Encounters with the Unknown—Alternate Perceptions Magazine, January 2024
Native Spirits, or What?
by: Jackie Smith
One evening in June of 2014, my friend Todd and I decided to go to La Posada in Santa Fe. We arrived around 9:30-10 pm and found a comfortable couch in the bar to settle into. We both ordered iced tea since neither of us drink much. We were talking for about an hour or so. There was some kind of event at the hotel that had concluded shortly before we arrived, so there were still a few people trickling into the bar for a last drink.
At some point, around 11:30 pm, we decided to head home. Todd left his car at my house and I drove to La Posada, parking my car in a church lot up a side street near the hotel. When it was time to go, I got up and walked towards the bar door and paused for a second before opening it. I thought that the door was somehow different, but the thought didn't have time to settle in. (Thinking back, it seemed like the door was mostly wood with a small glass pane, but it is all glass with a wood frame). As I opened the door, I caught a glimpse of a small, Native American man looking at me from across the hall, under the archway of the library/gallery. The small man was accompanied by an average, pretty 30-ish Native American woman, wearing a contemporary, short black dress. They were together but I couldn't figure out their relationship. The man was no more than approximately 4 ft tall, so I was wondering if he was a child. He was wearing an old-fashioned black suit with a white buttoned up shirt. He had striking long black hair to his waist, and it was combed back. I was puzzled by his appearance because he looked like a boy and a man sort of at the same time, wearing this outdated man's suit.
Strangely, we seemed to be the only people there and the hall seemed dimly lit. The boy/man was looking at me from across the hallway. (Todd was standing next to me but I was no longer aware of his presence). I was fixated and fascinated at the same time... and I kept asking myself "is he a boy or a man?" - to the point of being immobilized. I made a mental note to myself about the feeling, It wasn't uncomfortable.
The boy/man continued to stare at me for a few seconds. He had a very large forehead, maybe exaggerated because his black, glossy hair was combed back. Again, I vaguely noticed that I couldn't move my head to look elsewhere. I was transfixed by his head, his face, and his large forehead. While continuing to look at me, he tilted his head toward me and suddenly a bright, powerful cobalt blue light came from the middle of his forehead and shot out towards me. I recall observing this with fascination, yet no emotion. I felt detached from everything. My entire being consisted of observing him and the bright, blue light. I was standing and floating at the same time. I felt as if I was consciousness, rather than a body. In fact, I had completely dissociated from my body and my surroundings. I was aware of what was happening but not able to respond or even move.
Then it was over. (I have no idea how much time passed) I sort of came to, turned to Todd and began walking dizzily through the hall, down some stairs, through the lobby and out the doors of the hotel. I looked at the night sky and began making my way to my car. Todd was ahead of me while I was crossing the street. The two people/entities were behind me, talking and giggling... following me? Crossing the bumpy yellow corner area for disabled folks made it hard to keep my balance. They giggled. I turned around, towards them, but I distinctly remember I couldn't raise my head to look up at them. I just said, “Be careful, this is a little tricky.” The woman said something and then giggled, but I couldn’t make out what she said. I headed up the side street to meet Todd who was standing on the sidewalk looking across the street at the same two, who were leaning on a white car. How did they get there so quickly? We stared at each other across the street and once again, I was immobilized, but better able to break away from the interaction (no blue light) and get to my car.
During the ride home, neither one of us mentioned what had just happened. I think we had forgotten it. We talked about superficial stuff and hugged goodbye when we got to my house. I didn't really start to remember the experience until a few days later in LA while visiting my Dad. I brought it up to him as a kind of joke, probably because I didn't believe it myself. My father worked in the aerospace industry, and somehow did not seem that surprised. He was like, "Do you think it was a spirit or an alien?" I laughed and said I had no idea.
When I returned to Santa Fe a couple of weeks later, Todd came over and we started talking about La Posada. Suddenly, it was like “Do you remember anything odd about when we were leaving La Posada?” and then it all just started coming to us. I had a hard time believing he had the same experience, the same sensations, and the same recall, although with slight variations. What happened? Why me? Why us?
As far as the blue light incident, Todd pretty much experienced the same thing as I did, only he saw the being further away in the gallery across the hall. He saw the black suit and the woman as well, but described the blue light differently, i.e. beaming through his hair which was covering his face. I saw his hair combed back. Everything else was pretty much the same as I had recounted. He did say the being was looking at me when the light shot out of his forehead. Todd felt as though he was no longer in control of his body as well.
Editor’s Note: Jackie Smith is a pseudonym. She was afraid that using her true identity might impact her job.
