It Threw Me

It was during quarantine. The 12th of July to be exact. I was meeting my online best friend in person for the first time. His name was Xylon Harrison. (was; he passed away March of 2024) We'd been talking through Instagram for four years. Xylon was born on the 31st of October in 2007. He was 16 at the time we met and I was 15. He lived in a small town called Doncaster, located in South Yorkshire, England. He was flying out here to California with his friends for vacation. My parents didn't want me going out with friends, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I went out anyway. Xylon and I had met through Instagram. We both love the ghost hunters and paranormal investigators Sam and Colby, and that's how we met; through the Sam and Colby fandom.

We were meeting at an abandoned hotel in Palm Springs. I was bringing a backpack full of ghost equipment, including EMF readers, two Rem Pods, a Spirit Box, Estas Method kit, an Onvoy, and an EVP recorder. I was super stoked to be meeting him. As I approached the hotel, I saw him and his friends waiting. The moment he saw me, we both started running full speed at each other and crashed into a hug, knocking us to the floor. We were squealing and crying like 12 year old One Direction fangirls (which suits well, as we were hardcore Directioners) We were rolling around on the floor, our arms firmly wrapped around each other for around 5 minutes. I remember how he smelt; like cologne weakly covering up the faint odor of weed, I remember the sound of his voice in person for the first time; deep, strong English accent, and I can never forget the way his chest heaved up and down when he laughed against me or the feeling of his heartbeat in sync with mine. It was truly a crazy moment for the both of us.

Once we were done processing the fact that this was really happening, we jumped over the gate and started setting up the equipment. After around 30 minutes, the spirits started communicating through the devices, setting off the Rem Pod and making the EMP spike to red. Xylon had brought a Ouija board and we decided to use it since we were getting interactions. Xylon said the “Hello’s” and started asking the simple questions (is there anyone here with us, whats your name, when were you born, etc.) The spirit we reached, it mas a male. His name was Jonathan. He’d died in the 1800s by being hung for accused witchcraft and wizardry. At first he was friendly, but the more we spoke to him, the more uneasy I felt. Xylon noticed this apparently, because when he looked at me, he immediately said goodbye and frantically asked what was wrong with me and if I was alright. I reassured him I was fine. He took a picture of me and when I saw it, I understood why he was so worried. I was pale. And not just your average pale, I looked like a corpse. My lips had no color, my face was the same shade as paper, and I just looked terrible overall. I told him I was okay to continue but he insisted we leave. I really didn't want to, but he talked me out of staying.

When we were packing up, about to leave, the most bizarre experience happened. Whatever it is we were talking to had thrown me into the other room, into a bookshelf. Wood pierced through my arm and I scrambled out of there like a mouse running from a cat. The cut I got from the wood was bleeding pretty bad. I just wrapped it up with medical tape and let it heal on its own. Xylon, his friends, and I all tried telling people what had happened, but nobody seemed to believe us. I can understand that though, I mean, if a bunch of emo teenagers came up to me smelling faintly 9f the devils lettuce, i wouldn't believe it either. Sometimes I feel like I imagined the entire thing, but i'm always reassured that it did happen because of the scar on my arm. That day is the most vivid memory I have. I not only met my online best friend for the first time, but I also got the most unexplainable paranormal experience of a lifetime.