures at the time they did it. So we went down some stairs to this area that was like a dungeon in my opinion. I was excited because it was probably a place I could get more pictures hoping to get something to show for being allowed there. That didn't go as planned at all. As soon as we got down there something didn't feel right to me. I got tense, felt fear and a great dread. I was so scared that I couldn't even lift my camera to take pictures. I was behind my family who were all happy and excited over it all. I only heard some of the stuff the tour guide said. No one living notice me falling behind but it wasn't a big area where I could get lost.

I kept seeing movements like shadows darting around. They darted as if hiding one from spot to another. I always saw it even if it was from the corner of my eyes or when I'd glance into doorless prison cells. Then right as we were approaching the end, I saw something that made me freeze. Just inside a cell was a black figure that was tall and very strong looking. It stood in kind of that old style cowboy stance; legs spread and arms a little away from the sides. It kind of made me think of a sheriff or a cowboy when I recall the memory. Then it opened its eyes and they were blood red. I actually met its eyes directly as I watched them open. I barely heard my mom call my name. I tore my gaze away to see that they were leaving back up the stairs. I ran after them and I didn't tell them what I saw. I never believed that they would believe me if I told them about the figures I'd see. Plus that trip to that lower area just made me want to forget it. But I couldn't.

Then years later I was watching one of the Ghost hunting programs. I think it was Ghost Adventures, actually I'm pretty sure it was. At that time I was all about the Ghost hunting tv shows. They spoke about a black figure that had red eyes that was reported as being seen by prisoners. I felt like I was left in shock at that moment. Remembering what I had seen myself. It was quite the moment. And I doubt I'll ever forget my Alcatraz experience.

As I became more of an adult, I had less experiences because, by then, I had become more focused on school and work but know what I saw and experienced. I've had people who believe me and people who didn't. Whatever your opinion on that is, I know what I experienced was real