Ghostly Encounters
- Thread starter EmoBorg
- Start date
This thread was started for folks to post about supernatural encounters that they experienced or heard about. That was the thread's original intentions. The reason i am against pseudo psychoanalysis because that might discourage folks from posting their actual experiences, least they got mocked for it by some folks. Give folks the freedom to post their stories without the fear of being over analyzed and saying that they suffer from this syndrome or that condition.
You might not realize it but pseudo psychoanalysis is kind of mocking to many people whose experiences are often very real to them.
As i said earlier, please respect the thread's original intentions. I know some of you are really smart. But please be wise as well. Please be civil to folk's experiences. Is that too much to ask for?
You might not realize it but pseudo psychoanalysis is kind of mocking to many people whose experiences are often very real to them.
As i said earlier, please respect the thread's original intentions. I know some of you are really smart. But please be wise as well. Please be civil to folk's experiences. Is that too much to ask for?
Last week I bought a Steak and Stilton Pasty, and when I got home and ate it, it had turned into a Reggae Chicken Pasty. Creepy.
People say things to me like "maybe they sold you the wrong pasty!", but it had a sign in front of it that clearly said "Steak & Stilton Pasty", so I don't see how that is possible. Ghostly interference? Telekinesis??
People say things to me like "maybe they sold you the wrong pasty!", but it had a sign in front of it that clearly said "Steak & Stilton Pasty", so I don't see how that is possible. Ghostly interference? Telekinesis??
All things being equal, the most simple explanation tends to be true. Occam's Razor aside, rationally sit down and ask yourself something. What's more likely, that there are supernatural things interfering with people on a daily basis that mysteriously elude all attempts to capture proof of their existance, or that the supernatural is a human manifestation of the mind to explain what they cannot logically?
As for being civil and mocking EmoBorg, posting a contrary opinion is not a personal insult. It's a different perspective. I'd ask you to try and be more open to friendly discussion instead of borderline trying to control what people are and aren't saying here.
As for being civil and mocking EmoBorg, posting a contrary opinion is not a personal insult. It's a different perspective. I'd ask you to try and be more open to friendly discussion instead of borderline trying to control what people are and aren't saying here.
^Because he doesn't seem to know what science is.
Emoborg, you are the only person here being rude, closed-minded, and insulting. I have bent over backward to be neither dismissive nor mean when offering my perspective, and have even shared two of my own eerie experiences as a show of good will, and your only reaction is to throw whiney little temper tantrums whilst covering your ears and complaining "pseudo psychology!" Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean it's pseudo science, and your whinging is only evidence of how ignorant you are of how the brain functions. As I said, one of my degrees is in psychology, I know what I'm talking about. So stop insulting me, you're only making yourself look bad.
Several people here have expressed interest in the science behind their experiences, and so they will talk about it. It doesn't preclude anyone from sharing a ghost story. Conversation has a life of its own, and you don't get to dictate it.
Emoborg, you are the only person here being rude, closed-minded, and insulting. I have bent over backward to be neither dismissive nor mean when offering my perspective, and have even shared two of my own eerie experiences as a show of good will, and your only reaction is to throw whiney little temper tantrums whilst covering your ears and complaining "pseudo psychology!" Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean it's pseudo science, and your whinging is only evidence of how ignorant you are of how the brain functions. As I said, one of my degrees is in psychology, I know what I'm talking about. So stop insulting me, you're only making yourself look bad.
Several people here have expressed interest in the science behind their experiences, and so they will talk about it. It doesn't preclude anyone from sharing a ghost story. Conversation has a life of its own, and you don't get to dictate it.
Well, now this is intriguing if it's got you stumped! Any chance that you could post the photo? Maybe collectively we could figure this out? Even if not, I'm curious!
Mr Awe
^That's what I was thinking too! I sent my mom an email and asked if she knew where the picture was, and if she could scan it and send it to me if she does! I'd love to see it again myself, as it's been years since I saw it, and I'd definitely like to hear other people's ideas on it! It really is weird and creepy! I'll let you know when I hear back from her.
I'm interested in the science behind these kinds of experiences, and since this thread resides on a discussion board, discussion is part of the process. I don't believe in the supernatural, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a well written fantasy novel or a spooky campfire tale.
I think what believers SHOULD be upset about is the blatant and disgusting exploitation by huckster "psychics" whose methods HAVE been thoroughly debunked yet continue to fleece money from people who desperately yearn for information from "beyond".
I think what believers SHOULD be upset about is the blatant and disgusting exploitation by huckster "psychics" whose methods HAVE been thoroughly debunked yet continue to fleece money from people who desperately yearn for information from "beyond".
This I can agree on. We should all have some sort of appreciation for fantasy being we're all on a Star Trek board. But yeah, we're going to "talk" about the topic at hand on a discussion thread. Not sure why the OPer is making such a big deal about people having differing positions.
As for the "huckster physics" well that's pretty much a tactic as old as time. People are going to turn a blind eye to what they want to see or hear. Be it snake oil, beach property in the desert, physics, talking to dead people, talking to God, or seeing ghosts. If they think there's a market to seperate a consumer from their money, it'll pop up.
Heck even the Ghost hunter shows seem silly these days. I'm a plumber myself and when that show intros with them in their "day job" I can clearly tell that's fabricated and those two are either posing for the camera or just plain don't know what they're doing. If they're going to fake that part, why wouldn't they fake the rest of it too? Then again the fact that it's on the SciFi channel(I refuse to use y's) should be indicitive enough.
That would've worked if you hadn't stopped me. Generally you don't see that kind of behavior in a major appliance.
She just replied and said she remembers the picture but wouldn't even know where to begin looking for it. She's moved twice since that house, and hasn't seen it in years.
Well, now this is intriguing if it's got you stumped! Any chance that you could post the photo? Maybe collectively we could figure this out? Even if not, I'm curious!
Mr Awe
Oh, and I thought of another ghost story, it happened when I was camping with my family. I would have been about 11, my younger sister 8 or 9 and my older sister about 16: My younger sister had gone to the bathroom around dusk, which was about a quarter mile from our campsite. While in the bathroom she heard the sound of a woman moaning in pain. She asked, “Are you okay?”…”Do you need help?” but got no response, so she peered under all the stalls only to find the restroom empty, though the moaning continued. She came back to the campsite and told us there was a ghost in the bathroom, and my older sister and I explained that there was no such thing as ghosts. In the end, she dragged my older sister to the bathroom to prove to her there was a ghost. Ten minutes later they came running up the trail saying, “Hannah, Hannah, you have to come hear it!”
We all went down the trail, which was by now completely dark but for our flashlights and the little bits of moonlight that made their way through the tall evergreens. It was one of those really eerie kinds of nights in the forest, where what should be tranquil instead feels creepy. We got to the bathroom, and I recall every surface being starkly white, with cheap fluorescent lighting. I listened for what I assumed would be a faint noise, and strained to hear because I’m hard of hearing. It was completely silent for about a minute. I said, “I don’t hear any…” but was immediately cut off by an extremely loud moan! We all jumped and screamed, and ran straight back to our campsite, giggling the entire way.
I had a vivid dream of going to visit a friend just a couple of days before her daughter killed herself. The dream was so vivid that it bothered me during the day after waking. Upon hearing of the death, the route I dreamed about, the one I had taken to see her before, was the one I followed.
I don't think there's a supernatural explanation, because I don't believe in an existence beyond nature. On the other hand, we certainly don't understand all there is to know about nature; I wouldn't be surprised if there were natural phenomena relevant to the human experience that most scientists today would consider contrary to the way they theorize the world to operate. Really, to believe otherwise is to believe that science has grown beyond the need to remain self-correcting.
Getting back to my incident, for all I know, the explanation is simply something related to my knowledge that something was amiss. Supposing that my subconscious predicted tragedy (based on my mental picture of the trouble I already knew to be occurring) is certainly more realistic than supposing precognition. Because of the striking impression that the dream had on me before hearing of the death, the idea that the dream was just a random coincidence doesn't seem likely. Of course, there really isn't any way to quantify likelihood in this case.
I don't think there's a supernatural explanation, because I don't believe in an existence beyond nature. On the other hand, we certainly don't understand all there is to know about nature; I wouldn't be surprised if there were natural phenomena relevant to the human experience that most scientists today would consider contrary to the way they theorize the world to operate. Really, to believe otherwise is to believe that science has grown beyond the need to remain self-correcting.
Getting back to my incident, for all I know, the explanation is simply something related to my knowledge that something was amiss. Supposing that my subconscious predicted tragedy (based on my mental picture of the trouble I already knew to be occurring) is certainly more realistic than supposing precognition. Because of the striking impression that the dream had on me before hearing of the death, the idea that the dream was just a random coincidence doesn't seem likely. Of course, there really isn't any way to quantify likelihood in this case.
^I was thinking so, or old pipes. The sound was very loud, but we were deep in the woods so there were a number of animals that could have made that noise. Also, the design of the bathroom would have amplified the sound, because it was very echoey. That combined with classic auditory pareidolia made it sound to us like a woman.
This is how I feel about my own weirdly predictive dream (which I detailed on page two); basically, I dreamed a favorite teacher had died the night she unexpectedly died. I thought along the same lines as you on that one: perhaps I had subconsciously picked up on some cues that she was unwell, which informed my dream. Another thing that could be involved in both our cases is confirmation bias: we remember the dreams that are predictive simply because they are predictive and forget all the predictions that didn't pan out.
This is how I feel about my own weirdly predictive dream (which I detailed on page two); basically, I dreamed a favorite teacher had died the night she unexpectedly died. I thought along the same lines as you on that one: perhaps I had subconsciously picked up on some cues that she was unwell, which informed my dream. Another thing that could be involved in both our cases is confirmation bias: we remember the dreams that are predictive simply because they are predictive and forget all the predictions that didn't pan out.
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Exactly.
A few things about whether confirmation bias is involved.
One thing that comes to mind is that I'm hard-pressed to find other similar examples in my personal experience. My example really occupies a population of one, as the relationship I had with the people in question was unique, and the circumstances were major and life-altering. Additionally, the notion of confirmation bias seems more applicable to, say, someone claiming to be a psychic and making a large number of purported predictions, than to someone struck by a single or even a small number of serendipitous events.
Another thing that comes to mind involves the details of the hypothetical explanation itself. A prediction engine can produce false predictions and still be an engine serving the function of generating predictions, e.g. as the most effective one installed. Even if some predictions don't pan out, that doesn't really weigh against the hypothesis that one's subconscious mind might be, as it were, trying to say something to the conscious mind. For, if the phenomenon is entirely a result of internal mental processes which are ultimately operating on stimuli, where the mechanisms behind those processes are the product of biological evolution, then one should expect fallibility in its output. Or, in other words, one should expect fallibility because it's of human origin. So, the existence of predictions not panning out is consistent with that hypothesis, even if that doesn't necessarily support it; whereas on the other hand perfect infallibility would, I think, contradict the hypothesis of a purely human cause.
Therefore, remembering only the predictive dreams wouldn't necessarily imply confirmation bias, if one is, say, not asserting that dreams of a certain type infallibly forecast events in the first place, and provided that not too many failures are forgotten (although of course it makes an assessment of accuracy impossible). Additionally, some allowance must be made for the fact that, despite both diaries and Facebook each in their own way being quite respectable, not everybody goes through life documenting every facet of his or her personal experience; people do come to useful personal conclusions about things entirely through internal deliberation, and even do so while lacking eidetic memory.
To recapitulate the previous two paragraphs, I am arguing for a certain level of forgetfulness not in and of itself undermining the central hypothesis, in essence because the hypothesis itself is resilient to a certain level of data purging.
All I am personally sure of are the facts: the vivid and memorable dream, which contained something initially thought to be unambiguously suggestive about future events, preceded a significant personal tragedy. (Incidentally, until the tragedy occurred, the idea of traveling to visit was out of the question, due to the way my life was organized. This was one of the factors that made the dream depicting travel there odd in the first place.)
Personal attachments that might make me instinctually favor an association between the dream and reality aside, predicting calamity in my instance was by no means a stretch of the imagination, given what was known beforehand. I sure was consciously worried most of the time anyway during that period.
However, I think the final argument against it being confirmation bias, if not the best one, is that in my mind, the whole thing just remains a puzzle. There is no decisive evidence as to what, if anything, the causes were; it just happened. But it was funny, by which I mean odd, and it made an impression. It's fair to say that it was also a little bit spooky, hence its relevance to the thread.
In the end, I certainly don't see a downside to the fact that if I'm ever struck by a similarly vivid dream in the future, especially one relating to loved ones, I'll pay attention, just in case my buddy the subconscious is trying to warn me of something. However, without a doubt, I can say that I wish it doesn't happen again.
Show me your degree in psychology and i will stop calling your analysis "pseudo psychoanalysis".
Who says i am not willing to compromise.
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