Do You Believe In Ghosts?

[David In Indy]

If you have had an encounter, or know someone who has, please tell us about it!

I have seen orbs in my house before. Normally I just see them out of the corner of my eye, although a few times I was looking directly at them. Also, my dog Cody has been barking at the foot  of my bed during the night for no apparent reason. Many people tell me that  animals can often see things that humans cannot. My house was built in 1922, and after I bought it, my neighbors told me a few stories about it.

Whatever it is, I think it is friendly. Also, I often see shapes out of the corner of my eye. When I turn to look at it though, it is gone.

[moremojo]

Hi, David--

Yes, I too believe in ghosts, and have even seen one. My cat Segunda was medically killed many years ago when she became too old and sick to even eat properly anymore--when one sees a sentient being slowly and painfully dying like that, one realizes that killing truly can be a merciful act.

Some time thereafter, I started seeing flashing lights in my peripheral vision, and everytime I would glance in their direction, nothing would be there. One evening at home, standing in my living room, I saw these lights seem to flash to my right, and turning in that direction, I saw Segunda, looking corporeal and solid, come running from the hall to the area of the living room. When she got there, she stopped and looked at me with a curious expression on her face--and then, she was simply and suddenly gone. This event acted as further confirmation for me that the spirit endures beyond the body's demise.

Scott

[j.U.d.E.]

Okay.. I answered "I doubt it but I try to keep an open mind about it" and would actually even prefer answering a very clear 'no', but I had similar things to what you've written David and Scott. I've never lived in anything old (not for a very long time, at least), but I do get the peripheral vision-thing with moving shapes/shadows. But they are always gone when I turn. So I tent to think that my mind plays tricks on me.

As a kid though, in the school library I used to read a book about para-normal things over and over. I remember I was fascinated by it (lots of pictures), which is even more surprising to me today, because, like I said, I tend to think that those things are not possible..

But what do I know?!

~ j U d E

[ednbarby]

I've never seen anything like what you guys describe, but I've known a few people I consider to be rational and intelligent who have.  My sister in law used to work in an office in a renovated Civil War era home in Atlanta.  She and her coworkers (three of them) are convinced the house is haunted by someone who wants others *out*.  She told me recently that one time a few years ago, she was the last one in the office one night (which is common), and before she left, she went through the office which encompasses the entire first floor of the house, turning off all the lights except the one in the front window on the timer, which had already gone off and was lit for the night, made sure the back door and the door to the dark room were locked, set the alarm, and locked the front door behind her.  As she was pulling out of the driveway, the light in the front window went out.  She went back in, figuring the light bulb had just burned out and she would replace it.  But when she got in there and checked it, she clicked the switch on it and it went back on.  Now she was slightly freaked, but figured maybe one of her coworkers had come back in through the back door (there's an alley behind it that they park in).  She went through the house, turning all the lights on, grabbing a mag lite flashlight in case she needed it as a weapon, calling all their names.  The back door was still locked, and there were no cars or anyone in the alley.  She went back through, turning all the lights off again except the front one and let herself back out.  As she was pulling out this time, the light stayed on, but the vertical blinds started waving wildly back and forth as if someone was violently pushing them to and fro.  But she could clearly see that no one was behind them.  This time she didn't go back in.  (Duh.  Who would???)  She kept pulling out and called one of her coworkers who'd left about an hour before her.  She said, "Well, I didn't want to tell any of you guys this, but I had a similar experience a couple weeks ago with those blinds waving like that as I was leaving.  I went in to check it out, thinking maybe there was a vent or something by them that made them do that when the AC kicked on, but the vent is on the wall no where near where it could possibly cause that to happen."  Another coworker told her the next day that while he was in there alone one night, a stapler went flying off the top of a file cabinet for no apparent reason.  It didn't just fall like it was too close to the edge - it flew.

They no longer work there, but not because of all these incidents - she says not much happened after all that - it had just been a wave of activity, apparently.  They moved about a year ago for a variety of other reasons.  She still wonders if the current tenants have had similar experiences.

[starboardlight]

I haven't "seen" ghosts; more like experienced them. Two stories.

In my family we do the Ancestor Worship ceremony at least once a year, usually during the Chinese New Year. Several years ago, as we were preparing for the ceremony, my niece was playing outside. She was 3 or 4 years old at the time, and we hadn't really explained to her what was going on. I don't think she even knew the concept of ancestors. Her understanding of relatives go as far as grandpa and grandma. All the sudden she runs in laughing, screaming excitedly, "Great Grandfather is here!" Needless to say, we were all really shocked. Somehow it was more reassuring than scary to me. I think it certainly helped that my toddler niece wasn't scared at all but rather happy.

My second experience was a rather creepy. I was home by myself one afternoon. The house was cold and I decided to take a nap in my brother's room, which was the only room during the winter that got afternoon sun. I was in a half sleep half awake daze, and I felt a presence standing over me to my left. Thinking it was my brother, I started to greet him. All the sudden the presence fled the room, and I woke up. It suddenly hit me that my brother was at work and wouldn't be home until several hours later. At first I just passed it off as a dream. Later that night, I was in bed just getting ready to sleep. Again I was on that edge of wake and dream, when I head a distinct click from under the bed. I knew right away that the sound came from a walk-man player that I had under my bed. It was the sound of the play button being pressed down. I reach down and grabbed the player and sure enough the button was down. It was an old walk-man, whose play button had to be pressed with a good amount of pressure, so it couldn't have been bumped by some animal or something (btw other than ants and sometimes spiders, there are no animals in my house). In addition, I hadn't played it for years, since I got an iPod, so I was surprised the battery still had juice in them. I was glad that there was no head phone connected to it. I don't think I wanted to hear what I would have heard.

[David In Indy]

One evening at home, standing in my living room, I saw these lights seem to flash to my right, and turning in that direction, I saw Segunda, looking corporeal and solid, come running from the hall to the area of the living room. When she got there, she stopped and looked at me with a curious expression on her face--and then, she was simply and suddenly gone. This event acted as further confirmation for me that the spirit endures beyond the body's demise.
Scott

Hey Scott. I have heard many, many stories from people who reported seeing or sensing their pets after they passed away. Actually I had a pet encounter myself... well sort of. I was visiting a friend in Tennessee a few years back, and one night I clearly heard a dog bark upstairs. My boyfriend who was downstairs with me heard the dog too. We went upstairs to investigate, and my friend said "Oh that was just Ginger". I suppose there is nothing strange about this except Ginger had been dead for about a year! I heard Ginger bark several times while we were there, I thought I even felt the dog jump into bed with us once. When I looked though, there was nothing in the bed except me  and my boyfriend. I should also point out that my friend did not have any pets after Ginger died; not then anyway.

I firmly believe that pets will often remain with their owners after the animal dies.

[David In Indy]

I haven't "seen" ghosts; more like experienced them. Two stories.

In my family we do the Ancestor Worship ceremony at least once a year, usually during the Chinese New Year. Several years ago, as we were preparing for the ceremony, my niece was playing outside. She was 3 or 4 years old at the time, and we hadn't really explained to her what was going on. I don't think she even knew the concept of ancestors. Her understanding of relatives go as far as grandpa and grandma. All the sudden she runs in laughing, screaming excitedly, "Great Grandfather is here!" Needless to say, we were all really shocked. Somehow it was more reassuring than scary to me. I think it certainly helped that my toddler niece wasn't scared at all but rather happy.

My second experience was a rather creepy. I was home by myself one afternoon. The house was cold and I decided to take a nap in my brother's room, which was the only room during the winter that got afternoon sun. I was in a half sleep half awake daze, and I felt a presence standing over me to my left. Thinking it was my brother, I started to greet him. All the sudden the presence fled the room, and I woke up. It suddenly hit me that my brother was at work and wouldn't be home until several hours later. At first I just passed it off as a dream. Later that night, I was in bed just getting ready to sleep. Again I was on that edge of wake and dream, when I head a distinct click from under the bed. I knew right away that the sound came from a walk-man player that I had under my bed. It was the sound of the play button being pressed down. I reach down and grabbed the player and sure enough the button was down. It was an old walk-man, whose play button had to be pressed with a good amount of pressure, so it couldn't have been bumped by some animal or something (btw other than ants and sometimes spiders, there are no animals in my house). In addition, I hadn't played it for years, since I got an iPod, so I was surprised the battery still had juice in them. I was glad that there was no head phone connected to it. I don't think I wanted to hear what I would have heard.

Starboardlight -

That is a wonderful story about your niece. I have heard that children, just like dogs or cats, can often times "see" things the rest of us cannot. They are naturally tuned into the environment because they have not yet been conditioned to not believe. Isn't it wonderful that she was not at all frightened of what she saw? If I read your post correctly, it sounds as if she was actually excited to see your deceased relative. I guess this just shows us that ghosts "are people too" and there is really nothing to be afraid of.

Thanks for telling us about this!

By the way, your second story does sound a bit spooky! I hope that doesn't ever happen to you again!

[David In Indy]

Okay.. I answered "I doubt it but I try to keep an open mind about it" and would actually even prefer answering a very clear 'no', but I had similar things to what you've written David and Scott. I've never lived in anything old (not for a very long time, at least), but I do get the peripheral vision-thing with moving shapes/shadows. But they are always gone when I turn. So I tent to think that my mind plays tricks on me.

As a kid though, in the school library I used to read a book about para-normal things over and over. I remember I was fascinated by it (lots of pictures), which is even more surprising to me today, because, like I said, I tend to think that those things are not possible..

But what do I know?!

~ j U d E

Hey Jude! Thanks for giving us your input!

I have seen things out of the corner of my eye too. Many times in fact. I would LIKE to dismiss it as my imagination, but sometimes I can actually see fine details such as what the person is wearing or the color of their hair. Somehow I feel this is just a little too much detail for my imagination to suddenly conjure up. I can continue seeing all of this as long as I don't turn and look directly at it. Only then will the figure disappear from my view.

[David In Indy]

I've never seen anything like what you guys describe, but I've known a few people I consider to be rational and intelligent who have.  My sister in law used to work in an office in a renovated Civil War era home in Atlanta.  She and her coworkers (three of them) are convinced the house is haunted by someone who wants others *out*.  

Hi Barby -

I read your post a couple of times and what  you describe sound very much like a library down in Evansville, Indiana. I use to live about a mile down the road from it. It is called the Willard Library. There is supposedly a spirit there who haunts the building and people call her the Grey Lady. Many people have seen her over the years. The staff of Willard even invited several paranormal groups into the libarary to investigate the Grey Lady. To my knowledge, they never did pick up anything unusual with their equipment. But many of the patrons and staff at Willard would beg to differ. I use to go to that library all the time when I lived in Evansville. I never  did see or feel anything unusual, although I have seen some pictures the various webcams took during the night. I must admit, I have seen some very weird looking shapes and forms lurking at the library late at night.

Thanks for your post. It was VERY interesting!

[vkm91941]

My parents house was haunted.  You certainly would not think it to look at it.  A single story ranch in sunny southern California in 1969, but it was.  My Mother was the first to experience anything.  She had experiences off and on all her life, the first she remembered was at 6 years old.

The first manifestation occured 2 months after we moved in.  My Mom was taking a hot bath late one evening after all the family was long asleep.  As she soaked in the tub she hear footsteps shuffle down the hall and shortly shuffle back again.  She called out to see which of us was out of bed when we weren't supposed to be...there was no answer only deep quiet.  So she got out of the tub wrapped herself in her robe and checked first my brothers, then me, then my Dad.  We were all sleeping soundly just as she had left us.  No one had been up.    Two weeks later she was standing in the kitchen one day washing her hair in the kitchen sink and I heard her scream.  We all rushed into the kitchen and she was soaking wet, trembling and demanding to know which if us was just in the kitchen when we all denied being there and backed one another up.  She said she felt someone come up behind her and lay their body down across her back, that she could feel their breath on her neck.  She announed in a loud voice..."Who ever you are this is my house and I would appreciate it if you did not touch me again."

Over the years we have all seen a dark shape in the dining room, usually seen out the corner of the eye or reflected in the mirror in the living room.  This shape always gave the impression of being male and seems to be peeking at us around the corner.  There were cold drafts, objects that would move from where you left them to be discovered elsewhere.  Occasionally there were loud knocks on the wall,  doorbells that rang before you could push the button, a garbage disposal that would turn itself on and a blender that ran even when it wasn't plugged in.  Over the years a series of dogs would stare into space and wag their tails, or sit up and beg from no one.  My Mom kept parakeets and finches at different times and occassionally the birds would just plain freak out for no reason. There was no rhyme or reason to it, just when you thought you must have imagined it all something new would happen.  We got use to it.

My parents lived in that house for 32 years.  Whomever or whatever it was, was benign, we never felt threated or frightened beyond that morning when my Mom was shocked out of washing her hair.  It's become a part of our family lore.

[twistedude]

No. This may surprise 247 of you...

But I think it's a GREAT idea, and if there's a God of some kind, I wish he would bring them on.

[David In Indy]

My parents house was haunted.  You certainly would not think it to look at it.  A single story ranch in sunny southern California in 1969, but it was.  My Mother was the first to experience anything.  She had experiences off and on all her life, the first she remembered was at 6 years old.

Vicky... WOW! That was a REALLY interesting story! I read it three times already because I enjoyed it so much. Thanks for posting it for us to read.

Your story actually brought to mind something that happened at the house I was living in down in Evansville, Indiana. I rented a house that was built in 1902 (certainly this is not an old house in East Coast or European standards) and it was located two streets down from Oakhill Cemetery (one of the largest cemeteries in Southern Indiana). Just as I was moving in, I asked my Goddaughter and her friend if they would come over and help me unpack some of my things. The girls came over and later that evening Kathy went upstairs to unpack some things up there. Suddenly she came running down the stairs and told me she had just seen someone in the master bedroom. I went upstairs and looked, and of course there wasn't anyone there. I asked Kathy what the person looked like and she said it looked like a teenage guy with long blonde hair. She said he was wearing 1970's clothing and he was carrying a knife. She also said it looked like he was weeping.

Soon I forgot about what Kathy saw. I always felt very depressed downstairs. It had a sad feeling. But upstairs I felt very safe... almost protected.

There were a few strange things that happened such as the garbage can lid jumping off the can (and when I say jump, it literally would jump 2 or 3 feet in the air and then land on the kitchen floor. I never snapped the lid on tight either, so it wasn't like the lid popped loose). A couple of times when I would leave the house and return home, the cushions on my couch would all be piled on the floor. Sometimes I would hear someone throwing rocks or stones down in the basement (It was a dry basement with a cement floor and it  had an old coal chute on one side).

A few months after I moved in, my sister came down to visit me. She brought my niece Christy with her and Christy's boyfriend Glenn. Susan decided that they would all stay at my house that night. Susan went upstairs to use the bathroom and then change into her pajamas. We were going to watch a movie  or two and then go to bed. Susan suddenly came running down the stairs. I asked Susan what happened. She said she went into the bathroom (Susan doesn't normally close the bathroom door when she uses the bathroom as long as she knows everyone) and while she was in there she saw someone run from the guest bedroom across the hall and into the master bedroom. I asked her what the person looked like. She said it was a teenage guy with long blonde hair dressed in 1970's clothes and carrying a knife in his hand.

The scary thing  is, Susan and Kathy have NEVER met each other before. This was Susan's first visit to Evansville (she lived in Indianapolis) and Kathy had lived in Evansville her whole life. They had never met each other, nor spoke to each other on the phone. Yet, they both saw the same guy upstairs.

Susan, Christy and Glenn all packed up their things and checked into the Holiday Inn that night.

[David In Indy]

No. This may surprise 247 of you...

But I think it's a GREAT idea, and if there's a God of some kind, I wish he would bring them on.

Julie, I am not quite sure I understand your post. It sounds like you probably don't believe in ghosts but you are keeping an open mind. That's cool!

If you ever want to change your mind, just camp out at my house some night! Chances are, you will probably see or hear something. Several skeptics (including my boyfriend) have had a sudden change of heart after sleeping at my house!

Like I  said, I don't think they are harmful or mean, they are just there and sometimes I think they want to make sure I know it!

[j.U.d.E.]

VERY interesting stories all! I had goose-bumps more than once! 

A boy with a knife in my house would freak me out!

Like I  said, I don't think they are harmful or mean, they are just there and sometimes I think they want to make sure I know it!

David, have you ever thought of getting 'in contact' with them? Maybe they want to tell you something. Maybe they need help with something. Isn't there sometimes the issue of 'closure'. They keep appearing until someone helps them 'leave for good'. Er.. or maybe I watch too much television....

I don't belive in ghosts, I answered. Didn't I...

~ j U d E

[opinionista]

If you have had an encounter, or know someone who has, please tell us about it!

I have seen orbs in my house before. Normally I just see them out of the corner of my eye, although a few times I was looking directly at them. Also, my dog Cody has been barking at the foot  of my bed during the night for no apparent reason. Many people tell me that  animals can often see things that humans cannot. My house was built in 1922, and after I bought it, my neighbors told me a few stories about it.

Whatever it is, I think it is friendly. Also, I often see shapes out of the corner of my eye. When I turn to look at it though, it is gone.

I don't really believe in ghosts probably because my grandpa told too many stories about it when I was a kid. Some seemed real others were pure BS. But oh well, a lot of hispanics believe in ghosts or spirits to the extent that sometimes there are treated as living things. People talk to them and all. They even have solutions to scare them away. According to my grandpa, ghosts or spirits don't like flowers or inscense smoke, so if a ghost is bothering you, get some natural flowers put them in your home or wherever the ghost is, light an inscence stick, then clap once, loud, and tell the ghost, in a nice way, that he doesn't belong there. Tell them you bless them, but that they must find the light and follow it, or something like that. Anyway, my grandpa used to say there was no reason to fear a ghost, they can't do anything to you. Those who are alive are the ones who can actually hurt you. 

[YaadPyar]

I absolutely believe in ghosts.  I just think they are souls without bodies stuck in a place and time that doesn't belong to them anymore.  Nothing too sinister so much as really sad.  Like Nipith's story about his niece...I think there's a whole invisible world that exists without the permission of our beliefs.

[Lumière]

I second Celeste's sentiment there!

I have had bizarre 'dreams' at times too when I see someone, a complete stranger I can't recognise or someone I feel like I have known forever.  I used to get a dream of a very tall woman sitting beside my bed sometimes, and in this 'dream', I felt like she was my grandmother (who passed away back in '81) - although my granny was a petite woman, not tall at all.  This woman had an air of peace about her and never freaked me out.  Stranger things have happened ...

Yap, I believe in ghosts ...

[vkm91941]

Fascinating topic!  Thanks for starting it David.  All the stories are so interesting.  Thanks everyone for sharing 

[ednbarby]

I have had bizarre 'dreams' at times too when I see someone, a complete stranger I can't recognise or someone I feel like I have known forever.  I used to get a dream of a very tall woman sitting beside my bed sometimes, and in this 'dream', I felt like she was my grandmother (who passed away back in '81) - although my granny was a petite woman, not tall at all.  This woman had an air of peace about her and never freaked me out.  Stranger things have happened ...

I've had these, too, but in my case they seem so real that I've gone running screaming out of the room.  There's something called "night terrors" that they (the ubiquitous "they") say affects about 2 percent of the population.  It has to do with something in your brain not switching properly between pre-REM and REM sleep, so that you're basically launched right into REM sleep while still having the feeling that you're awake.  In mine, there is someone in the room with me.  Usually a male I don't recognize, and/or his face isn't clear.  They're never threatening me - just standing there - but I have the very strong feeling they shouldn't be there and I have to get out.  Fortunately I haven't had one of these in about four years, now, because they scare the bejesus out of me and everyone else in the house when I do.

I have one friend who's into the paranormal a little bit who thinks these are actually ghosts I'm seeing and my brain just doesn't know how to process it at the time.  I guess that's possible.  I'm all for anything being possible.  But I don't know how probable it is.

[David In Indy]

Thanks for all these interesting replies! I love opening this thread up from time to time and reading all the stories and encounters people are posting in here.

I've had these, too, but in my case they seem so real that I've gone running screaming out of the room.  There's something called "night terrors" that they (the ubiquitous "they") say affects about 2 percent of the population.  It has to do with something in your brain not switching properly between pre-REM and REM sleep, so that you're basically launched right into REM sleep while still having the feeling that you're awake.  In mine, there is someone in the room with me.  Usually a male I don't recognize, and/or his face isn't clear.  They're never threatening me - just standing there - but I have the very strong feeling they shouldn't be there and I have to get out.  Fortunately I haven't had one of these in about four years, now, because they scare the bejesus out of me and everyone else in the house when I do.

I have one friend who's into the paranormal a little bit who thinks these are actually ghosts I'm seeing and my brain just doesn't know how to process it at the time.  I guess that's possible.  I'm all for anything being possible.  But I don't know how probable it is.

I think it is very possible! I have heard many doctors and psychologists talk about this and while many disagree with each other about what sleep is and what happens while we sleep, just about everyone will agree that we know very little about it and it remains a mystery. I have heard some say that it is during sleep when we actually have the ability to communicate with the Dead. Often times I have awakened in the morning and the first thing I will think of is my mother,  or a long deceased friend or relative of mine. And I will feel good about the person... like I just had a nice long visit with them. Unfortunately this feeling quickly disappears as I wake up and go about my daily activities. I don't think I ever had "night terrors", but I have had some dreams that were so realistic, I woke up wondering if they really did happen. Some psychologists and parapsychologists believe that we actually leave our bodies during sleep. I have seen photographs taken of a sleeping person. Normally they are a series of photographs, and in them they have photographed what appear to be orbs leaving the sleeping person's body and later on returning again. So who knows?

I second Celeste's sentiment there!

I have had bizarre 'dreams' at times too when I see someone, a complete stranger I can't recognise or someone I feel like I have known forever.  I used to get a dream of a very tall woman sitting beside my bed sometimes, and in this 'dream', I felt like she was my grandmother (who passed away back in '81) - although my granny was a petite woman, not tall at all.  This woman had an air of peace about her and never freaked me out.  Stranger things have happened ...

Yap, I believe in ghosts ...

What you just said reaffirms what I  have heard some psychologists say on various documentaries  and television shows; that it is very possible we use our sleep time (at least in part) to talk with the Dead... departed friends, relatives and loved ones.

I absolutely believe in ghosts.  I just think they are souls without bodies stuck in a place and time that doesn't belong to them anymore.  Nothing too sinister so much as really sad.  Like Nipith's story about his niece...I think there's a whole invisible world that exists without the permission of our beliefs.

Yes. I often stop and think about "what I was" 45 years ago (I am 43 now).45 years ago, I was nothing. I didn't exist. But I am here now. It only makes sense that if I am here, I should continue to exist after death. I think the "impossible" has already been accomplished. I was brought into existence from nothing. Now I exist. So, why shouldn't my existence continue after I die? I believe ghosts are people who, for whatever reason,  simply have not crossed over yet. Hopefully they will at some point.

I don't really believe in ghosts probably because my grandpa told too many stories about it when I was a kid. Some seemed real others were pure BS. But oh well, a lot of hispanics believe in ghosts or spirits to the extent that sometimes there are treated as living things. People talk to them and all. They even have solutions to scare them away. According to my grandpa, ghosts or spirits don't like flowers or inscense smoke, so if a ghost is bothering you, get some natural flowers put them in your home or wherever the ghost is, light an inscence stick, then clap once, loud, and tell the ghost, in a nice way, that he doesn't belong there. Tell them you bless them, but that they must find the light and follow it, or something like that. Anyway, my grandpa used to say there was no reason to fear a ghost, they can't do anything to you. Those who are alive are the ones who can actually hurt you. 

I may  have to try this in my house and see what happens. Like I said, I don't think they are harmful, but I do believe they want me to notice them. Maybe they want me to help them.  

[David In Indy]

VERY interesting stories all! I had goose-bumps more than once! 

A boy with a knife in my house would freak me out!
 David, have you ever thought of getting 'in contact' with them? Maybe they want to tell you something. Maybe they need help with something. Isn't there sometimes the issue of 'closure'. They keep appearing until someone helps them 'leave for good'. Er.. or maybe I watch too much television....

I don't belive in ghosts, I answered. Didn't I...

~ j U d E

Jude -

The strange thing is, I always felt  safer upstairs, where people reported seeing this boy. It was downstairs where I always seemed to feel sad or depressed. You know how it feels when it is gloomy, cold and rainy outside and how it makes you feel depressed? That was the feeling I had when I was downstairs. But upstairs I always felt safe and protected. When  I lived in this  house, I began wondering why people saw this boy holding a knife? Because I never did feel in danger upstairs.

Yes, I am planning on holding a seance in my house soon. I have a few friends who are interested in doing the seance with me. I am hoping something will appear or communicate with us when we do it. Because if they do want or need help, I would like to try and offer my help to them.

[BB Stacker]

Yes, I definitely believe. I've seen the shadows out of the corner of my eye thing and heard and felt animals getting into or out of bed with me after they had passed on.

The only time I've actually "honest to God" seen a ghost I was about 16. Parents were gone to work and the only people in the house were myself and my 2 sisters. They were both asleep since it was summer, I was up early to go to band camp. I was in the kitchen getting keys etc. to leave the house when I looked into the livingroom (right next to kitchen, all open) and saw a guy standing there smiling at me. This was around 1980-81, and it was a white guy with an afro, square frame black glasses, yellow t-shirt and bellbottoms so I don't think it was an intruder. And of course, there's the fact that he just disappeared. I ran out the door and went on my way, scared but ok.

Of course, when I told my mom about it she had a fit because I left my sisters in the house. I'm like "But mom, it was a ghost".

[David In Indy]

BB Stacker -

Thank you for telling us about this. It sounds like this ghost may have been from the 1970's too. Although you did say you saw him  in 1980 or 1981. He sounds like he was a little scary looking... especially the black frame glasses. At least he was smiling at you. Was it a sinister looking smile, or a friendly one?

Thanks again for posting this!

[David In Indy]

Well, this is VERY interesting!

So far 21 people have voted in the poll.

Out of these 21 people, 13 have said they believe in ghosts. 8 others either are skeptical about it or do not believe in ghosts at all.

Please keep the votes and comments coming! I love things like this!

[starboardlight]

yeah, David. I really cherish having experienced that moment with my niece. My niece was definitely happy to meet her great grandfather. It was reassuring to know that those we loved are still connected to us, in some way, even if we aren't aware of that connection. Maybe it's not the heaven and hell that the Bible tells us about, but their spirits go on to other existences.

As for the second experience, I found that I wasn't scared so much then, and haven't been too scared to be at my parent's house alone either. Every so often I would think that I should have listened to that walkman. That "spirit" definitely made an effort to show itself to me. We had lived in that house for over a decade, by that time, and no one had experienced anything. Was it asking for help? or just saying "hi." If it was looking to play a trick on me, it could have done so much more than pressing the play button on the walkman.

[David]

I'd like to think there is some kind of exsistance after death.    I was at the Cemetary visiting my Dads grave on July 4th and paying my respects.  I feel funny chatting to him as I know he is not there.    Well, his body is there, but not his spirit.    I sure know that my fathers spirit wouldn't hang around the Cemetary waiting for visitors!   If he were a free spirit he'd be all of the world if not the universe exploring.

That is why I doubt Spirits visit us.  My life is boring compared to what the rest of the world has to offer!   LOL.    When I die, if I am a ghost,  I'll be in Hawaii, not Hartford!

I hope my relatives aren't hanging around watching me 24/7 !   YIKES!   Imagine the things they'd see!   

[David In Indy]

I'd like to think there is some kind of exsistance after death.    I was at the Cemetary visiting my Dads grave on July 4th and paying my respects.  I feel funny chatting to him as I know he is not there.    Well, his body is there, but not his spirit.    I sure know that my fathers spirit wouldn't hang around the Cemetary waiting for visitors!   If he were a free spirit he'd be all of the world if not the universe exploring.

That is why I doubt Spirits visit us.  My life is boring compared to what the rest of the world has to offer!   LOL.    When I die, if I am a ghost,  I'll be in Hawaii, not Hartford!

I hope my relatives aren't hanging around watching me 24/7 !   YIKES!   Imagine the things they'd see!   

I believe your Father heard you. Your Dad probably is off exploring the universe, but he is still connected to you. I believe spirits are not limited to space, in other words they can be in more than one place at the same time. And even if he wasn't actually with you when you were talking to him (although I believe he was) he would have been aware of you and your words and thoughts. And I am certain it brought him a lot of joy just knowing you were thinking about him!

[David In Indy]

As for the second experience, I found that I wasn't scared so much then, and haven't been too scared to be at my parent's house alone either. Every so often I would think that I should have listened to that walkman. That "spirit" definitely made an effort to show itself to me. We had lived in that house for over a decade, by that time, and no one had experienced anything. Was it asking for help? or just saying "hi." If it was looking to play a trick on me, it could have done so much more than pressing the play button on the walkman.

When I read your post I began wondering what the spirit might have said on your walkman. But I think I would have done the same thing you did. I don't think I would have listened to it either.

[ZouBEini]

Ok, the stories y'all shared kept giving me the shivers. Brrr.  So, THANKS!  

I absolutely believe in ghosts.

A few weeks after my hubby died, he came to visit. I was almost asleep and it had slipped my mind that he was dead. I was in bed, laying on my back and was covered by the comforter. I felt him climb in (waterbed) and roll over to my side.  He then kissed me and lay on top of me (on top of the comforter).  He would do that when he first arrived home, as I worked days and he worked nights as a waiter at a dinner theatre on the north side.  I would often be asleep by the time he arrived home and it was his way of gently awakening me if he was uhm, well, frisky.  LOL  Anyway, he began to be less and less gentle, which was totally unlike him.  When I opened my eyes I realized it was not him at all.  I just got a glimpse, but it was something "impersonating" him.  By the time I blinked and could scream, the weight lifted and it was gone.  The indentations remained on his side of the bed (on the comforter) and I slept on the sofa that night. The neighbors never commented about my scream, and nothing else ever occurred there.

I didn't mentioned what happened to anyone, and two days later his best friend called to say he appeared in the edge of her closet (what we determined to be) the night after my experience.  We think her's was the real Dav.  Not wanting to awaken her wife, she whispered a word only we four would know and the form instantly disappeared.

~Larz

p.s. - we should have a campfire burning while telling ghost stories!  

edited for clarity...

[David In Indy]

Ok, the stories y'all shared kept giving me the shivers. Brrr.  So, THANKS!  

I absolutely believe in ghosts.

A few weeks after my hubby died, he came to visit. I was almost asleep and it had slipped my mind that he was dead. I was in bed, laying on my back and was covered by the comforter. I felt him climb in (waterbed) and roll over to my side.  He then kissed me and lay on top of me (on top of the comforter).  He would do that when he first arrived home, as I worked days and he worked nights as a waiter at a dinner theatre on the north side.  I would often be asleep by the time he arrived home and it was his way of gently awakening me if he was uhm, well, frisky.  LOL  Anyway, he began to be less and less gentle, which was totally unlike him.  When I opened my eyes I realized it was not him at all.  I just got a glimpse, but it was something "impersonating" him.  By the time I blinked and could scream, the weight lifted and it was gone.  The indentations remained on his side of the bed (on the comforter) and I slept on the sofa that night. The neighbors never commented about my scream, and nothing else ever occurred there.

I didn't mentioned what happened to anyone, and two days later his best friend called to say he appeared in the edge of her closet (what we determined to be) the night after my experience.  We think her's was the real Dav.  Not wanting to awaken her wife, she whispered a word only we four would know and the form instantly disappeared.

~Larz

p.s. - we should have a campfire burning while telling ghost stories!  

edited for clarity...

Oh my God!  Something like this happened to me once too!

People are going to think I am completely whacko after I tell you this...

Anyway, I was sleeping one night and suddenly "something" woke me up. I just woke up, and I don't remember hearing anything. Suddenly I looked up and hovering above me was a dark shadow, and it had big wings. It decended down on top of me and began pushing me down deep in my mattress. It didn't hurt, but  it felt cold and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I felt like  it was smothering me. I remember thinking "Oh God, Please make it go away" and suddenly it lifted up off of me and disappeared.

I will NEVER forget that. It was one of the most horrible experiences I have ever had. It might have been a dream, but I don't think it was because I jumped up out of bed just after it disappeared. I was definately awake then.

A dream? I doubt it. And I really believe it happened. I have some ideas why this happened to me, but it sure did scare me.

I hope that NEVER happens to me again.

[ZouBEini]

Tch, Tch.  Ok, now you're just screwing with me because my story makes me sound like a wacko!  

Are you serious? 

~Larz

[David In Indy]

Tch, Tch.  Ok, now you're just screwing with me because my story makes me sound like a wacko!  

Are you serious? 

~Larz

Yes.  I'm serious.

I sent you a personal message.

[ZouBEini]

PM received and returned, thanks.  I'm agog.  Simply agog!    

~Larz

[vkm91941]

Oh my God!  Something like this happened to me once too!

People are going to think I am completely whacko after I tell you this...

Anyway, I was sleeping one night and suddenly "something" woke me up. I just woke up, and I don't remember hearing anything. Suddenly I looked up and hovering above me was a dark shadow, and it had big wings. It decended down on top of me and began pushing me down deep in my mattress. It didn't hurt, but  it felt cold and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I felt like  it was smothering me. I remember thinking "Oh God, Please make it go away" and suddenly it lifted up off of me and disappeared.

I will NEVER forget that. It was one of the most horrible experiences I have ever had. It might have been a dream, but I don't think it was because I jumped up out of bed just after it disappeared. I was definately awake then.

A dream? I doubt it. And I really believe it happened. I have some ideas why this happened to me, but it sure did scare me.

I hope that NEVER happens to me again.

Don't laugh my Mother had several encounters with a dark shadow entity.  The first time was when she was 6 years old and her 12 year old cousin had just died from cardiac complications of Rheumatic Fever.  She awoke suddenly and inexplicably to see a dark shape hovering over her, she said she could see no details just the shape and it descented upon her but never actually touched her.  She could feel it place it's "hands" on either side of her and the bed gave with the weight.  When she screamed it vanished but the impressions in the sheets and feather mattress remained.

This entity continued to plague my Mom through out her childhood and into her late teens.  The last encounter was when she was 19 just after she had given birth to my oldest brother it actually touched her and settled it's weight upon her, she said she could even feel it's hot breath on her neck.  My Dad was in the military and had just come home early in the morning after standing watch, when he heard her scream and come flying out of the bedroom.  He said she only hit two steps on her way down the stairs.  He searched the house and found nothing.

Six months later the were transferred out of Norfolk Virginia and the experiences stopped.  Mom always said whatever it was it was evil, she could feel it, it wanted her to be scared it wanted to harm her.

[David In Indy]

Victoria -

See? That sounds very similar to what happened to me. But it only happened to me one time, thank God. I wouldn't wish this experience on my worst enemy.

It was really, really awful!

[ZouBEini]

Oh I'm not laughing, though I'm smiling because I love everyone's stories.

More! More!  I want more!      

~Larz

[delalluvia]

I've had some cat visitations.  Both my cats from childhood died of old age in the apartment I'm in now and I felt both jump into bed with me and run down the hallway...except there was nothing there.

Once in my parents house, where the previous owner's son drowned in the bathtub, I was home alone asleep in a side bedroom.  It was a weekday, my classes didn't start until noon and I was sleeping in.  No one else was home, my parents had no pets, the windows were all shut.

I had my back to the open door and could hear someone walking on the cheap plastic-backed runner in the hallway, heading for the room I was in.

If anyone walked on that runner, your footsteps would make the plastic 'pop'.  But it happened immediately as you walked, not hours later.

The steps came up to my bedroom door and stopped.

By this time I was wide awake and scared shitless.  I didn't turn to see who - or what - was standing in the doorway.  I was sure it was a 'what'.

I waited for a long time, sweating under the sheets and finally got the gumption to turn and look.

Nothing.

A couple of friends of mine have had visitations from dead relatives or pets, standing over the bed or pet collars jingling in empty room kind of things.

A co-worker had a spectacular experience some years ago.  So spectacular I wonder if she was just pulling my leg, but she didn’t seem the type.  Anyway, her story was that she, her husband and her 5 year old son moved into a townhome complex.

Moving-in day was a little off center.  A workman had left his tool belt on the floor full of tools, but never came back for it and maintenance was busy replacing the doors inside their townhome.

The first night there, they had just laid their mattress on the floor and were collapsing on it to sleep when she said she was awakened by her husband suddenly jumping up and running toward the door yelling ‘Get out get out get out!”

Seeing nothing, she raced after him and asked what was going on.

He turned to her and asked,’Didn’t you see that guy?’

Turns out, he’d woken, and backlit by the hall light, he’d seen a man standing in the doorway carrying a briefcase.

Strange little things started happening, the cold spots, orb lights in Xmas pictures, things being left out of place, open closet doors, the feeling of someone brushing past them when there was no one there, her little son seeing a mess on the bathroom walls and a ‘strange man making faces at him’ when there was no one and nothing there.

And they kept getting mail addressed to the previous owner.  Piles of it.  She just figured the guy moved out and didn’t forward his mail.

Then, months later, she was watching the news when she heard the newsman announce that the body of a missing businessman was found outside of Oklahoma City.  Yep, the name of the guy is the same guy whose mail she’d been getting.

She finally did some research and found out that the man had lived in their townhome.  One day he had come home from work and someone was waiting for him.  Whoever it was chased this guy through the townhome, the man was desperately closing doors in his pursuer’s face, trying to stop him/them, and the doors kept getting broken down – reason why their complex maintenance men were replacing all the doors in their apartment – the guy was finally cornered and beaten severely in the closet, then was dragged to the bathroom and killed.

As for the tool belt, she believed that a workman had a bad experience alone in their townhome and got so spooked he bolted and would not come into the townhome, not even to recover his tools.

My friend couldn’t move out, even as she felt the spirit/entity/aura get progressively more hostile, because they were trying to qualify to buy a house.  Nothing much worse ever happened and they finally moved out.

I asked her if she’d ever gone back.  She said she’d driven by once.  The townhome was still vacant and the neighbors on either side of it had moved out.

[ednbarby]

Victoria -

See? That sounds very similar to what happened to me. But it only happened to me one time, thank God. I wouldn't wish this experience on my worst enemy.

It was really, really awful!

This is exactly what I've experienced, and what is known in the Sleep Disorders lingo as "night terrors."  As a child, I would hear heavy footsteps on wood coming down a hall.  The hall was carpeted, so why it sounded like wood I have no idea.  And I would hear a deep voice, and malevolent laughter.  And then I would feel something grabbing and shaking me - something strong enough that it had to be male.  And I would be in a half awake, half asleep state and be telling myself as fiercely as I could, "Wake up.  WAKE UP!"  And then I would and it would be over.

As a young adult, it wouldn't just grab and shake me, but it would lay its entire weight upon my chest, and that weight would be suffocating - like it was going to crush me like a boa constrictor.  Again, I would will myself awake.  In my 30s, it morphed into a dark shadow.  I'd "awake" to see it hovering there over me and be overcome with the sensation that I had to get out of there and quick or I would die.  I'd run screaming from the room.  Usually running into a door or furniture would wake me up.  Thank God I never went through a plate glass window.  Ed would come and console me, and I'd have no memory whatsoever of the running and screaming (even though I would be hoarse), just of the dark shadow that scared me so much.

I really think these are phenomena that happen to a small percentage of the population.  I think it's genetic, and that something triggers it.  They just don't know what that is.  Stress?  I don't think so - I've had severely stressful times in my life, like the period after my Mom died, where I didn't experience it.  Sleep deprivation?  I don't think so again - I've never been so sleep-deprived as I was when Will was an infant, and I didn't experience it then.  I honestly think it may be sugar-related.  I had three of them inside of a week - broke my toe on the last one running into the leg of an armchair - when Will was about 2 1/2.  At the same time, I was hearing a lot about the South Beach diet at work.  I wanted to lose 10 pounds for an upcoming event, so I started on it the next week.  I've never had another one since.  And I've never gone back to eating the large quantities of sugar-laden junk food since, either.  Perhaps I should make a study of it.

I do think it's possible these are much more extraordinary events than just sugar-fueled, modified sleep-walking - I don't rule out that possibility.  But the scientist in me keeps insisting that, like depression, it's a natural human (and maybe even non-human too?) phenomenon that happens to a select (!) few of us with a certain genetic makeup and the necessary trigger.

[moremojo]

This is exactly what I've experienced, and what is known in the Sleep Disorders lingo as "night terrors."

Hey, Barb--

There is a tendency in my mother's family to experience sleep paralysis. My mother has a history of this, as does a first cousin of mine(my mother's biological niece), and I myself have been plagued by it, but not for quite some time (knock on wood). In my case, I would have the sensation of waking up in bed, being conscious, but unable to move any part of my body save my eyes. It was always accompanied by a sense of dread, of a great urgency to stir myself into mobility, as if something dreadful would happen imminently if I failed to do so. It felt that if I fell back asleep, I would never wake up. After some considerable effort, initiated by rolling my eyes and then eventually moving my jaw, my body would jolt into movement, with my arm flying across my torso, usually. And then, when mobility was unimpeded, the sense of dread would dissipate, and I would roll over and peacefully resume my slumber!

This would seem to suggest that a physiological, chemical, or psychological factor is at work in this kind of experience. I would often note that I would be prone to such episodes when I was sleeping irregularly, such as taking long afternoon naps. For some reason, I haven't had such an occurrence in what must be years by now.

My mother's experiences are often colored by a sense of impending danger, such as an intruder making his way to her room to do her harm. The last report she gave me involved just such a feeling, which was broken when she willed herself into rolling off her bed onto the floor--with that jarring sensation, the paralysis and sense of danger were both dispelled. Another, much earlier experience involved waking up and seeing a little man dressed in blue standing by the bed, staring at her; despite her terror, she could not move, and eventually fell back asleep. She doesn't think that incident, though, was a figment of her imagination--but that's another story...

Scott  

[delalluvia]

Hey, Barb--

There is a tendency in my mother's family to experience sleep paralysis. My mother has a history of this, as does a first cousin of mine(my mother's biological niece), and I myself have been plagued by it, but not for quite some time (knock on wood). In my case, I would have the sensation of waking up in bed, being conscious, but unable to move any part of my body save my eyes. It was always accompanied by a sense of dread, of a great urgency to stir myself into mobility, as if something dreadful would happen imminently if I failed to do so. It felt that if I fell back asleep, I would never wake up. After some considerable effort, initiated by rolling my eyes and then eventually moving my jaw, my body would jolt into movement, with my arm flying across my torso, usually. And then, when mobility was unimpeded, the sense of dread would dissipate, and I would roll over and peacefully resume my slumber!

This would seem to suggest that a physiological, chemical, or psychological factor is at work in this kind of experience. I would often note that I would be prone to such episodes when I was sleeping irregularly, such as taking long afternoon naps. For some reason, I haven't had such an occurrence in what must be years by now.

I actually experienced this once.  A classic case.  I took a nap, then suddenly came awake, but I was unable to move.  I had read about other people experiencing this so I waited for the dread, then for the ghosts, then for the aliens.  There was nothing.  Just me laying there, unable to move.  Finally, I decided that I had awoken in some strange sleep pattern I wasn't supposed to and if I went back to sleep, my condition would pass.  So I did and it did. 

[vkm91941]

Actually I believe alot of what we preceive as supernatural is actually preternatural(\pree-tuhr-NACH-uhr-uhl; -NACH-ruhl\, adjective:Beyond or outside ordinary experience; inexplicable by ordinary means) and is just outside our knowlege and ability to understand at this time.

[David In Indy]

I still say what ever it was that attacked me that night was an evil spirit or a demon.

[ednbarby]

I still say what ever it was that attacked me that night was an evil spirit or a demon.

It's entirely possible.  I voted that I'm open to the possibility because I think anything is possible, and who am I to say what isn't?  Science hasn't isolated a gene or determined the trigger(s), so who knows?

Scott, my most recent experiences sound eerily similar to your mother's.  I have the sensation of some malevolent entity being in my room with me, staring at me (sometimes I remember a face, and it's male, but non-descript, and sometimes it's just a shadow or a sense that someone or something is there that shouldn't be) and the overwhelming desire to move - to get out of there.  It takes literally falling out of bed or running into something to jar me awake.  That's what's so freaky about it - the thought that I could really hurt myself or worse because of one of these episodes.  The ones earlier in my life were predominantly sleep-paralysis - I was definitely consciously trying to move and felt powerless to do so - it felt like my eyelids were weighted and glued down, and if I...could...just...get...them...open...  And once I did, everything was OK, and I'd fall immediately back to sleep.  Occasionally, the sensation would keep recurring over and over to the point that I would have to turn the light on, get up, and walk around before going back to sleep just to make it stop.

Fun times...  Like you, Scott, I'm knocking on wood but it hasn't happened now in about 2 years.

[starboardlight]

sleep paralysis is actually quite common. when we sleep, normally what happens is the body sends out a chemical to paralyze the body, because when we dream, the brain actually sends out signal as if the body's awake. So when we dream about running, the brain actually thinks the body is running, and tells our leg muscles to move. The chemical keeps us from actually moving. With sleep walkers, this chemical is insufficient, and they actually get up and walk around as in their dreams. With night terror, we snap out of our dreams too suddenly, even though the paralyzing chemical is still at work, so our minds are awake but the body is still "asleep". So we feel that desperate struggle to move.

The times I've experience that, mine were just as scary but not in the supernatural way. I'd wake up feeling like I'm smothered under my pillow, and I have to struggle with my body just to move the pillow off me, or I'd die of suffocation.

[Rayn]

There is far too much experience in this area to doubt completely and say, "Case closed."; so when it come to supernatural anything, I keep a clear mind, ask questions, listen carefully, apply a sense of reason to what I've heard, stay open to possibilities, make no commitments.

Rayn

[David In Indy]

There is far too much experience in this area to doubt completely and say, "Case closed."; so when it come to supernatural anything, I keep a clear mind, ask questions, listen carefully, apply a sense of reason to what I've heard, stay open to possibilities, make no commitments.

Rayn

Absolutely! I agree. And I think this is what the others were saying as well. Who really knows for sure.

What attacked me that night might have been a sleep terror. Whatever it was, it sure scared me. And if it wasn't supernatural, it might as well have been.

But I think it was supernatural.

[Amber]

It seems that all of my experiences with ghosts seem to be with family pets that have passed on.  One "sighting" that is actually rather constant is our family cat Pharroh - she lived to be 16 and she is always walking around my parents house.  It's not just glimpses of 3 seconds that we see of her either.  Shes usually sitting on the back of the couch or sitting in the bathroom sink where she loved to hang out. 

My other experience has to do with my dog Chase who was a dalmatian and had to be put down because he was slightly on the "crazy" side (dang inbreeding - we didn't know )  - he actually was on medication for his craziness too.  That's a different story *lol*  Anyways he always used to jump at the outside of my bedroom window when it would rain outside and I'd let him in and sit with him either til he went to sleep or it stopped raining and he could go back out and enjoy the summer.  He still jumps at my window whenever it rains.  I hear him when I'm visiting home and my parents hear it at other times - and here's the kicker - he leaves muddy paw prints underneath my window when he jumps.  My parents now have a Sheltie that could NOT jump that high nor make those big paw prints and the yard is fenced in so no other dogs can get in.  They are his paw prints - and he's trying to get me to bring him in.  He was always my baby   Now I miss him.  *sighs*

These are the only experiences I've had to this point in my life.  At least these are reassuring sightings - I don't know how'd I'd do with ghosts throwing plates around the kitchen!

[David In Indy]

Amber, I found your post very poignant. I especially loved what you said about your dog.

I think it is wonderful your animals are still with all of you. 

And I certainly believe it too. I posted an animal spirit story earlier in this thread. It is on page one or two I think. 

[Luvlylittlewing]

I definitely believe in ghosts.  I have heard them, often see things out of the corner of my eye, but have never seen a ghost.  I don't know why this is - I'm very receptive.  My house is 110 years old, and from what I hear, several people have died here.  My mother has seen spirits walking around the house draped in blankets, my sis says she saw a shadowy man in a cape and a top hat walking down the main staircase, and saw the spirit of our favorite cat lying under the dining room table.

I hear voices all the time, usually calling, sometimes screaming my name.  I notice coins lying all  over my bedroom floor, and I can't account for their presence!  I once heard that spirits leave coins for the living.  Quarters litter my bedroom floor, my sis gets dimes and pennies.  My sister says our grandma's spirit is leaving me quarters because I'm so high maintenance

My maternal grandmother had us afraid to got to sleep after she told her true ghost stories.  Yes, I believe in ghosts!

[ZouBEini]

Hi Littlewing!    Nice to see you!

I love reading about your haunted house and the coins.  I've been writing a long PM and was afraid I'd miss you.

~Larz

[David In Indy]

I hear voices all the time, usually calling, sometimes screaming my name.  I notice coins lying all  over my bedroom floor, and I can't account for their presence!  I once heard that spirits leave coins for the living.  Quarters litter my bedroom floor, my sis gets dimes and pennies.  My sister says our grandma's spirit is leaving me quarters because I'm so high maintenance

When I read your post it gave me a cold chill. I hear deceased relatives and friends holler my name all the time. "DAVID"!! The really scary thing is my dog and/or cat will perk up and look around at the same time I do. They apparently hear it too.

I never heard of spirits leaving coins for the living. My mother (who was 1/2 Lakota Sioux) always told me spirits leave a feather when they visit. The day my mother passed away, I found a large light brown feather laying on my deck. It was laying there by the door, almost as if it was meant for me to find.

*cold chill*

Mom once told me I was "born without the veil". Maybe this is why things are always happening to me. 

[Luvlylittlewing]

Hi Littlewing!    Nice to see you!

I love reading about your haunted house and the coins.  I've been writing a long PM and was afraid I'd miss you.

~Larz

I must have just missed you, Larz.  We'll talk a bit later.   I have other ghostly tales that should interest you.

[ZouBEini]

Great!  I already feel a chill. Well maybe I only wish I could feel a chill!  LOL

See ya, Littlewing!

~Larz

[Luvlylittlewing]

When I read your post it gave me a cold chill. I hear deceased relatives and friends holler my name all the time. "DAVID"!! The really scary thing is my dog and/or cat will perk up and look around at the same time I do. They apparently hear it too.

I never heard of spirits leaving coins for the living. My mother (who was 1/2 Lakota Sioux) always told me spirits leave a feather when they visit. The day my mother passed away, I found a large light brown feather laying on my deck. It was laying there by the door, almost as if it was meant for me to find.

*cold chill*

Mom once told me I was "born without the veil". Maybe this is why things are always happening to me. 

David, I'm at the point where I'm not even frightened when I hear my name literally screamed.  What is especially chilling is that no one else can hear what I'm hearing.  What do you think it means?  I also got a chill when I read that you have experienced the same thing.  The grandmother I mentioned was also part Native American (we don't know which tribe) as are all of my grandparents.  My grandma says you can see spirits if you are born WITH a veil, a thin film visible on the face of a newborn.

[delalluvia]

My grandma says you can see spirits if you are born WITH a veil, a thin film visible on the face of a newborn.

I've heard of this too.  It's a thin membrane they call a 'caul'.  If when you're born, you come out with it still on your face, apparently you're spirit sensitive.

I hear my name being called too.  Not screamed, not yelled, just spoken and it makes me start and wakes me up from a sound sleep as well.

David,

I wouldn't depend on pets though.  Maybe they're starting because you are.  You know how sensitive pets can be to their owner's movements.  Heck, they have dogs who can sense an epileptic fit coming on in a person before the person even knows it.

Funny thing about hearing your name called?  I have my birth name.  But I also have gone by a certain diminutive of the name, but over the years, only a few people - mostly close family - call me that anymore.  As the years have gone by, I've got certain groups of friends I've met in different places who call me by different names:

e.g. at college I went by my 'official' name to save trouble, so all my college friends know me by this name.

At one work place I went by a different name due to a typo on my cubical nameplate.  Rather than have them fix it, I liked that name variation so I went by it and thus have a group of friends who know me only by that name.

I think the name calling thing is just some misfiring brain synapses.  As time has passed and I now answer to so many different names, this event has slowly died away.  I guess my brain has too many options to choose from.

[David In Indy]

My grandma says you can see spirits if you are born WITH a veil, a thin film visible on the face of a newborn.

Littlewing... I remember my mom telling me I was born without a veil. What she meant by that (I think) is that everybody has the "ability" to see spirits, ghosts, etc, but because of a "veil", this natural talent or ability is obscured (as if a veil is over their face) and they cannot see certain things that are right in front of them. People who are born without the veil are able to use this natural human ability and therefore see those things others cannot.

But, perhaps this is a cultural difference. Perhaps this is a phrase used by Native Americans,  where as a "veil" in mainstream  society means the membrane both you and Dellaluvia mentioned. What my mother meant is that she always considered me a "sensitive" child. she always considered herself sensitive as well.

But, perhaps my mother got the terminology mixed up. And it is very possible that I am not remembering it correctly. You know what they say, your memory is the first to go!

Or is your eyesight the first to go?

See? I can't even remember how that goes! 

[David In Indy]

I wouldn't depend on pets though.  Maybe they're starting because you are.  You know how sensitive pets can be to their owner's movements.  Heck, they have dogs who can sense an epileptic fit coming on in a person before the person even knows it.

Delalluvia -

I often hear my name called when I am awake (such as sitting in the living room reading the paper). It doesn't  always happen as I am going to sleep. In my living room for example, I might hear this voice coming from across the room (I am already facing in the  direction the sound is coming from) and the animals will perk up and turn their heads (the animals are facing me) in order to be looking in the direction of this sound.  This has happened many times. BUT.... and here is the really strange thing, if my boyfriend Cory is in the room, he will not hear this voice;  only me and the animal/animals.

It is hard to explain.

What you just said may be correct. It  could be something scientific.

But how do you explain the feather on my back deck the day my mother died? It was a large creamy (beige) colored feather. To my knowledge, there are no beige colored birds ( at least not the color of that feather) in Indiana. Where did it come from? And why did it appear just several hours after mom passed away? Yes, perhaps someone dropped it there (even though I was the only one (no roommates or boyfriend at the time) living in the house at the time of mom's death). But that is a highly unlikely coincidence in my opinion.

[vkm91941]

You guys are all giving me cold chills.  In a very creepy but good way of course  . I Love these kinds of stories my Mom and Grandmother (her Mom) were full of them.

[Jeff Wrangler]

"There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in your philosophy."

Well, I clearly shouldn't have started reading this thread at work!

Those of you who experience night terrors: I can clearly see the relationship to the legends of incubi and succubi, and also to testimony that was occasionally given in trials for witchcraft, where witnesses claimed that the "shape" of the accused came and sat on their chests in bed at night.

I can't say that I, personally, have had any experiences such as I have read here, though the "pet experiences" remind me of what is, in fact, my earliest childhood memory. This was probably just a dream, because of my odd changes in perspective, but here goes. At the time I was so young that I was still sleeping in a crib. One night I felt that I could "see" a cat--or, more exactly, the shadow of a cat--walking straight up the back wall of our house and coming in through my bedroom window. It then climbed up and sat in an old armchair that was in the room, wrapped it's tail around itself, and just looked at me. I don't know why this terrified me, but it clearly did, as the next thing I knew/the next thing I remember, I was holding onto the railing of my crib, jumping up and down and screaming for my mother. When Mother came into my room, I remember pointing to the chair, and to this day I haven't forgotten how shocked I was when I turned to look at the chair, and there was nothing there. By the way, we didn't have a cat. My father hates cats.

My mother actually had more stories. When she and her siblings were still children, they had a cousin who died at a young age of some disorder that was untreatable in the 1930s. Mother told me that the night their cousin died, her sister (my aunt), who was standing at the top of the staircase in the house where they lived, clearly saw the cousin coming up the stairs toward her. He vanished when my aunt screamed.

Mother's most relevant experience actually involved my father. Daddy had a heart attack and subsequently a quintuple bypass in 1992. After he was home from the hospital, one night, Mother told me, she woke up and clearly saw her eldest brother, my uncle (who had died when I was still in high school), and her mother, my grandmother, who had died in 1980, standing by the bed. Mother said they didn't say anything, but that she just "knew" that they had come for my father. Mother said that she said to them, "No, it's not his time," and they vanished.

[JT]

I've never seen ghosts before in my life, but try to keep an open mind about it. 

[delalluvia]

Delalluvia -

I often hear my name called when I am awake (such as sitting in the living room reading the paper). It doesn't  always happen as I am going to sleep. In my living room for example, I might hear this voice coming from across the room (I am already facing in the  direction the sound is coming from) and the animals will perk up and turn their heads (the animals are facing me) in order to be looking in the direction of this sound.  This has happened many times. BUT.... and here is the really strange thing, if my boyfriend Cory is in the room, he will not hear this voice;  only me and the animal/animals.

It is hard to explain.

I understand, I hear/heard the name calling both nights and days as well, awake and asleep, so I get where you're coming from.  Additionally, my mother every so often 'hears' voices in her head.  Not like someone is talking to her, but like she's picking up other people's conversations.  It's always in hushed/distant sounding voices so she can't make them out.  We used to live near an airport, so we came up with all sorts of crazy possibilities.  My favorite was that the metal fillings in her teeth were acting as antenna/receivers and picking up radio waves from air traffic into her head.  And me and my mom hear 'explosions' in our heads.  They're sudden loud noises that seem to occur for no reason.  Loud enough to make you start, turn you around, wake you up.  But it's not happening in the outside world, only in our heads.  My mother spoke with the doctor about it, and he explained what he thought that was, but she couldn't remember enough of about his expanation to tell me.  He found it 'normal' though.

But how do you explain the feather on my back deck the day my mother died? It was a large creamy (beige) colored feather. To my knowledge, there are no beige colored birds ( at least not the color of that feather) in Indiana. Where did it come from? And why did it appear just several hours after mom passed away? Yes, perhaps someone dropped it there (even though I was the only one (no roommates or boyfriend at the time) living in the house at the time of mom's death). But that is a highly unlikely coincidence in my opinion.

I can't.  Won't even try.  I do believe in signs from the gods.  They do happen and just like you say at strangely opportune times or with coincidental timing.  As if in summoning.  It's bizarre.  It's happened to me as well.

[David In Indy]

My favorite was that the metal fillings in her teeth were acting as antenna/receivers and picking up radio waves from air traffic into her head. 

You know, for years and years Lucille Ball swore this very same thing was happening to her. It's weird, and probably very rare, but things like this do happen to people. I think these explosions you mentioned would be entirely different though. That sounds absolutely miserable. 

[jasbbm]

I 'm not sure about ghosts. I 've never seen one.  But I do believe ghosts form the past can haunt you

[Wayne]

I think a lot of things that I might call ghosts are my mind's recollection of familiar sounds or images that I (reasonably) try to assign to something I know.

The squeak of a branch on a window sounds a little like my cat from a few years ago and I look to see if it's her.

Whether sometimes it really is her - well, probably not, but I don't have to completely rule out.

[David In Indy]

There are some things in this world we will never understand. It's as simple as that. I believe in UFOs too. Someone asked me recently why "people" from other planets would even take an interest in us. Perhaps they are just trying to find out the same thing we are... "is there somebody else out there"? Or maybe there are millions of planets populated with people far more advanced than we are. And if so, there would be a million, maybe more, "space ships" or UFOs out there flying around having a look at everything. And perhaps every now and then, one of those space ships just happens to fly past Earth and they decide to check us out! 

Like I said, there are things in this world (and this Universe) we will NEVER undertand. But just because we don't understand something doesn't necessarily mean it isn't possible. There is a wonderful little phrase people at SETI always use... "Absence of Evidence  isn't Evidence of Absence". I think the same thing is true of ghosts.

I believe in them and I have even seen a few... at least I think I have. 

[moremojo]

There are some things in this world we will never understand. It's as simple as that. I believe in UFOs too. Someone asked me recently why "people" from other planets would even take an interest in us. Perhaps they are just trying to find out the same thing we are... "is there somebody else out there"? Or maybe there are millions of planets populated with people far more advanced than we are. And if so, there would be a million, maybe more, "space ships" or UFOs out there flying around having a look at everything. And perhaps every now and then, one of those space ships just happens to fly past Earth and they decide to check us out! 

If one refers to the original definition of 'UFO', any reasonable person should be able to believe in them. All 'UFO' originally meant was 'unidentified flying object'--ANY object seen flying that could not be identified was a UFO if and until identification could be made; nothing necessarily extraterrestrial or paranormal about them.

But, like you, I too believe in the existence of UFO's as a paranormal phenomenon. I don't think they're necessarily extraterrestrial in origin; I think they could be symptomatic of some kind of sentience that has coexisted with human beings throughout our history. There are striking parallels between fairy lore and many of the contemporary accounts of UFO and abduction experiences. Could they both be manifestations of the same phenomenon, interpreted according to differing cultural and historical circumstances?

You might consider starting a new poll on UFO's, David. It would be interesting to see how our members responded.

[David In Indy]

You might consider starting a new poll on UFO's, David. It would be interesting to see how our members responded.

It's funny you should mention a UFO poll. Actually I was thinking of creating a poll on UFOs the same day I created this ghost thread, but I decided not to. I haven't started a thread on Bettermost for a long time now. Thanks for the idea!

And yes, you are correct. A UFO can be just about anything. Those little objects floating outside the space shuttle the other day were technically UFOs, but any reasonable person would know they weren't occupied by little space creatures. They were probably just bags of trash.

[David In Indy]

There are striking parallels between fairy lore and many of the contemporary accounts of UFO and abduction experiences. Could they both be manifestations of the same phenomenon, interpreted according to differing cultural and historical circumstances?

<using a bevis and butthead voice>   hehe. hehe. He said fairy. 

By the way.... I did create a UFO poll, so be sure to go there and post something! 

[Kelpersmek]

I've had spooky experiences, and I don't believe in ghosts.

I don't believe in a soul, an afterlife, anything like that.  I'm a cynic.
Consequently, I think people ought to try to take part more in this life than waiting for the next.

Ghost stories still send a chill up my spine, but it's about suspending disbelief.  We want to be scared, or have the veil drawn back on some other world.  Sometimes when we experience something we can't explain, "ghosts" seem like a plausible answer.  But I find it more compelling to believe that my brain, which I *know* can conjure up all sorts of weirdness, and is easily tricked by illusions, is responsible for ghosts.  Tricks of the mind or of light are things i have experienced, but a soul floating around the world?  Nah.

[Marge_Innavera]

I voted "YES I believe in ghosts but I have never seen one before" because my own experiences haven't been visual sightings. However, I've worked in two places with some kind of presence or poltergeist activity.

The most recent one was a log cabin at a Living History museum where I worked for 7 years. It was known to be a haunted building, and with clocklike regularity, new volunteers or employees would laugh at the idea and change their minds. I had a supervisor who wouldn't even enter the building, but it was my regular work station and I never felt like it was any kind of negative thing. My own two experiences were with hearing footsteps behind me but no seeing anyone, and one instance of a knock on the door one cold day when I had the fireplace going - no one there when I opened it. Other people saw things like candles in the window in the evening, went to the building with the idea that someone had carelessly left a candle burning and found none lit but a strong smell of candle wax.

Also, when I was in school at Athens, Georgia there was a Civil War era neighborhood where haunted houses were so common most people who lived there were just used to it and took it for granted.

[Marge_Innavera]

Someone asked me recently why "people" from other planets would even take an interest in us. Perhaps they are just trying to find out the same thing we are... "is there somebody else out there"?

Maybe they're just intergalactic cruise ships, with tourists taking a gander at the primitive natives. 

[Marge_Innavera]

We used to live near an airport, so we came up with all sorts of crazy possibilities.  My favorite was that the metal fillings in her teeth were acting as antenna/receivers and picking up radio waves from air traffic into her head.

I really don't know whether that's a believable explanation or not. However, I did notice a long time ago that people who are wedded to the western superstition that "there's a logical explanation for everything" can come up with goofier explanations than any fantasy writer.

I'm slightly telekenetic and you'd have to hear some of the "explanations" to believe them. My favorite so far was one about a bedside table that moved suddenly enough to trash both a lamp and an alarm clock: that it was a "gravitational eddy."   

[Kelpersmek]

I'm slightly telekenetic and you'd have to hear some of the "explanations" to believe them. My favorite so far was one about a bedside table that moved suddenly enough to trash both a lamp and an alarm clock: that it was a "gravitational eddy."   

I have to say that while a gravitational eddy is simply the explaination of someone desperate to fill the blank in "I don't know why that happened",  I still believe that there is a rational explaination for things. 

The thing is it's ok to say "I don't know" without that automatically meaning "A ghost did it!"

If something weird happens and I don't know why, my explaination is: "I don't know what caused that",  but the unspoken addendum is "but that doesn't somehow prove it was supernatural."  A theory is not sufficiently proven simply by a lack of alternatives.

When photons first split in laboratory experiments, there was no good model for what just happened.  It's still quite baffling, but I don't think ghosts and magic are being considered proven by this gap in human knowledge.

That's just my opinion of course, and I am quite ready to admit I may be wrong, and I could be walking with closed eyes through a world of supernatural creatures and miracles.  It's not impossible, I just find it unlikely.

By the way, if you have control over your telekinetic powers to any degree, there is an organisation offering a  $1million reward for proof of any supernatural, paranormal or occult gift or event.
http://www.randi.org/research/index.html
I am sincere when I say I am willing to believe in any of these things once proof is obtained using good sound scientific methodology.  I hope this doesn't come across as an attack on your belief in the paranormal, but I am an adherent to the "Western superstition", and felt compelled to explain my position.*


*OK I don't expect anyone to be interested but 

[David In Indy]

I have to say that while a gravitational eddy is simply the explaination of someone desperate to fill the blank in "I don't know why that happened",  I still believe that there is a rational explaination for things. 

The thing is it's ok to say "I don't know" without that automatically meaning "A ghost did it!"

But what if there really is a spirit world? If there is (and I believe there is) it would be perfectly rational to say "a ghost did it". What defines a rational or irrational explanation depends on the person's perspective. 

[delalluvia]

By the way, if you have control over your telekinetic powers to any degree, there is an organisation offering a  $1million reward for proof of any supernatural, paranormal or occult gift or event.
http://www.randi.org/research/index.html
I am sincere when I say I am willing to believe in any of these things once proof is obtained using good sound scientific methodology.  I hope this doesn't come across as an attack on your belief in the paranormal, but I am an adherent to the "Western superstition", and felt compelled to explain my position.*


*OK I don't expect anyone to be interested but 

I love James Randi and I think the dollar award went up.  He has yet to have anyone prove extra-sensory skills under controlled conditions.

[delalluvia]

I really don't know whether that's a believable explanation or not. However, I did notice a long time ago that people who are wedded to the western superstition that "there's a logical explanation for everything" can come up with goofier explanations than any fantasy writer.

I'm slightly telekenetic and you'd have to hear some of the "explanations" to believe them. My favorite so far was one about a bedside table that moved suddenly enough to trash both a lamp and an alarm clock: that it was a "gravitational eddy."   

Once, on a sunny afternoon, me and two friends sat on a couch - stone cold sober - and watched as the torchiere lamp, standing by the side of the couch suddenly started rocking back and forth all on its own.

They had no pets, no rats underfoot.  We sat there and watched it until it stopped.  Our explanation then was a poltergeist.  Later, I imagine it could have been anything.  They had a wooden floor, in a slab construction house, they lived near a freeway, seismologists tell us there are earthquakes happening all the time, but they are too faint for us to feel them...[shrugs] who knows?

[Kelpersmek]

But what if there really is a spirit world? If there is (and I believe there is) it would be perfectly rational to say "a ghost did it". What defines a rational or irrational explanation depends on the person's perspective. 

Interesting!  Just before I get into this, i just want to say I am quite interested in this as a debate, but if at any time you feel I am overstepping a line or being too insistent please PM and I will apolgise and drop the subject.  i realise that people's personal beliefs are important and sacred, and I am replying to share mine, and not attack those of anyone else.  That said...

It would be perfectly rational if there was indeed a spirit world.  I happen to believe there is not, but if it can be proven that there is, that would change my belief.  I think things rest on 'reasonable proof'.

For example, if I expose a material, say copper, to flame, the copper will increase in temperature.  The molecular structure will expand as it is heated.  It will always happen if you use the same copper and the same temperature flame.  We can infer that flames give off heat, that the copper is absorbing that heat, the heat expands the material... and we have sufficient 'reasonable proof' to say we 'know' these things.

Now, I avoid and reject all philosophical rebuffs on this in terms of "Ah but what if we are all brains in jars" and other such stuff.  If we are, we have more to worry about.

So 'reasonable proof' to me is the result of a repeatable experiment which yeilds the same results, and a hypothesis (preferably more than one) which we can then test to see which is most likely.
What defines rational is that this model, this approach, has served us very well in obtaining knowledge.  I wouldn't state that there is such a thing as a gravity particle, because we have no evidence that it exists.  Sure, people may have assumptions that it does, there may be some evidence, but nothing like reasonable proof. 

Similarly if I say "that happened because of the magical powers of the Invisible Pink unicorn!" people won't assume I am rational.  Even if it fits *my* perspective and makes sense, where is my proof?  My worldview must be supported by evidence.  let me move to a more practical example:

A man sincerely believes he is being hunted by the CIA, because he knows about the experiments they carry out on people, and about the aliens that have been visiting the earth.  Every phonecall is a potential spy tring to track him down, every news story a coded message.  That's his belief. 

Society would deem this man irrational (probably paranoid, maybe suffering a mental illness) unless he could show us documented evidence of these claims. 

That same man would be deemed rational if he could point out real CIA agents following him around, show us un-faked photographs of aliens, and show consistent cyphers that explain the coded messages and tie these messages to real world events. 

In my opinion, rationality it is not quite perspective, but evidence which causes the majority of people to agree on the same perspective.

[fernly]

I picked the first choice, but need to qualify it a bit. I've seen a ghost, and so I believe in that one. Far as other ghosts, I guess I'm keeping an semi-open mind. If someone I know and trust as a reasonable person says they've seen a ghost, I'm more likely to believe it.
But just 'cause I've had a visitation, doesn't mean I'm ready to believe in any story of other ghosts. Look how differently people, for all kinds of reasons, interpret objective, verifiable events in the real world. Not very likely that we're going to agree on interpretations of apparently other-worldly events.

But I have read a couple lovely ghost stories (fanfic) lately that I've quite willing to believe in. 

[David In Indy]

Interesting!  Just before I get into this, i just want to say I am quite interested in this as a debate, but if at any time you feel I am overstepping a line or being too insistent please PM and I will apolgise and drop the subject.  i realise that people's personal beliefs are important and sacred, and I am replying to share mine, and not attack those of anyone else.  That said...

It would be perfectly rational if there was indeed a spirit world.  I happen to believe there is not, but if it can be proven that there is, that would change my belief.  I think things rest on 'reasonable proof'.

For example, if I expose a material, say copper, to flame, the copper will increase in temperature.  The molecular structure will expand as it is heated.  It will always happen if you use the same copper and the same temperature flame.  We can infer that flames give off heat, that the copper is absorbing that heat, the heat expands the material... and we have sufficient 'reasonable proof' to say we 'know' these things.

Now, I avoid and reject all philosophical rebuffs on this in terms of "Ah but what if we are all brains in jars" and other such stuff.  If we are, we have more to worry about.

So 'reasonable proof' to me is the result of a repeatable experiment which yeilds the same results, and a hypothesis (preferably more than one) which we can then test to see which is most likely.
What defines rational is that this model, this approach, has served us very well in obtaining knowledge.  I wouldn't state that there is such a thing as a gravity particle, because we have no evidence that it exists.  Sure, people may have assumptions that it does, there may be some evidence, but nothing like reasonable proof. 

Similarly if I say "that happened because of the magical powers of the Invisible Pink unicorn!" people won't assume I am rational.  Even if it fits *my* perspective and makes sense, where is my proof?  My worldview must be supported by evidence.  let me move to a more practical example:

A man sincerely believes he is being hunted by the CIA, because he knows about the experiments they carry out on people, and about the aliens that have been visiting the earth.  Every phonecall is a potential spy tring to track him down, every news story a coded message.  That's his belief. 

Society would deem this man irrational (probably paranoid, maybe suffering a mental illness) unless he could show us documented evidence of these claims. 

That same man would be deemed rational if he could point out real CIA agents following him around, show us un-faked photographs of aliens, and show consistent cyphers that explain the coded messages and tie these messages to real world events. 

In my opinion, rationality it is not quite perspective, but evidence which causes the majority of people to agree on the same perspective.

I understand where you are going with this, but your argument doesn't support itself. 

You started off by using molecular expansion (and contraction) of metal (copper) as one of your examples. Today it is a scientific fact. The problem is, it was a scientific fact even thousands of years ago. Certainly people noticed metals expanding when heated and contracting when chilled. They didn't understand why it happened, but they were aware it would happen.

Let's approach this from a different angle. When I look at the color red, I know I see red. When I look at the color blue, I know it is blue and it is a totally different color than red. But how do I KNOW you see (or perceive) the color red the same way I do? Could it be possible your interpretation of the color red might in fact be my interpretation of the color blue? How would we ever know for sure? How does one explain a color to another person? In fact your perception of color might be completely different from mine altogether. Perhaps every individual human has his or her own unique perception and understanding of color which is totally different from everyone else. There is no way to prove you see and perceive a color the same way I do. We just assume we do.

[David In Indy]

I picked the first choice, but need to qualify it a bit. I've seen a ghost, and so I believe in that one. Far as other ghosts, I guess I'm keeping an semi-open mind. If someone I know and trust as a reasonable person says they've seen a ghost, I'm more likely to believe it.

You sound fairly certain you saw a ghost. Why then would it be difficult to believe others see them too?

Besides, it's almost Halloween! 

[2robots4u]

Very interesting subject, and I have a story:  When I purchased my condo and moved in, I unpacked everything bewfore deciding where to put things.  One item in particular was an English Clock with a glass dome, with 4 globes at the botom that moved, operated by battery, but no battery was in the clock.  One day I came into the bedroom where the clock was and it was operating, with the correct time, but no battery was in it.  The next day it wasn't operating, but it was several days later.  This went on for a few weeks, along with other small things being moved.  I happened to mention this to my neighbor who had been in the building several months longer than me, jokingly saying I had a "guest".  My neighbor then told me the story of a homeless person dying in a fire when the building was left unattented during convertion from apartments to condos.  And, he says, the death occurred in what eventually became my condo (the bldg was gutted and those units were enlarged to create the condos).  I never had a problem with my "guest", and never rearranged anything that was changed, presumable by him.  I guess he was content, and I never thought anymore agbout it.

Then one calm spring day I was reading in the living room when I felt a cool blush of air against my cheek, heard a tinkle (like a high-pitched bell), and saw 2 slats of the verticle blinds at the balcony door shimmer (the door was closed and locked).  At that moment I experienced a very strange calming sensation, and remember saying aloud "goodbye".  When I next went into the bedroom, the clock had stoped at the exact time my "guest" departed, and it has never worked since..about 5 years, and still shows that time.

I like to think my "guest" is now at peace in a place of his choosing, but if ever he decides to return, I think it will be acceptable as he was not the destructive ghost/spirit we hear about, but a kind one, and he had a sense of humor (based on some of the "happenings" he engaged in).

   

[David In Indy]

Very interesting subject, and I have a story:  When I purchased my condo and moved in, I unpacked everything bewfore deciding where to put things.  One item in particular was an English Clock with a glass dome, with 4 globes at the botom that moved, operated by battery, but no battery was in the clock.  One day I came into the bedroom where the clock was and it was operating, with the correct time, but no battery was in it.  The next day it wasn't operating, but it was several days later.  This went on for a few weeks, along with other small things being moved.  I happened to mention this to my neighbor who had been in the building several months longer than me, jokingly saying I had a "guest".  My neighbor then told me the story of a homeless person dying in a fire when the building was left unattented during convertion from apartments to condos.  And, he says, the death occurred in what eventually became my condo (the bldg was gutted and those units were enlarged to create the condos).  I never had a problem with my "guest", and never rearranged anything that was changed, presumable by him.  I guess he was content, and I never thought anymore agbout it.

Then one calm spring day I was reading in the living room when I felt a cool blush of air against my cheek, heard a tinkle (like a high-pitched bell), and saw 2 slats of the verticle blinds at the balcony door shimmer (the door was closed and locked).  At that moment I experienced a very strange calming sensation, and remember saying aloud "goodbye".  When I next went into the bedroom, the clock had stoped at the exact time my "guest" departed, and it has never worked since..about 5 years, and still shows that time.

I like to think my "guest" is now at peace in a place of his choosing, but if ever he decides to return, I think it will be acceptable as he was not the destructive ghost/spirit we hear about, but a kind one, and he had a sense of humor (based on some of the "happenings" he engaged in).

   

That was great! Thanks for posting it.

I love reading about things like this, especially when it involves a friendly spirit. I always try to remember ghosts are people too. They just don't have their bodies anymore. And just like people, some are friendly, others are mean or angry, and some even have a great sense of humor. 

[2robots4u]

When I first moved to San Diego in 1985 I did all the tourist stuff, got involved with a group of photographers and did the tourist thing all over again.  There are several haunted places in Old Town San Diego that I did not know about when the following occurred:

One afternoon my friend Diane and I went to the small cemetery in Old Town to try to photography the grave markers.  Upon arrival she walked one way and me the other..this place is only about 50-70 feet square...suddenly I stopped dead (pardon the pun) in my tracks because I sensed something near me.  I just looked around, making no sudden moves, and called for Diane to come to me.  She got to about 10 feet of me and asked me what was wrong.  When I asked if she felt or heard anything she replied only the wind.  But there was no wind, at least where I was, so I thought no more about it.  Then one day I learned about a tour of haunted places and decided to take it.  Of the 10 of us in the group, only 2 of us..me and the tour guide..had a "sensation".  I have been back to that cemetery many times in the last 15 years, and I have the same sensation.  I never see, feel, or hear anything; just a sensation that something is there with me.

Another incident occurred the day before I got the news of my grandmother's death.  I had just gone to bed, so I don 't know if this happened via a dream or in my conscience mind, but I remember an entity standing at the foot of my bed, not speaking or moving. After what seemed a very long time, it began to desolve, and then I think I recognized it as my grandfather who had died in 1963.  At about 930 the following morning the phone rang.  I picked it up and simply asked when she died.  It was my brother with that news, and the time was 1045P the previous night...the same time as my vision. My grandfather was always protective of me when I was a child, and I believe it was his way of preparing me for the news, and although I would not see her again, I knew they would be together.  Hopefully, someday, maybe I'll also be with them...Doug

[iluvchocolate]

yes I do belive in ghosts.  I also believe that loved ones spirits hang over us..... sorta like the movie ghost

[horo35]

Ghosts...do they exsit? Possibly.  I believe in an after life..but do we run around haunting houses and stuff?  Hard to say...I haven't died yet!  I guess we'll all find out the truth sooner or later...preferbly much later!

[Marge_Innavera]

I have to say that while a gravitational eddy is simply the explaination of someone desperate to fill the blank in "I don't know why that happened",  I still believe that there is a rational explaination for things. 

The thing is it's ok to say "I don't know" without that automatically meaning "A ghost did it!"

Or automatically coming up with a "logical explanation" that's about 10 times loopier than "a ghost did it". However, that's irrelevant as I wasn't speaking of any supernatural goings-on. Telekenesis has zilch to do with ghosts.

By the way, if you have control over your telekinetic powers to any degree, there is an organisation offering a  $1million reward for proof of any supernatural, paranormal or occult gift or event.
http://www.randi.org/research/index.html

Randi is a nutso fanatic who has built his entire life and career on "debunking". This would NOT be any kind of rational or objective venue to approach, even if I had control over the telekenetic episodes, which I don't.  And the "reward" is an exact counterpart to the "rewards" offered by organized Holocaust deniers. The reward will never be given out, as no amount of evidence of any kind would be acceptable to them.

I hope this doesn't come across as an attack on your belief in the paranormal, but I am an adherent to the "Western superstition", and felt compelled to explain my position.

Yes, superstitions do die hard.

[Marge_Innavera]

Ghosts...do they exsit? Possibly.  I believe in an after life..but do we run around haunting houses and stuff?  Hard to say...I haven't died yet!  I guess we'll all find out the truth sooner or later...preferbly much later!

I have three theories as to what ghosts are, other than instances of hoaxes and overheated imaginations:

1) A person who has died a sudden and violent death (which seems to be the context of most haunted houses) and is a little disoriented, not knowing for a little while what's happened. And since time as we know it doesn't likely operate the same way on the other side, "a little while" could be anywhere from a few seconds to a few centuries.

2) Someone who has unfinished business of some kind. People who have had near-death experiences often remark that they didn't want to come back but did because someone in their lives needed them, usually minor children.

3) Just something on the order of leftover energy that the living person is seeing or hearing as a ghost.

These aren't, of course, mutually exclusive so if there's anything to these theories all three could be operative.

[delalluvia]

Randi is a nutso fanatic who has built his entire life and career on "debunking". This would NOT be any kind of rational or objective venue to approach, even if I had control over the telekenetic episodes, which I don't.  And the "reward" is an exact counterpart to the "rewards" offered by organized Holocaust deniers. The reward will never be given out, as no amount of evidence of any kind would be acceptable to them.

I'm going to have to disagree here, Marge.  Randi is a quite rational man whose scientific method is well established.  If you read his books - and his work is backed up by CSCICOP - his approaches are not only rational, they're extremely objective.  He forces no one to come to him, the people who approach him claim they have a supernatural talent that they can control and display.

He merely sets up the conditions under which they are tested.  Being a magician himself, he is well aware of scammers and fakers and how they dupe others.  Sometimes these people are con jobs, other times they truly believe they can do these things and end up not being able to demonstrate that they can.

Science is all about empirical evidence.  Being able to measure something.  They can't test something unless what is being tested can be repeated.

They can't test your telekinetic episodes if you can't reproduce the ability on demand so it would be a useless exercise.  Kelpersmek pretty much laid it out.  If you have control over it, your ability should be tested.  If you don't have control over it, there's nothing to test.

That's not saying you don't have these episodes, it's simply saying that there is no scientific basis for them until someone with such abilities who has control over them comes forward to be tested and then there will be.

[David In Indy]

Congratulations Dellaluvia On Your 1000th Post!!

[delalluvia]

Congratulations Dellaluvia On Your 1000th Post!!

 

Here I was following my count for a week, then forgot all about it tonight when I was posting.

Yay me!!

[David In Indy]

Here I was following my count for a week, then forgot all about it tonight when I was posting.

Yay me!!

Well, I have a drink waiting for you over in the +1000 Posts Club...

http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php?topic=1579.msg115167;topicseen#msg115167

And if you don't drink, I'll buy you a cold glass of lemonade, a soda or a cup of coffee!! 

[Marge_Innavera]

Randi is a quite rational man whose scientific method is well established.  If you read his books - and his work is backed up by CSCICOP - his approaches are not only rational, they're extremely objective.  He forces no one to come to him, the people who approach him claim they have a supernatural talent that they can control and display.

He merely sets up the conditions under which they are tested.  Being a magician himself, he is well aware of scammers and fakers and how they dupe others.  Sometimes these people are con jobs, other times they truly believe they can do these things and end up not being able to demonstrate that they can.

Randi's whole POV is that they are all either scammers and fakes or victims of their own imaginations. He approaches the whole issue with George W. Bush approach: don't waste your time, I know the answers. I saw a thorough PBS report of his participation in a test of homeopathy, and it was a farce. It was based on seeing whether or not homeopathy could do something totally outside its claims. That is not research, it's a fundamentalist mentality.  IMO, as a magician he is quite well versed in playing to peoples' fears and to wishful thinking, and that includes the anxiety in the Western psyche over control and categorization.  He's a very good manipulator; that doesn't make him reliable.

Science is all about empirical evidence.  Being able to measure something.  They can't test something unless what is being tested can be repeated.

Yes, physical science is all about that, which is one of its limitations.

They can't test your telekinetic episodes if you can't reproduce the ability on demand so it would be a useless exercise.  Kelpersmek pretty much laid it out.  If you have control over it, your ability should be tested.  If you don't have control over it, there's nothing to test  That's not saying you don't have these episodes, it's simply saying that there is no scientific basis for them until someone with such abilities who has control over them comes forward to be tested and then there will be.

What I'm saying is that consulting the people Kelp recommended would be a total waste of time, as I'm sure he was well aware to begin with.

[delalluvia]

Randi's whole POV is that they are all either scammers and fakes or victims of their own imaginations. He approaches the whole issue with George W. Bush approach: don't waste your time, I know the answers.

Well, that's because no one has ever stepped up to the plate and proved him wrong.  Until that happens, I'd say he's standing on pretty firm ground.  People who make claims outside what is accepted have to prove their claims, if they don't or can't then [shrug].

I saw a thorough PBS report of his participation in a test of homeopathy, and it was a farce. It was based on seeing whether or not homeopathy could do something totally outside its claims. That is not research, it's a fundamentalist mentality.

I didn't see it and don't know what homeopathy claims to do, so I can't comment on this.  It's likely he was referring to one specific case.  i.e. someone had a very specific claim that homeopathy could do something (generally not accepted by other practitioners) and he proved them incorrect.

IMO, as a magician he is quite well versed in playing to peoples' fears and to wishful thinking, and that includes the anxiety in the Western psyche over control and categorization.  He's a very good manipulator; that doesn't make him reliable.

Well, other people - scientists and skeptics - laud his work, so apparently he's not so much 'manipulating' as doing a very good job of testing.  Yes, he's a magician, so he puts on a really good show because he DOES know what people want to see.  He knows what they expect and so he frames his tests around what a normal person would expect.  That's called knowing your audience.

Yes, physical science is all about that, which is one of its limitations.

Well, physical science is the only empirical science there is.  That's what it's supposed to do.  I don't see that as a limitation. 

What I'm saying is that consulting the people Kelp recommended would be a total waste of time, as I'm sure he was well aware to begin with.

We are all in agreement here.  Unless you can control your episodes and make them happen at will, there's no point.  Your ability cannot be scientifically tested nor proven.

[Marge_Innavera]

Well, that's because no one has ever stepped up to the plate and proved him wrong.  Until that happens, I'd say he's standing on pretty firm ground.

That's a bit like saying that no one has ever stepped up to the plate and proved Holocaust deniers wrong. The "reward" that Kelpersmek disingenuously referred to will never be collected because no proof is ever enough for fanatics.

People who make claims outside what is accepted have to prove their claims, if they don't or can't then [shrug].

Assuming that everyone is interested in proving them, especially to True Believers. It's usually a waste of time.

I didn't see it and don't know what homeopathy claims to do, so I can't comment on this.  It's likely he was referring to one specific case.  i.e. someone had a very specific claim that homeopathy could do something (generally not accepted by other practitioners) and he proved them incorrect.

Idid see it, so I can comment on this. There was no specific case. What his "panel of researchers" did was to take some of the ingredients homeopathy uses, dilute them to the strength normally used (we're talking extremely diluted solutions here), put them in test tubes and then waited to see if there were any changes in the distilled water used. Of course there wasn't, and Randi and his followers crowed that they had "proven homeopathy wrong."

Of course, they didn't bother to mention, or perhaps didn't care to find out (see GW Bush, et. al) that the way homeopathy operates, it has to interact with the rest of the body. Their experiement was equivalent to taking out everything under the hood of a car other than the engine and then proclaiming the engine to be defective because the car won't start.

Well, other people - scientists and skeptics - laud his work, so apparently he's not so much 'manipulating' as doing a very good job of testing. 

By that standard, Intelligent Design should be taught in every university on the planet. Not impressed.

Yes, he's a magician, so he puts on a really good show because he DOES know what people want to see.  He knows what they expect and so he frames his tests around what a normal person would expect.  That's called knowing your audience.

That's rather obvious.

Well, physical science is the only empirical science there is.  That's what it's supposed to do.  I don't see that as a limitation. 

Right; it's the only empirical science there is. It's limited in terms of anything outside those boundaries.

We are all in agreement here.

Obviously, "we" are not as you're addressing another member of this forum who isn't in agreement.

  Unless you can control your episodes and make them happen at will, there's no point.  Your ability cannot be scientifically tested nor proven.

Actually, I never said I was interested. There's no reason I should be.

[delalluvia]

That's a bit like saying that no one has ever stepped up to the plate and proved Holocaust deniers wrong. The "reward" that Kelpersmek disingenuously referred to will never be collected because no proof is ever enough for fanatics.

You can't prove a negative.  You have to prove a claim.  Holocaust claimants have certainly done that.  Randi and the scientific community say that no supernatural abilities exist.  Other people claim they do.  The burden lies on the claimant to prove it.

Assuming that everyone is interested in proving them, especially to True Believers. It's usually a waste of time.

Why wouldn't they be?  Rather than be considered wishful thinkers?

I did see it, so I can comment on this. There was no specific case. What his "panel of researchers" did was to take some of the ingredients homeopathy uses, dilute them to the strength normally used (we're talking extremely diluted solutions here), put them in test tubes and then waited to see if there were any changes in the distilled water used. Of course there wasn't, and Randi and his followers crowed that they had "proven homeopathy wrong."

Well, actually that's a pretty good test.  The body is over 70% water and water is known as the universal solvent.  If the ingredients don't react with water, what hope is there that they're going to react with anything else in the body when most of the other chemicals in the body are in a water solution?  SEE EDIT BELOW.

By that standard, Intelligent Design should be taught in every university on the planet. Not impressed.

Um, that's incorrect seeing as how ID doesn't pass the same types of testing.

ht; it's the only empirical science there is. It's limited in terms of anything outside those boundaries.

Well, if phenomenon is outside those boundaries then it's not scientifically provable and thus, not a science as per the definition.

Obviously, "we" are not as you're addressing another member of this forum who isn't in agreement.

No, Kelp also agreed that you had to be in control of your kinetic episodes to be tested otherwise it was a waste of time.

Actually, I never said I was interested. There's no reason I should be.

There are many reasons you should be, if nothing more than making a name for yourself in history and adding to the knowledge of the world, your abilities might help in the study of the human brain and save human lives and improve the standard of living for humans in the future.

EDITED TO ADD:  After reading Marge's post, I went and googled the homeopathic test she was talking about.  Here's a good summary of it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2002/homeopathytrans.shtml

[LauraGigs]

I was the youngest kid in my family and was alone in the house a lot. My oldest sis had died when I was 5 and she was 19. During the day I would wander into the back yard a lot; it seemed like there was a quiet presence there, and if I were to 'find' her, it would be there. I don't know if I really felt her, though. Just a presense.

When I was alone in the house at night, I'd get spooked out easily. What didn't help was the fact that my room was at the very end of this long hallway. As you walked down this hallway, there was this large portrait facing you of my long-dead grandpa and his twin brother when they were boys. This being an old, large photo, they were staring straight at the camera with these wide-eyed, unsmiling expressions. (Spooky as f^ck.)

Anyway, back to the yard: mom told me pretty recently that before we moved in, a man had died in the backyard — either a suicide or was struck by lightning (the latter seeming unlikely since the yard was full of very tall trees). I was like, "thanks for freakin' telling me!"

My mom was a realtor and sometimes would drag me along to empty homes she was showing. On a couple of occasions I would sense bad 'vibes' in the house — just a sad, bad feeling. No orbs or other visible/audible signs though. I was definitely more attuned to those feelings of awareness as a child than later.  (It was kind of a relief to stop having them.)

[Brown Eyes]

I'm reviving this really old topic because I feel the need to report some spooky things that have happened in my apartment in the past several months.  My toilet has flushed itself and/or gurgled dramatically when no one was in the bathroom (or had used it recently).  The faucets in the bathroom turned on once.  And, my DVD player has turned itself on once and opened the little drawer where you insert the discs.  Actually, when the DVD player opened itself, it pushed a DVD case that was in front of it, off the TV stand.
 

I feel that I can explain the toilet and even maybe the faucet issue as a water-pressure thing.  I live in a very old building (built in the 1920s) and I live on the 2nd floor of 9.  So, maybe the water pressure in the old pipes at the bottom of such a tall building could get a little kooky.  I do have really strong water pressure in the shower. 

But, all of that combined with the bizarre behavior of my DVD player really is a little spooky. 

[injest]

ok I am glad you DID revive it....cause I want to ask a question.

WHY do ghosts have clothes on??

I mean if they are just the soul of the people then why does the clothes get turned into spirit form??

does anyone know?

Has anyone seen a nekkid ghost?

[Brown Eyes]

ok I am glad you DID revive it....cause I want to ask a question.

WHY do ghosts have clothes on??

I mean if they are just the soul of the people then why does the clothes get turned into spirit form??

does anyone know?

Has anyone seen a nekkid ghost?

LOL    That's a great question Jess.  Since I've never actually seen a ghost, I guess I can't really answer that.  As far as movies, etc. go, the clothing on ghosts is probably just the product of the over-active imaginations of artistic directors on set.

The most I've ever experienced have been things like bumps in the night and now the faucet/toilet/DVD-player situation that I just described.  I've also heard some quite convincing stories by people I trust.  So, I voted that, "yes, I do believe in ghosts, but have never seen one" (I voted that long ago) and I'm sticking to it. 

LOL, in this situation with the faucet that turns itself on, I'm hoping that now that I'm the pet-parent to a black cat that she can somehow protect me.

[injest]

LOL    That's a great question Jess.  Since I've never actually seen a ghost, I guess I can't really answer that.  As far as movies, etc. go, the clothing on ghosts is probably just the product of the over-active imaginations of artistic directors on set.

The most I've ever experienced have been things like bumps in the night and now the faucet/toilet/DVD-player situation that I just described.  I've also heard some quite convincing stories by people I trust.  So, I voted that, "yes, I do believe in ghosts, but have never seen one" (I voted that long ago) and I'm sticking to it. 

LOL, in this situation with the faucet that turns itself on, I'm hoping that now that I'm the pet-parent to a black cat that she can somehow protect me.

I blame ALL spooky noises on my cats....

the lady I work with said she was in bed with her husband and the TV turned itself on...nothing but snow...they tried the remote and that didnt' turn it off...so he got up and hit the button...it STILL didn't go off..

then they unplugged it...









and it STILL STAYED ON!!!

said it ran for about five minutes and then quit.





and they STAYED there!




I myself would have insisted we move that night.....wouldn't even get dressed...

[Jeff Wrangler]

ok I am glad you DID revive it....cause I want to ask a question.

WHY do ghosts have clothes on??

I mean if they are just the soul of the people then why does the clothes get turned into spirit form??

does anyone know?

Has anyone seen a nekkid ghost?

Hmm. Just imagine Patrick Swayze with no clothes on. ... 

[Brown Eyes]

I blame ALL spooky noises on my cats....

the lady I work with said she was in bed with her husband and the TV turned itself on...nothing but snow...they tried the remote and that didnt' turn it off...so he got up and hit the button...it STILL didn't go off..

then they unplugged it...









and it STILL STAYED ON!!!

said it ran for about five minutes and then quit.





and they STAYED there!




I myself would have insisted we move that night.....wouldn't even get dressed...

That's definitely scary.   

The scariest thing that I know of in terms of "ghostly" activity actually happened to my parents in their current house.  One night around midnight a teapot that my Mom had displayed way up on the top of high cupboards in the kitchen fell down on its own... the scary part was that it was ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE KITCHEN!!  Not directly below where it had been displayed.  My Mom had been in the den on the computer and came running into the kitchen to see what happened.  My Dad was asleep upstairs.  I still can't quite get over that one.

Hmm. Just imagine Patrick Swayze with no clothes on. ... 

    Ghost is definitely a silly movie.

[LauraGigs]

  . . .  Makes me think I ought to be more careful how I dress!  I could wind up wearing these old sweat pants for eternity, and everyone would see me in them!

LOL SunShadow!!   

[ZK]

I am staying in a hotel in Dunedin on the weekend which according to my colleagues has a resident ghost in room 319 (I think).   I am going to request to stay in the room. Will let you know next week if things went bump in the night

[injest]

I am staying in a hotel in Dunedin on the weekend which according to my colleagues has a resident ghost in room 319 (I think).   I am going to request to stay in the room. Will let you know next week if things went bump in the night

!!!!!!!!!!!!

DON'T DO IT!!!

Jeez!! DO you WANT to be haunted???

[Brown Eyes]

I am staying in a hotel in Dunedin on the weekend which according to my colleagues has a resident ghost in room 319 (I think).   I am going to request to stay in the room. Will let you know next week if things went bump in the night

That's certainly very brave of you!  Let us know what happens!  Do you consider yourself something of a ghost hunter?