Ghosts-what Do You Believe?

[Asimov]

I've had weird things happen that I can't explain, and it's stupid to attribute them to something paranormal just because you can't explain it.

 

I read in a magazine about a ghost story where these people would be walking down these stairs in an apartment building and would hear footsteps following them. If they stood still the footsteps would keep walking up and down the stairs. Nobody could explain it and everyone was scared that there were ghosts. It wasn't until someone noticed that the adjacent building had stairs right beside theirs and the sound was the people in the other building walking up and down.

 

It's all about fear and the inability to explain it away that causes people to believe in ghosts.

[All Gods Fail]

Not to mention sleep paralysis - by itself, it could just about explain away ghosts, demons, alien abductions, etc. completely.

 

So many reports of ghostly encounters are centered around sleep: people either asleep, falling asleep, waking up. But it couldn't have been a dream!

 

The human brain is weirder than any paranormal dimension. The truth is, we hallucinate much more frequently than people realize.

[godlessgrrl]

Hmmmm.....

 

The jury's still out for me on "ghosts". I do believe that people see freaky, unexplainable shit all the time, but what that freaky unexplainable shit actually turns out to be is open to question. And should be questioned thoroughly.

 

I guess overall I'm a skeptic about the paranormal. I don't require any kind of explanation or answers about sightings, necessarily, other than that I like to see stuff investigated absolutely ruthlessly. Especially claims of the supernatural: if you're going to claim something extraordinary and supernatural, you'd better bloody well back it up with extraordinary proof of some kind.

 

But then, I also don't really think that there's anything "supernatural" in the universe. Not really. Everything in the universe is just part of the universe, and even if it's something totally weird and bizarre and doesn't have an explanation yet, so what? I don't buy that it's disembodied spirits or people returning from the dead. But it might be, say, a hallucination. Or ball lightning. Or in the viewer's head. Or outside the viewer's head, but something we just don't understand yet. I mean, what if it actually is possible that events can be "recorded" onto their surroundings, and people see them "replayed" later? Maybe it is. I'm not going to dismiss the idea outright, because people do sometimes see stuff like that - but I'm not going to buy into it hook line and sinker, either, and I'm not going to assume it's something from another plane or another world. Fwiw.

 

Dang, who asked about tools? There's a good overview here. There are other sites as well. Basically paranormal investigators use an array of tools to measure changes in temperature, air pressure, electromagnetic activity, and so on. They also use manual and digital cameras and video cameras, plus sometimes tape recorders.

 

I'm usually extremely skeptical of orb photos. Probably 99 times out of 100 they're artifacting on a low mpx digital camera. Or else water spots or places where negatives contacted each other during development, or something dippy like that.

 

Pandora, you asked about experiences. My sister and I had an odd sighting when we were kids; interestingly enough, we talked about it this past weekend and confirmed one another's basic impressions. (Though there are certainly differences in our narratives.) In a nutshell, we were staying at a hotel by the seaside. We were in bed, the room was darkened, with a window on one side, with heavy curtains over it, so there was a bit of ambient light, but no direct light. We both lay there in bed and watched a small, blobby, phosphorescent semi-sphere (it wasn't exactly round, really) bob and float slowly from the direction of the door towards us. I recall that we were sharing a bed, my sister recalls that we might have been in separate beds, but in either case we both watched this thing drift past the foot of one bed, then turn at the corner of the bed and move slowly between the beds towards us. We both remember that we could see the object reflected in the mirror on the wall opposite the beds, which was kind of odd.

 

It didn't really give off any light, though it still glowed. It was a bit like phosphorescence is, where it gives off light but doesn't really shine, if that makes sense. I remember it as being slightly blue, my sister doesn't recall the color. It was smallish, maybe the size of my fist, and it bobbed along at about 6 feet or so off the ground. It made no noise. My sister and I had a conversation about it while we were lying there in our beds watching it drift through the room. I don't recall the jist of the convo, but my sister reports that it was along the lines of "What on earth is that??" "Do you see that??" "Yeah, I do - what is it? Can you see what it's doing?" "Yeah, it's going X direction..." "Yeah, and now it's doing Y..." etc. etc. etc.

 

She also reports that I was speaking very calmly and didn't sound rattled at all, but that she was freaked out bigtime - while I remember being nervous enough to see this weird thing floating around in our room in the dark, and then I got pants-pissing scared once it turned at the corner of the bed and floated right towards us!

 

In any case I think I eventually freaked out and flipped on the light, and whatever it was vanished from sight. Neither of us slept well that night. I don't know what it was and probably never will. Ghost? Beats me. It was a weird sighting of something though.

 

Anyway this is really long, thanks for reading if you got through it; and I need to go to bed.

[Ziggy]

I haven't seen or experienced ghosts. But I have seen people from school get involved with an ouija board I kept away and so don't know the details but people did start to get a bit freaked

 

Since then I have heard many stories of people playing around with ouija boards and suddenly becoming aware of good and bad spirits enough to keep me well away from that stuff.

 

Has anyone had any real exprience with an ouija board That either proves or disproves its legitimacy?

[LosingMyReligion]

What do you all believe about ghosts? If you believe they exist, why do you believe so? What are/is your reason(s). Also, what do you believe that they ARE (ie demons, evil people, regular people, other types of spirits, etc....) , and what do you believe is the reason they are here, or how they are here, from where they come from, how long they have been here and will remain here, etc.... What do you believe about psychics, mediums, and the like?

 

Or perhaps you do not believe or are undecided. Why?

 

I want to know what the opinions out there are and the reasons behind them.

 

I myself am undecided, I waver back and forth. I am espcially interested to know what tangible, measurable PROOF paranormal scientists use to come to their conclusions. What do those machines they have DO exactly? If anyone knows anything on this matter, I would love to know.

 

 

 

I look forward to yall's responses.

 

 

I do believe in the afterlife(that has much more dimension to it than the one provided in the bible) and ghosts. I also believe in reincarnation as well. I've had personal experiences and instances of life and consciousness beyond this one. Can I say that I'm absolutely certain that I'm correct...No. But I do believe that there is life beyond this one, and the paranormal is very intriguing to me.

 

I believe that mediums do have a purpose on Earth. I look at ghosts as souls who've lost their way, and the mediums are here to help. Grant it, some mediums are fraudulent, but others are very sincere and authentic...In my view.

 

Even though I no longer agree with Christianity I do believe in a spiritual realm and life beyond this one.

[Wertbag]

Its one of the big problems with evidence of anything, there is always someone who will say "its not enough". What would it take to convince you that ghosts existed? There are already videos, photos, sound recordings, first hand reports and meter readings of the environment. Of course the majority is undoubtedly garbage, but it simply leaves us unable to ever prove anything, especially with todays digital manipulation.

 

I've not experienced any ghost like sightings myself, but do have a couple of friends who are natural sceptics who have had strange things happen. Even my girlfriend claims to have been visited, but her experience matches sleep paralysis perfectly so I'd ignore her (as usual )

 

One of my friends woke up from movement of his bed to see a little boy sitting at the end of his bed. The boy walked across the room and out the door. My mate freaked out, leapt out of bed and ran out into the hallway, there was nothing there.

He went to his Mum and said "I saw something strange", his Mum said "You too?"

Apparently while home alone during the day she had heard laughter from the bedrooms and sometimes foot steps in the hallway, she had never seen anything but thought something weird was going on.

My mate doesn't drink, doesn't do drugs, hasn't experienced anything prior or after, didn't suffer paralysis (he got out of bed while the boy was in his room) and wasn't a believer in ghosts.

I don't know what to make of it, but certainly something wierd is going on...

[Evelyn]

I've heard, "there's no such things as ghosts, those are apparitions". Well, they are still something. I watch some of those ghost shows on TV, though not the ones where people go hunting for them. I think, in those cases, they should send in people who have no preconcieved notions about ghosts or the buildings/sites they are going to and see what they see, if anything.

 

My husband's father died before I came into the picture. When I visited my mother-in-law's house, wher she moved after we got married, I always "felt" a presence when I saw some of my father-in-law's things that she still had (a book, a notebook, etc). We live in the house that my husband grew up in and I've never felt his dad's "presence" here. Odd things happen sometimes, such as missing keys and things that fall apart before their time. We joke that this house must have been built over an old Native American graveyard. Native Americans used to live in this area years ago and my husband dug up arrowheads in the backyard when he was a boy.

 

I haven't seen ghosts myself. I was in a hotel once and sensed something swoosh overhead in the bathroom while brushing my teeth, but that's it.

 

I saw a UFO about a year ago. Whether or not it was extra-terrestrial, I have no idea. It was, to me, unidentified, flying (actually hovering, which is what caught my attention), an object, and was in the sky. I live near the northern edge of the flight path of a major airport, close to an airport used by private planes and business jets and ultralight planes, and next to a hospital that has a helicoptor port. I know what airplanes, jets, and helicoptors look like in the night sky. I grew up in southern California near an airport that was occasionally visited by the Goodyear blimp, which would fly over my house. This was totally different - looked like a sideways-8 with flashing lights all around it, hovering in the sky.

 

I can understand the sleep paralysis thing. My cat sleeps on the bed and sometimes I see her sitting next to me, gazing at me in the dark, illuminated by the light from the digital clock. She looks like an alien with her large, almond shaped eyes.

[All Gods Fail]

My mate doesn't drink, doesn't do drugs, hasn't experienced anything prior or after, didn't suffer paralysis (he got out of bed while the boy was in his room) and wasn't a believer in ghosts.

 

He was asleep, eh? For some reason, that's frequently when ghosts and the paranormal seem to manifest. A human in an altered state of consciousness seems to be more 'receptive' to them.

 

Wonder why?

[Shadfox]

I know this post is going to be bloody chum in the sea of skeptics here, so let me first state I'm not attributing this to "ghosts." I believe these experiences are real to the person having them, but I don't know what to attribute them to. I'm not interested in advocating the paranormal or becoming a "True Believer", but I do get sick of people claiming one is mentally ill or has some agenda in sharing these experiences.

 

One morning on a clear, sunny day I happened to look out the window and in the yard of the neighbor I saw a translucent, human figure. The head was tilted back and the arms were raised in an exalting gesture. The figure did not move; I stared at it for over 15 minutes. I was completely awake and not physically or mentally ill at the time. I regret not running outside and throwing myself at it to see what would happen, but I was a child and frightened by it.

 

At the same house, my parents claimed to have heard footsteps and loud noises in the attic of, which was only accessible by a ladder. They've also witnessed, together, translucent sheets floating down from the ceiling and into the floor.

[Onyx]

I'm neutral to the whole issue of ghosts- Either it's a natural reality or it is just a neat horror story.

[jrmarlin]

I caught a few moments of Ms. Brown on the Montel Williams Show not long ago. (A few moments was all I could stand.) She was avowing that "In the afterlife, we are all 30 years old." I guess that leaves me out of luck; my parents were in their mid-40s when I was born, so I won't recognize them when I get to the pearly gates or wherever.

 

this is exactly what I mean. She's whacked out of her fucking mind. You know there should be disclaimers on her books, WARNING: Some contents may be false. Crazy lady psychic doesn't know all.

 

I mean shit, look at our society. Oprah deems Dr. Phil and all of the sudden that genius has a television show where he address with "persons" very personal problems which ought not be on television to begin with. What a fruitcake.

 

Then you have Montel deeming Sylvia Brown and then all of the sudden, she's "The" psychic.

 

You can completely tell when she's lying. She touches her face and eyes a lot when she's bullshitting. Also you can see her rub her chin. When people have mannerisms like that, body language dictates they are lying -- especially if they look to the left - accessing the creative vortex of the brain.

 

My biggest beef with her is the eye rolling. Acting holier than thou when she's on television asking people to call a fucking number to get a daily inspiration from her on their mobile fone at $10.00 a pop? And her readings are $1000.00 per 1/2 hour incriment. Who the fuck does she think she is? What a self righteous, arrogant asshole.

 

Whatever gift she may or may not have had is certainly history now. She's abused the term "psychic" for far too long.

 

Should this be in Rant and Replies or WHAT?

[HadouKen24]

I will say that I wouldn't be surprised if any ghosts exist. There's supposed to be a ghost here in the school library. (Where I'm posting from.) Weird things happen, like books will disappear and show up in the home of someone who's never even been in the state. A friend of mine was once making copies, and left not realizing his wallet was no longer in his pants. They eventually found his wallet in the library safe--but none of the librarians had put it there.

 

Ghosts? Perhaps.

 

I've done a few Ouija sessions, but I'd have to do quite a bit more to see if there's anything to it or not.

 

Trying to keep on topic, I'll try not to talk about any other areas of the Strange, Weird, and Unexplained.

[Guest zuisa]

I'm very split on ghosts. I truly can't understand what is going on in my brain to make me so firmly not believe in God, but believe in ghosts. I am fully aware of my current state as a walking contradiction. I have just heard and seen so many things, both personally and through people I trust implicitly, to fuel my belief in ghosts, but never anything to fuel an existance in God.

 

This is my first post here, and I'm not sure why I chose this post to start....it just seemed fun

[pandora]

Welcome!!

 

I understand your conundrum... and I often feel the same way. Perhaps there is sort of natural law that we don't understand about our advanced consciousness... but the "science" that detects them has been mostly debunked (sorry, too lazy to find a link)/ I try to be open to all things spiritual... perhaps no personal Christian-like god is required to make ghosts or souls, but I tend to think that all this stuff is just ourselves deceiving ourselves. I am agnostic on ghosts as well as some sort of god or energy force... but I am torn like you are. Until I experience something for myself, and thoroughly consider all possibilities, I am practically aghostic. lol

[RHEMtron]

i dont believe in religion, but i am uncertain about ghosts.

 

ive had many encounters and ive just tried to convince myself that it's all in my head. but then ive also had many shared encounters with friends and relatives... as in we all saw ghost, heard a little kid crying right in front of us when there's nobody there, or the freakiest one... scratches suddenly appearing on my friend as if someone was hitting him... and a whole lotta more.

 

but im still trying to say it was mass hallucination.

 

and no drugs were not involved... alcohol maybe, but not drugs hahaha.

[LadyFeline]

Not to mention sleep paralysis - by itself, it could just about explain away ghosts, demons, alien abductions, etc. completely.

You know, that would work, if all ghost sightings were made while a person was in bed. Never mind that sleep paralysis is a fairly rare condition that most people only experience once or twice in their lives, if at all.

 

Your little claim that "most ghost sightings are made while half-asleep" or some shit is just that - bullshit. Most "ghost sightings" are made while a person is very much awake and moving around. It's "alien abductions" that occur most often in bed. Get your goddamned facts straight, and get the hell off your smug, self-righteous high horse.

 

When I lived in Phoenix, my roommate and I were both witness to some very strange, abnormal things. And I can guarantee you that none of them were caused by sleep paralysis or hallucinations. After all, sleep paralysis doesn't pull a framed picture off the wall and fling it at your head while you're making lunch, and hallucinations don't take a cookbook off the top of the refrigerator and throw it seven feet into the dining room, scattering the pages all around both rooms (this was also BEFORE we had cats, mind you). Neither also cause neatly-folded underwear to vanish from drawers and clothes baskets, or move action figures from the computer desk to the windowsill while nobody is home. It also doesn't account for things that you both see and hear while wide awake - like black cats running in front of a mirror while your own cats are both curled up on the couch with you, or thumping sounds from the ceiling that are so loud that the lights and walls rattle, but your upstairs neighbor isn't home, and everyone else in the building is asleep.

 

I've witnessed a lot of very unusual things in my life. I've heard gunshots in my parents' kitchen, seen people walk behind me in windows and mirrors while I was the only person in the house (mom's noticed this, too - at first she thought it was dad, then remembered that he was outside mowing the back yard at that time), and witnessed grandpa's old reclining chair start rocking on its own. I had a locked bathroom door start shaking on its hinges so badly that I thought the door might break (I was alone at the time, so it wasn't my roommate pulling a fast one on me) and I've felt a cat jump onto the back of the couch I was sitting on, but there was no cat there.

 

A key point in all of these was that, at no point was I just waking up, going to sleep, or even tired at all. I was very much awake. Most events happened in broad daylight. And, for the majority of it, I also have at least one witness to corroborate the story.

 

If you want to believe that sleep paralysis and hallucinations were the cause of every single event above, you're welcome to. I can't force you to believe something you've never experienced first-hand. However, just as you're free to think that I'm mentally ill and suffering from hallucinations, I'm also free to think that you're a self-righteous little prick who acts like he knows everything, and doesn't realize that not believing in bibbleGAWD doesn't automatically make him superior to everyone else.

 

I don't know what could have honestly caused my experiences, or anyone else's. But to attempt to dismiss them all as sleep paralysis or hallucinations - especially when you don't even know the person in question, or the full circumstances behind the event - is the height of arrogance and ignorance.

[pandora]

Just for the record, I experience sleep paralysis at least once a week.

 

 

Does that make me weird?

[Dianka]

Your little claim that "most ghost sightings are made while half-asleep" or some shit is just that - bullshit. Most "ghost sightings" are made while a person is very much awake and moving around. It's "alien abductions" that occur most often in bed. Get your goddamned facts straight, and get the hell off your smug, self-righteous high horse.

 

*Abductions AND ghost sightings are commonly reported while in bed. Did you happen to read Gwen's post?

 

When I lived in Phoenix, my roommate and I were both witness to some very strange, abnormal things. And I can guarantee you that none of them were caused by sleep paralysis or hallucinations. After all, sleep paralysis doesn't pull a framed picture off the wall and fling it at your head while you're making lunch BULLSHIT, and hallucinations don't take a cookbook off the top of the refrigerator and throw it seven feet into the dining room, scattering the pages all around both rooms BULLSHIT (this was also BEFORE we had cats, mind you). Neither also cause neatly-folded underwear to vanish from drawers and clothes baskets Pervy roomie??? , or move action figures from the computer desk to the windowsill while nobody is home No one's home, so it MUST be a spirit. It also doesn't account for things that you both see and hear while wide awake - like black cats running in front of a mirror while your own cats are both curled up on the couch with you, or thumping sounds from the ceiling that are so loud that the lights and walls rattle, but your upstairs neighbor isn't home, and everyone else in the building is asleep. See above comments

 

I've witnessed a lot of very unusual things in my life. I've heard gunshots in my parents' kitchen, seen people walk behind me in windows and mirrors while I was the only person in the house (mom's noticed this, too - at first she thought it was dad, then remembered that he was outside mowing the back yard at that time), and witnessed grandpa's old reclining chair start rocking on its own. I had a locked bathroom door start shaking on its hinges so badly that I thought the door might break (I was alone at the time, so it wasn't my roommate pulling a fast one on me) and I've felt a cat jump onto the back of the couch I was sitting on, but there was no cat there.

 

A key point in all of these was that, at no point was I just waking up, going to sleep, or even tired at all. I was very much awake. Most events happened in broad daylight. And, for the majority of it, I also have at least one witness to corroborate the story.

 

If you want to believe that sleep paralysis and hallucinations were the cause of every single event above, you're welcome to. I can't force you to believe something you've never experienced first-hand. However, just as you're free to think that I'm mentally ill and suffering from hallucinations, I'm also free to think that you're a self-righteous little prick who acts like he knows everything, and doesn't realize that not believing in bibbleGAWD doesn't automatically make him superior to everyone else.

 

I don't know what could have honestly caused my experiences, or anyone else's. But to attempt to dismiss them all as sleep paralysis or hallucinations - especially when you don't even know the person in question, or the full circumstances behind the event - is the height of arrogance and ignorance.

 

 

That was quite a load. Aw hell, let's settle this. Since the supernatural seems to be a constant occurance that follows you, why don't you set up a few nanny cams in the kitchen. Next time a book goes flying across the room, you'll have loads of apologies from the arrogant assholes who choose to find terrestrial explanations for strange experiences.

 

I read in a magazine about a ghost story where these people would be walking down these stairs in an apartment building and would hear footsteps following them. If they stood still the footsteps would keep walking up and down the stairs. Nobody could explain it and everyone was scared that there were ghosts. It wasn't until someone noticed that the adjacent building had stairs right beside theirs and the sound was the people in the other building walking up and down.

 

 

I heard that on Infidel Guy. Silly.

 

Just for the record, I experience sleep paralysis at least once a week.

 

 

Does that make me weird?

 

No, that's not the reason why you're weird.

[jrmarlin]

Just for the record, I experience sleep paralysis at least once a week.

 

 

Does that make me weird?

No. Actually there is a medical reason for Sleep Paralysis. It doesn't have to do with demons or ghosts... or devils either. It's when the body is on the verge of sleep but the mind is awake. This happens for a myrid of reasons - but none to do with ghosts and demons.

 

When I lived in Phoenix, my roommate and I were both witness to some very strange, abnormal things. And I can guarantee you that none of them were caused by sleep paralysis or hallucinations. After all, sleep paralysis doesn't pull a framed picture off the wall and fling it at your head while you're making lunch, and hallucinations don't take a cookbook off the top of the refrigerator and throw it seven feet into the dining room, scattering the pages all around both rooms (this was also BEFORE we had cats, mind you). Neither also cause neatly-folded underwear to vanish from drawers and clothes baskets, or move action figures from the computer desk to the windowsill while nobody is home. It also doesn't account for things that you both see and hear while wide awake - like black cats running in front of a mirror while your own cats are both curled up on the couch with you, or thumping sounds from the ceiling that are so loud that the lights and walls rattle, but your upstairs neighbor isn't home, and everyone else in the building is asleep.

 

So basically you are referring to poltergist activity? Hmmmm. Okay. Was there a teenager in the house?

 

Did you check the history of the apartment? Was there a death there or are you bringing this from some place else?

[LadyFeline]

When I lived in Phoenix, my roommate and I were both witness to some very strange, abnormal things. And I can guarantee you that none of them were caused by sleep paralysis or hallucinations. After all, sleep paralysis doesn't pull a framed picture off the wall and fling it at your head while you're making lunch BULLSHIT, and hallucinations don't take a cookbook off the top of the refrigerator and throw it seven feet into the dining room, scattering the pages all around both rooms BULLSHIT (this was also BEFORE we had cats, mind you). Neither also cause neatly-folded underwear to vanish from drawers and clothes baskets Pervy roomie??? , or move action figures from the computer desk to the windowsill while nobody is home No one's home, so it MUST be a spirit. It also doesn't account for things that you both see and hear while wide awake - like black cats running in front of a mirror while your own cats are both curled up on the couch with you, or thumping sounds from the ceiling that are so loud that the lights and walls rattle, but your upstairs neighbor isn't home, and everyone else in the building is asleep. See above comments

 

Well, let's see... Starting at your cute little red comments at the top here...

 

1 & 2. Fuck you, and fuck you, mmkay? I think it stands to reason that you wouldn't believe it unless you had the picture thrown at your head, but really... Yeah. Retarded, there.

 

3. It was her underwear disappearing. I'm not inclined towards females, so it wasn't me sneaking it, and we were the only two in that apartment. But, hey, who knows? Maybe there was a miniature black hole in the apartment.

 

4. I never said that. But when your front door is locked, you and your roommate are the only ones with keys, the windows lock from the inside, nothing else has been touched, and there's no other signs of someone being in the apartment... Yeah, it gets a little freaky.

 

5. Okay, YOU explain why a cat would run in front of a mirror... when the only two cats in the apartment are sleeping beside you.

 

Abductions AND ghost sightings are commonly reported while in bed. Did you happen to read Gwen's post?

 

Like I said, it would be a valid argument, if ALL ghost sightings were reported from bed, or even at NIGHT. But they're NOT, so it's MOOT.

 

That was quite a load. Aw hell, let's settle this. Since the supernatural seems to be a constant occurance that follows you, why don't you set up a few nanny cams in the kitchen. Next time a book goes flying across the room, you'll have loads of apologies from the arrogant assholes who choose to find terrestrial explanations for strange experiences.

 

Aaaaand again...

 

1. I've experienced these things in two places: the house I used to live in, and that particular apartment in Phoenix.

 

2. For all I know, it COULD have been a terrestrial occurance. If it was, though, it was one that's not been documented (at least not thoroughly). I can't think of anything else that engages in that sort of behavior.

 

Fuck. We just called the Phoenix "ghost" Fred At least we weren't attributing it to Satan. So come off it. Until you drop the condescending, bitchy little attitude, all you're going to be to me is a screeching, self-righteous twat who can't stand people not thinking "JUST LIKE HER, OMGAWWWWWWWD!!!"

 

So basically you are referring to poltergist activity? Hmmmm. Okay. Was there a teenager in the house?

 

Did you check the history of the apartment? Was there a death there or are you bringing this from some place else?

Heeeeey, civility and politeness. I respond well to that

 

Poltergeists were something that we did discuss. There weren't any teenagers present there (I was 20 and she was 22) - mom's house is a different story, though, as she's got my two teenage brothers still at home - but I did notice that these things tended to peak at times when stress was running high.

 

Except for the incident with the bathroom door. That happened at a pretty laid-back time (spring break)...

 

And we asked the apartment manager about the apartment. According to her, no one ever died there, and the last occupants were still very much alive and well. As for if it followed me... I doubt it, since I'd lived in two other apartments prior to that (RnR just LOOOOOOVES to move their renters around at the drop of a hat...) and had no problems at either of them. If it was a poltergeist, though, it likely followed my roommate, since most of the activity (save for the picture-throwing and door rattling) centered around her, and still does even after she moved back home.

[The Sage Nabooru]

I am completely fascinating by ghosts. Do I believe in them? Yes, I do. But not the majority. The reason being that if you entered the afterlife, why would you spend it walking down the same hallway in the same house at 4:13 PM every day? What's the sense in that?

 

It's strange, but I've found that the more I believe and research ghosts, the more skeptical I become about individual cases. I don't believe goofy smoke shapes in photographs are ghosts, nor are reflections of trees in windows; even if I see a poltergeist move a chair in the kitchen, I won't think it's an actual ghost, for the same reason as above: it's pointless. If you really wanted to manifest yourself, you'd do it in a way different from making the dishes rattle in the cupboards. (Now, if the chair was picked up and thrown at me, I'd consider that one a bit.......)

 

I don't believe in electromagnetic fields, or changing temperatures; I think that that is an attempt to fuse one science into an unrelated one; like trying to repair a broken furnace with a tire gauge. Nor do I believe the theories posed by skeptics that go like "Well, this house is within 15 miles of an aboveground powerline, and I was in another house that was supposed to be haunted a few years ago in the same situation, therefore that's the cause of the apparitions. Also, there are considerable amounts of limestone underneath the house, the water contains a considerable amount of flouride, and we're on the north side of a hill with a cave underneath it that has stalagmites in it. The combination of all these factors are clearly proof that they are the cause of the so-called haunting."

[pandora]

Just for the record, I experience sleep paralysis at least once a week.

 

 

Does that make me weird?

No. Actually there is a medical reason for Sleep Paralysis. It doesn't have to do with demons or ghosts... or devils either. It's when the body is on the verge of sleep but the mind is awake. This happens for a myrid of reasons - but none to do with ghosts and demons.

 

 

LOL I am well aware. When I was a Christian and this happened, I always attributed it to evil spirits or ghosts. Now that I live in the ghetto, I sense the presence of some burglar outside the window and I see him peering through. The other night, I had an out of body experience while in sleep paralysis and imagined that I was floating up to meet some higher beings (I am studying Buddhism and Hinduism in school right now).

 

It is so obvious that they are directly correlated with whatever is occupying my subconscious mind/fears at the moment.

 

I actually think it is a cool thing to experience, and I have learned to enjoy them and shape them into what I want to see or feel. Sometimes, I can transform them into out of body experiences and the like. It's really fun.

 

I don't know quite what to make of them, but they definitely give me insight into my untapped powers (that are completely natural of course).

[Lilith]

but I did notice that these things tended to peak at times when stress was running high.

 

YES!

 

Ok...I've got several stories. The above quote by LadyFeline is a definite trigger. Not every house I've lived in has had activity. The most activity took place in the house I grew up in.

 

Some took place at night ("cats" jumping on my bed and curling up at my feet, but when I flip on the light there's nothing there)

 

But the VAST majority took place in the middle of the day. Bright, sunny....sometimes I was alone. Sometimes my mom was with me. My dad, who is a MAJOR skeptic, even saw a few things and would joke around....nervously.

 

We lived 15 miles out of town. Our nearest neighbor was over a mile away (elderly couple down at the end of our dirt road). The next nearest neighbor was over two miles away. Needless to say, we didn't get a lot of visitors. We could hear a car coming from quite a distance when it was quiet in the house.

 

OK...enough background. One instance (high stress) dealt with me and my mother having one of the WORST fights in history. We were out in the living room yelling at each other. My bedroom was at the end of the hall, on the left. At some point in the screaming, we both took a breath at the same time, and heard a terrible racket from the end of the hall. I was hysterical, yet we both stopped and looked down the hall. Mom yelled something more at me (I dont' remember exactly what, but it seems like she yelled at me about the noise). I do remember saying, "I don't know!" and ran for my room. She was on my heels.

 

When pushed my door open, I remember standing there with my mouth open. It looked like a hurricane had just taken place. Papers were strewn all over the place...knick-knacks were knocked off walls, pictures were hanging askew. It was a disaster. Mom was behind me. We didn't say anything for a few seconds. Then she just calmly said, "Clean it up." And I did.

 

No, the windows were not open. It wasn't the wind.

 

Another time, I was home alone (which I loved, btw...peace and quiet). I was sitting on the sofa, reading a book. I was fully engrossed in this novel, when I heard my dad's footsteps in the kitchen (same fall...sounded like a cowboy boot). It sounded like they came from the landing to the middle of the kitchen, where the island was. I picked my head up and said, "Hi Dad!"

 

When he didn't respond, I started to giggle, cuz I thought he was playing a trick on me. So I got up, went around the corner...you guessed it...no one there.

 

Hmmm...weird, I thought...I must have just imagined it.

 

Sat back down to read. Not 30 seconds later...footsteps in the kitchen again. This time I KNEW I had not imagined it. I got up again...."Dad?" and went around the corner. Still no dad.

 

A little concerned by this point..I sat back down again. Tried to shake off the "weirdos" that were coming over me by this point. Then I heard a familiar sound. The light switch in the staircase being flipped on and off. This used to happen quite regularly. I jumped up one more time...and when I didn't find anyone, I called my mom, who was at a friend's house, some distance away. She immediately got ahold of my dad, who was only 4 or 5 miles away (rancher..he was at our shop). Dad called me up and said, "What's going on?"

 

I was sufficiently freaked by this point. Told him what I heard. He said, "GET OUT OF THE HOUSE, NOW. I'LL BE RIGHT THERE"

 

And boy, he was. I followed him back into the house, he went and got a hand gun and immediately searched the whole place. I remember him saying, "Well honey, the only place left to hide is the freezer...and if he's in there, he'll freeze to death."

 

K...if you made it through all that...I'll mail you a certificate.

[All Gods Fail]

Not to mention sleep paralysis - by itself, it could just about explain away ghosts, demons, alien abductions, etc. completely.

You know, that would work, if all ghost sightings were made while a person was in bed. Never mind that sleep paralysis is a fairly rare condition that most people only experience once or twice in their lives, if at all.

 

Your little claim that "most ghost sightings are made while half-asleep" or some shit is just that - bullshit. Most "ghost sightings" are made while a person is very much awake and moving around. It's "alien abductions" that occur most often in bed. Get your goddamned facts straight, and get the hell off your smug, self-righteous high horse.

 

Jeez, defensive much? And I assure you, my high horse may be smug and self-righteous, but I'm not.

 

First, sleep paralysis is not a rare condition that just a few people experience.

 

Several recent surveys including our own suggest that between 25-30% of the population reports that they have experienced at least a mild form of sleep paralysis at least once and about 20-30% of these have had the experience on several occasions. A few people may have very elaborate experiences almost nightly (or many times in a night) for years.

 

The actual figures may be higher than that, because many people who have experienced SP may attribute it to something paranormal or spiritual.

 

Try reading up on something before you go accusing people of making shit up, Ms. Touchy.

 

As for the high number of ghostly experiences that occur near or during sleep, I can't tell you how many I've read that involve just that. I've been on the Fortean Times board for a long time, and I'm amazed at how many people report ghostly encounters just before, during, or after they were asleep.

 

Sure, there are many encounters that don't have anything to do with sleep or SP, or drugs/alcohol, or epilepsy, or hallucinations or waking/lucid dreams, or high stress, or depression, or fear, or any other kind of altered mental states. But the sheer number of reports that involve sleep in some way far outnumber them.

[willybilly30]

i have had a few experiances that could or could not be my imagination i dont know.

me and my sister as kids were playing with a flashlight with the lights off we saw a giant shadow of a person walking across the room. i would also see these shadow people if i woke up at night. i chased one into the wall and started hitting the wall then my mom came and sent me back to bed. i also used to hear these noises like when you turn the radio to a bad station that shhh sound sometimes it would talk. i was really afraid of the dark still and my stepfather made me sleep in the dark anyway so it couldve been just fear i saw clothes move in the closet, a rocking chair rock and staticky stuff. sometimes in the day time id feel someone was watching me and id turn around but no one was their.

 

my grandma told me one time she felt a cold hand on her shoulder and thought it was her mother saying goodbye.

 

my half sister says her grandpa, dad and other dead relatives visit her as glwing orbs then shape into their body and talk. my sister was a baby when her grandpa died, 3 when dad died its interesting.

 

i have heard alot of the stories already posted here from friends.

 

before anyone tries to debate with me with the (show me the proof questions) let me say from the start i dont have proof it was anything real.