The Shattering Silence

It was 2024, a quiet Wednesday morning around 11:30, and Kevin and I were working in our bedroom at home in Paris, Tennessee. The sun streamed in through the windows, casting a soft glow across the room. As usual, we were both focused on our laptops—Kevin at his desk in one corner, and me on the bed across the room. The house was still, save for the sound of typing and the occasional click of a mouse.

Then, without warning, a deafening crash shattered the silence.

It sounded like every window in the room had exploded at once—an enormous, echoing blast of glass and chaos right in the space between us. We both jumped to our feet in panic, eyes wide, shouting, “What was that?!”

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. Our house is old, and my first thought was that it was caving in. The sound had felt physical, like something had torn through the very structure of the home. I looked at Kevin; he was just as stunned, frozen in place, scanning the room with disbelief.

But there was nothing.

Not a single shard of glass. No broken objects. Nothing was out of place.

And yet, we had both heard it. Loud and clear. The sound had not just startled us—it had shaken us.

There was no logical explanation, no rational cause we could point to. Only the haunting echo of something we couldn’t see or name. We’ve talked about it many times since, trying to make sense of it, but we always return to the same conclusion: truth is often stranger than fiction.

We may never know what—or who—was trying to get our attention that day. But whatever it was, it left a mark on us both. A moment of pure strangeness in an otherwise ordinary morning.

Sometimes, the world reminds us that not everything is meant to be explained.

It was the beginning of winter in 2021, and we were settling into the second year in our new home—an 1854 Antebellum mansion in Paris, Tennessee. After moving from Florida, my husband and I were embracing a quieter, simpler lifestyle in this small northern town. That weekend, we were especially excited because his daughter was visiting for the first time to see our new home.

We took the whole family out to a local restaurant for dinner, then spent the evening driving through the town, showing her the charm and beauty of our little community. After a stop for dessert, we returned home and gathered together to share stories and enjoy each other’s company. Later, Kevin, his daughter, and I decided to watch a movie upstairs in the master bedroom, which was warmer and cozier than the main living area. We popped some popcorn and headed up, leaving the rest of the family downstairs.

As we settled in, music was playing softly in the background. Kevin, wearing his new cowboy hat, was laughing and dancing a bit—playfully showing off for his daughter. That’s when something incredible happened.

A grapefruit-sized, shiny white orb suddenly appeared near the ceiling, directly above Kevin’s head—as if it had entered the room from the attic. It hovered there for just a moment before beginning to circle around him. I was stunned. I’d never seen anything like it. My phone was lying nearby on the bed, and I instinctively reached for it and managed to snap a picture just before the orb reached his waist.

His daughter saw it too—and immediately began screaming in terror. She was completely overwhelmed and frightened by what she was witnessing. Kevin hadn’t noticed the orb at first, but when he looked down and saw it circling him, he was just as stunned. The orb continued to spiral down his body—making about four revolutions—before it reached his knees and vanished, just as suddenly as it had appeared.

The whole experience was surreal. I was so captivated by the sight that I didn’t even shout. I was simply observing, taking it all in. To witness something that clearly—so close and with such intensity—was rare. It felt like a moment of real, unexplained interaction with something beyond the ordinary.

Kevin’s daughter, however, was deeply shaken and too afraid to sleep alone in the house that night. We let her stay in the adjoining room off the master bedroom for comfort. Even now, Kevin and I still don’t understand what triggered the orb’s appearance or why it chose that moment—when his daughter was with us—to manifest in such a dramatic way. It's a mystery that continues to stay with us.