Well first, I suppose I should introduce myself to you fine readers. My name is Katie Carman, and I’m a film director with a huge interest in all things supernatural.
My first film “Eat Me!” was a comedy with zombies (mostly funny, and a tiny bit gory), and I’m just finishing up my 2nd film, “Off Season,” a psychological thriller (more serious, with lots of spooks and scares.) Really, all my films have been informed by my love of things horror and ghostly, and naturally that interest came from some real life supernatural experiences I’ve had.
I grew up in a house plagued by a poltergeist who, while benevolent, loved to take things and hide them from us constantly. And in my younger years I spent a great deal of time at my aunt’s house in upstate New York, an old house on a farm, where I got to witness more than a few unexplainable things.
I was a bit too young to understand much of what was going on around me (though I knew for sure at that young age that my cousin’s bedroom, decked out entirely in clowns, was possibly the scariest place in the house). My mother very thankfully has a great memory and was able to relay one of the spookier experiences she had first-hand at my aunt’s house in upstate Schoharie County (or as I used to call it “Scary County”). I did a brief interview with her about experience, and here is what she had to say:
I know you’ve had a supernatural experience or two happen to you personally — can you explain the circumstances of the most memorable thing you’ve seen?
It happened back around 1991 at my sister-in-law’s house upstate in Jefferson, NY. We were there for the July 4th holiday as we did most years. It was pretty early in the day and my sister-in-law Leah and I were standing in the laundry room at the back of the house. Her home is in “cow country” so there are fly swatters in every room. At the time, there was one laying on top of the washing machine.
As we were standing there talking, the fly swatter lifted up into the air, flipped over and landed on the floor in front of us. We weren’t anywhere near the machine at the time, and we both looked at each other in disbelief and said “Did you see that???” Of course everyone asked if we had a few cocktails first, but we had not, it was way too early for that. This wasn’t the first time something like that had happened at this house, but it was the first time I had witnessed something. Another time, a ceramic decoration which looked like a strawberry with a face on it came off the wall and broke against the wall directly across from it. We were in the house at the time but no-one was in that room when it happened.
Had you ever experienced anything like that before? Would you have considered yourself a skeptic before this happened?
Yes, over the years certain things had made me a believer. When I was growing up, when a kitchen cabinet would open up without explanation, my mom would say “Hi Bill!” (her first husband who had passed on). We always joked about it.
Yes, over the years certain things had made me a believer. When I was growing up, when a kitchen cabinet would open up without explanation, my mom would say “Hi Bill!” (her first husband who had passed on). We always joked about it.
Since this experience, has your opinion on the supernatural changed at all?
I’m more convinced with every occurance.
Have you had any similar experiences since then?
Yes, at my house, there is someone who always hides things on me. It happens quite often. I will be looking for something I KNOW was in a certain location and not find it, only to find it a few hours (or days) later in that VERY spot.
Do you have any advice for someone who might witness something supernatural?
Grin and bear it! Most things are harmless. You have to keep your sense of humor and remember we are not alone!
Obviously I’m biased towards believing her BECAUSE SHE IS MY MOTHER. Plus, I’ve stayed at that house many times and while I didn’t experience anything this major first hand, I saw a lot of things I couldn’t explain — doors opening by themselves, strange sounds, that unerring feeling of being watched by unseen eyes, etc. I still to this day wish to have my own first hand experience in seeing something supernatural — I mean, in NYC you think you’d be running into ghosts left and right! Until then though, I guess I can live vicariously through others who have had these experiences. And so I collect them and share them so that we may all experience that moment of bewilderment, where your brain is not believing what your eyes are seeing, your hears are hearing. One day I hope to fully feel that moment of confusion too!!
