Ghostly Encounters

[Rarewolf]

A few other non ghostly things, that fall into the odd catorgry

I get Déjà vu a fair bit, and it's almost feels like I'm being compressed when it hits me. When it happens I get Déjà vu of thinking or saying Déjà vu, and it really happens at places and situations I've never had before.

A personal one - A few years ago I was staying in London, I had an email the week before saying my room had been flooded, I had to find somewhere else. All that was left in my price range was in another part of London I'd not been before.

But when I arrived and left the station I had the oddest feeling I'd been there before. I went past a cemetery, even thought aloud I could have ancestors in there for all I knew.

So when I get home I told my parents, turned out it was the town they met, and that I did have relatives - I think it was my dad's grandparents - that were buried there.

Sure I knew they were from London, but I always thought west rather than east.

Oh and there's my Tsunami story too. Boxing Day 2004. The only time I've ever seen it Snowing on christmas Day (in Devon), so first thing next day I went out for a walk before it cleared. I never go out for random walks like that, especially not in the early hours! But I did, and ended up in the local graveyard. It was so peaceful, so quiet, I genuinely thought to myself, there could be a disaster the other side of the world and I'd no nothing about it. And really didn't. No TV, Radio, Internet, no human contact - nothing between sleeping that night and going for that walk less that 8 hours later. Its just a remarkable odd, but exact thought to have had there and then.

And theres probably a dozen times a year I randomly think of actors/celebrities, then within a few days I've heard they've died, or lately I've randomly been thinking about different foods, get home and find they are cooking!

 

[thestrangequark]

For the record, I lived 10 years in this house and the "next bedroom" was my bedroom, I never heard a thing.

That's one of the great things about being a skeptic; you're immune to hauntings.

I used to suffer from sleep paralysis as well. You are awake but you cannot move your body. That was really scary. I was always afraid to open my eyes for some reason.

Yet another classic symptom of hypnogogic hallucination. I think we've figured out what's going on with you. It's a fascinating phenomenon, really, the way the brain creates an image, sound, or physical sensation to cope with a feeling of malevolence. It's really fascinating to see how the common hallucinations vary in time and from culture to culture depending on what's popular.

A few other non ghostly things, that fall into the odd catorgry

I get Déjà vu a fair bit, and it's almost feels like I'm being compressed when it hits me. When it happens I get Déjà vu of thinking or saying Déjà vu, and it really happens at places and situations I've never had before.

There's a really interesting theory to explain deja vu:

Basically, what you're experiencing as reality is a reconstruction by your brain. Our senses are imperfect and the signals they send require a huge amount of interpretation and reconstruction. Unfortunately our brains aren't exceptionally good at this -- they operate under a basic rule of Get It Mostly Right Most of the Time. This fact explains almost all "supernatural" phenomena. Now, looking at deja vu, let's first think about what the brain should be doing: You step out of the station in that new part of London. First, your senses perceive a ton of data. Most of that data is dumped because there is way too much for your brain to handle. The brain then starts to reconstruct a perception of reality based on what's left. It has to make up a ton of information to fill in the gaps caused by our imperfect senses as well (were' blind for about 40 minutes of each day segmented into microseconds, for example, but our brains fill in the gaps so that we don't notice that we're not seeing). Then, you will have an emotional reaction and finally a conscious reaction to the reconstruction of reality your brain has produced. All this happens seemingly instantaneously, and constantly -- round after round.
In deja vu it has been hypothesized that there's a bit of minor misfiring: Imagine every step in that process I just described happening except for the conscious reaction. Your senses perceived, your brain reconstructed a viable perception of reality, you processed that perception emotionally, but a little fluke stopped it from being processed consciously. No worries, because your brain is already doing it over again, senses perceive, brain reconstructs, you react emotionally and consciously. But now your conscious says, "Wait, this seems familiar..."

Pretty cool theory, huh?!

 

[sbk1234]

This is not so much of a scary story as a cute and cudly story.

A few years ago we had two cats, Max and Ryker. (Yes, my brother in law named him Ryker. We can discuss that in another thread.)
Anyway, both cats were indoor/outdoor cats. They were usually really good about coming in at night. Well, one night Max didn't come back. We were concerned, but it wasn't unheard of. If this happened, we could pretty much count on him waiting at the door in the morning. The next morning, he wasn't there. This went on for 2 days. On the third night, I went to bed before my wife, around 10 pm. I woke up in bed in the wee small hours, maybe 12, or 2 am or something. Nustled right up against me was Ryker, as he usually does. Across the room I could hear another cat scratching on the scratching post. I thought to myself, "Great. Max came home and my wife must have let him in." I went back to sleep, thinking our feline was back home. I didn't find out until morning that at the same time, my wife was laying in my bed hearing the scratching, feeling Ryker in between us, thinking the same thing.
Obviously Max never came back.
Was this Max visiting from the other side to say goodbye? Was it something more "mundane" that we just couldn't figure out? In my opinion it doesn't really matter which one. I know what I choose to believe.

 

[sbk1234]

And just to add some fun, here's a joke:

Why did the ghost cross the road?


He had to, it was a residual haunting.

 

[Gary7]

While I cannot give a totally convincing experience of seeing or witnessing a ghost, I have had friends who have. Friends who are logically minded people who are skeptics of such things. But then, they experience something that falls into the "supernatural" category and... well, what can you do about it? Ignore it or acknowledge it?

My next door neighbors live in an old house. One day we were talking about ghosts, and my friend (the husband) said that there's a ghost existing in their house. A little girl. One night he awoke, hearing something walking around. He thought it was one of his kids. In the weak ambient light coming in from the street, he saw a shadow of a little child standing in the room. He called out his daughter's name. No answer. And then he heard the whispering of a little girl. It was unintelligible. And then suddenly the figure slipped out of sight. He went in to check on his daughter and she was fast asleep in her bed. The same was true of his son. This repeated a couple of times, until one time his wife experienced the exact same thing. Later on, when they were digging into the history of the house, they eventually learned about a little girl dying in the house.

Now... are they delusional? Well, a friend of theirs took care of the house while they were away. He wasn't told about the little girl. But during the last night he was taking care of the house, he had the exact same experience. He was a bit freaked out by it, because he was the only person in the house. When my neighbors came back home from the trip, he told them about what he experienced. Again, he had NOT been briefed about this. And it certainly confirmed for them that they weren't suffering from hallucinations or over active imaginations.

These are people I've known for years. They wouldn't make stuff up like this. So... what's the logical explanation? It certainly points heavily to some kind of supernatural phenomenon. I admit, it's hearsay. I have not experienced this myself. But I trust them.

 

[Mr Awe]

You're right. The supernatural is what happens before the natural is understood and when human imagination and irrationality run amok. It's good fun, but it's not real.

I hope you say the same thing when the next time, something slaps you when you are falling asleep at your desk when you are doing overtime late at night. Or something pokes at you when you are sleeping outdoors near certain locations. I encountered such situations before.

Notice how sleep is connected to these incidents, as it often is. These are various sleep related phenomenon.

Mr Awe

 

[The Dominion]

I had a very real feeling "out of body" experience when I was very sick one time as a child. As bizarre as it felt, there was no reason to assume it was anything more than a hallucination, which is a more than satisfactory explanation for anything of the sort. Of course something is going to feel like it's really happening if your mind thinks it is, which is the definition of a hallucination. And if there is no other external evidence to suggest it was real, then there's no reason to assume it was.

The terms "supernatural" and "paranormal" are pointless anyway. If something is real, then it is not unnatural or unreal. And if something is not real, well....

Sure, strange things do happen that can't be satisfactorily explained, but labeling them as "supernatural" is an inaccurate assumption itself. They're simply mysteries.

 

[Mr Awe]

For the record, I lived 10 years in this house and the "next bedroom" was my bedroom, I never heard a thing.

That's one of the great things about being a skeptic; you're immune to hauntings.

I used to suffer from sleep paralysis as well. You are awake but you cannot move your body. That was really scary. I was always afraid to open my eyes for some reason.

Yet another classic symptom of hypnogogic hallucination. I think we've figured out what's going on with you. It's a fascinating phenomenon, really, the way the brain creates an image, sound, or physical sensation to cope with a feeling of malevolence. It's really fascinating to see how the common hallucinations vary in time and from culture to culture depending on what's popular.

A few other non ghostly things, that fall into the odd catorgry

I get Déjà vu a fair bit, and it's almost feels like I'm being compressed when it hits me. When it happens I get Déjà vu of thinking or saying Déjà vu, and it really happens at places and situations I've never had before.

There's a really interesting theory to explain deja vu:

Basically, what you're experiencing as reality is a reconstruction by your brain. Our senses are imperfect and the signals they send require a huge amount of interpretation and reconstruction. Unfortunately our brains aren't exceptionally good at this -- they operate under a basic rule of Get It Mostly Right Most of the Time. This fact explains almost all "supernatural" phenomena. Now, looking at deja vu, let's first think about what the brain should be doing: You step out of the station in that new part of London. First, your senses perceive a ton of data. Most of that data is dumped because there is way too much for your brain to handle. The brain then starts to reconstruct a perception of reality based on what's left. It has to make up a ton of information to fill in the gaps caused by our imperfect senses as well (were' blind for about 40 minutes of each day segmented into microseconds, for example, but our brains fill in the gaps so that we don't notice that we're not seeing). Then, you will have an emotional reaction and finally a conscious reaction to the reconstruction of reality your brain has produced. All this happens seemingly instantaneously, and constantly -- round after round.
In deja vu it has been hypothesized that there's a bit of minor misfiring: Imagine every step in that process I just described happening except for the conscious reaction. Your senses perceived, your brain reconstructed a viable perception of reality, you processed that perception emotionally, but a little fluke stopped it from being processed consciously. No worries, because your brain is already doing it over again, senses perceive, brain reconstructs, you react emotionally and consciously. But now your conscious says, "Wait, this seems familiar..."

Pretty cool theory, huh?!

That is an interesting theory. One thing I wonder was if he had subconcious knowledge (like overhearing it long ago) that his ancestors were from there. And, while he couldn't recall this bit of trivia conciously, the deja vu was his subconscious trying to tell him that there was something important about this place?

Mr Awe

 

[Shazam!]

Does anyone here have any true life stories about the Supernatural?

LOL

 

[EmoBorg]

Does anyone here have any true life stories about the Supernatural?

LOL

 

[thestrangequark]

While I cannot give a totally convincing experience of seeing or witnessing a ghost, I have had friends who have. Friends who are logically minded people who are skeptics of such things. But then, they experience something that falls into the "supernatural" category and... well, what can you do about it? Ignore it or acknowledge it?

My next door neighbors live in an old house. One day we were talking about ghosts, and my friend (the husband) said that there's a ghost existing in their house. A little girl. One night he awoke, hearing something walking around. He thought it was one of his kids. In the weak ambient light coming in from the street, he saw a shadow of a little child standing in the room. He called out his daughter's name. No answer. And then he heard the whispering of a little girl. It was unintelligible. And then suddenly the figure slipped out of sight. He went in to check on his daughter and she was fast asleep in her bed. The same was true of his son. This repeated a couple of times, until one time his wife experienced the exact same thing. Later on, when they were digging into the history of the house, they eventually learned about a little girl dying in the house.

Now... are they delusional? Well, a friend of theirs took care of the house while they were away. He wasn't told about the little girl. But during the last night he was taking care of the house, he had the exact same experience. He was a bit freaked out by it, because he was the only person in the house. When my neighbors came back home from the trip, he told them about what he experienced. Again, he had NOT been briefed about this. And it certainly confirmed for them that they weren't suffering from hallucinations or over active imaginations.

These are people I've known for years. They wouldn't make stuff up like this. So... what's the logical explanation? It certainly points heavily to some kind of supernatural phenomenon. I admit, it's hearsay. I have not experienced this myself. But I trust them.

The problem is, no matter how trustworthy an individual is, anecdotal evidence is never trustworthy. People see things that aren't there, hear and feel things that aren't there, mistake fiction for reality and can have vivid memories of things that never actually happened to them. People make constant logical fallacies, our biases and misperceptions abound. And this is when the brain is functioning at its best! Anecdotal evidence is not reliable, even from reliable people.

I had a very real feeling "out of body" experience when I was very sick one time as a child. As bizarre as it felt, there was no reason to assume it was anything more than a hallucination, which is a more than satisfactory explanation for anything of the sort. Of course something is going to feel like it's really happening if your mind thinks it is, which is the definition of a hallucination. And if there is no other external evidence to suggest it was real, then there's no reason to assume it was.

The terms "supernatural" and "paranormal" are pointless anyway. If something is real, then it is not unnatural or unreal. And if something is not real, well....

Sure, strange things do happen that can't be satisfactorily explained, but labeling them as "supernatural" is an inaccurate assumption itself. They're simply mysteries.

There's a simple explanation for out of body experiences as well -- elegant in its simplicity actually: One of your brain's jobs is to tell you where "you" ends and "everything else" begins. It's the part of your brain that gives you a sense of self in space. So, what would happen if, perhaps due to fever, injury, or the effect of a drug, that part of the brain stopped functioning properly? One would feel they'd left their body. One might even feel one with god, or the universe, or whatever. This is generally the cause of out of body experiences. I've had one of these as well, as part of a near death experience.

 

[Gary7]

The problem is, no matter how trustworthy an individual is, anecdotal evidence is never trustworthy. People see things that aren't there, hear and feel things that aren't there, mistake fiction for reality and can have vivid memories of things that never actually happened to them. People make constant logical fallacies, our biases and misperceptions abound. And this is when the brain is functioning at its best! Anecdotal evidence is not reliable, even from reliable people.

The trouble with taking such a stance is that it means NOBODY is reliable without presenting scientific proof before you. If we operated exclusively relying upon 100% scientifically proven facts, things would take an excruciatingly long time to get done if at all (people do tend to get frustrated and give up after a while). While recognizing that anecdotal evidence is not reliable, it doesn't mean it is unconditionally false. It can be truthful and the odds change depending upon various factors.

When the same anecdotal evidence is presented from a variety of different sources and there appears to be a very good chance there is no intentional deception afoot, then... well, odds are much more reliable that it is truthful.

My point is that we don't need 100% proven truth to operate. We can operate with less, and then make corrections when suppositions have been discovered to be faulty. The degree of this will vary depending upon the circumstances. You obviously don't want to introduce the risk of harm or death hinging upon anecdotal evidence.

 

[iguana_tonante]

The trouble with taking such a stance is that it means NOBODY is reliable without presenting scientific proof before you. If we operated exclusively relying upon 100% scientifically proven facts

I don't see any problem with this.

 

[thestrangequark]

The trouble with taking such a stance is that it means NOBODY is reliable without presenting scientific proof before you. If we operated exclusively relying upon 100% scientifically proven facts

I don't see any problem with this.

Me either.

 

[EmoBorg]

thestrangequark

May i suggest that you just let folks tell their ghost stories without you analyzing them. This thread was started for folks to share any ghostly encounters that they have. Not for you to make any analysis. You sound like somebody that tells someone next to you every detail that goes on in a porn flick that the both of you are watching. It is just not fun and very irritating.

iguana_tonante

Hey igunana, this orang-utan has some feces, just waiting to fling it at you.

 

[Davros]

My first apartment was reportedly haunted, but I saw nothing to support such claims.

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/co-lumberbaron.html

 

[thestrangequark]

thestrangequark

May i suggest that you just let folks tell their ghost stories without you analyzing them. This thread was started for folks to share any ghostly encounters that they have. Not for you to make any analysis. You sound like somebody that tells someone next to you every detail that goes on in a porn flick that the both of you are watching. It is just not fun.

May I suggest that you don't attempt to censor others? I find the rational explanations far more interesting and intellectually stimulating than the make-believe, and I'm sure there are others here who feel that way as well.

ETA: And since when is thinking not fun?

 

[EmoBorg]

thestrangequark

To put it simply, this thread was started to discuss about ghostly encounters and NOT for anyone to carry out pseudo psychological analysis of the subjects discussed. And plus you are boring me with all your analysis.

 

[Gary7]

I don't see any problem with this.

Me either.

So be it. I'll keep that in mind when presented with your responses in future postings.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Perhaps there could be two parallel threads - one for people to tell their ghost stories (as people have done around campfires since the beginning of time), and one for "explain the supernatural" (which has all the cool science)?