| Strange Tales: Which One is False? | |
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There are so many incredible stories of unexplainable events that it's often difficult to know what to believe. Just for a bit of fun, following are four stories of paranormal experiences. Only three of them are true; one of them has been completely made up by yours truly. Your job is to read them all and see if you can determine which is the false story.
Story 1: Saved by a Dream
The nature, meaning and purpose of dreams is still largely unknown. Occasionally, dreams have proved to have a power that reaches beyond rational explanation. And in this one instance, at least, a dream saved several lives.
The year was 1740 when a ship captained by Thomas Shubrick set sail for London from Charleston, South Carolina. Soon after reaching the open sea, a violent storm struck the area. The hard, driving rain and fierce winds caused great concern among the citizens of Charleston who were the friends and loved ones of the ship's crew. They knew very well that the storm placed in peril the lives of all aboard Shubrick's ship. Experienced sailors were certain that the ship could not have survived the terrible maelstrom and most likely was lost at sea.
That very night, a vivid dream came to a woman named Mrs. Wragg, who was the wife of a close friend of Captain Shubrick. In the dream, she saw the wreckage of the ship in the dark, rolling ocean - but also saw Shubrick alive and clinging to floating debris. In the morning, she told her husband of her vision and was so profoundly affected by it that she insisted that he organize a search for the ship's survivors. The storm had dissipated, so Mr. Wragg set off with a small crew in another ship. Unfortunately, no trace of Shubrick's ship was found, and Wragg returned with the bad news.
The next night, however, Mrs. Wragg had the very same dream - again seeing the captain clinging for life in the cold water. A second search was no more successful than the first.
The insistent dream came to Mrs. Wragg a third night, and this time she had to beg her husband to once again search for survivors. Mr. Wragg was reluctant to pursue what seemed like a futile effort, but his wife was so sure that her dream-vision was correct that her persistence won out. A third search voyage was organized. But this time, Captain Shubrick and one member of his crew were found, exhausted but alive, held afloat by pieces of the broken ship - just as Mrs. Wragg had seen in her dream. It was a dream that saved two men's lives.
Story 2: The Double
Everyone, it is said, has a double and there are many stories of doppelgangers - exact doubles of people who look and act like their counterparts, but exist in some other life. In this case, a man's double turned out to be his savior.
It was June, 1961, and Roscoe Tainridge was home alone for one of the first nights he could remember in a long time. His wife and three young children had gone to visit her mother for a few days in a neighboring town, and Roscoe, because of commitments to his job, was unable to accompany them. Roscoe decided to spend the evening relaxing in his Rochester, New York home just watching his favorite TV shows and enjoying a few snacks.
As he sat down to watch the programs, however, he was immediately reminded that the reception was terrible; a wind storm on the previous night had most likely pulled some wires from the TV antenna on the roof. Determined not to let that ruin his evening, Roscoe set about fixing the wire. He set up a ladder and climbed onto the roof with a few simple tools. Indeed, one of the leads from the antenna wire had come loose and Roscoe quickly reattached it. As he made his way back to the ladder, he lost his footing and slipped over a ridge on the roof, and fell down the other side of the house where he became wedged between the house and the garage.
The sun had just set and Roscoe was hopelessly sandwiched between the two buildings in a painful position, virtually unable to move. His body was so compressed at this angle that he could barely get enough air to yell for help. But try he did, hoping that one of his neighbors would hear. Roscoe later estimated he had been trapped for about an hour and was beginning to give up hope of being found before he passed out... or worse. He gave up trying to cry for help and began to pray.
Finally, it seemed like his prayer was answered. He heard a man's voice say, "Don't worry. I'll get you out." It was a voice that sounded familiar. Roscoe saw a hand and arm reach in for him. He was able to grasp on to it with his own and the man slowly and carefully began to help Roscoe out of his life-threatening situation. As the man pulled him out, all the while telling Roscoe to remain calm, Roscoe slowly began to see his face in the dim light. Roscoe was dumbfounded. It was his own face. The familiar voice was his own. Roscoe thought he must be hallucinating. As the man pulled him closer and closer to freedom, Roscoe could see the man more and more clearly - and it was him or his exact double.
Finally, Roscoe reached the edge of the two structures and fell to the ground - free and able to breath, if somewhat sore. He looked up to thank this familiar stranger... but he was gone. In fact, there was no one around. From that day to this, Roscoe has no explanation for what happened that evening, and he wonders still who saved him.
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