The voice of authority

I too have experienced ‘The voice of authority’ [ FT410:75]. When I was younger, I had a romance that lasted about six months. At first it was terrific, then it wasn’t, then it ended. Nothing drastic. Several months later, I had a day off work. I had a feeling that “something was up” and I couldn’t shake it. This feeling usually occurs when someone dear to me is ill or has died. I say “usually”, but I am talking a mere handful of times in my life. I was being bugged by it this day; something was up, the forces were out of alignment. I went for a wander in town, seeking distractions, but the feeling wouldn’t go away.

I decided to go to the movies. What was on? A crappy followup to a venerated sci-fi classic. That will do. I entered the cinema, bought a ticket, and then came The Voice. As described by your correspondent, it was a deep and authoritative male. It was in my head, but outside my thoughts. It said: “[Name of my ex] is going to be the only other person in the cinema.” I walked up the few steps into the foyer. There she sat. I was, quite frankly, terrified. I went straight in to watch the film. I sat there being confused and frightened. When I saw her later, she told me she had felt ‘drawn’ to see the movie, and didn’t quite know why she had gone. I didn’t want to say why I didn’t speak to her, because I was still shaken. I said I would write a letter explaining, which I did. I didn’t hear back, and it was never mentioned again. The romance wasn’t re-kindled.

So why had The Voice told me who I was about to encounter? It would have made no difference, except I would not have been scared and confused. Two people who share interests being the only ones in a cinema on a weekday is also unremarkable. If this was a chicklit Jane Austen type tale, and if I hadn’t been scared half to death, the chance meeting might have made us resume the relationship, possibly with disastrous results. Maybe The Voice knew something I didn’t.

Vivian Bookman (pseudonym) Fishguard, Pembrokeshire

I too have had such a “voice of authority” speak to me in my head. It woke me from a deep sleep to say “Be very afraid”

several times. It was an authoritative voice (definitely not my thinking voice). To cut a long story short, I’d had a stroke and several more during the coming days and weeks. I told my husband, as well as many doctors and nurses, many of whom said they had heard similar stories.

Lyn Smart Cardiff, South Wales

Like Linda Duke, I have experienced an internal “voice of authority”. Back in 1951, when I was 16, I was working at the Royal Herbarium at Kew Gardens in Surrey. I was sitting alone, feeling rather depressed, doubting the objectivity of the external world. Maybe I was hallucinating everything. Suddenly an angry male voice, speaking quite loudly, told me that I was quite wrong in supposing that everything outside myself was unconscious and unaware of its separate existence. “Don’t be so ridiculous!” said the voice. I reacted with terror and my solar plexus started churning. I thought it must be the voice of the Almighty or one of His angels. It most certainly wasn’t me.

Nothing similar has occurred in the 70 years since then, but when I was a small boy playing in the back garden of the bungalow where we lived at Hinchley Wood near Thames Ditton in Surrey during World War II, I heard my name called out of nowhere. “Peter” it said. This happened on three separate occasions between the ages of seven and nine. The third time it happened I replied “Yes?”, but was met by silence.

Peter Steveno Hounslow, Middlesex

Regarding the ‘Voice of Authority’: I have had similar experiences. Over the years, very occasionally, a ‘voice’ in my head has told me things – what it said always occurred, although I can’t remember more than two or three things that it said.

The strangest one was about someone I had been good friends with for about 20 years, ever since we met at secondary school. We didn’t live near each other and didn’t see each other very often. Sadly, she suffered from mental health problems and every so often she would ‘retreat’ from being in touch with people, although she always got back in touch after a few months. After one night out together, she emailed me saying that she was sorry but she couldn’t be my friend for a while as she was having some issues. The voice in my head said “Don’t worry – you will see her again in a few months.” I chose to take this literally, as it was what had happened before.

What actually happened was this: I went to visit my family, who lived near my friend, and had a day out at a fete that was quite a big event in the small town I came from. As I was walking around, I saw my friend in the distance. I felt sure she had seen me, but as she didn’t approach me I felt that she was not ready to talk. I never saw her again after that day. The voice in my head was technically correct – I did see her again – but I never talked to her again.

Cat Worrall By email

The voice said she “is going to be the only other person in the cinema”