Page 4 | AIBU to believe FIL time slip experience?

elsiesbonnet · 2023-10-15T19:06:44+00:00

FIL was round yesterday evening for dinner with his wife. We were talking about the Uncanny podcast & recent TV episode then he told us of two experiences he'd had in the same place a number of years apart. After I went & did some research & asked a couple questions today, he's told us of another experience he had in the same place that was similar to one of the other experiences but that happened when he as a child. I'm quite sceptical about paranormal type events I guess because I've never witnessed anything myself but am generally quite open minded. I don't believe FIL to be the type to make this sort of thing up & he was almost unwilling to tell us in case we thought he was crazy. He's never told anyone before. AIBU to think what he experienced could've been real? In one of the instances he interacted with people in the past, his recall was quite genuine & he had some significant detail that you couldn't just make up. Has anyone else experienced a time slip or some other paranormal event they couldn't explain? I'm intrigued!

Alltheyearround · 30/10/2023 16:33

Hilary Mantel details her uncanny experience as a child in her autobiography 'Giving up the Ghost'. In fact she had a few.

Brilliant book. Prefer it to some of her fiction, though I liked Fludd.

Looks like there's a collection of her non-fiction out as well.

CoffeeCantata · 30/10/2023 16:11

I would describe myself in exactly the same way as you have, OP. I'm a sceptic about the supernatural - a very rational person who isn't easily convinced.

But! 2 things:

I experienced what would be classified as poltergeist activity some years ago in our home. Won't go into detail here, but the whole family were affected and my both DH and I saw objects move (quickly and with force) right in front of our eyes. Plus other stuff.

We also had an experience which could only be described as telepathic.

WE are not 'wooooo!' in any way, and while I'll always happily listen to folks' experiences, I have a high bar for believing them. But I'm with Danny Robins - I don't think they are all lying - it's just whether what happened had any objective existence.

I always remember a quote from an interview with Hilary Mantel. Someone asked her if she believed in ghosts and she said 'I can't imagine that ghosts exist, but then the universe is not limited by my imagination!'.

MasterBeth · 30/10/2023 13:16

Mondaymorningtoday · 20/10/2023 13:09

I have told this story on Mumsnet somewhere before and would be interested to hear people's opinions. Several years ago, my sister and I were on holiday at a caravan site in Brynteg, Wales. We were walking back with food shopping, something we'd done at least once before without anything strange happening. But this particular day, the path that would lead to the caravan park seemed to go on forever. The path seemed much more uphill and much longer. We noticed a frog near a small, very dried up pond, and remarked it was a long way from water. Finally, we saw a woman with a sheepdog ahead of us who was turning into a lane so we hurried to catch up with her. She was astonished when we asked the way to the caravan park and said we couldn't possibly have missed it as it was a straight path, no turnings. So we headed back...and there was our caravan park complete with its ornamental pond (definitely not dried up!!!) at its entrance. So what happened??? Did we go through a time slip, was it ancestral memory (we discovered later that the path we walked along was an ancient drovers trail from Wales to England and Mum's grandparents were from Wales) or is there a more logical explanation? I know I didn't dream the experience as my sister remembers it too. I'm curious to know what everyone thinks.

My explanation is, you walked past the caravan park, missed the entrance, and walked back to it.

(And I am astonished at the arrogance of anyone who think it’s more likely that a supernatural time slip episode happened than you were a bit distracted and missed something!)

Yalta · 30/10/2023 12:55

GarlicGrace I never met my doppelgänger who was at a boarding school near to where I lived.
Given she was at school and I think she was about 10-12 years younger than me
I would have loved to have met her as I have a really mixed up heritage

It was the landlord of a local pub who noticed her first in the local shop. He told me about her and it explained a few instances where people had said I blanked them.

In the pub with dh and other friends one Sunday lunchtime I was carrying a round of drinks back to the table when this older guy stopped me and started shouting at me to get back to school immediately. I stood there with a round of drinks feeling really confused. The whole pub fell silent. The landlord stepped in and told him that I wasn’t who he thought I was and explained how he had made the same mistake.
I said I was too old for school. I have a job a mortgage and dh (who was with our friends finding it all really hilarious)

I think it was when I started talking that made him doubt himself as I have a distinct accent.

To this this day I don’t think that teacher truly believed that his pupil and I were 2 different people

sashh · 30/10/2023 09:39

MasterBeth · 16/10/2023 10:53

Yes, the whole of the Queen's Coronation - seven hours of it - was indeed repeated in 1977:

https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/841c6d489d7f465ba1ae7f85f88bca7d

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Thank you. I did try to find it but failed.

Dogeatdog · 30/10/2023 09:34

I had an elective c section with my daughter as my sons birth was bad so they used a spinal block . As I was lying there , I started to drift - just like I was fainting ( I used to faint a lot) but deeper . I couldn’t see anything but I could hear and I heard the nurse say she’s going then I felt as if I was walking in a park in autumn , kicking piles of leaves and smiling .I could hear the music playing in the theatre and the dr saying quick adrenaline and like a banging sensation in my chest and suddenly I was awake again

SurprisedWithAHorse · 30/10/2023 08:34

BMrs · 30/10/2023 06:10

Not a time skip but I had a very strange experience 4 years ago just after my second DC was born.

I was laid in bed with my DH beside me and baby in the Moses basket. I felt paralysed and my body was like pulled deep into the mattress and I could see particles of my body leaving to float above me. I was completely awake but felt calm and I remember saying in my head 'No, I'm not ready to leave' and attempting to shake my head until it just stopped suddenly. Totally freaked me out!

It's sleep paralysis. I've had the same. It's terrifying when you don't know what it is, but once you do it makes sense. Your body naturally paralyses itself during sleep to stop you acting out your dreams. It's supposed to click off when you wake but sometimes it doesn't, usually because you're not actually fully awake even though you think you are. And it brings about those very sensations and feelings. Hallucinations of fire are very common too.

That's why it stopped as soon as you managed to shake your head; the paralysis stopped and you woke fully.

I know how powerful and supernatural it feels, but that's what it is.

MasterBeth · 30/10/2023 08:03

BMrs · 30/10/2023 06:10

Not a time skip but I had a very strange experience 4 years ago just after my second DC was born.

I was laid in bed with my DH beside me and baby in the Moses basket. I felt paralysed and my body was like pulled deep into the mattress and I could see particles of my body leaving to float above me. I was completely awake but felt calm and I remember saying in my head 'No, I'm not ready to leave' and attempting to shake my head until it just stopped suddenly. Totally freaked me out!

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/parasomnias/sleep-demon#:~:text=Sleep%20demons%20commonly%20involve%20temporary,semi%2Daware%20during%20the%20episode.

Sleep Paralysis Demon: Understanding the Phenomenon | Sleep Foundation

Sleep demons have been described throughout history. Learn about these hallucinations, how they differ from dreams, and what you can do to prevent an episode.

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/parasomnias/sleep-demon#:~:text=Sleep%20demons%20commonly%20involve%20temporary,semi%2Daware%20during%20the%20episode.

BMrs · 30/10/2023 06:10

Not a time skip but I had a very strange experience 4 years ago just after my second DC was born.

I was laid in bed with my DH beside me and baby in the Moses basket. I felt paralysed and my body was like pulled deep into the mattress and I could see particles of my body leaving to float above me. I was completely awake but felt calm and I remember saying in my head 'No, I'm not ready to leave' and attempting to shake my head until it just stopped suddenly. Totally freaked me out!

justiceandtruth · 30/10/2023 04:38

Ah. It must just be the Baileys I’m drinking then giving me odd feelings 🤣

GarlicGrace · 30/10/2023 02:42

@justiceandtruth - No! I wonder how often this happens??

justiceandtruth · 30/10/2023 02:31

GarlicGrace · 16/10/2023 22:25

@mrsconradfisher, @Thehop, my youngest brother also had detailed 'memories' of his adult life, at age 3 or so. He said he was a farm hand, from his tales it would seem before the introduction of farm machinery. That could've been any time up to the 1950s, though. No idea where he got it all from - we lived in the industrial midlands, but I guess older people around us may have told stories from their more rural pasts. He doesn't recall this phase.

I have met my 'other self' and she made a huge difference to my life! She came in to my bar, ordered a drink and we both noticed we were nearly clones. So did everyone else there. We even had the same cackling laugh. We got talking, naturally, and turned out she worked in a field that really interested me. She gave me good advice on how to get started.

We even had the same - very unusual name 😮

I ended up in a career I absolutely loved, similar to hers. I never met her again but here's the glitch: lots of other people did meet her, thinking she was me. Naturally enough, they got miffed when I seemed to be totally blanking them and, if they called her by name, claiming not to know them. Many of these people were clients of mine; it was a problem. Worse still, it seems she had an alcohol issue (even more than I did) so I acquired a reputation for not being where I should have been - and actually was - getting loudly drunk with people who were not connected to my own job. It caused very real problems.

No fucker believed it wasn't me. I found her in a trade directory, but people will rather hang onto their first assumption than accept the unlikely reality. This went on for years. At times I even doubted myself, despite my printed evidence. I was ridiculously grateful when an old friend ran into 'other me' and said he was initially confused, but then realised her style of dress was out of character for me and he'd met my mystery doppelganger!

I did ring her direct line from the trade directory. Someone else picked up, offered to get her, then came back saying "She doesn't want to speak to you and asks you not to call again." Left my number just in case, but nothing. It's an uncanny story all right, but it ain't paranormal 👀

I have the strangest feeling that I know who ….. is it law by any chance?

Saverage · 20/10/2023 16:52

I'm imaginative, pretty open to woo but have never experienced any.

The closest is when coming round from anaesthetic 30 years ago. I had a very clear dream of sitting on a veranda on rocking chairs with my best friend but we were old women, watching a sunset that was unnaturally bright and fierce. I do sometimes wonder if that day will actually come - we are still friends now, so are likely to be into our old age. She now lives in a country where it's not that unusual to have houses with verandas, and forest fires.

Mondaymorningtoday · 20/10/2023 16:03

NineteenOhEight · 20/10/2023 15:56

But she remembers it as you do because you’ve reinforced one another’s memory of it over time.

Honestly, it sounds as if you were carrying shopping, the road felt steeper and longer than usual because you were tired and/or carrying more than usual, and you were distracted enough by the frog or your conversation to walk past the entrance without noticing, hence the road felt even longer…?

I think we’ve all at some point done some journey on autopilot and misfired, despite knowing perfectly well where we’re supposed to go…

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No problem. I am just curious to know others' viewpoints, whatever they wish to make of it :)

NineteenOhEight · 20/10/2023 15:56

Mondaymorningtoday · 20/10/2023 15:47

No, we weren't children. My sister remembers it exactly as I do.

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But she remembers it as you do because you’ve reinforced one another’s memory of it over time.

Honestly, it sounds as if you were carrying shopping, the road felt steeper and longer than usual because you were tired and/or carrying more than usual, and you were distracted enough by the frog or your conversation to walk past the entrance without noticing, hence the road felt even longer…?

I think we’ve all at some point done some journey on autopilot and misfired, despite knowing perfectly well where we’re supposed to go…

Mondaymorningtoday · 20/10/2023 15:56

ifIwerenotanandroid · 20/10/2023 14:59

@Mondaymorningtoday The way I approach these things is to look for possibilities, likelihoods & proof either way, rather than flat-out discounting something.

It seems to me that there could be everyday explanations for parts of your experience. For example:

'We were walking back with food shopping... the path that would lead to the caravan park seemed to go on forever. The path seemed much more uphill and much longer.'

Is it possible that the shopping was heavier than before, making the walk seem longer & more arduous?

'We noticed a frog near a small, very dried up pond, and remarked it was a long way from water.'

Was the pond on the same side of the path as the caravan park & its pond? If it was on the other side & you were both distracted looking at it & the frog, maybe you walked right past the caravan park without looking at it, on your way up the hill. That would also make the walk longer than before.

I'm not disssing your experience. I'm just saying there might be a rational explanation for it. Or it might be something woo. The poster & her DH driving around looking for the disappeared abbey, though - no idea about that one.

We hadn't bought much really, just bread and milk. The pond was on the same side as the caravan park. We saw the frog a couple of minutes before we reached the dried-up pond, which was why we remarked on it being a long way from water.

Mondaymorningtoday · 20/10/2023 15:47

nebulae · 20/10/2023 14:59

That's interesting @Mondaymorningtoday. I've no explanation to offer you but it's a fascinating story. Were you children at the time? Does your sister remember it in the same way?

No, we weren't children. My sister remembers it exactly as I do.

ifIwerenotanandroid · 20/10/2023 15:02

Last night I watched Uncanny on iPlayer. Well I say watched - I made it most of the way through the ghost story but fell asleep & missed Bold Street. I'll have to watch it again. Or for the first time.

ifIwerenotanandroid · 20/10/2023 14:59

@Mondaymorningtoday The way I approach these things is to look for possibilities, likelihoods & proof either way, rather than flat-out discounting something.

It seems to me that there could be everyday explanations for parts of your experience. For example:

'We were walking back with food shopping... the path that would lead to the caravan park seemed to go on forever. The path seemed much more uphill and much longer.'

Is it possible that the shopping was heavier than before, making the walk seem longer & more arduous?

'We noticed a frog near a small, very dried up pond, and remarked it was a long way from water.'

Was the pond on the same side of the path as the caravan park & its pond? If it was on the other side & you were both distracted looking at it & the frog, maybe you walked right past the caravan park without looking at it, on your way up the hill. That would also make the walk longer than before.

I'm not disssing your experience. I'm just saying there might be a rational explanation for it. Or it might be something woo. The poster & her DH driving around looking for the disappeared abbey, though - no idea about that one.

nebulae · 20/10/2023 14:59

That's interesting @Mondaymorningtoday. I've no explanation to offer you but it's a fascinating story. Were you children at the time? Does your sister remember it in the same way?

tillytoodles1 · 20/10/2023 14:53

I'm from Liverpool and I've been to Bold St many times, so have friends, family and neighbours.
Nobody I know of has ever experienced any strange happening there.

MsHardbroom · 20/10/2023 14:35

Make a detailed note of all these things and add the date/time etc, then you will remember when/if it does actually happen. The same with your other visons/premonitions and then you have a record of proof. Always trust your instincts! Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

Mondaymorningtoday · 20/10/2023 13:09

I have told this story on Mumsnet somewhere before and would be interested to hear people's opinions. Several years ago, my sister and I were on holiday at a caravan site in Brynteg, Wales. We were walking back with food shopping, something we'd done at least once before without anything strange happening. But this particular day, the path that would lead to the caravan park seemed to go on forever. The path seemed much more uphill and much longer. We noticed a frog near a small, very dried up pond, and remarked it was a long way from water. Finally, we saw a woman with a sheepdog ahead of us who was turning into a lane so we hurried to catch up with her. She was astonished when we asked the way to the caravan park and said we couldn't possibly have missed it as it was a straight path, no turnings. So we headed back...and there was our caravan park complete with its ornamental pond (definitely not dried up!!!) at its entrance. So what happened??? Did we go through a time slip, was it ancestral memory (we discovered later that the path we walked along was an ancient drovers trail from Wales to England and Mum's grandparents were from Wales) or is there a more logical explanation? I know I didn't dream the experience as my sister remembers it too. I'm curious to know what everyone thinks.

PufferFish · 20/10/2023 10:39

I often wonder whether, like genes, memories can be somehow inherited and maybe even skip generations. That could explain those deja vu type moments and maybe even time slips …

Maatandosiris · 20/10/2023 06:41

Overcooker · 19/10/2023 23:30

I’ve certainly enjoyed our conversation on the topic.

I think where we may differ is that, while I will not outright and conclusively state the impossibility of (say) the Bold Street time portal, I cannot say that I give any credence to the claims whatsoever. I see it more as a very abstract (but fun) philosophical question than something that would inform my day to day mindset. I get the sense that you are far more open to the possibility than I but I may be wrong.

I’m sure that you and I both engage in the weighing of evidence. For me, and re Bold Street, the evidence in support of the claims is so vanishingly slight compared to the evidence against that the possibility that actual time travel (or similar) has occurred is so remote that it is not worthy of serious consideration.

It would be helpful, for me to better understand your position, if you could put a very rough percentage figure on your perception of the likelihood of time travel (or similar) having occurred specifically on Bold Street, in the manner described. Although my question is specific to Bold Street, I accept that other claims of time slips (like the one in the OP) are relevant evidence.

So far as I have been able to tell, there are no first hand accounts available to read, just third-party retellings that might reasonably be characterized as Urban myths - they have been collected and summarized by various publications in broadly the same manner, so I don’t think you’d need to read far and wide by any means, I just think it would be more appropriate for you to pick a source or two than have me provide them.

Just to confirm, I’m not trying for a ‘gotcha’ or anything like that, I think our chat is approaching an end, but I think a % would help me better understand your mindset and I have no intention of critiquing it. I also appreciate that a % might be a very difficult form of measurement and that whatever answer you give today might be different tomorrow and the day after.

For me, and my subjective perspective, the odds are a very small fraction of 1%, probably more like 0.0000000000000000001%, if not slimmer.

Thanks in advance for indulging me, if you choose do so, otherwise thank you for discussion.

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Hi, yes thank you, I always enjoy a good discussion.

it’s difficult for me to put a % on something I’ve never experienced. So to me for those who experienced it there’s a 100% probability it’s true. For me who hasn’t experienced it there’s a0% chance it’s true.

I guess within my philosophy the better question we oils be what is the chance of me experiencing something like this if I walk down Bold Street. Well I could base this on it might or might not be true so on a very simple level 50:50. Or I could look at the amount of people this has happened to and the number of people who walked down Bold Street in that time v the number who experienced time slips and base it on that. The fact I am more open to the possibility might have some effect or it might mean I’m more likely to notice anything.

sorry that’s not a straightforward answer but I don’t think it’s a straightforward question