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Bell Blakeley
2021
I was working on a trail by myself the day this happened to me about mid afternoon on a warm, clear day. I had ear protection headphones on and was using a machine to clear the trail for access to visitors. This trail is located on an old historic road that once connected to a small community off in the woods that has not existed for a very long time. The trail is still lined on both sides by old stone walls that are common in this area. The trail is still home to many old foundations and root cellars that were once used by the old community that once existed there as well providing a glimpse into the past usage of the area. Now, being that I was very sensory deprived with the headphones and machinery running, what happened was something that I cannot explain as it wasn't something I was even thinking about at the time given the task I was completing required my full attention. I will state here that I have been sensitive my entire life and feel things often when I am not seeking them out. I can feel presence and know when a room has something about it that our eyes cannot see. I've heard foot steps, voices and seen objects move on several occurrences even with others present who, I found out after, are also sensitive which helps me feel like I'm not crazy. So, I'm working when suddenly in my minds eye or whatever you want to call it, I see/feel a man on horseback in old, colonial type clothing riding up on a horse from behind me on the trail at a very high rate of speed and I instinctually jump off the trail because it felt like this individual would run me down. I literally looked behind as this happened fully expecting to see someone and yet no physical person was there. I shut off the machine and threw my headphones off so convinced that this was literally happening and my senses were shocked to see nothing at all. Now, this was a very new thing for me compared to my past experiences and it has stayed with me ever since. I can still see what my mind felt now as I write this. I've been back there many times since as I manage more than 20 open space preserves in the area and it has not happened to me since. I truly feel like this was some sort of time slip that my mind picked up on and I cannot explain it. I even looked for hoof tracks in the soil trying to convince myself that someone had actually ridden by me. This is an equestrian area with lots of riding trails but this place in particular is not used by the riding community as it is not connected to other riding locations. Whatever happened that day is something I will never forget but I'm glad this community exists for all of us to share our experiences together.
Submitted by:
Andrew