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The Scariest Fortean Thing Ever To Happen To You

I think EnolaGaia has got it.
I did wonder after his first comment that it might have been a touch of carbon monoxide poisoning.
 
Fortean things don't frighten me just make me curious,
except there is a noise I have heard it 2 or 3 times since
I have lived here about 25 years it wakes me at night and sounds like a
strange version of wale song, I do think it could be a marine
animal of some sort but it is a terrifying noise, I have made my mind up
that if it happens again I will go look only thing that stopped me last
time was I was concerned if the wife woke she would be on her own
and terrified.
 
Do people suffering CO poisoning and unconscious for 4 days usually wake up again at all (or do they just cark it)?

and if the boiler wasn't fixed, why wouldn't it have happened again immediately? It had snowed even more while Michael was 'asleep'. You'd not think that would unblock the blockage much.

I'm just angling for my fairy explanation. In a way.

oh what the hell, go for your pragmatic explanation :) It's probably more convincing.
 
Eponastill said:
Do people suffering CO poisoning and unconscious for 4 days usually wake up again at all (or do they just cark it)?
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I didn't propose it was CO poisoning. I proposed it was hypoxia, one cause of which (either sole or contributory) could have been increased CO in the house's atmosphere.

If the massive snowfall had covered the house sufficiently to reduce, if not prevent, fresh air intrusion the action of the gas furnace (fire, remember? ... ) would have been eating up the O2 whether or not it was additionally leaking CO into the house. Too much CO2 can cause one to be lethargic / sleepy and not necessarily be as fatally toxic as CO poisoning.

If it were CO poisoning and Michael had been seen by the doctor immediately, there would almost surely have been cyanosis. I'd have thought the doctor would have noted this, mentioned it to Michael, and it would have been a scary enough claim to persist in memory even 30 years later.

IMHO the key facets of the scenario are all animals in the house (Michael included) seemingly 'out of it' for a protracted period and the fact the doctor had judged there was reasonable cause to sample Michael's blood gas levels - not something one routinely does.

Eponastill said:
and if the boiler wasn't fixed, why wouldn't it have happened again immediately? It had snowed even more while Michael was 'asleep'. You'd not think that would unblock the blockage much.
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Michael59 stated the awakening happened after an additional 3 feet had fallen. Perhaps it had started melting (at least at some critical point where it had been blocking air). Perhaps a snow overhang or pile had collapsed to allow more air back in. Perhaps the outside temperature had risen to the point the furnace was no longer chewing up O2 faster than it could be replenished.

The massive snowfall apparently occurred after the last time Michael recognized having gone to sleep. The suffocating effects need not have begun as of Thursday evening circa 2330 local time (a reasonable bedtime). Both the snow and the oxygen deprivation could have begun after that point and had the effect of keeping her 'down'.

I also want to emphasize that I'm not sure Michael was really stone-cold 'out' the entire time. The bit about the flashlight being dead might well have occurred during a semi-waking interlude that the oxygen-starved brain couldn't absorb as a memory.
 
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Eponastill said:
that's what I thought
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I was thinking that too. I guess the dreams were just coincidence or.....

Maybe it was the fairy's that kept waking me up. Trying to warn me. :wink2:

By the way, Enolagaia, I'm a she, not a he. :p
 
michael59 said:
... By the way, Enolagaia, I'm a she, not a he. :p
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Sorry ...

I vaguely remember a recent form discussion about 'Michael' being a female as well as a male name, but I couldn't remember whether it was in relation to you.

I've gone back and edited my most recent post, ma'am ... :hoff:
 
Michael:

Have you ever been tested so as to indicate, or had reason to believe, you have a sleep apnea issue?

The restless sleep, repeated incidents of awaking with dramatic movements (by either you or the bedclothes), and a recurrent dream motif of trying to surface or take action against resistance (awake and turn on lights that won't light up) are all consistent with the experiences of people I've known with sleep apnea problems.
 
No, I've never been tested. Simply because I cannot sleep anywhere else than my own bed without heavy sleep aides. Even then it's very difficult. When I move homes, I'm unable to sleep in the new place for days.
 
min_bannister said:
I find this explanation more frightening than if it had been mere alien abduction or something. :pop:
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Agreed ... That's one reason I took the precaution of asking for additional info before presenting it. However, the additional info didn't knock any holes in the hypoxia hypothesis, which had turned out to be the only non-paranormal scenario I could think of that correlated with each one of the facts Michael had provided.

Annica2's sickness theory was something I'd considered early on, but it didn't explain why the pets seemed to have been out of it for the same period - at least not without adding in some additional speculation about (e.g.) having gotten up and taken care of the pets in a feverish delirium that prevented those actions from 'sticking' in memory.

Shifting to a more 'morbid' line of thinking was largely motivated by the doctor's push to test the blood gas levels. That's not the kind of testing one does without some reason to believe there'd been either noxious gas intrusion or a general O2 deficiency.

Anyway ... It's just a theory. If there's another one that hits all the stated factoids as coherently, I'd love to know what it is.
 
If the doctor suspected gas poisoning though you'd think he'd explain why and suggest having the appliance tested. It's an emergency. Also, the boiler wouldn't just go right on its own, unless the problem was with the outlet vents being blocked with snow which eventually melted. It would happen every time it snowed.

Everything else checks out though.
 
escargot1 said:
If the doctor suspected gas poisoning though you'd think he'd explain why and suggest having the appliance tested. It's an emergency. Also, the boiler wouldn't just go right on its own, unless the problem was with the outlet vents being blocked with snow which eventually melted. It would happen every time it snowed.

Everything else checks out though.
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I did live there for three years. It only happened the one time. To further complicate matters. The man next door was taken away by ambulance two days later. When I inquired as to why, his son said I think he has the same thing you do. He's been delirious for two days now so, we decided to get him to the hospital. His dad was in his 80's I think.
 
Could it have been that the snowfall had melted, and the vents were therefore free and so the O2 had increased in the house sufficiently to rouse you all? But it's a long time to be affected and not, as someone so eloquently put it above, cark it.

You were lucky...
 
Probably not a disease if it affected your pets.
 
catseye said:
Could it have been that the snowfall had melted, and the vents were therefore free and so the O2 had increased in the house sufficiently to rouse you all? But it's a long time to be affected and not, as someone so eloquently put it above, cark it.

You were lucky...
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Very lucky indeed, yes.
 
catseye said:
Could it have been that the snowfall had melted, and the vents were therefore free and so the O2 had increased in the house sufficiently to rouse you all? But it's a long time to be affected and not, as someone so eloquently put it above, cark it.

You were lucky...
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Thanks, Catseye. I guess we were.

One thing I can promise you all to be fact. There was no was snow melt in Jan. or Feb. that year. However, It could have been wind swept.
 
The only thing that concerns me about this explanation (ie, the hypoxia due to gases from blocked vents) is that surely the cats, having a much lower body mass) should have died, even if a human and a large dog survived?
 
I have been in the situation in which I had the flu and remember nothing about a few days, and I also live with animals. I think it much more likely that whatever the cause you were ill for a few days but did somehow manage to stagger u and deal with the animals sufficiently with no memory of it. This past winter I had something flulike for two days and did not eat or drink, I slept almot 24 hours. I don't remember anything. But I clearly got up for the bathroom a few times and drank some water. If your doctor suspected that you were passed out for lack of oxygen for four days I think you would remember the uproar about fixing the furnace afterwards. You would have told all your friends. And I agree about the cats, lower body mass and higher metabolism, and they would be pretty apparently ill if they did not drink for four days.
 
escargot said:
How kind of you to ask. :D

My house has a phantom drip, about which I think we have a thread hereabouts.

Something drips from the ceiling now and then. It's not water or bits of plaster - it's icy cold if it falls on you and looks like wallpaper paste.
It vanishes as it hits the floor or someone's head or, on one memorable occasion, a tray of Chinese takeaway food!

If ectoplasm existed I'd say our 'drip' fits the bill.

On that day, Nick had replastered the kitchen ceiling and we were standing admiring it when a HUGE glob of drip emerged from the ceiling, hung for a second and then dropped, splattering on the floor and immediately disappearing.

Nick assumed there was a leak from somewhere (as he was halfway through replumbing the bathroom!) but there wasn't - it was just the drip.

He did what others have done at my house - climbed up to feel the ceiling - dry - felt the floor - dry - and ran upstairs to check the taps - all off.

Nick was terrified. Took a LOT of persuasion/bribing to get him to stay. Then next day he got knocked into the bath! :lol:

Lots of people have seen and investigated the drip, including my younger son who is currently doing a PhD in particle physics. Not a gullible type of bloke!

The drip follows my elder daughter around and once appeared in Welsh campsite toilet. There's loyalty for you. ;)
I've even felt it on my head in a supermarket, then looked around and spotted her. Weird.
It has a particular appearance for her, which is described elsewhere on here.
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OMG!!
I have experienced the ‘phantom drip’!
Since my early 20’s, wherever I’ve lived I’ve been ‘dripped’ on - most recently just two weeks ago! The drip hits me on my face or head, always when I’m sleeping, and is most definitely liquid. My ex husband was also dripped on (and he was the most closed-mind, unimaginative, non-believing person EVER).
 
As drips will fall vertically, using a long straight stick and a plumb bob (or level) you should be able to ascertain just where it originated from.
 
INT21 said:
As drips will fall vertically, using a long straight stick and a plumb bob (or level) you should be able to ascertain just where it originated from.
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That’s the problem. The ‘drips’ come from thin air. No leaks. No condensation. No moisture. That’s the whole point of them being ‘phantom drips’.
 
So set up some kind of 'barrier' Sheet of newspaper etc at a known height above the landing zone. If it lands on the paper, move up until you reach the height where the drip no longer forms on the paper. If it still forms beneath the paper, Start writing that book.

p.s. Have you measured the humidity in the room ?
 
INT21 said:
So set up some kind of 'barrier' Sheet of newspaper etc at a known height above the landing zone. If it lands on the paper, move up until you reach the height where the drip no longer forms on the paper. If it still forms beneath the paper, Start writing that book.

p.s. Have you measured the humidity in the room ?
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You’re kind of missing the point.

The drip is like those others have posted about.

It‘s a random thing that happens very infrequently. The last time was a few weeks ago. Before that it had been many years ago in my previous home.
 
~pyewackett~ said:
OMG!!
My ex husband was also dripped on (and he was the most closed-mind, unimaginative, non-believing person EVER).
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Th former Mr Snail was dripped on. I believe it helped send him round the twist.
 
Not missed the point.

Bu if it is very infrequent then you're just stuck with it.

Always need to check all possible causes, no matter how unlikely, before bringing in the supernatural.
 
INT21 said:
Not missed the point.

Bu if it is very infrequent then you're just stuck with it.

Always need to check all possible causes, no matter how unlikely, before bringing in the supernatural.
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Of course.
Which is naturally what I’ve done.

I’m inclined to believe it’s something to do with nerve-endings....more a mental sensation rather than a physical one.
 
~pyewackett~ said:
Of course.
Which is naturally what I’ve done.

I’m inclined to believe it’s something to do with nerve-endings....more a mental sensation rather than a physical one.
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I have seen and heard it fall on a man's head, and he heard and felt it. He had his back to me and I had no time to warn him. No nerve endings there.
 
Maybe he saw it falling and thought ' this could be rather funny'.
 
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