Today we are pleased to welcome Emily Durkin as our guest poster on the paranormal/supernatural topic.  Emily is a 32-year-old professor of philosophy at a major university in New York.  Currently, she is on temporary assignment in Paris, France studying the French Classics such as Les Miserables, The Count of Monte Cristo and so forth.  Emily is divorced, no children, but does have a huge German Shepard at home named Duke. Emily is anxious to see him very soon.  Emily's hobbies consist of reading, studying and analyzing the classics of every country on earth.  In her spare time, Emily loves watching old movies (1940-1965).   She is also very involved with two nephews and a niece whom she loves very much.

If you have a story to share relating to the paranormal/supernatural, click HERE for details.  Also, to answer many questions, there is no charge for guest posting on the topic of the paranormal/supernatural. 

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Shortly after my divorce (How do people marry and divorce more than once?), I asked my mom if I could stay at our cabin in the Red River Gorge basin of Kentucky.  Even though I was feeling a bit under the weather, I felt as if I needed to get away from everyone after a divorce that just absolutely broke me mentally and physically.  My ex-husband and I still loved each other.  We still do love each other.  But, sometimes, love just isn't enough to have a successful marriage, a marriage that works for both parties.   I just needed to be by myself in late June of 2014, about a week before Independence Day.  I brought several books to read, an old CD player and some CDs, some work I needed to catch up on before the school year began at the university.  Mom, of course, said it would be perfectly fine for me to go to our cabin that has been in the family since the late 1920s when my great-great-grandfather (there might be another "great" in there, I'm not sure) started building it.  It is about twice as large as the original 680 square feet built now due to adding on to it over the decades.  My mother was worried about my being at the cabin all by myself.  I assured her I would be bringing my cell phone and charger.  We had two generators that my late father taught me how to operate and to repair if they ever went down.  So, I felt quite confident I could handle anything were it to arise.  My dad taught me all I needed to ever know at that cabin.  I was wishing he was with me then to comfort me in that time of heartache.  But, my dad died of a stroke on New Year's Eve of 2002.  It was devastating to us all.  My dad's last wish was that his ashes were to be spread at the base of the hill that our cabin was built.  He loved the cabin and the Red River Gorge of Kentucky.  It was only fitting that his remains be there as he had requested.  But, it unnerves me just a little whenever I come to the cabin knowing my dad's ashes were somewhere at the base of the hill of where our cabin was located.


I arrived at the family cabin on a late Sunday afternoon that June day.  Even though it was June, it got cool at night in the Gorge.  So, I only needed to run one generator.  The AC unit needed one generator all on it's on.  No need for that, I decided.  It had a bit of a musky odor and I was glad I brought some air freshener with me.  I really didn't need to get the fireplace started.  But, that fireplace always cheered me up due to the care and joy it brought my dad.  He installed that new fireplace all on his own.  I got a fire going that took out the chill in the cabin.  I started playing a little light jazz in the CD player and decided to eat some sandwiches I had made for the trip.  I drank a little Chianti with my sandwich and was feeling pretty good.  After eating, I sat on the couch to rest.  I tried to rest anyway.  I had a lot weighing on my mind as already discussed.  Plus some springs in the back of the couch were pushing past the sofa.  So, I did something I rarely ever had done, I sat in my dad's easy chair.  It was strange sitting there.  But, I quickly dozed off to sleep.  I woke up, a couple of hours later, to a noise behind the cabin.  I had definitely heard something. The fire in the fireplace had gone out, I noticed.  I checked the .16 gauge shotgun that my dad had on the rack in the cabin.  It was there along with a box of shells.  I was thinking I had told my mother it was dangerous to leave that shotgun in open view when I again heard a noise in the back of the cabin.  It was dark now and I silently cursed myself for not lighting a lantern.  We had overhead lights that would come on thanks to the generator.  But, I did not think that was a good idea until I could find out what it was.  I went into the darkened kitchen to look outside for what I figured was a raccoon, opossum or, gulp, a bear. That shotgun wouldn't have much of an effect on a bear except make him mad.  I looked out both windows of the kitchen to see nothing around the area.   I was now officially spooked.  I managed to find my way back to the couch and lit a lantern on the coffee table in front of me.  I decided to call a friend from a town nearby to calm my nerves.  No service! The curse of cell phones everywhere.  My cell phone had always worked up at the cabin before.  Now, when I needed it most, I couldn't get a signal.

As I was doing the "cell phone wave" in a vain attempt to get a signal, there was a bright, very bright, intense light that suddenly started shining through the woods west of the cabin.  It was so bright until it completely penetrated the densely forested area.  I got up to go to the front door.  I hesitated before opening, but after I did, I heard a slight humming noise coming from the direction of the light.  I can't emphasize enough how bright that light was at the time.  It was so bright until I could close my eyes and still see the light almost as bright with my eyes wide open.  I closed the door now wishing our old CB radio still worked.  It was still there.  But, it was inoperable.  I tried getting another signal by waving my cell phone like a mad woman when the hair on the back of my neck started standing up.  There was someone...or something at the front door of the cabin.  It was not a knock, not a voice, but a sort of scratching.  I grabbed the shotgun from the rack and quickly put shells in the magazine.  I pointed the shotgun at the front door and screamed, "Whatever or whoever you are, I want you to know I have a .16 gauge shotgun with double ought buckshot that will end your day on a bad note.  Now, get away from here!!!"  I virulently screamed.  I saw something dash past the large living room window to the left of the front door.  It was smaller than me.  But, it seemed to float, not run.  But, it certainly floated quite quickly.  I was extremely scared now and my blasted cell phone still had no signal.  That was a mystery.  I always had cell phone coverage up here.  I stood there for about 15 minutes when the bright light suddenly went dark from deep in the woods.  I decided to open the door.  I saw my little Honda Civic parked right where I left it.  I wanted to run to it and leave as quickly as possible.  I was fearful of doing so.  I decided that discretion would be the better part of valor and locked the door.  I put chairs against both the front and back doors. There would not be much sleep tonight as fearful as I had become.  I was so happy that my mother had ignored me when I said take the shotgun back home.  I felt somewhat safe with it in my arms.  It was an old bolt-action shotgun that probably had not been fired since my father died.  But, dad always said that it was more dependable than any other weapon he owned.

I sat back down on the uncomfortable couch.  The shotgun and the lantern were comforting to me.  I thought how much I wish my dad was with me right now.  "Fear makes you a coward.  It forces you to make the wrong decision.  Show some guts!" my dad would say to me whenever I was afraid to try something new.  He was always blunt and to the point.  Those words were so true, especially with my present circumstances.  I had to be brave and face whatever this was outside the cabin.  I sat on the couch for approximately three hours and started feeling sleepy.  The long drive was having an effect on me.  But, I was still scared beyond words.  "BUMP!"  A loud bump against the side of the cabin directly opposite of me where I was sitting on the couch.  It was something that put immense force on the wall to cause the logs to groan and for the dust to fall that way.  What I saw float by the window could not have done that (whatever it was).  Maybe a bear could do that.  But, all we had in this area were black bears with most in the 400lb range.  But, could they cause that much of a loud noise by charging the cabin? This was an old, but well-built cabin that had survived many harsh winters and violent summer storms. "BUMP!!"  I was so startled I dropped the shotgun.  Thankfully, it did not go off since it had no safety.  I quickly picked it up and pointed it toward the master bedroom where the bump noise had come from. I slowly walked into the bedroom....this time there was an eardrum-shattering hum that sounded like ten million fingernails against a chalkboard!  SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCC
CHHHHHHHH!!!!!

It was an incredible sound, unlike anything I had ever heard!  I put my hands to my ears to try to block it out to no avail.  I felt myself losing consciousness, and feeling extremely dizzy. As sudden as the screeching noise started, it also stopped quite as suddenly. Then, I heard something next to the living room picture window.  I saw the creature for the first time looking at me through the window.  [The picture you see above is similar to the creature I saw peering in at me.  The eyes did not glow as much as above.  The arms and head are very similar.]  I then screamed for all I was worth!  That was a mistake.  That glass my father put in, back in 2000, was a direct result of a bear attempting to get into the cabin one summer night.  My dad used his air horn to scare the bear away.  But, that window was broken.  In its place, my dad put in one-inch thick plexiglass.  He did that to one window in the kitchen also.  All the other windows were too small for a bear to get through.  Plexiglass is NOT supposed to shatter as easily as regular glass.  A one-inch thick plexiglass pane is not supposed to shatter at all.  But, shatter it did as the creature placed its hand against it.  It shattered just as easily as regular glass.  This time, there was no screaming from me as the creature was attempting to climb into the cabin through the broken plexiglass window.  I pulled back the hammer on the old .16 gauge shotgun, praying it wouldn't backfire, and pulled the trigger.  It was another ear-shattering noise inside the cabin as the old .16 gauge shotgun unleashed hell!  I hit the creature in it's left abdominal region and a yellowish substance sprayed out (his blood I would say).  It opened it's mouth as if to scream, but nothing came out.  It was knocked backward from the force of the double ought buckshot fired from the shotgun.  I was in a semi-state of shock!  I stood there, cycled another shell into the chamber and waited.  I was shaking uncontrollably at this point.  Then, two more creatures floated into view.  I had two more shells in the magazine.  I was hoping I would not have to fire them since they were old as the first one which, somehow, fired successfully.  The creatures looked straight at me.  I looked back at them and pointed the shotgun at them both.  We stood there for a minute, I guess, not knowing what the other was going to do next.  They then stooped down to pick up their fallen comrade.  The last memory I have of them is the wounded creature (or alien if you prefer) looking back at me.  It appeared to be a look of....puzzlement.

About ten minutes later, the extremely bright light blazed through the dense forest once again.   This time I noticed it went through every open pore or crack in the cabin, like mini flashlights.  I looked through the broken window to see the light gain in intensity as it rose into the air and then, the light went out and there was absolute silence in the cabin and surrounding area.  I pushed our old wood dining room table against the window and slept in my father's easy chair for the rest of the night.  But, there was nothing easy about that long night until sunrise mercifully ended the longest night of my life.  I checked for a signal on my cell phone and lo and behold, I got three bars almost immediately.  I thought that was strange after last night.  I called my mom, lied to her that a bear had broken the plexiglass window that dad had installed.   Both she and my brother were incredulous about that.  So, were the state park officials who took my report.  It seemed impossible for even a huge 500lb black bear to shatter that plexiglass.  In fact, they told me they found no trace of a bear.  But, if I told them what really happened, I would be mocked, ridiculed and had my sanity questioned.  Only now, with this article posted, will my family, friends and park officials know the truth about that night.  

So, the obvious questions, were these space aliens?  Were they extraterrestrials?  I've always believed we were not alone in the universe.  There has to be life out there somewhere in the great expanses of the universe.  But, intelligent life, at least, in our corner of the galaxy?  I had strong doubts about that.  Obviously, I have no doubts now.  These aliens did not give me the feeling they were benevolent or simply trying to make contact.  I feel the extreme screeching noise was meant to knock me out and it very nearly did! They seemed shocked I was still conscious when the first creature attempted to enter the cabin.  The only answer as to why I was partially immune to the noise was that I was still feeling the effects of a head cold and my ears still seemed "stopped up and stuffy."  That's all I can come up with now.  But, I want to emphasize one last thing of my story;  these aliens did not appear friendly.  They appeared to want me for research or whatever they had in mind (you can cue the sex jokes now if you desire).   I am quite confident they wanted to abduct me.  That, in and of itself, is despicable and abhorrent behavior by an advanced species able to accomplish interstellar travel.  Perhaps, as has been said before in one story on this site, they are coming to take us and our planet.  This might have simply been a research party.  Perhaps they wanted to dissect me like I did frogs in 8th-grade science class.  Obviously, they did not take into account that one earth woman, whose dad taught her to never back down from anyone (including extraterrestrials one would surmise), and one old .16 gauge shotgun, would say with one voice, "Not today, ET.  And maybe not ever.  Perhaps you should consider another planet."  


****Note:  This will be the last story of the year on the paranormal/supernatural topic.  We are taking a much deserved two-month break.  You can expect the next story on this topic the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve.  New submissions will not be accepted until further notice as stated in Updates.  Please understand we just have far more submissions than we can handle at the moment.  We would like to take this opportunity to wish an early Happy Thanksgiving (to USA visitors) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone all over the world! - Charlotte Hensley, Senior Staff Editor, David's Musings 


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