What got YOU into paranormal investigation?

Genuine question, not trying to be precious about it. I've been on this forum for about four years and I don't think I've ever properly asked people their origin story. Like, what actually kicked off your interest in this stuff?

For me, it was properly stupid - I watched an episode of The X-Files when I was about 12, and for some reason the line "I want to believe" just stuck with me. Then I hit my early twenties and realized there was actually a whole community of people who investigate this stuff seriously. Started off as a hobby, now it's... I dunno, most of my free time? My mates think I'm a bit mad.

But I reckon everyone here has some version of that. So come on - what's your story? A sighting? A family history? Someone you trust telling you about something weird they experienced? Or did you just read one article and fall down the rabbit hole?

My nan was adamant she'd seen a ghost in her house. Not a dramatic poltergeist thing, just a presence, footsteps, feeling watched. My parents thought she was being daft but I took her seriously. That got me reading about paranormal phenomena, and I realized how much actual documented evidence there is if you dig for it. Been interested ever since.

Rendlesham Forest incident, 1980. I was a kid when it happened and it was in all the papers. Something about that case just grabbed me - multiple witnesses, military personnel, something unexplained happening at a nuclear weapons facility. That level of credible testimony made me think there must be something to it.

My mates think I'm a bit mad

Boring answer: I like investigative work and rational skepticism. Paranormal investigation appeals to me because it combines puzzle-solving with data collection. The paranormal is interesting not because it's spooky but because it's unexplained. I enjoy trying to explain the unexplained, even if that explanation is usually "mundane cause, poor observation."

Sleep paralysis, actually. I had a horrifying experience with it - convinced I was being attacked by something. Went down a rabbit hole trying to understand what happened, discovered the paranormal community, realized most of those experiences were explainable but SOME genuinely weren't. Been here ever since.

Found an old diary in my mum's attic when I was cleaning out her house after she died. Full of paranormal experiences she'd never mentioned. That opened up this whole world I didn't know she was interested in. Felt like getting to know her better in a weird way. That's when I properly got into it.

Used to think all of this was complete nonsense. Became a skeptic specifically to debunk paranormal claims. Been on this forum for two years arguing against believers. But I've come across enough genuinely unexplained cases that I'm... not skeptical anymore. Doesn't make me believe in all of it, but I can't dismiss it all anymore either.