I didn’t until I learned that not only was my house built in the 1800s, but several people have died in it. Even those facts wouldn’t have shaken me were it not for the fact that my cat, who is otherwise a very quiet, very stoic cat, goes down to the basement every night at 9:05 and does a series of very mournful meows. According to my neighbor, one of the people who died in the house suffered a heart attack and died in the basement. My neighbor knew the woman personally.
You know people have died in the house or your neighbor is telling you this? If the neighbor knows so much, do some research and discover if any of their “facts” stand up to scrutiny…
Yes. But don’t worry if your house has them. They can’t hurt you. if you tell them firmly (aloud) to go away, they generally do. Just tell them that it’s your home now and they have no place in it. The trick is to say it in a confident voice. Don’t quaver. In fact, sound faintly annoyed, as if they’re unwelcome kids playing in your yard. After that, ignore them. They mainly want attention and will wander off if they don’t get any.
It depends on what you mean by a ghost. A sentient spirit that can interact with the living? Not at all. On the other hand, I believe it’s possible that people actually do see what are commonly called “residual hauntings,” like ghost ships, that are basically images that get replayed from time to time rather than the spirits of anyone.
I saw a ghost once, when I was 17. It was pretty cool, and it was the ghost of a really awesome lady who was very friendly.
But no, I don’t believe in ghosts. I have an excellent imagination, and, at 17, I was more willing to believe in my imaginings than I am now (aww). Plus, I was primed to imagine this particular ghost (it’s a pretty cute story, really). My clearest memory of this ghost matches most closely with a vivid imagining, rather than a memory of any actual sensory input.
My belief is that most experiences of ghosts are due to what the skeptics would call hallucinations or delusions: essentially, imagination given too much credence for one reason or another. And I believe that most people who have experienced ghostly encounters know this to be true on some level. But, since it’s just you and me here, really: C’mon. You know what I’m talking about.
I believe that a fraction of experiences that people believe to be a ghostly encounter are caused by the action of a telepathic entity, possibly an alien (and possibly, but not necessarily, an extraterrestrial one). I have found many of these encounters to be relatively benign, if you consider pranks to be benign, and some to be actually psychologically (or spiritually, for those of that bent) beneficial, but, some, sadly, to be cruelly detrimental to the person experiencing such encounters. I believe the latter to be a result of dealing with an immature entity.
I believe that most 'Dopers will have a difficult time determining which of my statements in this post are in earnest and which are in jest. I believe that, for the most part, only those 'Dopers who would qualify as a ghost or a telepathic entity would not be surprised by the answer to that question.
Og forbid. But why don’t you state your position on this topic so we don’t have to guess? Are you claiming that you have a ghost in your house, or are you just finding this funny?
Millions of people die every day. The chances of them doing so in a residential house are extremely high. It is almost inescapable that a 200 year old house had some deaths during its history.
But at least I’m not Ann Coulter doing an AMA at Reddit.