Do Not Get Out Of the Car!

One of the most exciting moments of a young adults life is achieving home ownership. I was feeling very proud of myself having purchased a condo on my own. In 2015 I was a single woman that had just renovated a condo in Colorado. I decided to buy in order to escape the rental prices that were skyrocketing from Colorado's booming economy.

The apartment I had moved from only had outdoor parking. Not only was the parking limited with spaces but visitors would park in my assigned space on a regular basis, especially in the winter when the ground was covered with snow. Imagine my excitement to have an underground parking space in the secured garage just below my condo. The building was old as the condo's were originally built in the 1970's but still in relatively good shape from the upkeep. The lighting in the garage was dim with gray stone walls.

One afternoon I was going to leave for a gathering. I went down the stairwell leading to the parking garage. My car was the very first space to the left by the stairway door and only a car length from the garage exit. The moment I walked out into the garage I felt the most overwhelming feeling of complete DOOM. I can't really explain it but it was pure panic. Time was slower. The door behind me seemed to echo as it closed. I had these conflicting feelings of "GET IN THE CAR, GO BACK UPSTAIRS!" playing in my head only I wasn't moving. My brain was trying to process the logic behind my panic when nothing was happening before my eyes. Then, I heard a sound.

The squeaking of wheels and the dragging of feet. The squeaking was constant and the dragging sound was slightly delayed and long. Still the sound was harmless, but for some reason my instincts were telling me that where I was, was not good and the source of that sound was the cause. The sound was getting closer but it hadn't rounded the corner yet. Finally my body caught up with my thoughts. I felt as though I was closer to my car door then the stairwell so I got in my car and locked the door. My inner voice said. "DO NOT GET OUT OF THE CAR, DO NOT GET OUT OF THE CAR" as the squeaking and dragging sound got closer.

I was looking all around. I looked out my driver side window, each sideview mirror and behind me from the rearview mirror just waiting for the source to appear. Just as I looked in the rear view mirror of my car. I see what looks like an old man. Odd, that despite looking everywhere he didn't appear until he was behind me. He was passing my car at a snails pace. The air around me seems so thick and my heart is pounding. It's like a dream. The old man is pushing something, its old and rusty. From what I can see nothing is inside it.

I briefly see a slight amount of white hair from the nape of his neck. He is wearing a slightly oversized white T-Shirt. His skin is unnaturally pale, almost grayish in tint. Something about it doesn't look normal. His forearms have bruises. His arms are skinny and lack muscle tone. His shoulders are boney and frail as he pushes the cart. His back is bowed from his hunched posture. Physically he is no threat to me yet I feel fear. I am trying to process his face but my brain won't let me remember it.

He stopped suddenly his head turns ever so slightly. I felt as though he could see me like a side glance yet don't remember him looking directly at me.

Why can't I remember his face? I should have seen at least the side of his face!

Just as he passed my car heading toward the garage door, I looked away from the mirror just a moment. Just a blink of time. There was a door on the side of the garage which lead to the dumpster. I was only a car length away from that door as my space was at the end of the garage.

Any other time when I would see a neighbor enter or exit that door I would hear a heavy slam as the door was made of steel and sturdy for security. I could even feel the vibration of the slam in one of my bedrooms because my condo was just above the garage. I was waiting for that slam as the old man passed and it never came. I looked side to side to see if he stopped or walked to a car across the lot. Nothing.

I also realized that not only did I not hear a slam, I did not see any sunlight peak as it should have when the door opens because it was still light and sunny outside.

I turned the key in the ignition with my eyes wide as saucers and pressed the button to open the garage door. I backed out while the door was still going up to ensure I could drive out as soon as possible. All the while looking around for the old man. I drove out looking to my left to see if he had stopped at the dumpster. He wasn't there and the gate to the dumpster was closed. I looked below the gate to see if I saw his feet under the large gap. My mind was still trying to calculate a logical explanation for his disappearance.

"Perhaps he closed the gate behind him." I thought to myself.

He didn't as the gate was still latched from the outside. I lived at a dead end so there was no where for any cars to go left just a small hill to another apartment complex and it wouldn't be the way anyone would go with a cart as it was an embankment covered with large rocks. I briefly looked left to see if I saw him standing by the hill...he wasn't. I looked to my right as I turned the car and drove up and away from the building. The old man was nowhere to be found.

I knew, if it was a physical person he would have had to open the garage door. If it was a physical person I would have seen him as I left. I didn't wait in my car long enough for him to disappear at the rate he was walking. It would have been too quick even for a young man to walk far enough to not be seen. The air didn't seem thick around me anymore. My heart rate was going back to normal but felt heavy as I came to the realization as to why I didn't see him leave...he didn't. Whoever or whatever he was, it was filled with negative energy so strong that I felt it down to the core of my soul. It immediately made my heart race.

When I came home that night I decided to park in the visitor parking outside. I avoided the garage for quite a while until the bad weather finally convinced me to cautiously park inside again. I definitely tried to avoid it at night and when I would come home late I would bolt out of the car quickly and run up the stairs like a child. I was taking no other chances. Moving was not an option as I had just bought the place.

I still often wonder, what was that all about? Did he live there once upon a time or just passing through? ghost...demon -whatever I just didn't want to see him again. I was uneasy about that garage at times but moved on with my life the best I could. It didn't make me feel good anymore to live right above the garage. I prayed about it and was fortunate enough to never feel anything bad again, however; one morning, I woke to find my front door wide open. My Condo was in the back corner of the building so my front door was at the end of the hall right by the exit to go down the stairwell to the parking garage. Nothing was taken but I know I locked the door. I was definitely freaking out a second. I mean I was a single woman at this time living alone. Not to mention sleeping with little to nothing on and my front door with two locks was wide open!

Due to my experience in the garage I couldn't help but question whether it was a weak lock or something else? All I know is my time there was short and I am completely fine with it! I decided to move out of state and sold the condo within a year.

Some things can't be explained even if you seek logic. Just know that you were given instincts for a reason. If that inner voice says "something isn't right" then something isn't right. If someone or something is giving you a negative vibe you need to stay away. If you are alone in a garage and that voice says don't get out of the car then...DO NOT GET OUT OF THE CAR.