Do you believe in Ghosts?

[Komori]

Hehe, of COURSE I had to be the first one to post this sort of topic.

Do ghosts exist? If so, what are they, exactly? Dead people? Angels? Electromagnetic energy? If ghosts don't exist, then how would you explain the sightings?

Savannah is one of the most haunted places in the US. I've been here for about 3 months, and I have yet to see any actual ghosts. But I still believe they exist. As for what they are, I believe some of them are demons, and some of them are the wandering souls of the dead.

[Torey]

Yes, I believe in ghosts. I've had a few encounters of ghosts. The one on my stairs that almost made me fall down the stairs (I'm being serious), the one under the bridge by the canal where a man had drowned (my dad had actually encountered that one but he told us all the full details and I believed him), and there are plenty more. These experiences have happened too many times to be coincidence.

But...

There's one thing that I cannot get my head around. The earth has been here for billions of years and living things have been here for millions. Every living thing has to die so you'd expect the world to be absolutely over-crowded with ghosts. I can't explain that but I still find myself to believe in ghosts anyway. My mom told me what she thought because she believes in ghosts too. She said that thinks only people with strong spirits and strong personalities become ghosts, and people who have unfinished business.

[theunorthodox]

Well, I'm a skeptist to the max. But here's what I have to say:

Energy can never be destroyed. It can be transfered or changed. When a person dies, whatever keeps them alive, a 'soul' I suppose, has to go somewhere. Whether it gets decomposed, transforms into a completely different form of energy (A ghost?), or if it just scatters it has to go somewhere.

I've rarely encountered a ghost experience that couldn't be explained by science. I know of one place in Australia that got frequent ghost sightings where people would see a weird shadowy figure and things would start moving and they got very cold and it would suddenly disapate. It turned out that that particular area received a strange low-pressure wind that, when passing over a particular wall, created a strange low-frequency sound effect phenomena. It turned out that this frequency was so low that it effected temperature and lighting particles. The wind would move the object, amke them feel cold and the sound waves would create the figure-like appearence.
How crazy is that?

However, I'll credit that there are some stories that can't be explained, but just because it can't be explained doesn't sway me to believe there are ghosts. I keep it in mind though.

Anyone have any good ghost stories or anything?

[Stal]

I don't believe in ghosts, per se.... Being the Christian I am, I believe the Bible, but being the denomination I am, we do not believe in Heaven/Hell (and that's not something I've just accepted, done some study on it myself a long while back).... So what happens to a soul after someone dies? The Bible states that it "returns to God". Of course, our beliefs go further, as to just like what will happen in the end and stuff, but I'm not getting into that just now...

So because of those beliefs, I can't believe that there are ghosts of dead people. I believe, quite frankly, they are spirits and those spirits ARE real, but I see them not as a dead person's spirit, but mostly these particular spirits as those of the demons (fallen angels) that were cast out of Heaven after Satan's failed attempt to usurp God.

And an interesting side note here is that nowhere in the Bible does it even state that their appearance has changed. The closest thing to it would be in Ezekiel (or was it Isaiah?) where Lucifer's fall to Satan is recounted. Whether that's a metaphorical description of a change or a literal description of change, I whole heartedly believe that in their "true form" these demons look just like they used to...beauty and all...

And since they are demons, it's not above them to deceive people and stuff, so they will also take on the personas of dead people and so forth.

So yeah. That's where I stand.

[Deleted]

I do believe in Ghosts, sort of.
I think there is *something* like ghosts, but I can´t say if it´s really the spirit of a dead person.

Often parapsychologist say that for example poltergeists (is that the real english plural? and did you know that it´s actually a german word? :3) are only persons whose minds start using telekinesis and other stuff like that to create the ghosts.

Well anyways, I think we have a ghost in our house too. Some really weird things have happend!
For example
-last year, our christmas tree just crashed on the floor while nobody was in the room or doing anything with it
-a couch pillow has been ripped apart in the living room (we don´t have cats or anything)
-some tiles just fell from a kitchen wall without any influence
-on my comp a directory appeard in another directory only I use saying "Hello"

strange thing is: all of these events are related to my sister! she found the christmas tree, saw the tiles coming down, sat in the living room right before the pillow was found and was on my comp the night before i found the directory
but she says she didn´t do any of it!
So either she´s a good liar (which she isn´t), she´s shizophrenic or there is a ghost somehow connected to her

EDIT: I for got to add something. Of course all these events could be coincidence, but in my opinion things like that are a little too frequent here.

[Torey]

NaNoin' said:

I do believe in Ghosts, sort of.
I think there is *something* like ghosts, but I can´t say if it´s really the spirit of a dead person.

Often parapsychologist say that for example poltergeists (is that the real english plural? and did you know that it´s actually a german word? :3) are only persons whose minds start using telekinesis and other stuff like that to create the ghosts.

Well anyways, I think we have a ghost in our house too. Some really weird things have happend!
For example
-last year, our christmas tree just crashed on the floor while nobody was in the room or doing anything with it
-a couch pillow has been ripped apart in the living room (we don´t have cats or anything)
-some tiles just fell from a kitchen wall without any influence
-on my comp a directory appeard in another directory only I use saying "Hello"

strange thing is: all of these events are related to my sister! she found the christmas tree, saw the tiles coming down, sat in the living room right before the pillow was found and was on my comp the night before i found the directory
but she says she didn´t do any of it!
So either she´s a good liar (which she isn´t), she´s shizophrenic or there is a ghost somehow connected to her

EDIT: I for got to add something. Of course all these events could be coincidence, but in my opinion things like that are a little too frequent here.

Some of those things happen anyway, such as the Christmas tree falling down and the tiles coming off the wall. The tiles may have been loose. A slight bang could make them come off. The same goes with the Christmas tree. I know I believe in ghosts but you've got to remember that not everything has to be.

Another question: What does being schitzophrenic have to do with ghostly things?

[Deleted]

Ginger said:

Some of those things happen anyway, such as the Christmas tree falling down and the tiles coming off the wall. The tiles may have been loose. A slight bang could make them come off. The same goes with the Christmas tree. I know I believe in ghosts but you've got to remember that not everything has to be.

Another question: What does being schitzophrenic have to do with ghostly things?

Yeah, I know. I´m kinda paranoid.
About the shizo thing, it´s part of the non ghost theory. She could be doing these things herself without even knowing it.

[Torey]

NaNoin' said:

Yeah, I know. I´m kinda paranoid.
About the shizo thing, it´s part of the non ghost theory. She could be doing these things herself without even knowing it.

That's a bit harsh about your sister Mental illness is a serious issue and you shoudn't use that as a theory just for trying to work out if ghosts exist or not. Sorry if I'm sounding harsh here, I just feel quite strongly about it.

[Deleted]

Ginger said:

That's a bit harsh about your sister Mental illness is a serious issue and you shoudn't use that as a theory just for trying to work out if ghosts exist or not. Sorry if I'm sounding harsh here, I just feel quite strongly about it.

No, don´t be sorry. You´re right, it is a bit harsh to say this just for trying to find out what´s going on. It´s just that this one pillow thing really sticks to my mind. First my sister, my mom and me are in the living room, my mom and me leave, then does my sister and when my mom comes back the pillow is shredded and my sister claims to have done nothing. That theory was just one of the things that came to my mind when thinking about it.

[Komori]

Stalos said:

So because of those beliefs, I can't believe that there are ghosts of dead people. I believe, quite frankly, they are spirits and those spirits ARE real, but I see them not as a dead person's spirit, but mostly these particular spirits as those of the demons (fallen angels) that were cast out of Heaven after Satan's failed attempt to usurp God.

And an interesting side note here is that nowhere in the Bible does it even state that their appearance has changed. The closest thing to it would be in Ezekiel (or was it Isaiah?) where Lucifer's fall to Satan is recounted. Whether that's a metaphorical description of a change or a literal description of change, I whole heartedly believe that in their "true form" these demons look just like they used to...beauty and all...

And since they are demons, it's not above them to deceive people and stuff, so they will also take on the personas of dead people and so forth.

So yeah. That's where I stand.

Yeah, I kinda believe similarly. I don't know about all ghosts, but I believe at least some of them are demons. They used to be angels, and angels have some amount of power. At least enough to transform into something attractive to the human eye or mind. If they were ugly, it'd be harder to tempt people. They're tricky like that. That's why I believe at least all the violent ghosts like poultergheists are demons. The other floaty ones, though, I'm not so sure.

But I still think that explaining them away with science is no fun at all.

[KittyKadaveral]

The said:

Anyone have any good ghost stories or anything?

I have quite a few actually, but probably the more fun ones are when my gramma Lil passed on Thanksgiving morning. My Step-Uncle Ed was snoozing on the La-Z-Boy when the thing just suddenly flipped over backwards. No one was near him and that is a sturdy chair to support his huge girth. He was always nasty to Gram while she stayed with he and his wife (her daughter) during her last few weeks on the planet. He always hogged the tv either with his crazy movies or Nintendo. Never taking the time or consideration to let the poor dying woman watch her soap operas or any of her John Wayne movies. We examined the chair and it wasn't broken at all so those of us that knew what Ed did joked that Gram came and shoved his greedy butt backwards as a revenge. Then on Christmas morning I had my 35mm camera sitting on the bed next to me and it just took a picture all by itself. I was no where near touching the button, it just did it. When I called my parents to wish them a happy holiday they shared with me that their camera did the same exact thing right before I called them.

I do believe in ghosts as being spirits of folks that probably have unfinished business to tend to or they just want to make sure their family or friends are doing ok. I think the gram of mine that recently passed comes and contacts my cat that I adopted from her when she was gone. The cat has a habit of just sitting on the bathroom counter staring into the mirror. She doesn't see anything reflecting that would catch her attention because she's not playing or moving like she sees something, she just sits peacefully. I have other mirrors about, but it's just that one and she's the only of my cats to do this and she'll sit there for a very long time. I was told that mirrors are the doorway into this world by many Wiccan friends of mine and the way this cat behaves with this one I wouldn't doubt she's talking to her old master to let her know that I (her only granddaughter) is doing well.

[irishdragonlord]

Personally, I *don't* believe in ghosts... I am a Christian, and therefore:

1. I believe in angels
2. I believe in demons
3. I believe that, when people die, you get judged by God, and then you go to heaven/hell

So, ghosts are:

1. Figments of imagination
2. Angels and/or demons

I strongly believe angels STILL appear to people (why wouldn't they? No personal experiences, but the chance is there) and that people can be possessed by demons. (My Bible teacher is a pastor and he says he knows of two people that he saw that were possessed and then unpossessed, and I believe him). So, I believe that the "ghosts" are really either demons trying to scare people or possibly angels that are...uh... mistaken for ghosts ^-^;;;

On an off note - good point, Stal, about the whole "change" thing. Personally I think the demons and angels can appear however they want to, so their "true" form is nothing I really looked into. Very interesting, though. o0

[Linnen Malfoy]

Well, I've read articles which state that around ten seconds after brain death occurs the body suddely releases a large amount of energy. It's been a while since I've read the article, so I'll see if I can dig it up. ^_~

In any case, I do belive in ghosts. I sometimes think that perhaps if someone's emotions are strong enough they could, per se, leave a 'imprint' of themselves in that state in teh fabric of time. Most ghost sightings seem to have someone repeating a same action over and over, so maybe it has something to do with that?

Still, I belive in them. The world can't simply be as straightfoward as so many put it. After all, if you told someone that everything was made up of billions upon billions of invisible particles then you would have been considered mad. Perhaps science simply hasen't had it's smoking gun as it has with matters and things such as that.

[arula100]

I do believe in ghosts. Before 5th grade, I didn't, but then something happened. It was the last day before Thanksgiving holiday, and I was eating lunch. The doors to the cafeteria were open, and I saw something flash out of the corner of my eye. I looked over, but nothing was there. Mom pulled me out of school an hour later because my grandfather had died and I had to go up to the funeral. I asked what time he died; around five minutes before I saw that flash.
I don't know what a ghost is, or how they, erm, exist would be the right word, I guess, but I think they're there. Thats about all my input for that...

[Killix]

I do and I don't. I've had so many ghost expereinces I can't be a total skeptic. The ghost stuff runs in the family too. I have a family history of ghostly activity XD

Though, I really would like to know if they do exist as physical beings, or if they're just some crazy natural phenominon. Or sleep paralysis, or some kind of brain thing.

I have too many ghost stories and I can't remember them all...