Sinister: What are time-lapse experiences?

After an ordinary day of school in 1978, then-thirteen-year-old John Carlson leaves his school and heads home, a modest residence located just over two kilometers away. To avoid some particularly inconvenient subjects, however, he had altered his traditional route, opting for a parallel street, still within a region quite familiar to the boy.

At that moment, however, something happened that Carlson has had difficulty explaining to this day. "I noticed that everything has become strangely quiet, almost mute, " he said on his blog, referring to a feeling communicated by several people who say they have gone through a "time lapse." The businessman then saw elements of the street moving away and when he came to, he was in another part of town, meeting his mother.

Feeling of “unreality”? Acute depression?

If needed to be defined, time lapses are experiences in which an individual is suddenly transported from his or her own time to the past or the future.

Naturally, being a term referring to the controversial scope of the so-called “paranormal”, there is no scientifically oriented experience capable of proving whether, after all, one can really return to the French Revolution between one cup of tea and another or during a field trip. But the reports collected to date certainly have some patterns.

"Time Element", classic episode of the Twilight Zone TV series. Image source: Reproduction / Wikimedia Commons

For example, one speaks of an impression of “unreality, ” as if sensory stimuli become progressively weaker, bordering on nonexistence and giving reality a noticeably dreamlike color, just as in a dream. There are also constant reports of rampant depressions - in which one would immediately feel overwhelmed by an almost tangible aura of oppression.

There are some famous cases that can explain these two points, inclusive.

The Phantom of Versailles

Also known as "The Moberly-Jourdain Incident", the episode deals with the supposed experience of two respectable and educated women, but which could well feature in the episodes of the "Twilight Zone" series. Charlotte Anne Moberly (1846 - 1937) and Eleanor Jourdain (1863 - 1924) were, respectively, principal and deputy principal of St. Hugh College in Oxford, England.

Petit Trianon in Versailles, where the incident was supposed to have occurred. Image source: Reproduction / Wikimedia Commons

In the summer of 1901, visiting the famous gardens of Petit Trianon in Versailles, women say they were suddenly transported in time, straight to the time of the French Revolution. Suddenly both claim to have found people with typical costumes and historical figures - including Marie Antoinette herself.

The experience was turned into a book by one of the girls, written under a pseudonym, generating all the controversy that would be expected. There is even a particularly inspired description of what happened:

Charlotte Anne Moberly Image Source: Reproduction / Wikimedia Commons

“We walked swiftly forward, still talking, but as we left the road, an extraordinary depression seized me, which, despite my efforts to supplant, became steadily deeper. There didn't seem to be any reason for that; I was not tired and became more interested in the surroundings. It made me anxious that my lifemate would realize the darkness that suddenly fell over my spirit, which became more and more powerful as the path came to an end.

She continues:

“Everything suddenly seemed unnatural and unpleasant; even the trees behind the building became flat and lifeless, like tapestry wood. There were no effects of light and shadow, and no wind stirred these trees. And yet it was all very intense. ”

One of Montesquiou's parties?

Robert de Montesquiou in caricature of Georges Goursat. Image source: Reproduction / Wikimedia Commons

Of course, there was no shortage of explanations trying to translate experience into the territory of the logically pronounceable. A form of camouflage was questioned for a loving relationship between the two ladies, something quite immoral at the time.

Another attempt at explanation came from art historian Philippe Jullian. In his biography of Robert de Montesquiou, Jullian recalls that the French poet lived near Petit Trianon's gardens at the time and was known for his extravagant parties, during which tableaux vivants were usually performed - actors and / or role models. of art. That would explain the historical figures found by the duo.

The French Revolutionary Army in 1794. Image source: Reproduction / Wikimedia Commons

The missing hotel

Here is a case of the most classic. In fact, the so-called “missing hotel” was one of the episodes featured on an equally classic US TV series, “Strange but True?”. In 1979, the English couples Simpson and Gisby drove through France on a vacation route to Spain. At dusk they decided to interrupt the trip for the night.

Image source: Reproduction / Wikimedia Commons

However, the hotels near the stop were crowded, so someone pointed out a way in which something could be found. According to travelers, the inn found was curiously démodé - from the attire of attendants and other guests to the absurd lack of a telephone.

Couples even claim to have found "oddly dressed" police officers. One of the officers, in fact, even pointed a way, though he simply did not understand the meaning of "highway." Well, the indication was of an old road, many miles away. The curious costume? The typical clothing of the French police force in 1901.

No hotel, no photos

Either way, Simpsons and Gisbys left the place with a great impression - aided by the fact that the stay came out at a derisive value for the time. Upon returning from vacation along the same route, they decided that they would stop again for the night. However, the building had disappeared without a trace. Even photographs taken during the stay eventually disappeared from the middle of the film reel.

Episode from the TV series "Strange but True?" about the missing hotel Image Source: Playback / YouTube

Although there is no definitive explanation for the incident, it is true that various devices have been tried to try to find the whereabouts of the infamous establishment ... or at least to unmask those involved. Geoff Simpson even underwent hypnosis. However, nothing new can be added.

However, the question remains: How would current money in 1979 have been accepted almost 80 years earlier? Or, as no one has surprised the curious vehicle used by travelers? Those involved only say that "what happened, happened". Maybe some things are really explained only in the "twilight zone".

* Originally posted 09/30/2013.