A woman who does not believe in ghosts or the afterlife has told how she thinks her late dad who died nine years ago may have cuddled her for comfort in bed.
She was left completely mystified by the spooky event on Monday morning, which has left her “questioning everything” she believes.
The woman, who insists she is an atheist and works in a scientific field, said her father died suddenly in her childhood home in 2009, where she is currently living again temporarily.
Sharing the experience on online forum Mumsnet, she said she felt “arms wrap around her” while drowsing but “definitely awake”.
She assumed her partner, who was downstairs getting ready for work, had returned to give her a hug, but then heard him close the front door.
“My mum has mentioned a few times over the years that she’s felt my dad’s presence here and I’ve always been openly kind to her about it,” she wrote.
Read more: This Morning guest engaged to ‘ghost’ lover after romantic proposal
“She’s mentioned she’s felt pressure on the bed as if someone has sat down on it next to her, for example.
“Anyway, this morning my partner has left for work and I was still in bed. I was listening to him brushing his teeth, then popping the kettle on so I was definitely awake, but a little drowsy.
“I felt him get back into bed with me and thought ‘What’s he doing?’… it’s not unusual for him to pop back into the bedroom and give me a hug or kiss before leaving the house.
“I felt the heaviness of him pressed against my back and his arms wrapped around me. There was a heat between my shoulder blades I have never felt before. I wasn’t scared but I knew it wasn’t my partner then.
“I heard the front door open so he was leaving the house. Then my whole back went tingly, a bit like pins and needles but not in an unpleasant way.
“When it happened I felt calm and warm but I’m freaking out now and can’t stop crying. Sounds silly but I feel like it may have been my dad.”
Hundreds of people responded to her post, with many suggesting possible rational explanations, including sleep paralysis or a mild seizure.
However, several shared their own eerie encounters that they believe to have been with deceased loved ones.
Read more: X Factor judge Ayda Field in tears as performer reminds her of father’s death
One said: “My mum died five years ago, but on a handful of occasions I’ve ‘felt’ her come and sit on the bed next to me.
“I wasn’t particularly thinking about her at the time. Rationally, I tell myself I was dreaming. But I still think it was her.”
Another wrote: “I believe it was a loved one and when the shock wears off I hope you’ll be glad it happened and that it brings you comfort.”
A third replied: “I believe it was your dad. I have seen my cat, who was killed in a car accident a year ago. A flash of tabby though my room when the other cats weren’t there.”
Have you experienced anything similar? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!