I worked late and was coming out of a Walgreens in the little shopping center in Glendale, Colorado.
It was pitch black dark, about 11:15 or so at night. The parking lot had just a few streetlights. As I was walking through the parking lot, I suddenly felt terrified, panicked, and anxious for my safety.
I quickly looked around for whatever had me feeling so afraid. I saw nothing to justify my fear. I hurried to my car, opened the door, turned on the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot. As soon as I pulled out into the street and headed to my house, about a half mile away, the feeling stopped.
I couldn’t figure it out. Why had I suddenly felt so afraid in that parking lot? I replayed it in my mind, walking out of Walgreens, scanning the parking lot, walking a little further, turning left toward my car, then turning right at my car door. I had looked around quickly and carefully, looking for a person who might have me feeling so afraid. But nothing and no one had caught my attention.
But, then, the fear ended. And I drove home wondering what had triggered me to feel so afraid.
The next night I worked until 10:30 PM and as I walked toward my car again, suddenly feeling the terror and panic again. This time I looked around a little more carefully. Then I saw it! As I got to the edge of the parking lot where you turn to get to the street, about 10 yards to the right, near another store was a man. He was leaning over a trash receptacle, bent at the waist, his feet together, as if he was vomiting.
I saw the man, felt a huge rush of terror, jumped into my car, turned the key, and flew out of the parking lot like a wild woman.
What was it about that guy that caused me such fear? Why had he triggered me? What was he doing that I could have interpreted as dangerous, threatening, or life-threatening?
Well, I was sure it was life-threatening because I immediately feared for my life. But I couldn’t put it together. Why?
The next night, same situation. Work late, exit Walgreens, terror and panic. This time I turned to my left, before going to my car and went toward the man, looking more closely and carefully.
As I walked toward him, I watched him closely. I didn’t see any movement. The trash receptacle was in between two large columns so I couldn’t see what he was doing behind it. I was 40 or 50 feet away, walking toward him. As I got about 30 feet away from him, I heard a strange sound.
It was the sound of breathing. But not normal breathing. It was the sound of struggling, laboring breathing. As I got about 5 feet away, I couldn’t take another step. I stopped, frozen, terrified, as this creature of a man raised up.
He was very tall, 7 feet tall or more. He slowly straightened his body. He was skinny, with very long arms that came down to his knees. He was wearing black pants. His head was long, his hair was very long and gray, and he looked human. Except he had gray skin, the face of an old human. His eyes were large, like human eyes, but very, very pale and he seemed to be blind.
As he raised up, he had blood running out of his mouth. He was licking it off his lips, and it was dripping all over him.
I couldn’t move. I just stood there, looking up at him, 3 feet away. He stood perfectly still, not looking at me. Just licking the blood off his lips. Then he smiled. There was blood all over his mouth and teeth, and as he smiled, he looked terrifying.
It’s a strange sensation to have terror coursing through your body, unable to move, yet frozen, watching a horror movie right in front of you.
He never said a word.
I was frozen in fear. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, I could move.
I turned around and ran to my car. Got in and raced out of the parking lot, heading toward my house.
Now what happened with this experience? Did I imagine it? Was it an illusion, or was I seeing something that was real? I’ve wondered these things over the years. The answer is simple.
What I experienced was real. It happened. But, was the creature real? What kind of creature was it? I don’t have an answer. I can tell you what I saw and felt, but not what the man, the creature, the beast, or whatever he was, actually was.
So, what can I tell you about the encounter?
The feeling of terror was very real. It was a physical sensation of my entire body being afraid.
The feeling of being physically threatened was very real. That’s what made me afraid for my life.
The visual component, seeing a very tall, skinny being, covered in blood, licking his lips, standing perfectly still 3 feet away, was real.
It may not have been human. It may have been something from another dimension or another realm. I can’t tell you what it was. I can tell you that it happened, and it was real.