Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be really freaked out about seeing someone that wasn’t there??

346 replies

freakedoutseeingthings · 30/07/2024 21:18

My partners mum, step-dad, brother and 2 nieces are on holiday at the seaside so to we took our little one for the a day trip to have a beach day with his cousins today.

As we were driving into where they are staying and my partner was packing I said to him ‘I didn’t know your whole family was here’ when I saw his grandma standing next to his mum. He must have assumed that I was talking about his stepdad as he didn’t respond to it in a weird way/ask what I meant.

Then when we were inside I asked where his grandma had gone and where she was sleeping as they only have 2 bedrooms. Well it turns out that she isn’t there and is at home and I couldn’t have seen her because she’s not there??

What on earth happened?? What/who did I see?? Am I crazy now? 🙈

OP posts:
WhatADifferenceACatMakes · 31/07/2024 08:07

This reply has been withdrawn

Withdrawn at OP's request.

WorriedMama12 · 31/07/2024 08:01

KeirSpoutsTwaddle · 30/07/2024 21:42

The Images we ‘see’ are the brain interpreting patterns of light.

The brain speeds up at the job by using predictive methods, just like predictive text. Your brain sees what it expects to see, a lot of the time.

It expected to see Granny so you did.

But she didn't expect to see 'granny', that's why she was surprised to have seen her as she didn't think she would be there.

CurlewKate · 31/07/2024 07:58

We look for patterns and sometimes unconsciously fill in the gap if the pattern we're expecting isn't quite complete. That's what brains do.

Dotto · 31/07/2024 07:57

freakedoutseeingthings · 30/07/2024 23:56

Hi, sorry I’m still here but I have no update 🫣 My partner doesn’t believe in stuff like this and said it was too late to call her when we got home but I will get him to call her tomorrow and let you all know how she is but I was thinking it could possibly be a sign that something is wrong/has happened/is going to happen 😬

Don't be silly, paradolia is perfectly natural.

bridgetjonesmassivepants · 31/07/2024 07:55

I saw someone who looked just like my granny, it really shook me up as my gran was dead. Turned out the woman I saw was my aunty, I never knew she existed as we didn't see that side of the family much. She was the spitting image of her mother.

TreadLightly3 · 31/07/2024 07:53

Gosh op, hope all is ok

GameOfJones · 31/07/2024 07:48

autienotnaughty · 31/07/2024 07:26

Is it possible you thought you saw her because it made sense for her to be there.?

Definitely. It is a known phenomenon that our brains fill in the gaps. Brains are amazing!

Musicalitymum · 31/07/2024 07:47

Did Granny get an Airbnb close by?

MumToBe1980 · 31/07/2024 07:32

Any news on granny? Hope she's OK

autienotnaughty · 31/07/2024 07:26

Is it possible you thought you saw her because it made sense for her to be there.?

KeirSpoutsTwaddle · 31/07/2024 07:23

Firefly1987 · 31/07/2024 01:19

Has that happened to you? I've never hallucinated people that weren't there, I mean as far as I can be sure!

Show quote history

You would only know when or if the wrongness was pointed out. It may have happened several times, but you weren’t aware you were wrong and just accepted what you saw.

People often ‘see’ their dead pet. That little shadow at your heels, or the curled lump on the bed. It’s very persistent when the pet has gone.

Lwrenn · 31/07/2024 07:14

JabbaTheBeachHut · 31/07/2024 00:04

Southend-On-Sea?

Show quote history

This absolutely creased me 😂

scalt · 31/07/2024 07:03

After a big evening service at our church (before my time there), several people asked "whose was that extra face in the choir?".

BeethovenNinth · 31/07/2024 07:03

I hope granny is ok. Could there also be another granny who was part of the family, now deceased?

Mistressofnone · 31/07/2024 07:02

What time does Granny usually get up?

RedRobyn2021 · 31/07/2024 07:01

Here for updates on granny

Leanmeansmitingmachine · 31/07/2024 07:00

freakedoutseeingthings · 30/07/2024 23:56

Hi, sorry I’m still here but I have no update 🫣 My partner doesn’t believe in stuff like this and said it was too late to call her when we got home but I will get him to call her tomorrow and let you all know how she is but I was thinking it could possibly be a sign that something is wrong/has happened/is going to happen 😬

Or you just glanced and saw an old dear standing nearby who looked a bit like her and your brain filled in the gaps?

malificent7 · 31/07/2024 06:59

Make*

malificent7 · 31/07/2024 06:58

Threads like this maje the back of my neck tingle and tears stream down my face for some reason. 6th sense I reckon.

CormorantStrikesBack · 31/07/2024 06:58

Maybe it was some other random old lady who was walking by? Looked a bit the same?

PumpkinsAndCoconuts · 31/07/2024 06:57

Tengreenbottles2 · 31/07/2024 00:14

If the granny is fine, it could be some sort of psychosis. It can start happening with no previous mental health issues . Might be worth seeing your GP.

That’s unfortunately true.

but it is most likely simply a case of the brain playing tricks on OP. So let’s not alarm OP by talking about dead relatives or psychosis.

Summerose · 31/07/2024 06:46

Emilywiththegreeneyes · 31/07/2024 06:19

Im invested in how granny is now

Me too 😁

IpsyUpsyDaisyDoos · 31/07/2024 06:38

The day of my grandmothers funeral, my sister woke up to her stroking her hair telling her it would all be ok. Wearing the traditional burial outfit of her church....

ReadyTeddy1000 · 31/07/2024 06:21

I've had a similar thing. I find it all fascinating 😍

Emilywiththegreeneyes · 31/07/2024 06:19

Im invested in how granny is now