“It occurred to me that because of our unique chemistry, I was picking thoughts out of her brain.”

When I retired as a schoolteacher and moved to Florida, I decided I didn’t want to sit at home all day and watch TV, so I hired myself out as a part time nanny and babysitter.

Work went fine for the next month or two, then I had the strangest experience of my life.

As I walked up the steps of a house to introduce myself to a new family, I could feel my sensations becoming more acute. Anna, the woman of the house had hired me over the phone; she said my references were impeccable and she couldn’t wait to meet me. As I approached the front door, I had the strangest feeling I knew this house. Yet, I was new to the area, and I was a bit confused.

When the door opened, there was Anna with a big grin on her face. I liked her instantly as I knew I would. I glanced over her shoulder into the room and felt very much at home. As she gave me a tour of the house, I started telling her in advance what each room looked like. At first Anna was stunned – as was I – and I explained to her the strange sensations I had as I first approached the house.

We were both amazed when I described not only the layout of the master bedroom, but the individual pieces of furniture as well as the various things she had strewn around the room. Then I realized what was happening.

Occasionally, I find myself really connecting with a person. When this happens, it appears that we are of the same mind. And I certainly connected with Anna the previous night on the phone. I liked her melodic voice, her easy laugh which was kind of a giggle, and I could tell she was a genuinely nice person.

It occurred to me that because of our unique chemistry, I was picking thoughts out of her brain. This had happened to me previously, but only with people I really liked. So, when Anna and I were walking around the house, as we approached a room that she obviously knew so well, I was simply picking up bit of information from her mind.

H. Amberheart
Tampa, FL

“Here was a complete stranger talking about us as if she had known us all our lives. And she was mentioning intimate details that we had never talked about other than within our own group.”

I play in a blues band, but I don’t do it for a living. I’m a computer programmer by day, and by night I live out my fantasies with three friends I’ve known since grammar school.

We write songs during our spare time and perform at small venues in the hope some record executive will hear us. After all, what’s life without having something to dream about and hope for?

Several months ago, we stopped by a place where we sometimes perform. We just went over there for some drinks and to listen to the newcomers who play there on open mic night.

As usual, the “talent” was mediocre, but then an older woman (when I say “older,” I mean she was maybe fifty years old) walked up to the stage with her guitar and started playing. She had a quality about her that was mesmerizing, particularly because she talked rather than sing.

At first she spoke about herself, her ex, her kids. Then she looked across the room at our table and starting talking about us. At first we laughed at everything she said because we assumed she was just winging it, making things up. She spoke about who we were, our aspirations, the kind of music we played, what did for a living. But then she was getting very specific – and very accurate. She was right on.

Here was a complete stranger talking about us as if she had known us all our lives. And she was mentioning intimate details that we had never talked about other than within our own group. Things like what we thought about the manager of our band, how we almost let our drummer go even though he was a good buddy (You should have seen the look he gave us when she mentioned that.)

And when she said Barry, our lead guitarist, was leaving his job to start a business, his mouth dropped open. He had never mentioned it to us.

Afterwards, she came over and sat with us. We questioned her knowledge of us and still thought it was some kind of trick. Then she dropped this bombshell: She looked at Gary and told him she was sorry his parents would be getting divorced. Gary stiffened and said his parents had been happily married for almost thirty years. She looked at him and nodded, then excused herself and walked away.

We all looked at Gary who seemed distraught. Then he called after her and said you may be right, they just started talking a few weeks ago about living separately. He asked how she could have possibly have known. She smiled and touched her heart. “It’s all in here,” she said. She wished us good luck and walked out of the building and that’s the last we ever saw of her.

H. Gubinoff
Toronto, Canada

“I said, how do you know about Marie, and she started leafing through one of her magazines. Looking up, she said it’s all in here, it’s all in here. Then she abruptly turned and walked out.”

I have worked in retail for over nineteen years and believe me, in that time I have seen everything – from the nicest people in the world to the nastiest. I’ve seen a woman go into labor and rush off to the hospital, and I saw an elderly man collapse in front of me with a serious heart attack.

But perhaps the strangest incident was the woman who was shabbily dressed and walked through the door carrying a stack of magazines. She laid them down on the counter right in front of me and started leafing through the pages, periodically looking up at me and smiling.

Then, in the calmest, sweetest voice I ever heard, she said, I’m not crazy you know. I had expected to hear a voice that was a little off, a little brittle. I didn’t think she would sound like a normal, intelligent person.

Holding a few of the magazines in her hands, she told me she picks up “clues” from writers who write in “code” in magazines and newspapers. Now I knew she was a whacko and she noticed the look in my eyes and said, I know something about you that could be very helpful to you.

I said, uh huh, sure. And then she dropped the bombshell on me. She put her face very close to mine and said, “You should marry her, you know.” I said what are you talking about, and she said, “Marie.”

Well, I was stunned. Marie was my girlfriend whom I had just met a month ago, and she was threatening to walk out on me if I refused to marry her. This had come to a head the previous night, and how in the world did this strange vagabond know about it. After all, I had told no one at work about Marie because I try to separate business from pleasure.

I said, how do you know about Marie, and she started leafing through one of her magazines. Looking up, she said it’s all in here, it’s all in here. Then she abruptly turned and walked out.

I never saw her again, but I’ll never understand how she did it. My best guess is that although I have no doubt she’s mentally ill and my heart goes out to her, somehow she has developed psychic capabilities that allow her to pick up information from a person’s thoughts.

And then it came to me… when she entered the store and walked toward my counter, Marie was definitely on my mind at the time. I think she “heard” my thoughts and that’s why in this large store I worked in, she came directly up to me.

R. Landry
Houston, Texas

“I had this awful premonition that something was wrong”

It was the sixteenth of October and I was getting ready to celebrate my 29nd birthday with my fiancée, Lawrence.

We had been dating for over a year, and he had asked me to marry him the previous weekend.  I was surprised because he had expressed so many times that marriage was not for him.  My parents were ecstatic and they were dropping hints that it was now or never for me, that if I didn’t accept his proposal, I might never get another opportunity.

What confidence they had in me.  And what a wonderful time it was for me; or, rather, what a wonderful time it should have been for me.  Let me explain.

There was something about Lawrence that never seemed to be “exactly” right.  I mean, he had a wonderful personality, an excellent physique, good looking in a rough sort of way, and a very sharp sense of humor.  What’s wrong with that?

Well, there was always something a bit secretive about him.  It was as if he was holding something back, but I could never put my finger on it.  So here I was awaiting Lawrence to come over on my birthday, and I had this awful premonition that something was wrong, that today of all days, I was going to learn something about my fiancée that could possibly ruin it all.

And for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why I felt this way.  Lawrence had never given any indication at all that something was wrong.  But as I was about to learn, unfortunately my premonition was right on target.

Lawrence walked in and I could see in his face something was askew.  I had never seen that look before and asked if he was OK.  He nodded he was fine, but he looked very, very serious.  My folks were in the room, and I asked if he wanted to go somewhere and have some privacy.

We went in the den.  I held his hand and told him I had this feeling from the moment I had awakened that something was terribly wrong with our relationship.  He simply looked at me and asked how I knew.  I just said I did and to please tell me with your words.  You see, at that moment I wasn’t at all sure what he was going to tell me, and I was kind of bluffing that I knew precisely what was wrong, when, in fact, I didn’t have a clue.

But he took the bait, sat on the edge of the loveseat and looked at me for a very, very long time before speaking.  Finally, he blurted out,  “I’m sorry, but I can’t marry you.  I’m leaving for New York in the morning.”

It was at that moment that I read his mind.  “It’s Marsha,” I said.  He nodded and asked how I knew since he had never mentioned her before.  “Honestly,” I replied, “I didn’t know until this very moment and I think I plucked her name out of your head.”

Well, our relationship ended right there.  I was devastated as were my folks.  So I’m out in the “singles world” again and surviving.  I don’t like it and would rather be settled down with a husband and kids, but at least I didn’t marry someone who was waiting for his old love to ask him to return.  Which is exactly what happened.

T. Wellison
London, England

His Leading Lady Could Read the Thoughts of the Famous Filmmaker

In a 1990 radio interview, Francois Truffaut, an icon of the French film industry, recalled this incident.  “I was not getting a very sound night’s sleep because we were going to film a very complex scene in the morning.  I knew my leading lady was fragile, and the actor opposite her was temperamental, to say the least.

“Although it is my responsibility as director to maintain total control of the set, it is always my intention to have happy actors.  My failure to accomplish that will not optimize their talents, and the finished product will certainly suffer the consequences.

“Sure enough, when I walked on the set, I was alerted by my assistant that my feminine lead was in her trailer — in tears and not at all ready to participate in the demanding scene we were about to film.

“When I entered her trailer she explained that she ‘knew’ what I was thinking about her fragility and that I had spent a restless night worrying about it.

I nodded that she was correct and inquired how she could have possibly known that.  She replied that from the first day of shooting she had been able to pick up on my thoughts.  I’m sure she picked up on my horror at that notion because although she was very, very gifted, she was, indeed, a challenge to work with.

“Well, from that moment on until we wrapped the movie, I was careful not to think negative thoughts about her — or anyone else for that matter.  She also made me promise I would never reveal our little secret to anyone because she didn’t want anyone else to know I thought she had a fragile personality.”

“She gripped the steering wheel, and for a moment I thought we were going to crash.”

My name is Jacob and I’ve been interested in parapsychology ever since I was a kid.  Because my intuition is so highly developed, sometimes I feel as if I’m from another planet.

Growing up I remember my mother occasionally asking me if my dad had left work yet.  If I saw a vision of him walking into a store, I would tell her he would surprise her with some chocolates.  As I recall, she never was surprised when my predictions were right on target.  In her later years, she would tell me that my intuition – my psychic abilities – were evident to her even when I was still in the crib.

I have been married three times and divorced three times.  I have six kids and one of them, Seth, has similar abilities to mine.  He and I still play gin rummy together and give each other a look as if to say we know what cards the other person needs.  I still sense when he’ll call seconds before the phone rings.  He tells me he has the same experience.

My wives had mixed feelings about my ability to read their minds.  On the one hand they thought it was “cute;” on the other hand, none of my wives could keep a secret for long.

For instance, my first wife, Kathy, had an affair, and although I knew what was going on, I never revealed it.  That is, until one afternoon when we were driving to a friend’s house.  She happened to mention that I wasn’t as intuitive as I thought I was, and that I often overestimated my talent.

That’s when I dropped the bombshell and told her whom she was seeing and for how long it was going on.  She gripped the steering wheel and for a moment I thought we were going to crash.

J. Erland
Louisville, KY