I was visited by the ghost of Arthur C Clarke, who confirmed that there is no such thing as an afterlife.I just happened to be doing some EVP work in my basement, when out of the blue the ghost of Barbara Walters yelled at me
Why are people afraid of ghosts?
- Thread starter Thespeckledkiwi
- Start date
I dont believe in ghost. I believe they are demons who are pretending to the deceased. I am not scared of a demon, Jesus is bigger than any demon.
Oh, I agree, Mr. Awe and Camelopard. Despite my preference for rational explanations (or perhaps a more accurate way to state this would be "my dislike for wacko explanations when a reasonable one is available"), I'd kind of like it if ghosts were real. I'm not sure why, really - whether because it fits in with my view of the immortality of the human spirit, or because I like the idea of a world in which not everything is rational and material, or just because it would be, you know, kind of cool.
Plus I had one pretty creepy experience myself - one for which there are rational explanations, just not very satisfying or convincing ones - and it would be nice to know that I had a reason to feel as creeped out as I admit that I did.
But I do like the idea of real ghosts...
Unfortunately, despite the coolness and dispite that one creepy experience, I don't think there are such things. I have to think that if ghosts really did exist, somebody over the centuries would have managed to acquire some sort of proof by now besides anecdotal evidence, pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo, and really shoddy-looking photos and video that could only convince somebody who really wants to be convinced.
JustKate--I would also add that at least from a Christian standpoint, there theologically exists a VERY sharp division between life and the afterlife. I am extremely skeptical, and outright distrustful of any reports of such phenomena. Human BS at best, fruitless deception at worst.
And even if there WAS some sort of revenant--contrary to what some might expect of a religious believer...my faith means that I do not believe there would be even the slightest reason to fear. Such a thing would (I suspect) only have power if you give it power. Which in the end, would make such a thing extremely dependent, and weak.
Thespeckledkiwi
Vice Admiral
One of the most interesting theories on ghosts are the fact that they aren't really ghosts but imprints on time (hence why they do what they do repeatedly).
[O'Brien]I hate temporal mechanics![/O'Brien]
People are afraid of things they don't understand.
I have seen ghosts in my parent's house growing up and it's freaky. They obviously didn't hurt me but seeing someone who is dead is just an awkward experience. That and hearing your name being called in the dark when you're trying to sleep is enough to make you shit your pants.
I have seen ghosts in my parent's house growing up and it's freaky. They obviously didn't hurt me but seeing someone who is dead is just an awkward experience. That and hearing your name being called in the dark when you're trying to sleep is enough to make you shit your pants.
Hmmm ..., that's interesting. I'd never heard that theory before, but it plays into what I was debating whether to post or not.
I have been a non-believer (in ghosts, among other things) for the great majority of my life. However, in 2002 we moved into a house that I came to believe was haunted. We experienced many of the phenomena typically reported: objects disappearing and then reappearing in places where we know we had not and/or would not put them; cabinet doors opening on their own; adverse animal reactions; etc.
Most of that I explained away (to myself), at least early on, as just random oddness and, perhaps, forgetfulness on our part.
Then I saw one. Then another.
I know, I know. To this day, I cannot say 100% for certain, definitively, that I "saw a ghost" ..., but it sure seemed that way.
The difficult part is that I never saw them straight on. It was always a fleeting glimpse out of the corner of my eye. The first time it happened, I saw a silver-haired old woman in a white nightgown standing at the top of our entry stairs. I was startled but, of course, when I looked straight at the spot I could not see anything. I convinced myself it was just an odd play of light from the street or something. Then it happened again. A few times. Then I saw the old man on in green coveralls on the landing of our back stairs, in very much the same way.
Despite the consistency of the images or impressions, as you will, each experience left with me, I continued to pretty much convince myself I was just imagining things. This also despite the fact that, when the ghosts were "active" (as we would go weeks without seeing them, and then they would appear frequently for awhile, before disappearing again) our dog and 2 cats would absolutely do everything they could to avoid the spot where I always saw the old lady. When she was not "active", hoever, they had no problem passing through the very spot.
In any event, the clincher to me was one evening when we had out downstairs neighbors up. I should explain that we lived in a 2-family house with essentially identical apartments on the 1st and second floors. Anyway, the one neighbor caught a few odd looks during the evening toward the spot where I always saw the old woman. Finally, her roommate said she should ask us about it. She said she knew we'd probably think she was crazy, but asked us if we'd had any strange experiences or seen anything odd during our months there. Long story short, we had been having nearly identical experiences for several months. Her roommate and my husband confirmed our nearly identical descriptions: she said she saw an silver-haired old woman in a white house coat in their front hall (immediately below where I saw her in our house) and an old man in gray overalls on the landing of the back stairs.
I know this sounds insane, and many people are probably suspecting that we'd previously discussed it or had overheard one another or something. There's no point in trying to convince anyone. All I can say is that, I was there and the similarity of our experiences and "visions" was astounding.
Interestingly, these 2 never moved or did anything whatsoever. They just occasionally appeared (and freaked out our animals.) Which is why I found TheBolianChief's post particularly interesting.
We were later informed that there was a 3rd "ghost" in our house, however: allegedly a child "poltergeist" who was said to be responsible for the remote controls disappearing and reappearing, the TV changing channels by itself, the cabinet doors popping open, and the smoke detectors going off for no apparent reason, among other things.
Oh yes, it was an exciting place to live (notice I used the past tense.)
And yes, I am well aware that most people will think I'm either crazy or a liar or both. Be that as it may, just thought it was worth adding to the conversation.
Oh, and as for being afraid of them? I don't think I was every "afraid" of them, per se. More startled when they would appear suddenly, and annoyed when they were disturbing our lives. And, I suppose there was a bit of the underlying anxiety about what it all might mean, these "things" in our house.
I've heard that and I don't believe it.
Some might do repeats for whatever reason but the ones I have dealt with knocked over dolls (I was a kid when this stuff was going on), dragged their feet on the carpet, an old lady walked out of my brother's room and walked down the hall, a girl's shadow appeard on the wall, my name was called when I was trying to sleep in my room, my blinds suddenly shut, a black terrier ran into my room one night, shoes my mom bought and never wore were suddenly dirty on the bottom when they had been in the shoebox in a closet....the dolls getting knocked over, the name calling and my mom's new shoes getting dirty when they weren't worn yet happened more than once but everything else was a one time deal.
When my dog died, I was 8 years old and after she died, my brother and I both had the same experience. We would feel something at the end of our beds, as if the dog had been on the bed and sleeping by our feet. My cat died this past June and I hear scratches and noise from the cupboards as if someone is trying to open them and get in (not the top cupboards, the ones under the sink).
It's just spirits who want you to know they are there and haven't yet moved on.
The old lady had a bun and a typical 'old lady dress' and had a shawl. The girl had long, wavy hair and a dress. It was creepy as hell.
We figured those were the only two in our house. Never saw anyone else and the girl would fit the knocking over the dolls thing but not sure about my mom's shoes, unless the old lady liked heels, but the shoes were, oddly enough, in the closet of the room the old lady walked out of.
We figured those were the only two in our house. Never saw anyone else and the girl would fit the knocking over the dolls thing but not sure about my mom's shoes, unless the old lady liked heels, but the shoes were, oddly enough, in the closet of the room the old lady walked out of.
If they are just imprints on time and nothing to do with lost souls or spirits or whatnot, why don't sightings of ghost animals outnumber the sightings of ghost people by millions to one?
After all, there are trillions of animals on the planet and only 7 billion humans. And most of those are fairly recent arrivals comparatively. Given how many people claim to have seen a ghost human, there should be ghost animals all over the place.
I don't think you're crazy or a liar. My brother sees (yes, no preterit here) the same kind of things all the time (not so often now because he has find a way to control it) and I know for sure he's not lying to me.
I don't believe in ghosts, I believe in unexplained phonomenas. I'm sure there will be one day a rationnal way to explain everything (including why everyone around me sees things except me).
That's interesting. The neighbor I mentioned says that she's always been "sensitive" to the paranormal since she was very young. She could actually see them much more clearly and could, for instance, note that the lady's house coat had a floral pattern. I just saw white, and only in glimpses. I was apparently less "sensitive", but fell somewhere in the middle.
Her roommate and my husband experienced some of the physical phenomena, and noted the odd behavior in their pets, but never "saw" the figures.
And I like how you put that. I don't know what it was we were dealing with. Heck, I don't know what "ghosts" may be. But, I do believe there are things our current level of scientific knowledge cannot explain as of yet. Will be interesting if we figure it out some day.
LOL! Perhaps it's nothing more than someone caught in "interspace", ala The Tholian Web.
According to my brother there are different degrees of opening to that.
The most sensitives persons are the mediums (guess what my brother is
). They are some sort of bridge between us and the spirits. I'm a little forced to think that way. I'm rationnal but I love my brother and it's my duty as his little sister to listening to him and to support him
But I prefer the approach of scientific skepticism.
Thespeckledkiwi
Vice Admiral
Because, and I forgot to post this, is the imprint on time, is something traumatic...
Oh well, that explains everything.
Since were talking rational explanations, how high on the Bundy Scale would this trauma have to register to qualify for a time imprint?
And why aren't they ever in public places with a lot of people around? You'd think the site of the World Trade Center would be rife with ghosts.
Another interesting sub-topic. What constitutes trauma (significant or otherwise) is highly subjective. To my grandmother, only calling 2 days in advance of a visit constitutes "trauma" (just ask her); she's put into an apoplectic, arhythmic fit if someone actually shows up at her door unannounced.
I'm just thinking of that old lady in my old house. Maybe the Jehova's Witnesses were at her door and she died of a heart attack right there, and was traumatized enough to leave her imprint on time.
I'm being a little facetious, of course. But, maybe every trauma wouldn't have to be Jason-in-the-hockey-mask-with-the-ax level.
Oh, and no offense meant to Jehova's Witnesses. That just happens to be one of my grandmother's particular sources of unexpected-doorbell-ringing-anxiety.
That's actually quite common. They're called hypnagogic hallucinations and they probably account for a lot of "ghost" sightings. It could be as minor as as hearing your name or as major as thinking a demon is attacking you.
Um, no bud, I wasn't hallucinating. I just explained that my house had a few spirits in it.
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