I don’t believe in ghosts, even though I grew up in a house that was supposedly haunted (my mother performed an exorcism ceremony once).
Aliens: Certainly, though there’s no evidence that any extraterrestials have visited earth. Though I once worked with a bozo who was so wierd he made me think he might have come from another planet.
God: Possibly.
Angels: Sure, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show tomorrow night will have 25 on display.
Witchcraft: Change me into a toad and I’ll be impressed.
ESP: Rather doubt it, tho’ I try to keep an open mind.
I used to believe in ghosts because I wanted to. Now I still want to, but the evidence points to them not existing. I used to be afraid also. Now I don’t get scared walking down a dark hallway, so I won’t see things that my mind conjures up. This also accounts for similarity in stories. If you read, or once heard of how it gets cold in pockets, then you’ll interpret your goosebumps as a ghostly presence and get even more scared and then you start reaching for supernatural explanations.
That warm stream of yellow liquid running down your leg isn’t ectoplasm.
I’m open to the possibility. Because we have can’t prove it, or disprove it, I have to say we shouldn’t just dismiss it.
That said, the night my Fluffy died, I swear to god, I FELT her jump up on my bed in the middle of the night. By gosh by golly, I felt it. And I saw her jump off the dryer before I went to bed that night, when I was sitting in the kitchen.
My mother told me this, but she REFUSES to talk about it, since ghost stories scare the bejesus out of her. When my grandmother had a heart attack years ago, they went to the house to help her up. My mother said that on the opposite side of the bed-where my grandfather used to sleep, she saw the indentation on the pillows-like someone slept there. My grandmother was on the OTHER side of the bed-and my mother just believes it was her father, who was staying there to watch over my grandmother. I remember my grandfather, who died when I was seven, and I like to believe it was. I like to believe he’s still there, still with us.
I think it’s entirely possible. I don’t believe in Sightings and crap, but I do think there is much more to this life than we will ever know.
That and I love a good mystery. And I ADORE ghost stories-even though they scare me. (And I know I’ll have a hard time sleeping tonight!)
Guin, something very similar happend to my mother and I. She had just gone to sleep, and I kissed her goodnight, turned out the light, and left the room (her and I go back and forth on being “parental” :p). A few minutes later she called me back there, and the light was on.
“Did you just come back here and talk to me?”
“No. Why?”
She sat there for a minute. “I swear I just saw GiGi [my great grandmother] come in and sit right there.” She pointed at the edge of the bed. To a little but indentation.
Now, mind you, my butt could never make such an indentation. Too large And, of course, butt-indentations can be explained in other manners. But, still, it was an event which her and I still discuss now and again, though neither of us, when questioned seriously, believe in the supernatural.
[cowardly lion] I do beleive in ghosts, I do I do…[/cowardly Lion]
Here’s mine:
My brother died in January. During the entire time, my Mother in Law watched my two children. I asked her not to say anything to my son (2.5 years old) other than , " Uncle Mark is sick in the hospital." because I would rather know exactly what my children were told than try to figure out what was giving them/him nightmares or fears because of a ill-thought word.
The day my brother died, I picked up my children and went home. My husband was there and we hadn’t talked about anything relating to the day’s events because I didn’t feel like talking about it.
He took our son into the laundry room where we have a diaper changing area atop the dryer.
My husband is talking to our son, typical parental nonsense, when our son says, " It’s ok, Papa, Uncle Mark is in Heaven now."
(FTR, my mother in law did not tell my children about my brother dying.)
It’s not a true vase throwing, chain rattling ghost story, but it really made shivers run up and down my arms.
I have others, mostly with deja vu that have blown friends away, but that is for later.
I do relieve in ghosts…I’ve heard footsteps when no-one is
home, and other sounds such as clicks or pops - not the
type of creaks that a ‘normal’ house makes. Also there’s
‘cold spots’
Aliens? yes, there’s so many planets out there, somthin’s gotta be out there
God? i’m not religious
Angels? thats sorta like a ghost isnt it?
Witchcraft? no
ESP? yes… and have had a few minor experiences
ok, I believe in ghosts totally. I mean, who wouldn’t after they know that their school used to be a graveyard, and sometimes freaky things happen, like the door opens when there’s no wind at all? Things disappear and there’s no reasonable explanation. Every new kid gets the ultimate surprise at Halloween, where they learn about the school. And there are still some graves around, but off campus.
So after that? I believe in dead people spirits, or else there’s no scientific reason for those strange things that happen all the time. plus, our teachers won’t say anything about the history of the dchool…(Ironically, my school is located in the Scientific Park in Hsinchu. How do you explain that?)
I’m satisfied with the g-father clock explanation. Can anyone explain this for me: my house’s latest pranks (both this week) are the washing machine turns itself off in mid-cycle and the light on the china cabinet turns itself on. I think the light thing has happened before. This crazy house! Never a dull moment. And that’s even before we throw people into the mix!
As an aside, I watched a BBC programme last night about the supernatural, and heard an interesting factlet I’d not heard before: a low frequency soundwave (I can’t remember what the one in the example was - does 19Hz sound silly?) can produce several effect often attributed to spirits. The example used involved a room where people “felt a presence”, saw things move unaided and saw “grey figures”. The culprit was an industrial ceiling fan which was producing this low frequency. The wave caused the “oppressive” feeling in the room, and was responsible for moving several objects. It was also causing the eyeballs of people in the room to vibrate (?) and making them “see” the figures.
I just found that interesting as an example of an explanation of a combination of phenomena…
Yeah. Faulty switches or loose wiring. You don’t seriously believe every little odd occurrence that you experience and cannot immediately explain is caused by ghosts, do you? It’s certainly beginning to sound that way.
No, I am not saying that. I’m not even thinking that. It was posted somewhat tongue-in-cheek but with a genuine wondering if someone could give me a clue as to what would cause it. I like that someone was able to tell me that g-father clocks make a chimey noise all the time (yes, it is my first g-father clock). Not being mechanically-inclines whatsoever, faulty switches or loose wiring would not occur to me as both of the aforementioned appliances are not especially old and I expect things to work correctly when I buy them. Naive, I know, but I gotta be me.
Okay. Mebbe it was the angels. They are on hiatus until spring training. Probably got quite a bit of spare time on their hands. And ya know what? This is too odd for coincidence, but the motor in my washing machine just gave out the other day, too. Must be them agitator gnomes.
I would be more impressed by ghosts if there was some positive reason to think it was ‘dead spirits’.
All the stories here are about an odd noise or emotional communication.
Household appliances do malfunction.
Children can realise from your behaviour that some seriously ill person has finally died.
What I would is something like a mysterious figure, with a spoken message, which can be filmed, yet cannot be touched.
That would be a ghost.
It would also be important to have measurements, because people do imagine things. Rather than say ‘I feel a cold spot here’, use a thermometer. (Unless there’s a draught, why wouldn’t the air temperature equalise? If there is a discrepancy, that would be worth investigating.)
And, of course, butt-indentations can be explained in other manners. But, still, it was an event which her and I still discuss now and again, though neither of us, when questioned seriously, believe in the supernatural.