FT259


In 2002, my wife and I spent three days in an old New York City hotel, about two blocks from Times Square. At about 3:30am on the morning of 27 October, I heard my wife awake to go to the bathroom. Once she had returned to bed, I went there myself. I had turned off the bathroom light and was attempting to feel my way to my (left) side of the bed in the darkness, when I noticed a tall, dark image standing in front of me at a right angle to my body. I was convinced no one had entered the locked room. Suddenly, this large image, perhaps 1.9m, raised both of its arms and moved toward me as if to embrace or grab me. In a defensive motion, I swatted at it and it disappeared. Immediately, I observed the image of a clean-shaven man, in his 50s or 60s, moving across my line of vision from my left. The image turned to face me, floated toward me, then backed away. His facial features were clearly outlined in a faint neon green. His torso was also visible. Looking at him, I observed that his body appeared to have an oily film moving upon it, very similar to the appearance of a child’s blown soap bubbles, when the oily film can be seen in the sunlight before they burst.

Immediately upon seeing this, I also observed a third apparition, darker and not as prominent, moving across my field of vision from my left. It was helmeted, and my impression was that it was an astronaut. Its body seemed rather bulky, and simply floated in the room with the same oily nature. I was not scared, but delighted that I was actually seeing such appar­itions. Feeling for furniture, I then realised I was not on the left side of the bed, but on my wife’s side to my right. I moved around to the left side and sat on the bed, watching the old man and “astronaut” continue to float around for perhaps two or three minutes. I also considered that the “astronaut” might also be a firefighter with a helmet and oxygen pack. As the old man faced me for several seconds, I observed a large bright green circle on his right cheek. I did not speak to the apparitions, fearing they would disappear. The room had a murky appearance with a faint green haze. After those few minutes, the figures were no longer visible. I drifted off to sleep.

As we ate a late breakfast in the city, I told my wife of the incident. Declaring that I had been neither dreaming nor intoxicated, I had no trouble convincing her. As a precaut­ion, she immediately purchased a cross pendant from a street vendor. Returning to the hotel, I asked the receptionist if anyone else had reported such activity. He replied no, adding he had only worked there for four months. After hearing my story, he offered us a Bible to place in our room, as we were staying one more night. I placed it on a nightstand, and as I closed the door to rejoin my wife in the lobby, the door made the most mournful creaking sound. Until then, it had not creaked at all, but did so for the rest of our stay.

That night, my wife would not allow me to leave the lights off in the room, though I would have welcomed a second chance to see the apparitions. Given another chance, I would have spoken to them.

Jared Keeler
By email




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