Auditory hallucination/felt presence - well, that was weird

[SirChenjins]

Has anyone else ever had this?

I've just been out for a walk with the dog, down in some woods where we often go. It's always deserted and there's a clearing in the middle of the woods where I throw balls for him and he runs about retrieving them and having a great old time. I was walking towards a ball to pick it up and I distinctly heard loud footsteps scuffling the leaves very close behind me and felt someone was there - you know how you know someone is right behind you before you see them? I turned round really quickly to see who it was, but there was no-one there - it really made me jump. Apparently it's an auditory hallucination or felt presence - but bloody hell, my heart was racing!

Have you checked the next aisles to make sure they've not escaped and are doing their big shop?!

It’s weirder that you felt a presence as well as hearing the scuffling. I’m a big believer in intuition. I imagine it was just an hallucination but none the less I’d be spooked to do that walk for a while (sorry!). I’ve had the door knocking thing as well. My letterbox also often ‘chaps’ itself- usually when I’m home alone and feeling a bit scared. Brains are weird things.

I think noises are definitely more prone to mis-interpretation and 'hearing' something else than other types of input.

I have had the knocking/door bell ring when falling asleep and leapt out to answer it, not for ages though.

The other day, I thought I heard my partner sobbing, again, leapt up to find they were fine and wondering what I was going on about.

It happens to me mainly when I'm nearly asleep or when I'm just waking up.

I have had night-time hallucinations for years, the quiet and the dark seems to make the brain go more wrong than in the daytime!

Rustling, banging, things falling though can all go through your brain and come out differently.

It's interesting to hear about this as it's far more common than we think, up to 60% of bereaved people have either heard or seen a presence of their loved one, or had a 'sign'. When we are very stressed, during sleep/waking moments and when it's very quiet or dark, seem to be times our brains misfire a bit.

Did your dog react?

I love the idea of lambs baaaing in the supermarket! Sleep deprivation does that to you.

No, no reaction - if it had been an actual person he'd have stopped charging about and focused (it's how I know someone is in the vicinity before I see them), or would have been off after a squirrel.

I knew there would be a logical explanation and this is definitely it.

This happened to a family member of mine. They had been quite ill and were at work, which was really a bit much for them. I note it can also be a side effect of the medication they were on. I suspect it was just that their body wasn't coping with the demands of work given their health state. They took some time off to rest and recover and the auditory hallucinations stopped.

I too have them when I’m in a light sleep. Hear my kids shouting my name really loudly!!

The first time I jumped up and ran to DD’s bedroom, in fright but she wasn’t there, she was on a night out. Then I was terrified it was some sort of call for help, but when I rang her she was fine.

I’ve had them about a dozen times over the past 10 years or so. Still gives me a fright, but after googling found it was just auditory hallucination.

The brain is weird :)

And sheep deprivation 😀

I'm another person who gets exploding head syndrome. I was quite relieved when I found out about it because there have been several times when I've been woken by a loud crashing sound and really startled, but my partner hasn't heard a thing.

Ive had the waking up in the night hearing the kids calling out Mummy and finding that theyre both fast asleep. Amd pretty sure they weren't shouting in their sleep.

I also get exploding head syndrome and so does my DS. We're more prone to anxiety than the rest of the family. Its so weird though.

Having said that I thought i had experienced it again this morning but went downstairs to find a pigeon had flown into the window so for once it was a real noise not a hallucination!

I may have mentioned this on MN before. I saw my father shortly after his funeral. I was in the garden on a bright sunny Spring day. I was kneeling down doing some weeding and not thinking about anything much. I looked up and to the side of me and my father was standing there. I can’t explain it maybe I was hallucinating but it gives me comfort to think maybe he had come to check on me one last time. Or maybe to check on the state of my garden knowing him😂.

How did you feel when you saw your dad - was it comforting or upsetting?

I had a very strange experience about 40 years ago. I was standing in the queue in the post office, thinking about nothing in particular, when an old lady came towards me. She was the absolute image of my granny who had passed away recently - granny had a very distinctive face as she'd had a stroke many years beforehand and her face on one side had dropped, while her other eye was quite bulgy and her eyebrow was raised. She also wore a very unusual shade of orange lipstick. This woman was the same height, build, walked like her, wore the same fur coat and had exactly the same facial features and lipstick. It was so real I went to say 'hello granny' then remembered granny was dead - and she smiled at me as she walked past. I know logically it can't have been her of course, but it was very odd! Our minds can be funny things at times.

I've never heard of exploding head syndrome - it certainly explains a lot of those bumps when there's nothing there!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00x1zmm

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/23234-hypnagogic-hallucinations

one that will explain some of pp’s experiences

It’s weirder that you felt a presence as well as hearing the scuffling

Or that having heard the noise, the mind invented a "presence" in order to explain it.

If we are honest and think carefully, I am sure we can all remember occasions where we have made something of nothing to the extent we would swear in court to it.

I know I have, with fuck all woo.

If we were to compare the brain to a computer system, then all inputs have been well mucked about with before our brain gets to try to understand them.

Despite being 46 years old, this is a good starter on how we see the world. (Yes, BBC documentaries really used to be that good. You can see why use w)rinklies are so cross sometimes.

Also urine infections are notorious for causing hallucinations.
Do you have a UTI op?

There's also hypnopompia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnopompia

(And psychopomps who lead the soul to eternity 😎)

@SirChenjins I found it very comforting. My DF had been very ill for several months and was a shadow of himself when he died. When I saw him he looked as he had before cancer ravaged him. He had on his favourite trousers and blue shirt and a gold neck chain he always wore that my DM bought him. Every time I go for a walk no matter the place I nearly always see a Robin and I like to think my Dad sends those to me as well.

I always get these when I'm tired. I'll hear a loud bang or crash, sometimes I hear a door slam or a rustle of leaves (even when I'm lying in bed).

My DH snores really badly when he has a cold or hayfever and sometimes if he's working nights and not physically in the house, I'll be woken up by the sound of his snoring, roll over to tell him off before remembering that he isn't there (thought sometimes I can feel his presence in bed with me, tis a very odd sensation).

Were you in Savernake forest..?

I'm glad he's still around you in this sense, it sounds very lovely.

I always joke my relative who died departed never to be seen again. They told me they wouldn't come back as a ghost and they never did, not a rustle, noise, bird or feather. I like to think of them playing in the universe.

That's a lovely thought to have @Foundress - it must make you feel very close to him 😊