Omens of death?

littlebug

A large bird landed briefly on my mothers head on Saturday. Aside from the shock of it she got a bit spooked because of a story of a bird flying into a church during mass and landing on a young girls head. That evening the girl died in a car crash.

Although my mam herself isn’t particularly religious, her family always seemed to believe in “signs”, not just your usual banshee stories but other things like hearing a knock on the door but no one is there. Other stories included a cork suddenly popping out of a bottle which had been untouched for months. Later that night they got news that a close relative had died.

This one isn’t a sign as such but interesting nonetheless. A few years ago, my gran had temporarily moved in with my mam while my uncle who lived with her was in hospital. They would check in at my grans house every 3 days or so. On the day that my uncle died they returned to the house to find a plaque (religious thing) that had been sitting on a ledge over the fireplace was now lying (intact) on my grans chair by the fire. Ok so it fell.. but it never fell before in the 15 years that it had been there and it hasn’t fallen since. They took it as some kind of “sign” from him.
I imagine that these kind of stories, along with many of Irelands ghosts, died out with rural electrification. But I still love to hear the stories:)

Does anyone else have any stories like this? Or are my mothers family just strange?!

By the way it is now Monday lunchtime and my mother is still alive and well and I’ve no doubt that she will remain that way for a long time to come!
P

Aisling&M

My family have similar stories.......most prominent in my memory is the knock at the door just before someone dies....(someone from the other side coming to pick them up).........and strangely enough just after I found out that my cousin died I heard the loudest knock on the door.....and I was completely alone in the house.

greenkittie

i was freaked out last night by a knock on my door but there was noone there... eep!

littlebug

greenkittie wrote:

i was freaked out last night by a knock on my door but there was noone there... eep!

I was afraid of this thread having that effect!

Twas quite windy last night wasn't it? I frequently get the neighbouring brats knocking on the door and running away. I imagine one of those is your explanation.

so shhh kittie, don't worry.. tis only an auld thread posted on boards by someone with nothing better to do looking for stories to amuse me! Don't be taking it seriously!

P

greenkittie

Wasn't windy where i was and i don't have any neighbouring houses really let alone brats... must have been the cat

Nevyn

Yes birds are often seen as omens for differing reason in differet cultures.

6th

I posted this in the Paranormal News Thread a cfew weeks back.

Found this article on BBC today and thought it was interesting seeing as we've had quite a few Birds=Heralds of Death threads.

The screech of an owl is a bad omen in Kenya, taken as a sign that death will strike soon.

However, in Kiawara village near Mount Kenya, Paul Murithi, 30, has defied his community's cultural and traditional norms to rear owls as a tourist attraction.

He has no time for the superstition about owls being omens of death.

"I often used to hear these owls hoot, and I never had a relative die or anything like this."

"If someone dies, the previous night those creatures cry a lot - so I just don't like it," said one woman in the village, who urged Mr Muthithi to stop tending the owls.

But another neighbour was more positive: "We think it will bring development to the area, as a tourist attraction," he said - a view which is echoed by the local authorities.

"There is nothing wrong with this young man as long as he has not broken any rule in keeping the owls," says Ben Kariuki, the area's chief.

"We urge other villagers not to associate this young man with anything sinister, as he is merely earning his bread."

Catilla

I also heard that if a pet refuses to move from someones side that this in normally associated as an omen of death. Often the pet will die soon after.

littlebug

Catilla wrote:

I also heard that if a pet refuses to move from someones side that this in normally associated as an omen of death. Often the pet will die soon after.

There's fairly good scientific reason for that, i.e the changes in enzymes can be detected by the animals super sense of smell. There are examples of dogs detecting impending epileptic seizures as well as cancers and even impending heart attacks.

Doesn't explain the pet dying though...

b3t4

The night my grandfather died four paintings in the hall way fell down. These paintings have been on that wall for over 25yrs and they've only ever fallen down that night.

We took it as a sign of him passing through to check on us before he moved on.

A.

deise_boi

My family are very superstitious about these "old wives" tales.

My mams side of the family have always associated Robin's with people whom have passed on (there's one that comes to my garden everyday - my mam always says that its her dad).

Anyway, my gran aunt was in a nursing home in Cork and she sold her house and gave stuff away. We got the grandfathers clock from her house and put it in the hall. About a year later, the back door was open, in walks the robin.. walks into the kitchen, then into the hall and stands looking at the clock. I was in the sitting room staring at it when It turned around and walked straight back the way it came and flew off. Less then 24 hours later, we got a phone call that my gran aunt had passed away.

Also, Pictures are quite common aswell. We had two pictures fall down just before two people died (car crash).

These things will never be explained but I always take them as a sign. I suppose some would say it's a coincidence but I think it's a sign!

j2u

years ago before my uncle died my other uncle swears he heard a few knocks on the window,next day they got a call that my uncle had been found dead,my deceased uncle was an alcoholic and he hadnt heard of his mother passing as he was over in england somewhere,my dad and the rest couldnt get hold of him to tell him the bad news about thier mother passing.but thats not the only weird thing,its believed by most people in the family my father included that my uncle commited suicide when he heard the news probaly from a relative in england,he was cremated and his ashes brought back to the famly home where my father and me and my mother were living in at the time my fathers sister was also there,another weird thing was the overwhelming smell of paint.now paint nowadays might not have as strong a smell but this was about 20 years ago and my father says that it was very distinctive throughtout the whole house.he says that even without him mentioning the smell to anyone else his sister had smelt it aswell and asked my father was he painting?when they put my uncles ashes with the grave of his mother the smell went away almost imediately

twanda

my mother gets paranoid about anyone leaving shoes on a table. Apparantly that is a sign of death - relates to the shoes being on the morgue table or something like that.
Also when we were kids we used to catch young frogs down at the local pond. My mother would not let us near the house with the things.
She says 'if a frog comes into a house, someone is going out' ie. someone will die.

jammie

Just to add to what little bug said, totally agree that dogs can sense seizures, we had a little jack russell, my brother died 2 and a half years ago, the night my brother died (seizure) our dog stayed in our garage until the day he was taken out of the house (4 days) and never came out, she died in May of this year after pining for my brother constantly running over to neighbours houses looking for him etc....

upthere

b3t4 wrote:

The night my grandfather died four paintings in the hall way fell down. These paintings have been on that wall for over 25yrs and they've only ever fallen down that night.

We took it as a sign of him passing through to check on us before he moved on.

A.

Similar to what happened my grandad. A large dresser collapsed a day before he went into hospital and died. Things before a death might happen you would consider unusual but not particularly frighening.

upthere

b3t4 wrote:

The night my grandfather died four paintings in the hall way fell down. These paintings have been on that wall for over 25yrs and they've only ever fallen down that night.

We took it as a sign of him passing through to check on us before he moved on.

A.

Similar to what happened my grandad. A large dresser collapsed a day before he went into hospital and died. Things before a death might happen you would consider unusual but not particularly frighening.

Steyr

littlebug wrote:

Other stories included a cork suddenly popping out of a bottle which had been untouched for months.

That could be attributed to gas build up?

Steyr

twanda wrote:

'if a frog comes into a house, someone is going out'

Those Garlic eating surrender monkey French! Get out! out i say!:D