Do you believe in 'ghosts'?

[Bump2021]

I'm not a woo person by nature, I'm more of a sceptic but there has been two or three occasions where I've encountered something unexplainable.

Do you believe in the paranormal?

YANBU - yes (please explain why)
YABU - no, it's a load of bollocks

Absolutely not.

1. Perception & False positive Vs false negative. In evolutionary terms, a false negative is deadly. "Did I just see a predator out of the corner of my eye". False negative means you got eaten. False positive means you ran away from a tree but you live to fight (and breed) another day. So our brains have evolved to see things that aren't there.

1. The concept of a ghost as a traumatised / restless spirit with unfinished business is an invention of gothic literature. Before that 'ghosts' were generally religious figures, like saints, appearing to the faithful.

1. The vast majority of human history has been horrific. People suffered, starved and died brutal deaths at the end of short, brutal lives. Where are their ghosts? Isn't it a bit of a coincidence that all the historic ghosts happen to be wearing clothing we are familiar with from costume drama?

1. People like simple explanations. So "it was a ghost" is a nice simple sentence with no big scary words. When you ask someone to specify what a ghost is, how it came to be, how it works within the laws of physics, etc etc it falls apart because it's such a vague term.

1. Having had to deal, in my professional life, with the fallout of a 13 year old girl bring taken to Pakistan to have the Djinn exorcised / beaten out of her by her parents and the holy man who told them this is why their daughter had physical and learning disabilities (nothing at all to do with generations of cousin marriage, of course) the concept of ghosts / spirits whatever other crap people want to tell stories of and get a little thrill from is beyond contempt.

No, but I didn't vote as I would not say it's bollocks, as not my style!

And before my mother passed away, my father came to me and said we should forgive before it's too late, he'd passed away a few years earlier, my mother died two weeks later. I don't know if that was my just my mind, my kosher and I were estranged. I never did fix things, but I've forgiven her since she passed nd it helped me to get back in touch with happy times we'd shared. I wish I'd listened

@Kendodd

What a load of bollocks, of course ghosts don't exist.

For those who think they do and have seen a ghost. What is it you think you've seen? Some dead person resurrected so they can walk around?

They aren't resurrected! They don't come back from the dead. I don't think they are sentient beings, more like energy that has been left behind.

I have had a few odd experiences. Most recently was a few days after my mum died. She died at home, and while talking about her a music box that hadn't been touched or moved in months started to play. My aunt and I had a look at each other as if to say wtf! But we just carried on talking.

A few years ago in another property, our boiler kept playing up. My dad who used to do some kitchen and bathroom work had a look, couldn't see the problem and called a couple of plumbers over. Neither could find a problem or get it to happen while they were there. It was only a couple of years old, and so had been regularly serviced and didn't have anything wrong with it. Well, the heating and hot water would randomly cut out and it went on for a few weeks. Talking to a woo friend she said next time it happens say this is my house now, you're annoying me and leave me alone! The next time it happened whilst washing my hair and it turning freezing, out of sheer desperation I said it. It never happened again. We lived in the house for a few years after and it didn't happen anymore after that.

@Annamaywong25

I once had it explained to me like this by someone very well read on the subject - The body is a physical being which can obviously die. The soul/mind of a person, their "consciousness"....is not a physical thing....therefore cannot die with the body. It will sometimes linger, or sometimes will find another "host" body....ie. reincarnation. Very interesting subject whether you believe in it or not.

But of course consciousness is a product of the body — insofar as science currently understands it, it’s a matter of brain activity. When the body dies, consciousness dies with it.

SirSamuel "Isn't it a bit of a coincidence that all the historic ghosts happen to be wearing clothing we are familiar with from costume drama?"

Clearly you aren't watching contemporary stuff!

Place marking for tomorrow

Saw a silhouette of a head and shoulders 👤 cast on a wall where it shouldn’t have been possible. Clocked immediately it wasn’t “right” and I swayed my head from side to side to confirm that it wasn’t me casting the shape. Flicked light on and back off immediately and it was gone. Didn’t really scare me (my Dad was in the next room and it was probably only about 8.30 pm) but still baffles me.

@SirSamuelVimes

Absolutely not.

1. Perception & False positive Vs false negative. In evolutionary terms, a false negative is deadly. "Did I just see a predator out of the corner of my eye". False negative means you got eaten. False positive means you ran away from a tree but you live to fight (and breed) another day. So our brains have evolved to see things that aren't there.

1. The concept of a ghost as a traumatised / restless spirit with unfinished business is an invention of gothic literature. Before that 'ghosts' were generally religious figures, like saints, appearing to the faithful.

1. The vast majority of human history has been horrific. People suffered, starved and died brutal deaths at the end of short, brutal lives. Where are their ghosts? Isn't it a bit of a coincidence that all the historic ghosts happen to be wearing clothing we are familiar with from costume drama?

1. People like simple explanations. So "it was a ghost" is a nice simple sentence with no big scary words. When you ask someone to specify what a ghost is, how it came to be, how it works within the laws of physics, etc etc it falls apart because it's such a vague term.

1. Having had to deal, in my professional life, with the fallout of a 13 year old girl bring taken to Pakistan to have the Djinn exorcised / beaten out of her by her parents and the holy man who told them this is why their daughter had physical and learning disabilities (nothing at all to do with generations of cousin marriage, of course) the concept of ghosts / spirits whatever other crap people want to tell stories of and get a little thrill from is beyond contempt.

Point 2 is definitely false.

Ghosts as souls that have not gone to where they were supposed to go exist in medieval literature from the 12th century.

Romans and ancient Egyptians also had the same /very similar beliefs.

Okay, this is now going to sound like bullshit of the highest order but...I was just reading this thread in the dark in the lounge (as DH has gone to bed and used Alexa to turn all the lamps off even though I was still up!)

And the sodding TV turned on.

At first I thought perhaps either me or one of the cats had accidentally touched the remote but I turned the torch on my iPhone on and the remote was on the table in front of me. No cats or anything else near it.

Have turned it back off and now upstairs with DH!

Should not read these threads at night as that made me really jump!

I'm not saying that was a ghost BTW.

Just a weird coincidence most likely (my other ghostly experiences have been much harder to explain away).

In our family so many things have happened that we can't help but believe. Years ago I lived next door to a young couple who had two little boys. Occasionally I would babysit by checking in their house about every 10-15 minutes. I hated going in there, it felt spooky. I used to take my dog in with me, and she didn't like it either. I didn't ever tell them how I felt. One day she came in for coffee and she was laughing about her husband. Their bathroom was downstairs at the back of the house, He'd got up in the night to go to the loo, and as he walked past their front room, an old lady's quavery voice said "Is that you, Jack?" He was so scared he ran back up to their bedroom, and in desperation had to pee out of the bedroom window. We asked around and apparently an elderly lady had lived in there with her son, John. Jack used to be a common derivative of the name John.

Spooky things have happened to me. But then I think why is it always ghosts from the last couple of years that wee see and never Neanderthals or woolly mammoths? Or the ghosts of T Rexes? It's all grey ladies and Victorian children and ww2 soldiers.

@81Byerley

In our family so many things have happened that we can't help but believe. Years ago I lived next door to a young couple who had two little boys. Occasionally I would babysit by checking in their house about every 10-15 minutes. I hated going in there, it felt spooky. I used to take my dog in with me, and she didn't like it either. I didn't ever tell them how I felt. One day she came in for coffee and she was laughing about her husband. Their bathroom was downstairs at the back of the house, He'd got up in the night to go to the loo, and as he walked past their front room, an old lady's quavery voice said "Is that you, Jack?" He was so scared he ran back up to their bedroom, and in desperation had to pee out of the bedroom window. We asked around and apparently an elderly lady had lived in there with her son, John. Jack used to be a common derivative of the name John.

Far weirder than disembodied voices is babysitting via going next door every ten or fifteen minutes to check on the children — wasn’t it terrifically inconvenient to keep having to drop what you were doing? Wouldn’t it have been easier to just go next door and babysit the usual way?

yes, I believe, had many experiences, and some of those I've been able to verify with actual, real 'evidence'.

For example... my local library. First time I went in, I got what I call 'my vibes'. I hear stuff, too, voices, words, sentences, and I'm hearing somebody talk about how the place looks good since they've redecorated. But the place didn't seem freshly decorated, to me. I looked up to where I thought I was being 'observed' from, and there was a woman dressed in green, military-ish clothing. Very 1940's land-girl styley. She wasn't interested in me, though, she was there for the 'hole'. Above her, there was a massive hole in the roof. A big round hole. I could see the sky through it. I looked away, looked again, and both she and the hole had gone.

The woman at the desk smiled when I approached her, and she said, 'did you see Mary, then?'

I nodded. I knew what she meant. She knew, too.

I went home, and looked for further info, and yep, the place was bombed in world war two, and I found a photo of an ARW and the big hole. And yep, the woman in the picture seemed to resemble the 'ghost'. No idea if her name was Mary, or not. But I'm certain she was there on the balcony that day.

I haven't seen her again but I can sometimes.. feel her there, and hear her, too. She says shit like 'nice blouse', etc, to me. I always make an effort to dress nice, now, when I visit. For 'Mary'. (lol).

I have loads of experiences like this. There's ghosts everywhere... imho...

Was a complete non-believer until DD2 who was four at the time went to see her Great Nanna's resting place for the first time. On way back to car she suddenly stopped, her eyes were completely focused and she was waving at a hedge. We asked what she was doing and she said matter of factly 'waving goodbye to Nanna. She is on a bench wearing her red slippers. She has come to say happy birthday to me' (she has turned 4 earlier that week). She happily went back to the car and repeated the story quite happily. DD2 was an is the least fanciful child I have ever encountered. Pragmatic, non-dramatic and has never said anything like this again. It was really natural and comforting and I absolutely believe she was convinced with what she saw that day.

@Spied

I've had a couple of experiences that make me believe. A ghostly experience as a young teen where I was touched and 'felt' ghostly presence. I was with my mother and grandmother at the time and they shared the experience with me. I've also had the misfortune of encountering a strange creature that was neither human or animal. I've told my stories on here before.

.

Please tell the story of encountering the strange being!

Yes totally believe. I've had a few strange experiences but haven't ever seen a ghost 👻

Yes. We share a house with one.

Lots of strange happenings, one of which was the new landing lampshade being flung down the stairs at me. It was one that was held in place by a plastic screw over the bulb holder. It missed me by a couple of feet.

The shade shattered into a million pieces all over the dining room but the fixing screw and the lightbulb were still in the fitting. Absolutely impossible for the shade to have come off with them in situ. But it did.

Both the dog and cat spend hours looking at one corner of the sitting room where there used to a connecting door into the dining room. It’s a bookcase now.

I'm not sure.

I lived in a house where a few weird things happened - myself and others saw people walk into rooms that were empty on checking, heard things being dragged around in empty rooms at night, and had a weird shared 'dream'/experience with another member of the house of hearing someone walking up and down our stairs and knocking on our doors.. we both mentioned it in the morning, I thought I was dreaming, she was awake and thought there was someone in the house (and was terrified).

I don't really believe in ghosts but the experience of living there has made me feel less certain of that - it definitely had an atmosphere that I noticed from the beginning and I've never really felt that anywhere else (and is hard to describe)

Another sceptic until I bought this current house and this old man would appear at the bottom of the stairs wearing his dressing gown and pyjamas, walk to the loungeroom door and stand there watching me sitting on the lounge watching TV. I didn't recognise him, but he gave me the creeps because he was starting to appear more regularly. He never spoke, just stood and watched....shivers down the spine!

I remembered the previous owner's husband died and that's why she sold the house, but of course his name was not on these documents as he had already passed so I didn't have a clue about his name, except it was Mr xxx.

So the next night I made sure all the windows and doors were closed tight because I thought if someone heard me talking to Mr xxx they would think I had lost my marbles...LOL when he appeared I took a deep breath and said 'Oh Mr xxx you are here again? are you looking for Mrs xxx?...of course, no reply so I continued and said 'her new address is 123 street, same suburb' and gave directions how to find the address. He turned and walked toward the front door (of my house) and just disappeared without opening the door and I've never seen (or felt) him here again. By this time I was shaking, turned off the TV, went to bed but couldn't sleep, it was a strange feeling.

This was around 6-7 yrs ago and while he only visited weekly or so, in the beginning, he upped his visits to nightly and it was really getting to me. Unfortunately I discovered his wife had also died around that time, so unsure if that had something to do with his visits?

To all the non-believers, don't be too harsh on other people as it could happen to you someday.

Yes I think I do in a sense. Like many others I believe I have had a few experiences. I can't explain them though. I find it a comfort to think my loved ones are around. Though I do worry what they make of me and my life. I know they would have had alot to say in life.

Living in an very old house overseas, I was laying in bed just waking up a few days after moving in, and felt a hand on my head tip it back gently. I could feel every finger and felt a sense of curiosity (I am tall and blonde and about as opposite looking to the locals as could be). I was not scared at all, it seemed like a very benign thing, but it definitely felt that someone was checking me over.

I mostly think our brains can do weird things and 'ghosts' are a way to explain it.

No. Really?