A user on Quora recently asked, “What has been your most paranormal experience as an emergency responder?” A few answers stood out to us, especially one by EMT Scott MacHarrie. You can read his reply below:
I had a Paramedic Supervisor back in the 90s who had 20 years in EMS and had a reputation for being a tough guy with a big heart. He told us a story that raised the hair on the back of my neck one day that I will never forget.
In 1981, he was an EMT for a volunteer fire department in a New Hampshire farming community. In this town lived an elderly brother and sister along with an elderly cousin on a sprawling farm. They where very well-liked by the townsfolk and they would offer a plot of their farmland to anyone for the asking with one simple rule: no matter what they grew they had to donate one-third of their yield to area foodbanks. This was just one of the reasons they where so beloved.
As they got older, Mary, the sister, became frail with osteoporosis and was admitted to a nursing home. John, her brother, was left to look after the farm. One day the cousin who lived nearby was unable ro reach John by phone and became concerned. He went to the farm and entered the house. He discovered John in an upstairs bedroom unconscious suffering from a stroke; he immediately called 9-1-1.
Word of trouble at the farm spread quickly and soon the siren was blaring notifying volunteers in the town. The towns police and BLS ambulance raced to the farm. An ambulance from an adjoining community was also dispatched. My boss was one of the EMTs responding and was familiar with this family.
When he arrived, he said he walked into the house and was told to hurry as CPR was underway. As he entered the front hall, on his left was a sitting room and in the room he noticed an elderly woman sitting in a rocking chair smiling back at him. He thought how happy and peaceful she looked and was a bit odd given what was going on. He then recognized her; it was Mary.
They get John to the ambulance and transported him to the hospital, where he was pronounced on arrival. As my boss was filling out his report at the nurses station, he made a comment to one of the staff of how sad that it was that Mary was well enough to go home and then have John die like that. The staff member gave him a strange look and asked what was he talking about. My boss said how great Mary looked at the house. He was then informed that Mary passed away the day before at the nursing home and could not possibly been at the farm.
Thinking he mistook someone else for Mary, he asked around about who the female was at the house. There were no females during the call, all the responders where male.
He then described what she was wearing, including an oversized set of pearls and a pink flowered dress to the staff. The dress was Mary’s favorite. He had no doubt that the pleasant elderly woman who gave him a warm smile was indeed Mary.
Two days later, my boss and his then-girlfriend decided to attend the wake for John and Mary (double wake and funeral) as Mary was the girlfriend’s grade school teacher. As my boss walked into the funeral home, he gazed over the the coffin holding Mary and nearly fainted; for there was Mary wearing her favorite pink flowered dress and the oversized pearl necklace. Exactly as she wore two days earlier at the farm.
