Paranormal or Paranoid?

About 2-1/2 years ago, my husband and I separated. Let me tell you first that I have known him a long time and he has never been a violent person and one night that just seemed to change. He hit me and it continued for three months before I kicked him out and pressed charges.

This was a very confusing time for me because everything I knew with this person at that point was a mess. I was now a single mother with two kids. I was a mess.

Out of pure desperation, I did the dumbest thing I have ever done in my entire life. I had this friend that we now refer to as "Crazy Mary" who talked me into going to see a "witch doctor". My husband came by every morning to spend time with the kids while I was at work and then he would take them to day care.

Some mornings, he would come in his work clothes. When he did, he would usually take a shower there and often just leave his clothes there. Well, the "witch doctor" wanted some of his articles of clothing to do his "magic". So I brought him the things he requested and he did his thing. Just so you know, I felt really guilty about what I felt I was doing.

While I was sitting in this man's living room, I noticed he had four dolls lined up on his couch. I asked him and Mary what the dolls where for. They explained to me that these dolls held the spirits that helped him perform his spells. Well, this was not a lot of comfort to me because they were eerie. I felt like they were watching me. The witch doctor and Mary were both pretty eerie too. I left there feeling like I had sold my soul to the devil.

Like I said, this was a point of pure desperation. I'm not sure that I cared how wrong it felt. The "witch doctor" assured me that I would have the husband I thought I knew and loved back and that was all I really cared about when I left.

Well, sure enough, later that evening my husband showed up at my door and wanted to talk to me. We talked for hours and things seemed to be on the right path. I think that was when the guilt and confusion really kicked in. I wasn't sure how much stock I put into the whole magic thing but then again I didn't know if he would have been there otherwise.

Anyways, on to the scary stuff. It wasn't long after the "witch doctor", things started happening in my house. I would see something move out of the corner of my eye. Several times, I would be staring at something for no real reason and all of the sudden it would fall. These were usually small things like pictures, my birthday cards, and my daughters art project from school. My house seemed to have an eerie feeling about it.

Things got worse after what I have convinced myself was a nightmare. In my dream, I woke up about 2:00 a.m. to a strange glow coming from my living room. I walked down the hall from my bedroom, scared out of my mind as to what could be happening in my living room. I walked around the corner to find the four dolls plus one more lined up on my couch. They seemed to be talking to me. The extra one looked like something from a scary movie and he was telling me that they gave me what I wanted and now they were there for my soul. I was so scared they only thing I remember after that was waking up in my bed with the alarm.

Things continued with the strange things happening in my house for a few months. One day I got in the spring cleaning mode and moved furniture around and stuff. Something to try and shake the icky feeling I had. I was in the girls room cleaning out they're toy boxes. I pulled out a "Sesame Street All-Star Band" that was my oldest daughter's when she was a baby. It was all dirty and wasn't working because the batteries where dead. I took the old batteries out and cleaned it up. I set it on the counter so I would remember to buy some batteries for it when I went to the store. I went back to my cleaning when I heard my oldest in the living room playing. I walked out to see her playing with the "Sesame Street All-Star Band" and it was working....without batteries. I freaked. I didn't want to upset her so I just left her playing with it and when she dropped it, I picked it up and put it away. I called my husband and asked him to come over for dinner. I told him that I needed to talk to him after the kids went to bed. He came over like I asked and after the kids went to bed, I brought out the toy and showed it to him. At first he smiled and talked about when we bought it for our oldest. I let him play with it for a few minutes and then I asked him to take the back off. As he did, I saw the look on his face as he realized it didn't have batteries. It was the look of disbelief. He asked where the batteries were and I told him how I took them out because it wasn't working. Of course, he justified why the toy would be working without batteries and pushed it aside but the next morning he was there with the girls he threw it out. When I asked him why he threw it out, he told me it was just too weird for him.

A few days after my husband threw out the toy, I had the nightmare again. I woke up in a cold sweat and I was shaking. My husband had spent the night with me and was there when I woke up. That was my breaking point. I knew I was loosing my mind and I was scared to death. My husband sat there looking at me with concern on his face and I broke down and told him everything...I mean everything. I confessed all my sins to him. I told him about the "witch doctor", his clothes, the objects falling, the shadows out of the corner of my eye, and the nightmare. He offered me comfort and told me no "witch doctor" could make him love me anymore or any less. Basically, he told me I had an over active imagination. Scared, confused and not really sure what to think at that point, I begged him to take me to the hospital. I spent 5 days in the mental ward at the hospital. I accepted the doctors evaluation that I had a nervous break down. He put me on some medication and sent me home.

The first time I walked into the house, I knew it wasn't right. My husband moved back in on a semi-temporary bases. I should have felt some sense of relief that there were no more secrets between us and he was home. Instead, I walked in and felt an overwhelming sense of something bad there. I didn't say anything to my husband because in my mind, the hospital was worse. I took some time off from work and sent the kids to daycare since we still had to pay for it. I had been home a few days and my husband had just left with the girls. We've always made it a habit not to turn the T.V. on in the morning while trying to get everyone ready because it is to distracting so I know it wasn't on when I went to take a shower. When I got out of the shower, it was on. That was it. I got on the phone and called a dear old friend who is a very active member of his church and I asked him to come bless my house. I didn't tell him why and nor did asked. When he got there, he just asked me if I was okay.

From that day on, everything seemed to go away. To this day, I'm not sure if it was something I brought home from that man's house or me just being paranoid about doing something so stupid or a combination of both. Since then I have meet a few people who are Wiccan and talking to them has cleared a few things up somewhat but I know I will never do anything like that again.

Thank you for reading my story and I hope it wasn't too long or boring. :)