Ghostly breathing sounds beside your ears or close to you

The eye witness wrote .

I wonder how the account of what I have experienced will compare to the other stories on this site. In comparison, it probably lacks both novelty and an element of drama. But I would still love to get some ideas from you, the readers. There seems to be few other opportunities around for presenting your experiences to such a wide audience and getting feedback on them.

The last time these breathing sounds occurred was five years ago when I lived in Ireland, just outside Dublin. I was renting a nice little flat – small, but with a closed-off kitchen, closed-off bedroom, not one of the bedsits. The house cannot have been older than 30 years, although I am guessing. It was evidently laid out for multiple parties, but was actually much smaller than the image conjured up by a block of flats.

One night, I awoke at around 4 am. I could see the time on my clock next to my bed because the moonlight was coming in through the window. It was winter, no early dawns to wake you, so I often didn’t close the drapes. The window looked out onto open fields and nobody was likely to see me, so why bother? I had woken up very suddenly, which surprised me but clearly didn’t provide cause for alarm. So I lay in bed, relaxing and thinking about what I would do that day.

I don’t recall precisely when, but after a while – maybe a minute, maybe bit longer – I started to hear a strange sound. I didn’t give it much thought at first. But then it must have grown louder or more pronounced because after a short while – and quite suddenly at that – it became unsettling and I had to find out where it came from. As I had a slight cold at the time, the first thing I did was to hold my breath to find out whether I was spooking myself.

From the fact that I am posting this publicly, you can probably guess that that didn’t stop the breathing sounds I was hearing. Quite on the contrary: in the absence of my own breathing and the quiet of the night, the strange sounds became very clear, almost heavy, and clearly identifiable as breathing and, notably, easy to place in the room. They were coming from the opposite corner of the room, near the door and, unfortunately for me, near the light switch, several feet off the ground.

I stayed in bed for a while longer, thinking about my options. But now that I was aware of the breathing and knew where it was coming from, it became or seemed to become louder and, although this sounds stupid, seemed to “seek” my attention. It didn’t move around though and stayed where it was. I was scared to get up and go for the light switch and thereby moving directly towards this sound and whatever was causing it, but the thought of how much longer I would have to endure the situation if I didn’t make me gather my courage. I got up quickly and resolutely, moved towards the other end of the room as if I was ready to physically attack someone if necessary and actually found the light switch without fumbling or obvious signs of nervousness. The split-second before I turned on the lights, I heard that I was very very close to the source of the noise and that it definitely seemed to come from inside the bedroom. But it never moved. The moment the lights came on, it was gone. I held my breath, I listened… Nothing.

I spent the last few hours before the day really started in the living room. Nothing ever happened again in that flat.

I had heard similar breathing sounds before on several occasions, at different times of day and night, and on three different continents. Sometimes they were frightening, sometimes they were not. Sometimes they felt so benevolent that I was able to ignore them completely, sometimes they even made me feel less lonely when I wasn’t well.

The character changed from place to place and time to time. Sometimes I didn’t hear anything for years… I now haven’t heard anything in five years, which is the longest time ever. Sometimes I wonder why, but generally I am relieved.

If anyone would like to offer any thoughts on this phenomenon, they are very welcome to do so.

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Comments about this paranormal experience

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4 months ago (2016-05-29)
I’v also experienced this heavy breathing. Around ten or eleven years ago, between the period of about 2 years, I heard what most have described, heavy breathing in the opposite end of my bedroom, being about 15 at the time, it really shook me, first my sister heard it in her room and although she only heard it once, I heard it on more than a few occasions and in two different locations, it knew I could hear it and it was aware of me, when i’d sit up it would stop and when i’d lay back down it would start again, deep breathing as though it was from a adult male, along with this I had been experiencing what they call “sleep paralysis” (a required scientific explanation for something that couldn’t be explained in my opinion), that also ended at, more or less, the same time I stopped hearing the breathing. Personally, I believe it to be a jinn, a being that exists in a different dimension to us and is made from a different element, not necessarily harmful or aggressive, we as humans are naturally afraid of things we don’t understand, especially something we can’t physically see. Whatever you think it was, I think you can rest assure that you’re not alone.
Miracles51031 (29 stories) (4500 posts) mod
 
7 months ago (2016-03-07)
I had the same experience at 3:30 am this morning. Something woke me up and I heard someone breath very loud. I held my breath to make sure it was not me and it was not. It happened about a dozen times in a row. Since I was a wake, I pulled my laptop over and decided to surf. My system went completely down even though it was plugged in. This repeated several times until the alarm went off and the breathing stopped and the system went back to normal. Was too strange. I searched and could not find anything that could have made the noise. Too loud to be my cats, similar to a dog but my dogs were locked in their kennels. So… Not sure what it was. I will have my phone ready tonight to try to record.
 
10 months ago (2015-11-10)
Something like this happened to me about 5 years ago now… I was in grade 9 at the time and in the same house that I am in now. I guess you could blame it on my younger age but I always had the suspicion that our house was haunted and I felt a lot of fear when I was alone in it at night. This fear is completely gone now and whatever strange experiences I had back then have never recurred so I have no reason to be afraid. But I can recall a couple strange incidents and one sounded a lot like the other commenters…

I believe I was around 14 years old at the time and I was just starting high school… I wasn’t feeling the greatest so I decided to stay home sick from school. I had a nap and woke up to no one in the house. And me, as a bored teen age girl decided to dish out my clothes from my dresser and try on various outfits for school when I got back. My room led just to the end of my hallway where there is a large glass structure covering the end of the hallway wall. Since I was home alone I decided to use that mirror to try on these outfits and I was changing shirts infront of it. I remember — as I was somewhat scantily clad, all of a sudden I could hear this loud, heavy breathing noise. It was slow, deep and sounded like it was coming from a older male. It’s hard to explain as it did sound human- but there was no distinct direction it was coming from, however it was from the general direction behind me in the air. I just ended up freezing and staring at my self in the mirror, I saw nothing at all, and my dog in the lvingroom didn’t seem to notice anything, and about half a minute later it disappeared. I know that I was alone because the doors were all locked and my parents came home shortly after so it wasn’t them. This has never happened again and my house certainly doesn’t have a “paranormal feel” anymore. At nighttime, when my parents weren’t home once (I would say about 1am), I heard someone sit down, and then get up off of their loud squeaky mattress in the middle of the night. This only happened about a handful of times. Whatever used to be here is gone now, but it certainly was spooky at the time; and being a young age no one would believe me either.

Crying

LilithManson66613 (1 posts)
 
3 years ago (2014-03-19)
I’ve had that same thing happen to me. It hasn’t happened in months and strangely enough it would stop after about 15 seconds and it would happen when I first get in bed at about 9 or 10pm. It would always be heard from across the room right by my door in the exact same spot every time like you describe.
longreeno (1 stories) (3 posts)
 
3 years ago (2013-03-27)
I was looking online about people hearing heavy breathing when there appears to be nobody there. From reading most of your stories I see a lot of similar accounts. My story is slightly different and I have only experienced this once in my life so far, and it happened about 4-5 years ago.
Me, my brother and two friends were camping in the forest not far from my house. About 2 mile outside my village. We had a fire and were sitting by it most of the night having a drink and occasionally going down to the river to check the fishing rods. It was about early to mid-October and there was a really bright full moon high in the sky with no clouds to be seen.
It’s was getting late or early as the case may have been so we decided to go
For a walk up to this hill we had passed ealier which had a bench on top of it over looking an open meadow which the river we were fishing from meanders around. So we marched along the path, up the hill and sat gazing into the nights sky, along the treeline on the horizon and down onto the grass filled meadows which hugged a path that followed alongside the river.
We sat for a few minutes, smoked a few cigarettes while we talked and laughed. We were all just about to get up and leave but as we stood to collect our beers and check we hadn’t dropped anything I noticed heavy breathing that sounded like somebody had just been for a run. Before I could even say anything my brother asked us all to ssshhh. The breathing was so heavy and direct that I started to wonder if somebody was watching us. I told everybody to hold there breath incase it was one of us. But the breathing continued.
By this point everybody can hear the breathing but we were still half drunk and laughed it off thinking that maybe people were out for a romantic midnight stroll and the four of us had just stumbled up unaware of something steamy going on in the bushes.
One of our friends even jokingly started trying to get a response by calling out ” Oi, no doggin round here folks! “. But no response what so ever, just the heavy breathing which we could all pin point to an edge of waist high grass 10ft infront of us. We started to wonder if it could be an animal but no animal I know could breath that heavily without us seeing it or grass moving from it’s movement.
Then I got goosebumps running across my whole body. I said to everybody ” I just got a real case of goosebumps there guys” which all of them worryingly laughed and said they did too. Pretty much straight after that the breathing got louder and it felt like we were looking directly at it and it was looking straight back at us. By this point were all pretty damn scared to say the least! So me and my brother break two branches off a nearby tree and decide to move towards the breathing. Both my friends are really starting to freak out and trying to convince me and my brother to come back to the camp. We still to this day don’t know what the hell was going through our heads. More than likely just curiosity but I’m pretty sure something happened to a cat that had too much of the stuff.
Anyway as we approached the breathing it stopped. We stood at the edge of the waist high grass and looked down the hill onto the moonlight filled meadow. It was really bright for about 1 o clock in the morning and we could see all the way down to the river. More importantly there wasn’t anybody or anything about. Then the breathing starts up again but this time it’s about 15ft down the hill just about the start of the meadow. Me and my brother look at each other and can see that both of us want to find out what’s causing this breathing. So we march down the grassy hill clubs in hand to try and at least catch a glimpse of whatever is causing the noise. As we approach the bottom of the hill the breathing stops again. Me and my brother are pretty much back to back by now waiting for anything. Then the breathing starts up again further into the meadow. Now baring in mind that it’s a full moon we could see across the whole meadow of grass and into the woods that are on the other side of the river. We never saw anything move or see the thick waist high grass move. AT ALL! We never even heard any kind of movement. You would at least of thought you would hear the grass being brushed passed but nothing! So while wondering what the hell it could be we continue into the grass. We can hear the breathing really clear and we can tell were gettin close to it as it’s getting slightly louder. But as we come to a small clearing with clumps of grass about knee hight and an old worn down barbwire fence the breathing stops again. This time for a good minute or two. Our friends who are still stood at the top of the hill must be scared out their minds and are calling down to us to come back. As my brother tells them to hush up all of a sudden the breathing starts up but this time really loud and deep like it’s touching shoulders with us so much so that we both started to shout and swing the branches around like a couple of scared cavemen.
This must of had some effect as the breathing stopped but then started seconds later further away from us towards the river and sounded like it was continuing to move towards the river. There was a clear patch where the path was that followed the river so if indeed there was something that we couldn’t see somehow managing to hide in the grass and not move the grass in any way then we would see it break from cover to cross the path. So we ran after it. As we got close to the edge of grass we stopped to see if we could hear the breathing and sure enough it’s making it’s way towards the river. But as we get to the path NOTHING! The breathing has stopped and not one of us seen anything cross the path. So we start to look back into the grassy meadow to see if we can see any movement. Were just in the process of shouting up to our friends if they seen anything move or break from cover when all of a sudden the breathing starts back up. We turn round and whatever it is, is now on the otherside if the river. The breathing felt so unsettling like it was staring right at us! Like it knew we were aware of it, probably not in the best of moods after just having two madmen swinging sticks chasing it! But at that moment when we realised it had somehow managed to cross a good 10ft clearing without any of us seeing it or hearing it, and not only that but crossed a river which must be 20ft across without us seeing it or hearing a single splash or drop of water something didn’t feel right! Me and my brother both ran along the path as fast as we could completely terrified. When we got back to our friends we were all getting our arses the hell out of there but as we started marching back down the hill the breathing was right back where it started at the top of the hill!
I still to this day get goosebumps when I think about that night. It has forever changed my outlook on the way we look at this amazing world we live in. I used to laugh at the ideas of ghost and to a certain degree I still do. I am however open minded and don’t think for a second that science has the answer to everything (at least not yet anyway) but to say for certain what it was would be impossible. All I know is it was not an animal or a human. Could it be a spirit? Possibly. Perhaps there is more to this world than what we can see and touch. But that does not mean that ghosts or spirits is the only option. Parallel universes, different dimensions etc. Heck, let’s not even forget the fact that some people believe that extra terrestrial life had visited our planet or is even here now. No more out there than the belief of angels, demons, spirits etc. Infact some say the testamony of encounters with angels and demons is possible extra terrestrial encounters?
I am not a religious person, spiritual yes but not religious. Perhaps were tapping into something that just isn’t in our understanding yet. Hopefully one day something will shed light on this phenomena. 
4 years ago (2012-04-23)
I had the problem you describe. It persisted for months. I finally found the cause. It was the toilet cistern. Water gets under the washer on the valve and makes the breathing sound. It goes from room to room without the sound fading with distance. I put a new washer in it and the problem was solved. I moved to another house with the same breathing sounds. Fixed it with a washer.
sweetrendition (1 posts)
 
5 years ago (2012-03-20)
I actually had this same type of experience this morning. My boyfriend gets up around 4:00 am to go to work, and I had the day off today so I got to sleep in. I was woken up at 5:00 am by my dog growling and trying to attack something that wasn’t there, I calmed him down and tried to get him to go back to sleep, he growled quietly all morning. Then at about 7:00 am I woke up to the sound of heavy breathing which sounded like it was right beside me in bed, I got up in a half asleep panic and ran to the bathroom, in there I could still hear the breathing and I thought that maybe my boyfriend had decided to stay home and sleep on the couch a as we’re both not feeling to well right now, and because our basement suite is quite tiny I would be able to hear him breathing from anywhere in the apartment. So I went into the living room and could still hear the breathing but my boyfriend was not home. My two cats were hiding under the stool with their fur up on their backs, and hissing like crazy. I tried to stay calm and grab the cats and the dog and went to take them out of the basement suite into the hallway, and the sound stopped, the cats stopped freaking out, and since then everything has been normal. I have no clue what happened, I hadn’t had this happen before, and it was really creepy.
EdenRose (1 posts)
 
5 years ago (2011-10-21)
I have heard the breathing occasionally in the past but took no notice of it, until 5:00 this morning. I was awoken out of a deep sleep, I sat up in my bed a little confused as to why I had awoken, the house was dark and quiet. Then I heard the breathing, I held my breath it defiantly wasn’t me. I froze listening to it, it was coming from the right side of my bed. Immediately in my head I thought someone had got in, could they have climb the second story balcony? I was scared if I moved the intruder would know I was awake and kill me. I ran to the bathroom and turned the light on then proceeded to inspect the house, there was no one, I checked my room for heater noises and made sure the window was shut. It is not just the sound of the breathing that scared me, what scared me more was the sensation that someone was in my room with me. I wasn’t thinking logically that I have a house alarm no one can get in, I sensed someone in my room and I heard it breathing. I couldn’t tell anybody I know this story, they know me as a very sensible person and this just doesn’t make any sense to me, all I know is I’m very scared to go back in my room and I don’t really know why. If anyone does have any information on disembodied voices I would love the input. This scared me enough to contemplate calling a Priest in but I’m too embarrassed and I don’t think he’d believe me.

Scared Awake.

sharp34 (1 posts)
 
5 years ago (2011-10-11)
This is CRAZY, Well I honestly Just Experienced this at my house alone. I’m hearing this very loud Breathing, like Everyone Else, which is crazy cause when I googled this I didn’t think anyone would have this same experience. Listen I tried Debunking this, but I couldn’t so I had to share my story so I made account a soon as I seen this was the ONLY site I could find with People having Stories like what I just Experienced.

Ok I was just at my house, my dad just left to get a haircut, so I stood here. Once he left. Like 10 minutes go by and I hear my back door squeak shut, almost like someone was sneaking through my back door, but stupidly I didn’t think anything of it, I had some Windows open so I thought maybe I caught some kind of other Noise. So I ignore it. Than I go to play with my little dog, I start tugging her toy from her, just playing with my dog, than all a sudden I begin to hear this breathing noise, I think maybe its me, or my dog. But than the breathing gets louder, like it sounds like a very Clear like its another human, like someone came back from running a marathon, I put my hear up to my dog, and its not breathing hard like this. SO I get very startled. I start to think SOMEONE broke in my house! Cause this sound like someone is breathing hard in a closet. I can hear them. I go into my kitchen and get a Knife. I go and check, than I begin to think well damn maybe that noise I heard earlier, with the door squeaking shut. Was someone breaking in. So I’m with a knife checking Every Room and my heart is beating fast I’m checking every closet, every corner to every room, and I find NOTHING. I’m than am Puzzled. This was Loud, like no way I’m imagining this. This where it gets creepy, as if it couldn’t get any worse. I begin to think, I heard someone, I know for sure it was something. Now Listen I NEVER believed in Ghosts. But I called this thing out, telling it to breathe hard. Like third time I ask it to breath heavy. I hear this LOUD hard breathing coming from the other room, I just sit there and listen at this for about 2 minutes straight. Creepiest thing I’ve Ever heard, And I never Believed in ghost before this

Scared

lycanz666 (1 posts)
 
5 years ago (2011-09-03)
the phenomenal experience of spooky chills have been a part of my life as well!

Since the past two years it has been so ever since I moved out of my parents house and rented an apt…
I was welcomed by the most scary of the entire experience so far… It seemed as if I was deep into my sleep and dreaming where I saw myself in the same position sleeping with the consciousness of myself knowing that I was dreaming I felt some one just trying to strangulate me to my ceiling fan right above me… Now consider this if I am aware of my condition to be dreaming this I could obviously break free of the same, as we usually do but for some strange reason I’m unable to do so and actually going breathless after a hard struggle I mange to sit up on my bed and drenched in sweat when my air conditioner is showing 20 degrees (cold enough for Bombay) as the temperature set. I could still not get weather it was dream or what? I was completely struck but was sure it was more than just a dream. I called my girl spoke to her, even decided to get out at that 4 am time but than some how I hung back with a feeling in my mind to see it further and decided to sleep on the same bed… After a few days my girl shifted in with me… Now this was where I started to get this breathing sound too often in the night… I would try to concentrate to understanding weather it was the breathing sound of my girl sleeping next to me or some thing else but I could clearly differentiate the two… Its been six months now that I shifted out of that house and am staying in a new city in a newly constructed apartment… Even thought hear inn I haven’t had a terrific welcome like the previous apartment but not only me but my room mate who stays with me as well has experienced these breathing sound the irony goes it stays for a very short time around 5 sec but its super strong to make out… I feel these vibes but some how want to continue the mindset that nothing’s happening until I see some thing more concrete… There have been time where on the sounds arrival I often speak in my head to this sound saying ” stop disturbing not today… In case you want to chill welcome just dun bother me I’ve had a hard day at work ” and like a normal routine go to bed! I wonder if it does have any connection with leaving my parents house because before moving out I haven’t really gone through any of this but ever since… I try to feel its over it bounces back to prove me wrong… I’m still seeking some reasonable answer to what could possibly be the source to this?

lucylover9 (1 posts)
 
5 years ago (2011-08-10)
I hear the breathing sounds in my house. You don’t have to be alone and it doesn’t need to be dark to experience things in my house. We also have visitors witness events. The breathing seems to be coming from different walls in the kitchen. It happens for a short time and then ceases, but never the same amount of time, and does get louder if we focus on it. We also hear a baby cry and children playing/laughing etc. When we first started hearing the kids, we would all run around checking inside and outside trying to find these kids at playing at 3-4 a.m., only to realize that no matter which area of the house we checked, it appeared to be coming from the opposite direction. Everyone here has heard footsteps on the stairs and watched doors open. The different occurances happen in spurts. The breathing is often one of the activities. I know that a young woman, an 8 year old boy and a 17 year old girl died in the house in the mid 1800’s, but I have trouble tracing who inhabited the house after that.
Vania_Vee (1 posts)
 
5 years ago (2011-06-02)
I know this may be a little late but, you say you’ve heard breathing in three different continents.
Have you ever encountered other unusual things in your youth? If you have, it may be possible that you’re being haunted, not the place in which you reside.
On occasion, I, too, have heard breathing noises, but only at night. I would wake up suddenly and after a while, notice the breathing that wasn’t mine. However, would just ignore it and go back to sleep.
My cousin, who I happen to look a lot like, has heard breathing too. Yet, it’s happened to her during the day when she was home alone. The reason I mention that I look like her is that on one occasion, I heard what I take to be a man’s loud whisper in my ear. What puzzles me is that it was close enough to sound as loud as it did, but I didn’t feel anything on my cheek, it also called me by my cousin’s name.
This week I had another strange encounter when I was home. And today, my boyfriend claimed to have seen me pacing around. I asked him numerous questions about what he saw, and the whole situation was just too weird. I had been pacing but about 10 minutes before he had seen ‘me’. We broke it down, what he saw, and what I was actually doing. It didn’t add up and it was just creepy.
I had been dealing with paranormal stuff since very young. Never did I think I’d be manifested to someone else. Strangley enough, the same situation occured to my look-a-like cousin’s sister.
I have been trying to look it up, but nothing relevant has come up. I don’t know what to expect now.

Jimmy123 (4 posts)

 
6 years ago (2010-12-02)
I know my last post was from a long time ago but I also forgot to mention that there is something a bit eerie about my room in particular in the house. There have been instances where my sister has stayed in there when family are around and she really dislikes it simply because she finds it ‘creepy’. I also remember another time when I stayed in my room with my girlfriend; I was just nodding off when I heard a noise but my girlfriend swears someone shouted my name. I’ve had instances where just before I’m called to go downstairs or what have you, a voice in my head has said my name before my mum even calls it. I’ve been told that I may have a psychic ability but I’m skeptical about this, and wouldn’t know where to even find out if I really do! Any info would be great.

Jimmy123 (4 posts)

 
7 years ago (2009-05-06)
Hey everyone, I had the same phenomenon happen last November, on the 24th to be exact. I remember watching TV in my room at about 11 p.m when I suddenly heared a breathing sound. Obviousely, straight away I thought this was the TV and decided to carry on watching. After a while, the breathing became more distinctive which really crept me out. I decided to go out the room and ask my dad to come upstairs and have a listen. When he came up, nothing was happening. He went back down and I got back into bed, and I could hear the breathing again. This time I muted the TV and could easily pinpoint that this “breathing” noise was coming from right next to me, on the other side of my bed. Again I decided to ask my dad to come up and again the breathing stopped. And it hasn’t happened since. Anyway, the next day I thought of the “typical” explanations for strange things happening like the house being old and stuff, but our house is only about 5 years old. I decided to ask my mum for the date in which we moved in which was funnily enough November the 24th. I was creeped out by this but couldn’t find the connection… If anyone could get back to me that would be great

 

7 years ago (2009-03-27)
Sorry to disappoint you, but for me, I figured it out the breathing sound. It’s a bird. It’s chirping relates to a cricket. With the door closed and a crack in the window, at a distance I can hear this bird creating the sound as if someone is sleeping breathing through their nose.
Although we did have several experiences with a blanket left behind belonging to the previous owner which always ended up on the floor with the closet door 90 degree wide open. We made light of the subject and placed a glass coffee table in front of the door, but it was’nt funny after my girlfriend and I heard the table move; we came down stairs to find the door wide open with the blanket on the floor. Day or night we played this game and proved it in front of friends. We didn’t know what to do with blanket since throwing it out could of made things worse. So we complied leaving the blanket outside the closet on the floor but once in a while I tested the idea to see if he was still here. He was. One day I decided to wash the blanket and place it back inside the closet. Nothing has happened since. This is over a year ago and the breathing sound was recent. So I do accept my ghost has moved on. This is to explain that I had the personal proof and experience that yes there are ghost, so I’m not disagreeing with your experience. But for me, it’s just a bird.
Domino (guest)
 
Please share your stories with us
I have a friend who just told me that an entity was breathing heavily and angerley in the room close to her ear. She has no ear infection and she is medically sound . 
Steve Ramsey- Calgary 

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