Do You Think Ghosts Are Real?

[Satans_Serrated_Edge]

The phenomenon commonly described as 'ghosts' certainly exists. The explanation that it is disembodied dead people seems highly problematic for several reasons and thus seems very unlikely. If not for my own personal experiences, it would be most logical to just dismiss such claims, but since I can't, and I do not have adequate data to theorize a cause, I can only idly speculate.

All I can say with any certainty is it seems arrogant and foolhardy to assume we have all the questions, let alone all the answers, at this point in our evolution. We are barely out of the caves.

 

[MissAlice]

I agree with the OP in part that we create our own versions of reality. However people without belief may experience something they may define ghost-like. When a person uses the term ghost-like, it may not necessarily mean they believe their experience to be that of a ghost but rather a state in which mimics the kind of ghost we are taught about through stories and movies. If it weren't ghosts, they could be UFOs, aliens, demons, angels and the kind of stuff that is instilled in us through movies, stories, and beliefs.

I had a dream/experience of such a state. I do not conclude or even assume what happened was supernatural or even out of the ordinary but by connecting both the death of my nephew and the very nature experienced, I could see how easily superstition could take over.

Regarding my experience, I cannot conclude to an absolute what "it" was, I can only theorize using a pragmatic approach involving both my experience and what could have triggered it. It happened when I was at my sister's house. She invited me over to help clean and organize some stuff to go to goodwill. I was there from morning till night and exhausted. We decided to watch a couple of movies with the kids. I kept nodding off and falling asleep so I got a blanket and pillow and slept on the floor. When I woke up everyone was in bed. I got up to go to the bathroom and after that I looked through the open door at my sleeping nieces while think about their brother. I don't know what exactly triggered what I saw since it happened so fast and casually. I saw just a glimpse of my nephew sitting on the floor with his thomas train. It's very hard for me to describe since it was like a dream. It was as if I'd come to my senses and realized that nothing happened to bubby as I use to call him. I can only assume what triggered this dream. Whenever I was over at my sister's visiting the kids, I'd say good night to them before they went to bed. My nephew was always wide awake and love to show me his toys.



I never knew how to bring this up to my sister because I didn't know how to. It didn't feel like your typical dream when you're laying asleep. When I did, I used the word dream since that's all I can come to as the most possible explanation. The experience itself is hard to explain. I thought I was wide awake. I may have experienced an in between state of waking and dreaming. My meds don't normally cause me to hallucinate but it's possible. I'm still not quite sure what state I was in but based off my dream and the events leading to it, I can only guess what motivated it. I was use to seeing him with the kids whenever I said goodnight to them. It still feels surreal whenever I visit my sister. I am still not use to him being gone and I remember feeling the same way after my grandmother died, like I had been having a bad dream.

So while I am skeptical, I do not make it a habit to make fun of other people who think they've encountered a ghost. Sometimes the experiences feel very real for that person. I think many of us to some extent cannot control the way we process "reality". There's reality and then there's a reality our minds create without conscious control.

 

[Revoltingest]

This must be an inside joke or something I'm definitely missing...how come people keep mentioning unicorns? I keep noticing that in threads.

I don't know, but it could be that it's clearly fictional critter which is popular for mockery,
eg, the religion of The Invisible Pink Unicorn, starring role in a Robot Chicken episode.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

I think the phenomenon is real and tangible.

Anyone who spent a considerable amount of time in my mother's old house had a difficult time grasping on to their skepticism. Lights turning on and off by themselves, tv changing channels frequently or turning on and off. Loud crashing sounds coming from upstairs that would shake the whole house, but nothing fell upon inspection. And cans of food thrown from cabinets several feet from where they were.

And these were just things that normally went on. My mother lived there for ten years, and had dozens upon dozens of instances to tell.

 

[Willamena]

When we die...do we become ghosts?...or spirits?

If neither then there is no after life?

If you become a ghost or spirit... did you die at all?

 

[Revoltingest]

My father was convinced that my mother's ghost was visiting the kitchen late at night. He'd hear pots & pans banging, yet no one was there.
I called in an exorcist to drain the plumbing system & recharge the air in the expansion chambers. The ghost was silenced.

 

[Satans_Serrated_Edge]

I think the phenomenon is real and tangible.

Anyone who spent a considerable amount of time in my mother's old house had a difficult time grasping on to their skepticism. Lights turning on and off by themselves, tv changing channels frequently or turning on and off. Loud crashing sounds coming from upstairs that would shake the whole house, but nothing fell upon inspection. And cans of food thrown from cabinets several feet from where they were.

And these were just things that normally went on. My mother lived there for ten years, and had dozens upon dozens of instances to tell.

Add in faucets constantly being turned on and off and an experience with a ...something...in a dark coat room, and we share a very similar experience set. As many of you know, I am a mega-sceptic but unless someone manufactured memories and implanted them in my head, these things really happened.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Add in faucets constantly being turned on and off and an experience with a ...something...in a dark coat room, and we share a very similar experience set. As many of you know, I am a mega-sceptic but unless someone manufactured memories and implanted them in my head, these things really happened.

I hear ya. :yes:

I was there for quite a few of these experiences. Funny story:

One night while I was there with the kids, the crashing sounds where coming once every few minutes. I remember when we first heard it, it frightened us. This night, though, it was a constant *CRASH!!! CRASH!!! CRASH!!!* over and over again. We couldn't sleep. My mom and I would stand in her hallway staring at the ceiling wondering what to do.

So I stomped up the stairs in a dark house that provided the exact kind of atmosphere you see in the scary movies. As soon as I passed a certain point on the stairs, the temperature dropped dramatically to that icy chill we felt from time to time. I turned on the lights to flood the entire upstairs in bright light and yelled in frustration, "WILL YOU KEEP IT DOWN UP HERE? WE CAN'T SLEEP!!!"

I left the lights on, stomped downstairs, chuckled with my mother, waited about ten minutes with her to see if it actually worked. And when nothing happened, we went to bed.

 

[mho123]

If you believe it, then it's true to you. People who see ghosts are people that believe ghosts exist. I personally don't, and wish all the ghosts that are out there would come slap me some high fives because...I know there's no such thing. I've never seen one and find the thought of it hilarious. This might upset a lot of people but the truth is, I don't believe in ghosts, so I will never see or cross paths with one.

I've been to religious functions where people have become "possessed" and I stand above them and think to myself..."look at this fool embarrassing them self". No spirit will ever posses me or affect me in any way, because I don't believe spirits exist. I've dared people to put spells on me, voodoo, whatever it was and guess what, it has never worked. I knew it wouldn't though.

My point is this: The things people experience are relative to what they believe in. If you go looking for something, chances are you'll find it...but not necessarily because it's really there, but because you associated it with your beliefs and put it there.

:: puts in Ghostbusters DVD ::

I dont believe in any ghosts ,, because of 2 main reasons ,,
1 - human psyciology (sorry for my bad english ) we create ghosts in our minds for a purpose,, = imgining things
2- today we have created machines / techniques to sense every snesory impuls our bodies possess,, and then more ,
an example , even a tv set is capable of receiving ifrared while your eyes are not ,, so if there was anything out there which we could sense then we should be able to record it ,, and untill now we havent seen a real proof of it .
on the other hand there are enough explanations why people see ghosts all the time ,, but they usually serve a purpose,, fullfill some need ,,
basically we see ghost in our heads but , no in real life ,, no ghosts ,,

 

[Thief]

If you become a ghost or spirit... did you die at all?

I was being rhetorical. Of course there are such things as ghosts.
When you die you become a spirit without a body.

Unless of course you are willing to deny life after death.
Then by your own declaration...you are dust.

 

[Levite]

I believe in ghosts, but I don't believe they are the spirits or souls yet to "move on." I think they are spiritual resonance left by someone's energy, usually in a moment of extreme emotion, or who died with great feelings of conflict or unresolved ties. It is like an energy echo of something no longer there, while the echo persists for a long time afterward.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I'd love for any of this type of weird crap to actually exist. However, not enough to make it so.

 

[Nepenthe]

I dont believe in any ghosts ,, because of 2 main reasons ,,
1 - human psyciology (sorry for my bad english ) we create ghosts in our minds for a purpose,, = imgining things
2- today we have created machines / techniques to sense every snesory impuls our bodies possess,, and then more ,
an example , even a tv set is capable of receiving ifrared while your eyes are not ,, so if there was anything out there which we could sense then we should be able to record it ,, and untill now we havent seen a real proof of it .
on the other hand there are enough explanations why people see ghosts all the time ,, but they usually serve a purpose,, fullfill some need ,,
basically we see ghost in our heads but , no in real life ,, no ghosts ,,

Good points.
Of course we don't have all the answers to how things work, particularly on the subject of consciousness, but we do have a solid foundation that requires the physical processes of the brain and nervous system to necessitate whatever it is that may or may not be "consciousness". Any vestige of a mind persisting after brain death requires a physical substrate to continue, and there's nothing in physics or in neurology to support any such thing.

And if ghosts are able to physically interfere with our world they must be recordable or amendable to investigation. There's zero evidence that there's anything beyond human psychology, misperception, exaggeration, bias of belief, etc., to explain ghost experiences. Occam's razor points to human senses being fallible and cultural biases assuming anomalous experiences as ghosts as better explanations than anything surviving the brain and nervous system's demise.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Good points.
Of course we don't have all the answers to how things work, particularly on the subject of consciousness, but we do have a solid foundation that requires the physical processes of the brain and nervous system to necessitate whatever it is that may or may not be "consciousness". Any vestige of a mind persisting after brain death requires a physical substrate to continue, and there's nothing in physics or in neurology to support any such thing.

And if ghosts are able to physically interfere with our world they must be recordable or amendable to investigation. There's zero evidence that there's anything beyond human psychology, misperception, exaggeration, bias of belief, etc., to explain ghost experiences. Occam's razor points to human senses being fallible and cultural biases assuming anomalous experiences as ghosts as better explanations than anything surviving the brain and nervous system's demise.

OK. That's fine. The experience at my mother's house was a wild ride, to be sure. :yes:

 

[Erebus]

I've seen some pretty strange things in the past including what appeared to be a translucent, grey old man at my grandma's old house. I couldn't possibly say whether these are actual spirits of dead people though, I don't think it's currently possible for humans to determine whether or not there is some form of existence after death. Hope for an afterlife, live as though there isn't one.

 

[Comicaze247]

I'd love for any of this type of weird crap to actually exist. However, not enough to make it so.

Well, you can't deny that there is something going on, as stories of ghosts and spirits have been around for thousands of years in most, if not all cultures.

It may even be the potential of the human mind temporarily showing itself. People claim to see the same things in the same places, so even if there is no spirit world, it could be collective human minds making these things happen.

I know there's a few haunted places around where I live, and many people claim to see strange things happen.

I've seen some pretty strange things in the past including what appeared to be a translucent, grey old man at my grandma's old house. I couldn't possibly say whether these are actual spirits of dead people though, I don't think it's currently possible for humans to determine whether or not there is some form of existence after death. Hope for an afterlife, live as though there isn't one.

Ever seen a channeling or a invocation? It's some powerful stuff. Made me pretty sure of the existence of the spirit world.

OK. That's fine. The experience at my mother's house was a wild ride, to be sure. :yes:

I wanna go somewhere haunted

 

[MysticSang'ha]

I wanna go somewhere haunted

At first, because of how we culturally deal with this kind of phenomena - whether it's mutually experienced or through imagination or through storytelling - the instinct is to be frightened. Don't be surprised, if you do wind up staying the night somewhere said to be haunted and experience odd and blatant sensory phenomena, to be genuinely freaked out.

After a little bit, it actually becomes rather routine. That is, until you go to someplace unfamiliar, and the whole process starts over again.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Well, you can't deny that there is something going on, as stories of ghosts and spirits have been around for thousands of years in most, if not all cultures.

Of course there's something going on. Peoples' propensity to seek and perceive patterns, even where there is none, is a large part of this something.

It may even be the potential of the human mind temporarily showing itself. People claim to see the same things in the same places, so even if there is no spirit world, it could be collective human minds making these things happen.

Or, it may be that people see things in the same places because of group psychology and sociological phenomena.

I know there's a few haunted places around where I live, and many people claim to see strange things happen.

Indeed, it's fun to tell and share ghost stories. The idea of these things can prime people to experience them, as they can be very psychologicaly and emotionally stimulating. Everyone likes the rush of brain chemistry - whether they get it through religion, drugs, or being scared.

 

[Nerthus]

A lot of my friends believe that ghosts do exist, but I'm not too sure. For me it is one of those things that I would need to experience myself.

Same goes with mediums really.

 

[Comicaze247]

At first, because of how we culturally deal with this kind of phenomena - whether it's mutually experienced or through imagination or through storytelling - the instinct is to be frightened. Don't be surprised, if you do wind up staying the night somewhere said to be haunted and experience odd and blatant sensory phenomena, to be genuinely freaked out.

It's something that I would like to experience, but it just never happened. I've actually ventured to a couple of these reportedly haunted places, but I didn't see anything. I want to believe, but as I'm still unsure of it all, I need to actually experience something for myself.

After a little bit, it actually becomes rather routine. That is, until you go to someplace unfamiliar, and the whole process starts over again.

I'd imagine that would be the case, haha. One of the restaurants around here is reported to be haunted, and the employees there said that, at first, they were freaked out when chairs would move themselves, plates would seem to get thrown out of the cabinets, and they would see faces in the windows. But after having worked there for a while, they got used to it.

Of course there's something going on. Peoples' propensity to seek and perceive patterns, even where there is none, is a large part of this something.

Granted, people do often tell themselves something is true, even when it isn't, to the point where they start to believe it themselves. But I do believe there is something more to it.

Or, it may be that people see things in the same places because of group psychology and sociological phenomena.

I agree that group mentality could play significant role in it. But reports of physical objects moving by themselves, again, make me think there's something more to it.