i thought about this after i posted the bigfoot thread. ghosts. they creep me out. i think its the idea that scares me, or the idea of a spirit that wants to do you harm. maybe its because they could be anywhere at anytime. i try not to think about them or believe in them. i wonder why ghosts are scary? theyre just people, or at least they used to be. they might be p**sed off or sad or whatever. ive had a couple of experiences and been in a couple of places that ill never forget. thoughts? opinions?
I have a fascination with both real-life ghost stories and fictional ones. I would like to believe it's true and to have an actual experience. But I've never had anything close to an experience that didn't have a simpler explanation.
I guess my standpoint is that I think it would be pretty cool if it were true, and that if I ever did actually have a ghost experience I hope I'd keep my wits about me. But I guess I mostly don't believe they're true.
One thing that bugs me on "ghost hunter" websites. You see a lot of claims of ghost photos, and then you see pictures of "orbs". I'm sorry, "orbs" are nothing. Dust. Bugs. Camera reflections. It always irritates me to follow a "ghost photo" link and read breathless accounts of orbs.
I believe in them. We had more than a few odd/scary things happen at our old house. I took a picture of my sons room and once I got it developed there were faces on the wall. It scared some of my neighbors so bad they refused to come back in my house.
As a person of fairly orthodox Christian faith, I believe the souls of the dead go to either heaven or hell. Period. I do believe that intense emotions can sometimes leave "psychic echoes" that sensitive individuals could pick up, and mistake for hauntings. I also believe in demons, which can easily impersonate the souls of the departed in order to manipulate and deceive mankind.
I also think the "Ghost Whisperer" is one of the most beautiful characters on television.
Gallery 5 was Richmond's first fire house & police station.
No ghost stories (yet), but let owner Tom Robinson get started, & he'll tell you some stories about the place.
It still has the original window, where a condemned man once took his diamond ring & cut circles in the glass.
What gets me, is that the downstairs toilet is right underneath where the gallows used to be, with the trap door still in the ceiling... And I've always had a very weak bladder.
When I was younger and living in a small town in Oklahoma, out of nothing but boredom, some friends and I used to go out at night and explore old areas, looking for evidence of the supernatural. All of the places that locals considered "haunted", just didn't pan out. There were a couple of really odd things that happened, but I couldn't say that it was supernatural or paranormal based on noises or feelings or a darkness in the sky. But...a friend of mine and I had something happen where we witnessed something for about 20 seconds or so, that travelled inches from us that I can't explain, but I believe science probably can!
I've also slept a great night's sleep in ghost towns here in the south west that from reliable stories from people I trust; well, I shouldn't have been there after sundown!
I think I'm a paranormal void....
I went on a Ghost tour here in Cleveland. I took some pictures that seem to show some "orbs". Really interesting stuff.
I don't think there's a supernatural, but there is the preternatural, meaning occurrences that are natural in origin which we don't yet understand. In the face of a mystery people create myths to explain them, and have throughout time. I wouldn't mind seeing Sylvia Brown tarred and feathered and think her ilk are shameless cons. I also think tall tales, fibs, jumping to conclusions and a fifteenth can of beer chugged while partying down by the old abandoned house at 1 AM explain the origins of most ghost stories people tell.
All that said, I'd be in denial if I didn't acknowledge that in my own life I have had experiences that defied logical explanation. I think most people have had those sorts of moments.
This is a good topic, by the way.
Quote from: ER on September 20, 2009, 10:40:57 PM
I don't think there's a supernatural, but there is the preternatural, meaning occurrences that are natural in origin which we don't yet understand.
I guess that's about the way I feel too. It's no fun to believe that there's nothing going on in our day-to-day lives that we don't already fully understand. It's much more interesting to think there's at least a tiny amount of mysterious stuff going on. Though attributing it to demons and ghosts doesn't seem very logical, at least not in the scientific sense.
Since my Dad passed on in 2008, I have felt a presence in my bedroom almost every night. The strongest feeling that he was there happened in Cape Town in March this year - that was his home town.
Of course ghosts exist!
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1I7KiCuAU4k/SQVqoynvQJI/AAAAAAAACLs/csfFdlJjMhQ/s400/pac-man_ghosts_blinky_inky.jpg)
I don't believe in them and therefore they don't scare me.
I don't believe in them.
I believe in ghosts, demons and spirits (Especially after having a little encounter with ghosts in past). I am a person who believes in lots of supernatural stuff and I have no shame in saying it.
I also believe in aliens, but that is a whole another topic.
No, I don't believe in them. That's one reason why I like to watch movies with those kinds of supernatural creatures in them, though; in order to have the pleasure of suspending disbelief.
Quote from: indianasmith on September 20, 2009, 02:18:48 PM
...I also think the "Ghost Whisperer" is one of the most beautiful characters on television.
I was about to cut you some way slack... :wink: but
"Ghost Whisperer"?? :bouncegiggle: :lookingup: My favorite chick show to make fun of. :tongueout:
I can say that I've had a couple of strangely inexplicable experiences, and my father had quite a few, but I'm not afraid of
ghosts... I will believe in, and be afraid of, anything I'm compelled to, but haven't yet been. :wink:
I do enjoy "true ghost stories" (
Weird NJ does a good job with a bedraggled subject matter) and I have quite a lot of old fictional ghost stories in many collections. I really enjoy a good ghost story.
Now, Now, AH -
I didn't say I LIKED the show. It's just that Jennifer Love Hewitt carbonates my hormones.
Quote from: Rev. Powell on September 21, 2009, 08:57:12 PM
No, I don't believe in them. That's one reason why I like to watch movies with those kinds of supernatural creatures in them, though; in order to have the pleasure of suspending disbelief.
Yeah me too.
Quote from: indianasmith on September 21, 2009, 09:52:15 PM
Now, Now, AH -
I didn't say I LIKED the show. It's just that Jennifer Love Hewitt carbonates my hormones.
What is it? Her big ass? :wink: :tongueout:
How crude thou art!!!! :hatred: :bouncegiggle:
My kid believes our house is haunted, by the way. One time she was home and says she heard voices upstairs having a conversation. She assumed it was her sister and some friends and didn't think anything of it. Then her sister called and she realized she was alone in the house. Needless to say, she went screaming outside and refused to go home alone for the rest of the night.
I think there are other explanations (we get a lot of conversations and noise from the parking lot right outside our window) but she's convinced.
I don't think so, but I find I'm reluctant to test the hypothesis. I'm fascinated with electronic voice recordings (EVP) for instance, but I'm not interested in seeing if I'd pick one up in my own house. I don't think I want to know.
EVP's are really creepy, if you believe they are what they claim to be. Some of them just sound like noise, but some are very clear.
http://theshadowlands.net/ghostwav.htm
Quote from: The Burgomaster on September 21, 2009, 11:02:37 AM
I don't believe in them and therefore they don't scare me.
Same here.
Atmosphere can scare me, though. Ever been a buidling that really creeped you out ?
Quote from: indianasmith on September 22, 2009, 06:12:57 AM
How crude thou art!!!! :hatred: :bouncegiggle:
Yes, but I got you to laugh! :smile:
...and I was right, too, ...chunky bum? :twirl:
Now if faced with a demon, depending upon apparent threat, I might be frightened. Eh, but spirits I'm well acquainted with. :drink:
Quote from: Allhallowsday on September 22, 2009, 09:13:04 PM
Quote from: indianasmith on September 22, 2009, 06:12:57 AM
How crude thou art!!!! :hatred: :bouncegiggle:
Yes, but I got you to laugh! :smile: ...and I was right, too, ...chunky bum? :twirl:
Now if faced with a demon, depending upon apparent threat, I might be frightened. Eh, but spirits I'm well acquainted with. :drink:
:bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle:
I dunno...I've had some REAL weird experiances....but scared? Nah! REAL life scares me.... :buggedout:
I do believe in them but I don't believe all claims of hauntings are legit. I have encountered a few that tells me that something is happening were a haunting. However I feel most have explainable causes that people don't want to look for because they like the idea of being haunted. Two that I have yet to find an explanation for that I have personally encountered are a free floating apparition that I saw in a house and something that would bang on the door of a house the same time every night.
The banging on door I tried to solve thinking it was just someone being a jerk. The problem with that was, there was not anyone. I staked out the door, snuck out the other door to go around the house and never found anyone. Also the time it started was the same every night. There was no variation to when it started or stopped. What I do know is we moved out of that house with in a month after it started. I never tried to figure out what caused me to see the free floating apparition. I do know it wasn't an hallucination and don't really want to know what it was, just hope to never see something like that again.