My Tarot Scare

Approximately 13 years ago, my father sent me a pack of Rider Waite Tarot cards. His instructions were to take the cards out of the box when I received them, and to keep them on hand at all times. He said even when I slept, to keep them in my shoes, or under my mattress. I did what he said to do. As soon as I got the cards, I immediately became "addicted" to them. I just kept practicing and practicing with people and was impressed with myself when I started becoming very accurate with my readings. After a few weeks, I noticed that I was not just looking at a card reading anymore. It was like I was able to look completely inside of a person's life and mind with each reading. This started to scare me because I felt like maybe I had opened a door that I shouldn't have. As time went on, I began to have horrible dreams, and I mean horrible and scary. There were even things that happened when I knew that I wasn't asleep. For instance, I had just laid down to go to bed one night and my phone was ringing. I laid in bed knowing that the answering machine would pick it up. While laying on my bed, I could hear a high pitched screechy woman's voice on my answering machine saying " I'm going to kill your kids." I immediately jumped out of bed and ran to my answering machine in the next room. The light was blinking that I had a new message, so I pushed the play button and there was no one on the machine. I felt every hair on my body stand straight up. This was when caller id was rather new, and I didn't have it at the time. There were times that I would walk into my home and feel a sense of dread and evil all around me. I mean the feeling would totally envelop me. At those times, I knew that I wasn't alone in my home. These types of experiences went on for weeks, and finally I decided to do away with the tarot cards. I didn't want to burn them, so I threw them in the river. I wanted nothing more to do with these. Within a couple of days, all bad dreams, bad experiences, bad feelings just went away. It's really hard for me to talk about this, even now, because I am afraid that even opening up this past in my mind will open the door up again. I have been sensitive to spirits, good and evil energies, my whole life. I have had issues with sleep paralysis several times. Also in 1994, I had moved into a house with a friend of mine, and immediately was attacked by an unsettled spirit who tried to choke me while I slept. When I opened my eyes I could actually see the arm of the entity coming up around the corner of the couch with its hands around my throat, but I couldn't move, speak, scream, nothing. Finally, it went away, and my friend thought I was crazy. Until, a week later, it started to torment her. When I had finally had enough was when one night I went into my children's rooms to check on their sleeping, and they were both asleep, but shaking violently in their beds, like they were having a seizure or something. I immediately grabbed them up out of their beds and went to my mothers. I called a preacher in town, as well as a Psychic who was well known in the community. All I had told her was my name. Nothing about where I lived or anything else. She proceeded to tell me that I lived close to an old jailhouse, which I did, which was used in the late 1800's. She told me that a man was incarcerated there during that time for being a peeping tom. She then told me that the townsmen had taken this man out of this one man jail cell in the middle of the night and killed him, and that I must remind him of someone that he used to stalk before he was killed. She told me firmly that I must leave the house. The next day, I had a friend help me move all of my things out of the house. Let me also add that the psychic told me there was a picture in my house that the entity was harboring around and attracted to. I figured out pretty quick that it was a picture in my living room of a clown sitting on a stool in front of broken mirrors. People I am not kidding you a bit when I tell you that I had this picture for years, and never noticed until that time that the mirrors were broken with distorted faces in the cracks of the mirror. I knew immediately that this was what she was talking about. While moving, I threw this picture down into the old cellar basement in the house that I was moving from. The next day I was informed by the landlord of that house, that after I moved, the same day, that every pipe in the basement of that house burst. So just when you think this is the end, it is not. Three years later, I started dating a man who bought a very old historical hotel in the same town. After work one day, I went to this hotel to see him and was very tired. He offered for me to go into the main bedroom downstairs and take a nap. I went into the bedroom and laid down, rolled over on the bed, and up on the wall was that same picture! I had never seen another picture like it, for the years that I had it. I yelled for him and asked him where he had gotten it. He said that earlier that day, a peddler, so to speak, came to the door needing some money and asked if he wanted to buy anything out of his cart. The man picked up the picture and told my friend that he could have it for a dollar. I am telling you that there was not one water stain or anything on this picture! The picture went with the trashman the same night! I guess what I am trying to say is, I see many thread's with people asking if playing with Tarot cards or Ouija boards is safe. What I can tell you is that some of us are very sensitive to energies. Those of us who are, are always at risk of opening doors that shouldn't be opened. Most people who open these doors will have bad experiences because once an unsettled spirit knows that the door has been opened, they will play with you, and know that they are scaring you. The more fear that they sense, they more they will play. Just be careful. I would also like to add that those of us who are believers in the spirit world, are the ones most likely to be affected with the sensitivity. I have not spoken of my experiences for a few years now, but I know there are other out there who are just like me, who know that they are sensitive to other energies, who will always embrace our gift, but at the time just want to be left alone. I hope that my story may help even one person realize that they are not crazy if they have had any experiences such as I. You are not alone. Take care everyone, and if anyone has any questions, I would be more than happy to answer