Ghost

[hairic]

not all incidents of alien abduction involve people taken from their beds while asleep.

Not everyone experiences hallucinations when stuck between waking and sleep. People on drugs or mentally ill gain the ability to have their brains experience false reality at any time.

There's also the matter of the brain being able to create false memories if "suggested", in basically everybody, that aren't related to hallucinating.

It's all in the head.

 

[Jon88]

Not everyone experiences hallucinations when stuck between waking and sleep. People on drugs or mentally ill gain the ability to have their brains experience false reality at any time.

There's also the matter of the brain being able to create false memories if "suggested", in basically everybody, that aren't related to hallucinating.

It's all in the head.

I don't think we're the only one's in the universe. I don't know about abductions, but I do believe in UFOs.

 

[kmp77]

If you believe in ghosts, please contact me, I have a great deal!

In all seriousness, there's never been one real solid piece of evidence of ghosts or a real reason to believe in them. If they were real, that stupid ghost hunter show or any other ghost hunting show over the past 20 years would have found something by now. Ocams razor indeed! As far as "i've had experiences" people....I mean, your brain can convince you of anything, if you're willing to listen to it. Some people walk down the street talking to santa clause and they 100% believe it. Doesn't mean they actually are.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Not everyone experiences hallucinations when stuck between waking and sleep. People on drugs or mentally ill gain the ability to have their brains experience false reality at any time.

There's also the matter of the brain being able to create false memories if "suggested", in basically everybody, that aren't related to hallucinating.

It's all in the head.

The phenomenon of sleep paralysis is limited to states of sleep, hence the name.

Furthermore, not everyone who claims an alien abduction or paranormal experience has a history of mental illness, drug abuse, or hallucinations.

The central issue here is this: Would anything lead you to believe in alien abductions or the paranormal? If your mind is completely closed to the possibility, you can devise all manner of justifications to explain away alleged paranormal or alien experiences.

 

[DallasCowpoke]

I don't necessarily believe in ghosts and spirits, but I have seen a couple things that were weird and not easily explained.

http://img20.*************/img20/2602/004suy.jpg

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[masomenos]

I've never seen compelling evidence that pointed towards the existence of ghosts, so no.

Typically, I think that people see unexplained things and the brain tries to recognize familiar objects in the unknown. This leads to undefined shapes, shadows, reflections, etc. being interpreted as having human figures. It's the same effect that happens when people are convinced that they see religious figures in toast, water stains and other random patterns. As an example, when I lived in Tampa, there was building that gained widespread attention for mysteriously having the Virgin Mary appear on its glass.

By bringing that up, I'm not trying to discount religion at all, I'm just demonstrating how sometimes the imagination can have a little too much free reign.

 

[Doomsday101]

I know he saw dead people

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSNyiSetZ8Y&feature=related

 

[Jon88]

http://img20.*************/img20/2602/004suy.jpg

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Man, what is that?

 

[Chief]

I work at a museum, and pretty much all of the night security guards we've had in the past few years swear they've seen ghosts there. Most of the activity, they say, started when the museum brought an old bridge to the property.

I've never seen anything, but these guys swear by it (and this is different people working for different companies at different times).

I know someone else who works at a museum in El Paso, and they have the same problem. Been going on for years. She didn't believe it when she started working there, but does now. They turn the lights off, move stuff around, etc. She'll yell at them to stop and it ceases for awhile, then starts up a couple of days later.

I asked a couple of people about this whom I respect, and they said they don't believe in ghosts, but they believe in evil spirits and that's what causes this havoc.

This is what I've been told.

 

[DallasCowpoke]

I know someone else who works at a museum in El Paso, and they have the same problem. Been going on for years. She didn't believe it when she started working there, but does now. They turn the lights off, move stuff around, etc. She'll yell at them to stop and it ceases for awhile, then starts up a couple of days later.

This her??

​

 

[Illini88228]

Can't say that I actually believe in ghosts, but I think there's a lot about the world that we don't know anything about.

I don't think that ALL of the people who claim to have had ghostly experiences are outright lying, so there must be some explanation; we just haven't figured it out yet.

 

[vta]

Incidentally, I'm prone to sleep paralysis so I know something about it.

This is an eye opener. I just looked this up and read what I have been experience since I was a child. I thought I was nuts.

Complete with the sense of danger, even seeing a figure in the room, hearing noises. I usually have to struggle very hard to get out of it. It used to be cool when I was a kid, but took a pretty crazy turn once I hit high school.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

I've never seen compelling evidence that pointed towards the existence of ghosts, so no.

Typically, I think that people see unexplained things and the brain tries to recognize familiar objects in the unknown. This leads to undefined shapes, shadows, reflections, etc. being interpreted as having human figures. It's the same effect that happens when people are convinced that they see religious figures in toast, water stains and other random patterns. As an example, when I lived in Tampa, there was building that gained widespread attention for mysteriously having the Virgin Mary appear on its glass.

By bringing that up, I'm not trying to discount religion at all, I'm just demonstrating how sometimes the imagination can have a little too much free reign.

The fact that some allegedly paranormal phenomena--such as the Virgin Mary in slice of toast--can be attributed to "natural" causes does not discount the existence of paranormal phenomena altogether. Case in point: A scientific principle or model isn't invalidated solely because it makes a few erroneous predictions.

 

[Kevinicus]

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, how can you not just sit and laugh at the ridiculousness that is Ghost Adventurers. Those guys are so pathetic it's hilarious.

 

[kmp77]

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, how can you not just sit and laugh at the ridiculousness that is Ghost Adventurers. Those guys are so pathetic it's hilarious.

The South Park episode of ghost hunters was awesome!

 

[vta]

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, how can you not just sit and laugh at the ridiculousness that is Ghost Adventurers. Those guys are so pathetic it's hilarious.

From the little I've seen of any show like that, they're complete clown shoes. I watched an episode of whatever show it was, because they were going to the Stanley Hotel in Colorado, and it was just silly. Amazingly, things happened precisely when the guy was changing the tape in his camera. And a door opened by itself.

A door opened and slammed continually when I was there too. It was wind. :laugh2:

I watched another episode and was treated to more of the same. The guy with the camera happened to be daydreaming and swung around in time to spotlight his buddy yelling, 'did you see that'?

 

[masomenos]

The fact that some allegedly paranormal phenomena--such as the Virgin Mary in slice of toast--can be attributed to "natural" causes does not discount the existence of paranormal phenomena altogether. Case in point: A scientific principle or model isn't invalidated solely because it makes a few erroneous predictions.

True, but to go back to the Occam's Razor discussion, I'm inclined to fall in line with the simplest explanation. If the choices are between imaginative misinterpretation and an unproven ethereal consciousness that can seemingly defy physical laws, then I have to throw my hat in with the crowd that settles for the "overactive imagination" explanation.

 

[Jon88]

Those shows are jokes. I saw a little bit of a show that was broadcast live and one of the guys all the sudden acts like a ghost jumps in his body and posesses him. He was putting on quite a show. You could see the looks on the other investigator's faces and they could barely contain themselves.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

True, but to go back to the Occam's Razor discussion, I'm inclined to fall in line with the simplest explanation. If the choices are between imaginative misinterpretation and an unproven ethereal consciousness that can seemingly defy physical laws, then I have to throw my hat in with the crowd that settles for the "overactive imagination" explanation.

Physical laws are only as valid as the reality they define, and we discern reality through observation. Put simply, reality defines the physical laws, not vice versa. Therefore, if we allow our current understanding of physical laws to dictate the validity of an observation, we've committed the fallacy of putting the cart before the horse, so to speak.

Furthermore, can you even define this notion of imaginative misinterpretation using the same strictly quantitative parameters you're imposing on paranormal research? Or is imaginative misinterpretation simply that which contradicts a certain worldview?

And are you asserting that all observation and, therefore, reality must conform to strictly quantitative parameters? Because if you are, you've unintentionally invalidated history, the humanities, and a large portion of philosophy as valid areas of research.

The primary concern of Occam's Razor is remaining true to the data, not ignoring data simply because it contradicts a certain worldview.

 

[Hostile]

I've been watching a lot of Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel and I'm curious, who here believes in ghost?

When I was a kid I delivered newspapers. I had a customer who every day at noon someone knocked on their door. You could stand inside or outside and hear the knock. They called their ghost Charlie and they were not at all scared.