Do you believe, or experience, ghost(s)?

[Dragonbite]

It's that time of year, the time when thoughts of 'things that go bump in the night' start creeping up (and creeping out) in people's mind!

So, do you have any experience with ghosts/demons/spirits/etc.? Do you believe in their existance?

Please remember,
Discussions on religion and politics are not allowed, except for politics directly related to free and open source issues.
This is meant to be fun thread, and to see what, if any, experiences people have had!

[DangerOnTheRanger]

No to both questions. In any case, I've yet to see something that can outsmart bullet, so I feel pretty secure :)

[BrokenKingpin]

No, not in the traditional concept of a ghost anyways. I do believe there are things in this world that we just don't understand.

I do love horror movies about them though!

[Kantis]

If I did, I would take them to meet James Randi and claim the million dollar prize! http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html

[ubupirate]

I ain't afraid of no ghosts.



+5 points to anyone knowing that reference.

[Dragonbite]

I ain't afraid of no ghosts.



+5 points to anyone knowing that reference.

GhostBusters! :popcorn:

[satanselbow]

GhostBusters! :popcorn:

Ray Parker Jnr was last seen doing cheesy phone adverts in the UK - a true ghost of a man :(

[Nico-dk]

It's from one-hit wonder Ray Parker jr's song Ghostbuster ... not sure if that line's ever spoken in the movie


On topic:
Nope and nope ... and if this was a supernatural thread in general, consider this:

What if the light at the end of the tunnel, is really you looking out through you new moms womb?

[Gawains Green Knight]

I'm a big believer in overactive imaginations, but I love a good ghost story as much as anyone!

[johnnybgoode83]

I hate Halloween

[Nico-dk]

... and a little science on some ghost stories

http://www.cracked.com/article_19506_6-scary-tricks-that-amazed-us-as-kids-explained-by-science.html

[Dragonbite]

I have never experienced a discernible paranormal encounter myself. At least nothing that I can, at the time or now looking back, think of it as paranormal activity.

My wife's grandmother lived in a house attached to the old jailhouse in upper New Hampshire and swears it is haunted and has told me some of the activities she's observed..

Our library had a talk by Joe and Orlando of the CPRS (Connecticut Paranormal Research Society (http://www.cprs.info/index.html)). It was interesting, though I wouldn't say it has made a believer out of us.

On their site they have video and audio "evidence". Their last video entry, "Enfield Attack, Growl, Strange Anomaly", was an interesting one.

Then again, our church and next-door parsonage (where the pastor lives) are supposedly haunted according to a couple of people telling us independently.

I won't discount it, but I also have no personal proof to sway me one way or the other.

[Random_Dude]

I don't believe in ghosts, neither have I experienced anything.

For some reason, horror movies involving ghosts seem to scare people more than other genres.
I don't know if anyone has the same experience, but I know plenty of people who will watch any kind of horror movie, expect if it involves ghosts.

[meh_phistopheles]

absolutely not. they're fun stories though

[lisati]

I've seen what might be interpreted as the ghost of a cat, and I don't mind occasionally being thrilled/entertained by movies that involve ghosts in some way.

[odiseo77]

I don't believe in ghosts, but I love ghosts' stories and movies.

[beew]

No and no, and even if someone did "experience" ghosts,--as many claim,--how do they know that is ghost? Maybe their senses has fooled them? First person accounts are notoriously unreliable, otherwise they won't need to subject eye witnesses to cross examinations in court.

[Gremlinzzz]

YES,i believe everything could be possible,But do GHOST believe in me?
:popcorn:

[BrokenKingpin]

I hate Halloween
Halloween is my favourite time of the year by far.

[IWantFroyo]

No, not in the traditional concept of a ghost anyways. I do believe there are things in this world that we just don't understand.

I do love horror movies about them though!

Same here. I don't believe there are things floating around yelling "Boo," but there's a lot of stuff I don't understand.

I do have a story however. I have absolutely no clue what this was however. I have this bunk bed, and my room's light is mounted to it. One night, I couldn't sleep, so I flicked the light on. I was sitting there, sort of tired, when I glance at the wall, and see a shadow of some floating medusa-head/bush/jellyfish bobbing around.

I practically had a heart attack. I grabbed a knife and got out of bed, but there was nothing in the room.

[krapp]

Same here. I don't believe there are things floating around yelling "Boo," but there's a lot of stuff I don't understand.

I do have a story however. I have absolutely no clue what this was however. I have this bunk bed, and my room's light is mounted to it. One night, I couldn't sleep, so I flicked the light on. I was sitting there, sort of tired, when I glance at the wall, and see a shadow of some floating medusa-head/bush/jellyfish bobbing around.

I practically had a heart attack. I grabbed a knife and got out of bed, but there was nothing in the room.

Sounds like hypnagogic imagery. I've woken up to forms flitting around the room but too sleepy to get worked up about it. I don't remember experiencing any paranormal phenomena, though to be honest I wouldn't mind, for what it would imply about spiritual matters. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnogogia#Sensory_phenomena

I tend to be a materialist in this matter, i.e. ghost sightings are tricks played by the mind and, more remotely, culture.

[fatality_uk]

Here's a thought!

Kwabena Boahen, a TED contributor, has proposed that to make a processor as smart as the human brain would require at least 10 megawatts to operate. Even if that's off by a factor of 100, that's still a LOT of energy.

We know energy can't be destroyed, only the state changed.

We know the human brain can survive for many minutes after the body has stopped and still work.

So, when someone dies, on occasion, might that energy be coalesced into a form that potentially still survive and draw further energy to maintain it's form in the same way some interstellar energy clouds have been observed to do.

BAD SCIENCE

[leclerc65]

Yes to both questions.
While young, my favorite subjects were trigonometry, geometry & thermodynamics, my TV favorite was Mr Spock - so I consider myself more to be on the logical side than emotional one. Yes , there are things in life we cannot, and will not - ever - be able to explain.

[cgroza]

I believe they start existing as soon as you believe in them... in your head...

[haqking]

I believe (know) that we are all energy, and energy cannot be destroyed but only changes form.

How that change or form manifests itself when it comes to death we will never know, other than that energy goes somewhere.

[beew]

I believe (know) that we are all energy, and energy cannot be destroyed but only changes form.

How that change or form manifests itself when it comes to death we will never know, other than that energy goes somewhere.

Energy is not the issue, entropy is. Energy conserves but entropy always increases (for closed systems), this is the second law of thermodynamics. So energy, while conserves, it get degraded and structures lose their cohesion after a while.

[krapp]

On the other hand, you won't catch me using a Ouija board, or attempting to contact spirits which may not exist.

[Gremlinzzz]

Your part of the universe,you were made from star matter.so unless you leave the universe your GHOST EXIST:popcorn:


The Ghost In You

[Linuxratty]

If I did, I would take them to meet James Randi and claim the million dollar prize! http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html

Nope,not superstitious at all..Yeah,James Randi has sure hung onto that cool million for a long time now.

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

Years ago, I lived with my family in an old house. There was a long hallway that essentially started at the front door and ended at the back door of the house. Ocassionaly, you could hear something that sounded like someone walking very fast down the hallway. It was strange to be watching TV in the living room, hear someone walking down the hallway, then look down the hallway and see no one there. Some fimily members tought it was a ghost. They also told stories of previous owners dying in the house.

I eventually became the owner of the house. It was a pier-and-beam foundation. When I looked under the house, there was a beam that was under the hallway. Wood has grains that causes it to bend when it swells or contracts from mosture and temperature changes. The beam was poorly supported and free to move. When the temperature changed along with changes in humidity, the beam would bend; thus, causing the sound through friction between the wooden floor and supporting beams.

Was there a ghost -- No.
Was it intertaing -- Yes.
Did it freak people out -- Definitely.

[meh_phistopheles]

I eventually became the owner of the house. It was a pier-and-beam foundation. When I looked under the house, there was a beam that was under the hallway. Wood has grains that causes it to bend when it swells or contracts from mosture and temperature changes. The beam was poorly supported and free to move. When the temperature changed along with changes in humidity, the beam would bend; thus, causing the sould through friction between the wooden floor and supporting beams.

that's pretty funny. it actually gave me a sudden, inspiring thought too. if i ever hypothetically became a contractor/construction person, i would be a complete troll and hide some device in one of the walls that makes a slow thudding sound and then the sounds of a little child giggling. i would set it so the device goes off only one night every 3 months at like 3am.

yup, i think i'm going to do that.

[Primefalcon]

Yes I do believe and yes... I have seen/felt things... I don't beleive in horror stories though :)

[Dragonbite]

Same here. I don't believe there are things floating around yelling "Boo," but there's a lot of stuff I don't understand.

I do have a story however. I have absolutely no clue what this was however. I have this bunk bed, and my room's light is mounted to it. One night, I couldn't sleep, so I flicked the light on. I was sitting there, sort of tired, when I glance at the wall, and see a shadow of some floating medusa-head/bush/jellyfish bobbing around.

I practically had a heart attack. I grabbed a knife and got out of bed, but there was nothing in the room.

Whether you call it a ghost, or a shadowman, or a demon or whatever then I would lump it under a ghost of some sort or at least a possible paranormal encounter. If nothing else, to give it a fun category :)

[Dragonbite]

Here's a thought!

Kwabena Boahen, a TED contributor, has proposed that to make a processor as smart as the human brain would require at least 10 megawatts to operate. Even if that's off by a factor of 100, that's still a LOT of energy.

We know energy can't be destroyed, only the state changed.

We know the human brain can survive for many minutes after the body has stopped and still work.

So, when someone dies, on occasion, might that energy be coalesced into a form that potentially still survive and draw further energy to maintain it's form in the same way some interstellar energy clouds have been observed to do.

BAD SCIENCE

The guys from the paranormal society did say that they had to be careful about powerstations and the like because they seem to attract the ghosts.

I think those guys categorized the spirits by

ghost (or shadow) = harmless
poltergeist = mischievous
demon = dangerous

[HermanAB]

Obligatory Geek answer:
Daemons: Yes, you can schedule anything with xinetd.
Ghost: No, I use dd.

[NCLI]

No.

[Paqman]

Here's a thought!

Kwabena Boahen, a TED contributor, has proposed that to make a processor as smart as the human brain would require at least 10 megawatts to operate. Even if that's off by a factor of 100, that's still a LOT of energy.


Sure but the actual human brain requires a lot less. You only need about 10MJ a day to run your entire body, which even if your body converted it at 100% efficiency (which it doesn't) is an average of about 115W, of which your brain would only be a fraction.



We know energy can't be destroyed, only the state changed.


Sure, but the energy in your brain is stored in the chemical bonds within and between molecules. The only state they're going to change into is other molecules and waste heat.



We know the human brain can survive for many minutes after the body has stopped and still work.


It only survives for as long as it has oxygen. Once it uses up all the oxygen in the blood, it's stuffed.



REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY BAD SCIENCE

FTFY! ;)

[Gremlinzzz]

I've seen a ghost and people I know have claim to have seen em.
for one my brother in law,he was working at Remington Arms is located at 812 Barnum Avenue in Bridgeport Connecticut.while working he said he would hear voices and shadows of people going past a fog thick glass window in a hall way the factory was deserted.the last straw which made him leave the job.he sub contracts,floor coverer.his razor knife which was on the floor slid from one side of the room too the other.:popcorn:

[Dry Lips]

- I knew a Irish girl who told me that her family experienced a poltergeist. No one was in the kitchen when all of a sudden they head this awful noise, like someone going completely bananas. Plates, cups and stuff were thrown all over the place...

- My neighbour (an old geezer) says he's spoken to dead people, and he also has experienced what he calls "beings of light."

- When I was a kid we lived in this really old mansion for three months. We never experienced anything strange, but the family who lived there after us heard footsteps and stuff at night. Today it is some kind of medical centre, and last winter I spoke with someone who works there. Basically they said the place is haunted, people still hear see and hear strange stuff there...

- There's also a story in my family that goes like this: the mother of my great-grandmother was working in the kitchen when she sees the son of a neighbour walking by the window outside. So later that day when she met her neighbour she greeted her and said, oh, I see your son has returned... Her neighbour got pale and replied, “my son died a few days ago.”

- This isn't the only stories that I've heard. I could easily relate a few more that I've heard directly from people who have had such experiences.

–--

My personal opinion: People see and hear stuff, but it isn't dead people. Dead people go to sleep, and what people experience is in reality spirits/demons who enjoy messing with people.