Do You Believe in Ghosts?

[jessica]

I know this is not really ghost-related...but when we were in highschool, my girlfriends and I used a Ouija Board and we solemnly swore to each other that we would not fool around with each other, that whatever it spelled out was what it wanted to spell out. So, we decided to see what it would do when one of us asked a question that had "no" as a definite answer, while the other person asked a question that had "yes" as a definite answer. After a few seconds, the thing started to spell this: S T O P....and then the clear plastic thing went around in circles--it was literally pulled out of our hands as it motioned itself in wide circles and flew off of the board. Needless to say, we did stop immediately. The Ouija Board is wrapped in newspapers in my mother's basement. We are afraid to throw it out in case it "reappears" in the house.

[imp]

Wow, this thread is way cooler than I ever imagined it could be. I was half-expecting public ridicule for even asking the question, so it's nice to read so many passionate, fascinating posts. Thanks to everyone who has shared.

It happened one night but when I rolled over to turn the radio off, I saw a small shadow figure pull the cord from the wall...and I almost pooped my pants. The next morning, when I woke up, I looked over at the radio to see if I was just having a dream but the cord was pulled from the radio just as I saw. I also found out that my best friend's mother died that very night almost exactly at the same time I remember waking up to turn off the radio.

It's creepy but in retrospect, I was asleep and only half awake when I saw what happened. I could have just had a dream and it is possible that in my dream the radio was on but really wasn't. The only weird part of it all was that my friend's mother did really die at the same time I saw or dreamed what happened which might have just been mere coincidence.

Now that is just plain creepy. My mother has shared some very similar experiences with me, and I get the heebs just hearing those stories!

Cool stuff.

Benjamin

[jayihdz]

I do believe, when my daugther was 3 years old seh used to get up in middle of the night to play with her "friend". The "friend" used to wake her up every night at the same time for 2 weeks until I got really upset and I asked the "friend" to stop doing it. After that it never happen again.

[jessica]

It scares me a lot, too, which is why I don't want to watch scary movies about ghosts and phenomena like that...but I can't help but relish reading through this thread and reading about other people's experiences. It's freaky but neat!!

[EMCE Hammer]

You people are freaking me out. This stuff scares the bejeezus out of me.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Put me down as a believer, as I too grew up in a haunted house. My mother, father and sister have all seen our ghost up close and personal, but I haven't. I caught glimpses of her out of the corner of my eye, and felt her go past me, felt her watching me while I slept, and I've heard many unexplainable noises, but for some reason, I never saw her up clsoe.

We called her Greta. We are pretty certain she is/was my great-grandmother, who died young when my grandmother was only 13 months old. My mother first encountered her while she was a child at my grandparents house. My mother tried to tell my grandparents about her, but they wouldn't believe her. When my mother got married and moved out, my grandparents moved their bed into her old room. They stayed in the room one week.

She began appearing at our house (where my dad still lives) when I was around 5 or so. She liked to pull little mischevious pranks and take things and hide them for a time, and then put them in really obvious places. The first instance of this was with my pair of sneakers. We looked all over the house for them for a whole day, and then suddenly we came back into the living room and they were in the middle of the floor. Other things would happen like this over the years, and as time went on and I got older, my parents and older sister would be more open about "our ghost" until one day I figured out they weren't kidding. Whenever something would disappear, one of us would say "Greta, bring that (fill-in-the-blank) back". And eventually, it would reappear.

For years, my mother was the only one who saw her, and even communicated with her. She wouldn't say much to her, just short sentences. I would often see someone out of the corner of my eye, through our living room windows, walking down our street, and angling toward the front door of our house. Of course when I went to the front of the house, no one was there, and no one was along the street or in the yard.

My father saw her one morning walking through the shower wall. He turned away from the mirror and saw her back half sticking out of the wall. Up until this point, he was pretty skeptical, but this changed his mind.

We eventually concluded that Greta's appearances began after my mother received the spectrograph viewer that had belonged to my great-grandmother. My grandmother had it in her house for years, during the time my mom saw Greta at her childhood home. Were they connected? Not entirely sure, but I told my sister she could have that thing in the will!!!


Ever since my mother passed away, my Dad hasn't experienced much in the way of the unexplained. She used to like to jerk my parent's bedroom door open in the middle of the night. That was about the most "violent" thing she ever did.

Me, myself, the only thing I really "saw" was my cat, two weeks after he had been put to sleep (he had leukemia and was suffering). I saw him go past the doorway of my office in our old apartment, where he had lived. My wife saw him too. We saw him for about a week a few times, and then he disappeared.

For two years we lived in the house next to my grandmother. We knew the house had once been a furneral parlor and was well over 100 years old, so I was kind of expecting some kind of activity. Well, my wife, who was also pretty skeptical at that point, saw a man walk through one wall of our house and out another while watching TV in the living room one night. She came into me and looked like Lou Costello. Neither of us ever saw anything in that house again.

I dont' share these stories much, because for years I told NO ONE. I too know skeptics won't believe it, and that's okay. I've seen enough myself, and trust my family enough to know what I just told you was real.

Chris

[jessica]

How about this photo? There are no foil serving containers to be seen in this photo---plus I aimed high and not at the food. There is also a streak of light on the wall to the right:

[Mikey]

I think those blobs of light are a reflection of the camera flash on the camera lens from the foil serving container.
Just a guess

[jessica]

I do believe in ghosts, but fortunately, have never encountered any. I would be too creeped out. I think the house we moved from had a ghost although I never saw anything strange except for that occasional movement/blur of a figure that when you turn to focus is gone. My mom though was terrified of spending the night there, and after the one incident in the bedroom refused to sleep in that room--she always stayed in the living room or slept in another room. She said she was sleeping and woke up because she felt somebody was staring at her and there was a dark figure hovering/bending down looking at her. She said it was of a man but the features were indistinct.

Luckily the place where we live now does not give me any strange sensations nor does it have the unexplained loud pops in the ceiling that would wake me up in the middle of the night.

I think I have photographed blobs of light and I am attaching these. These orbs of light showed up in some but not all of the photographs for the party we had that evening. I have never seen these orbs of light or streaks appear anywhere on any photographs I have ever taken--yet that night there were so many captured. I am always scanning photographs for any signs of these orbs or streaks from what I have seen on tv, and to me these look like orbs.

What do you guys think?

[nvmbrsdoom5]

I don't really know what I believe when it comes to ghosts. A part of me tends to be more stubborn about believing it but honestly I've had some unexplained things occur in my house, especially when I was younger. It'd be much too long and involved to explain it all here, but alot of it was never really easily explained. What made things more interesting was later on when I was a young adult and my dad remarried, my young stepbrother experienced some of the same things while staying here at my house. The things he saw and described were very very similar to what I'd seen and experienced as a kid in this house. But, there's no way he was just being a copycat or anything, because I'd never told him nor my parents about any of this stuff prior.

My wife and I currently live in the same house that I grew up in. We have a roommate who lives downstairs now (where a majority of the weird incidents occurred years ago) and every once in a while he tells me about something strange happening......televisions being turned on or off on their own, things being moved that noone here claims to have touched, etc. Other than that, though, not much happens anymore as compared to when I was younger.

[Vortigern99]

... My point is why should we automatically conclude that what they saw were automatically NOT alien craft, particularly when these ancient phenomenon were observed to be performing under intelligent control (Re: changing course, hovering etc.)

Because the ancients believed deities powered and motivated the celestial bodies, as with Apollo dragging the sun across the sky in his fiery chariot. You may choose if you like to take these instances of the mythic imagination as indicative of ancient astronauts, but it is not evidence in the scientific sense of observed and quantifiable phenomena.

... the difference is that these ancient anecdotes you describe have no modern scientifically observed equivalent. The phenomenon of ancient Extra-terrestrial visitation to this planet does.

It certainly does not. There is no scientifically observed instance of a phenomenon that is objectively quantifiable as an alien visitation. All we have are tons and tons of anecdotal "evidence", which can be erroneous or fabricated, and some video and photographic evidence, which can be explained in a multitude of other, terrestrial ways (such as secret experimental military craft) before reaching out for the unlikely and fantastical explanation of alien visitation. All terrestrial possibilities must be exhausted before appealing to the as-yet unproven and unscientific hypothesis of alien visitation. Otherwise any statement made by any person anywhere could be taken as valid and credible, which is a dangerous state of mind in which to exist.

... Well that's the point. We don't know if it is all or some. Therefore, I (and others who are like-minded) believe that it is wrong to simply label people crazy or hoaxsters simply because what they proport to have observed has not been scientifically confirmed.

For the record, I'm not labelling anyone "crazy", and as I said the percentage of hoaxsters (meaning willing perpetrators of fraud) is very small. What remains is human misapprehension of unknown phenomena, and basic human error in terms of memory, perception, and an understanding of physics and astronomy.

... I say again: History is full of people who were ridiculed in this way for their observations only to have time and science catch up to them and confirm the truth of their "fantastic" observations.

I'm not ridiculing anyone. And if what you're purporting is true, then time and the efforts of human technological advancement will exonerate you and all proponents of alien visitation. In the meantime, I and others of a skeptical (meaning "fact-discerning", not "fact-dismissive") mindset will continue to challenge unproven assertions according to the scientific method and Sagan's Baloney Detection Kit (which basically means critical thinking, freedom from bias, and the injunction that there be independent validation of a concept before it's accepted as truthful).

... [Sleep paralysis] is YOUR theory and you're welcome to it. But it in NO WAY fully explains all the details of that phenomena (Re: Identical world-wide impants, and body markings, multiple-simultaneous witnesses), and it dismisses the vast number of scientifically-studied cases (Re; Betty and Barney Hill separately recounting their shared experience through hypnosis-regression therapy)

Well, sleep paralysis isn't really "my" theory; I've read about it, experienced it myself, spoken with others who have experienced it, and it happens to fit the exact criteria for every alien abduction story I've ever read or heard about. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis:

Sleep paralysis is a common condition characterized by transient partial or total paralysis of skeletal muscles and areflexia that occurs upon awakening from sleep or less often while falling asleep. Stimuli such as touch or sound may terminate the episode, which usually has a duration of seconds to minutes. This condition may occur in normal subjects or be associated with narcolepsy, cataplexy, and hypnagogic hallucinations. ... The hallucinatory element to sleep paralysis makes it even more likely that someone will interpret the experience as a dream, since completely fanciful, or dream-like, objects may appear in the room alongside one's normal vision. Some scientists have proposed this condition as a theory for alien abductions and ghostly encounters.

... Furthermore you attribute virtually 100% of all abduction cases to your "earthly" explanations of sleep phenomena and hoaxes, leaving no room at all for even the possibility of anything else. Not even the scientific community that you hold in such high regard would do this. And thankfully, in the case of alien abductions, they have not. The phenomena HAS gotten scientific attention and study precisely because TOO many cases have been reported and documented that rule out the explanations you offer above.

You speak of the "Scientific community" as though they are of one mind on the matter. Some investigators believe sleep paralysis is the best explanation for all abductions and other spirit-visitations, others offer a variety of rationales for such pheomena. I am certainly not qualified to state with 100% certainty that sleep paralysis accounts for every non-hoax instance of visitation/abduction. Possibly there are others, but again sleep paralysis fits all the criteria for every such encounter I've ever read, seen or heard about. I'd like to request from you a link to an article which explains these cases you cite that "rule out" sleep paralysis and hoaxing.

... Scientific "evidence" BEGINS first as "anecdotal" observations of mis-understood organisms or phenomena by average individuals which are then studied, learned from, and revealed within the scientific community by "trained professionals" .

Certainly observed phenomena are the spark that leads to an application of the scientific method, that is, forming a hypothesis, testing it and re-testing it with a control experiment to eventually produce a theory. But the anecdotes of UFO sightings, abductions and other visitations are only anecdotes; there is, and can be in such instances, no follow up beyond the hypothetical: no testing, no re-testing, no controls and no development of a theory based on further observed and quantified phenomena. Thus such stories cannot be considered constructive or explanatory toward a scientifically sound conclusion.

... The phenomena of extra-terrestrial visitation and human abduction fits all of these critera. It is just NOT readily accepted by some because of its continued "paranormal" status due mostly to stringent govenment denials.

It does no such thing. I might poilitely suggest you read up on the scientific method, on critical thinking, on independent validation and on logical analysis of facts, because your belief that "extra-terrestrial visitation and human abduction fits" scientific criteria is inaccurate and shows a misunderstanding of the principles of science.

... But the fact remains MANY UFO researchers and investigators are respected SCIENTISTS in their own right.

This is true, and as human beings they are as prone to error and bias as anyone else in the world. That is why there is a worldwide scientific community represented by peer-reviewed publications, and constant challenging of new theories, hypotheses and conclusions. And so far as I am aware, none of the paranormal researchers you cite, nor any of their peer-reviewed articles, has been accepted as valid by the worldwide scientific community.

... Furthermore, "Trained professionals" have observed extra-terrestrial craft in our skies and oceans FOR YEARS. Policemen. Military, fighter, and commercial pilots. Professionals all. We trust them with so much. Yet we are ready to ridicule them and say that their collective eyes deceive them when they see and experience something that simply does not exist within our known technological capabilities. Do you think that an orbiting astronaut does NOT know the difference between a meteor skipping off the atmosphere of our planet and a SAUCER SHAPED craft the he has observed buzzing his own module at tremendous speed that then radically changing course (actual example)? Gimme a break.

Once more, I'm not ridiculing anyone. Experimental terrestrial aircraft, with flights conducted in secrecy by the military, are almost all that is required to explain such sightings. The rest might be false memory, hallucinations, and dream-state pheomena. Until there is hard evidence of extraterrestrial spacecraft, we cannot accept the anecdotes of any person as correct and valid, regardless of their rank or social standing. Otherwise we open the doors to credulity and the acceptance of any fantastic story by anyone who would care to deceive us, for whatever purpose they might indulge. Stories are not quantifiable phenomena, and do not serve as evidence toward a conclusive scientific theory.

... Seems to me like you're only willing to accept the word of a trained professional so long as their observations and conclusions don't violate your own personal belief system.

Not at all. I'm ready and willing to accept alien visitation. I would like to see some evidence of it. But I will not allow that bias to color my perception of the facts, or to dilute the logic and accountability of the scientific method.

[Blackkryptonite]

This has been a subject I've become increasingly curious about over the past year. I have no doubt that there is life after death, as my Christian faith teaches me. But on the other hand my very rational science based train of thought wants to believe in spirits or ghost or hauntings or whatever you want to call them but I've yet to have a "one on one" encounter that makes me a believer and to be honest I really want this personal proof. I'm somewhat fascinated by EVP's and would very much like to run some test on my own with a digital recorder in a place that is known to be haunted so i can see for myself. And if there are such things are hauntings or spirits (non-demon) then why/how are they here after their bodies have passed? I believe that everything can be explained through science including anything that we might consider super natural and I think with such a widespread focus on the paranormal these days that it's just a matter of time before we start understanding a little more about the subject.

[Hector]

I did go through some ghost experiences as a kid in Mexico.

Mind you, I never saw anything, it was all unexplained noises.

We lived in this huge old Spanish house, the ones that have that open patio right in the middle of the house (with all the rooms surrounding it).

These are the things I experienced:

1. Someone or something dragging its feet on the floor.
2. Two hard knocks on the ceiling of my bedroom every night at around 1am (without fail).
3. My dog will also hear these noises and react accordingly (usually by barking).
4. I had nightmares of my entire family being butchered by this unknown force, my dad, mother, and sister, would be cut into pieces. This was an almost every night event.
5. I was a sleepwalker during my five year stay at that house.
6. The house had two backyards separated by this tall wall. We had various farm animals, chickens, goats, rabbits, turkeys, etc... Well, there was this stall where the goats simply refused to go into. They were terrified. Needthless to say, we never forced the goats to stay there anymore.
7. My parents will hear stuff too. My dad told me he and my mom used to hear someone/something, drag the kitchen table and chairs around (I never did though), so he would grab his shotgun and investigate, he never saw anything, but he would hear these noises on a frequent basis.
8. I would also hear this extreme church bell ringing inside my room, the sound would be so loud that I would cover my ears, it was painful to hear (interestingly enough, my dog was unware of this particular sound).
9. I would always sleep with my covers over my head, I was always scared living in that house, and I was so glad the day we moved.
10. My sister is the only member of the family who never heard a bloody thing, lucky her, lol.

...and yes, I'm agnostic (so was my father).

[toys2cool]

I just keep my stories to myself,people look at you like a liar or like if you're crazy

[Manspider]

Without a doubt I believe in ghosts. I've had multiple personal experiences which are scientifically unexplainable. For all the skeptics... you will always be skeptical. No shared story will ever change your mind... you will always come-up with an explanation to discredit the paranormal incident. That's okay, though. I learned a long time ago not to waste my time and energy trying to turn a non-believer into a believer. The skeptic will never see because "Believing Is Seeing." "Seeing Is Not Believing."