I wasn't planning to post until I returned from the history conference I'm attending, but something utterly, unbelievably strange happened to me last night. I swear that everything I'm about to write is true. I'm still shaken up by it.
A little after 2 a.m. I woke up to the sound of my phone dialing and my dad's voicemail picking up.
Strange?
Yes. Especially since I was across the room in bed. My phone was sitting five feet away still on the chair where I'd plugged it in to charge overnight.
I got to the phone where my dad's voicemail message was still playing and then my phone rang. It was my husband.
"Andrea - what's going on?"
"What do you mean?" I was not only confused, but really tired.
"You've been calling me."
At this point my stomach pretty much dropped out of my body. I had no idea what was going on. I told him that my phone seemed to be calling numbers randomly and I was clueless as to why.
After we hung up, I looked at my call log. My phone had been calling random numbers for at least fifteen minutes.
Not knowing what to do and pretty much freaked out, I shut the phone down and went back to sleep.
This morning when I woke early for the conference, my hotel roomie and fellow history Christian said. "You sent me the most random text at 2 a.m."
She showed me the text. It was a smiley face followed by a bunch of random letters.
I did not send that text.
So there were random calls, and texts, and now this morning I've discovered my Facebook was also full of weird nonsense. I have a Facebook app on my Droid.
My theories : 1) my phone went insane. I don't know why, but it did.
2) A ghost, which had never used a smartphone, decided it would be fun to try mine out. I'm in St. Augustine, Florida. The oldest permanent colonial settlement in the U.S. and I'm staying in a very old hotel on the national register of historic places. If any place has a ghost, it would be here.
3) My Droid has become self aware and is attempting to communicate on its own.
So dear friends, if you got a call with no one on the other end of the line or a nonsense text from me in the middle of the night it was not me. I don't know what it was.
Theories?
Help??
That would have totally freaked me out. I wanted to say it's due to your phone going crazy, but since you're in a historical hotel, I'm saying haunting. That and doesn't someone have to type in the smiley face? That would also lead me to believe that a ghost was having a little too much fun with your phone. At least it was a friendly ghost, but still. *shivers* Wow, that is just, WOW! I can't think of anything else to say. That would have me totally rattled too.
ReplyDeleteWhoa, spooky. It could be any of those options - but wouldn't the second or third one make for an interesting book premise? Smart phones actually become smart and take over the world. Ghosts learning technology to become the more dominant "creatures" on Earth.
ReplyDelete*goose bumps*
Sounds like a virus.
ReplyDeleteThough a ghost would be much cooler. :)
I got goosebumps reading this. We can all say it's your phone going crazy, but what are the odds it happens when you are staying at an old hotel! *shivers*
ReplyDeleteTechy-techy hates me, so it probably transferred over to this blog and into your life. Oops, sorry ~bits lip~ my bad;)
ReplyDeletePhones are just crazy like that, happens to me all the time.
That is crazy! It must have been a virus or something like that. Although you being in an old hotel does make the ghost thing likely...being a lover of the paranormal I would never rule that out...maybe you should take the phone into a store to get checked out, if it comes back clean that you have a ghost keeping you company in that room! Either way spooky, but kinda cool :)
ReplyDeleteWoah, that's creepy. I did see the messages on Facebook and wondered what was going on, LOL :|
ReplyDeleteI would be soooo spooked.
ReplyDelete(And maybe a bit inspired....kind of an interesting premise....not knowing if you've got a case of HAL from 2001: A Space Oddessy or something even more creepyish...)
Do you have to stay in the room again tonight?
Shelley
Goodness! There's no telling what happened but that's an awesome story! :)
ReplyDeleteThe ghost premise is so spooky and cool that you are going to have to use it in a story. But, actually, I think you better have your phone checked for a virus. Hackers are every bit as scary as ghosts.
ReplyDeleteIf ever there were a place in the US for a ghost to take over your phone - St Augustine would be it. Creepy, creepy, creepy..
ReplyDeleteDefinitely creepy and annoying -- though you seem to have good company with this one. I did a search for "Droid calling random people" and found a ton of users complaining about this. Apparently it happens most often while charging and using an off-brand charger. One guy reported his droid actually trying to buy applications when it was going through its possessed state. And even locking it apparently doesn't work -- it just will unlock itself. Yeesh. Time for an iPhone, perhaps?
ReplyDeleteWOW, that is definitely weird!!! I'm sure if it was a ghost, it was friendly though... hence the smiley face :)
ReplyDeleteThanks guys! I have now learned that Droids do freak out like this on occasion - I'm hoping I can trouble shoot so it doesn't happen again. I kind of think I'd like the ghost better than a buggy phone!!!
ReplyDeleteYou're creeping me out, but I can't even seem to dial my phone correctly, so...
ReplyDeleteI have no theories, but I'm disappointed that I didn't get a random text. Can you add my number to your list so I can get smiley faces from beyond the grave? Because that's cool.
ReplyDelete(GHOST IN THE MACHINE! :P)
ReplyDeleteWell, that's just fascinating to me. As someone mentioned above, this would make a good premise/basis for a story -- or the start of a story. SOMETHING. I believe everything happens for a reason, so maybe -- just maybe -- this was meant to inspire instead of frighten? ;)
And I just find the image of a ghost playing with a phone and trying his/her hand at texting HILARIOUS. *grin* (The smiley face was icing on the cake.)
Oh no! Sounds like someone hacked your phone. YOu should probably get it fixed or at least checked up at the service store!
ReplyDeleteMaybe it was Nev.
ReplyDelete