What are your thoughts on 'Ghosts'

I know this is a pretty random topic, but was just watching haunted homes on Sky, i think alot of it is a load of hogswash. 3 people were in this haunted house overnight, believing there was someone there (they were all believers and they were seeing and hearing things) . LAter a skeptic went in and all he came across was a peaceful suburban house.

My thoughts on ghosts are as follows.
The mind is pretty powerfull, so powerful that it can create an image (a mental manifestation, rather than physical). Two examples...

1) I am in the desert lost and yearning for water, i have been walking for a day and my mouth is parched- in the distance i see what looks like a water hole with a bit of riparian vegetation around it, I start to walk a bit quicker and when i get close i realise there is nothing there.

2) My nana lost her daughter (my aunty) 30 years ago, the daughter was on the back of a motorcycle which hit a powerpole hurling her onto the road and killing her instantly. MY nana was sad because she never got to say how much she loved her daughter and never got to say goodbye. One evening my nana got up to go to the toilet and there was her daughter (aged about 8- she died when she was 18) watching cartoons on the television, nana went over and stood beside her and said 'I love you so much and I miss you heaps' and said goodbye. MY nana created this image with her mind and in a way it helped her, because in a way she thought it was a spirit of her daughter and she was able to say a final goodbye.

All im going to say is the mind is uber powerfull!

This isnt a bad ghost video though hmm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kbV6FVyjpk

I'd have to agree with you that the mind just projects things in ways people don't often understand.

Many of the stories I've read, for instance regarding ghosts at Gettysburg, sound so much like PTSD that its not even funny.

That people claim to see ghosts more often at night probably has something to do with it as well. There are various sleep stages that aren't deep sleep where the brain easily gets confused into not knowing whether you're awake or asleep, and since that's when most people usually sleep...

they don't exist

I have to agree, they don't exist. But they are a great source of revenue. Sarah mentioned the ghost of Gettysburg. They are a big part of the tourist industry there. Even a lot a small towns with nothing happening, you can buy a ticket to tour the creepy, haunted spots and hear stories of romantic suicides, mass murders and other who met unhappy ends. Not to mention the revenue they produce in the form of books, movies and tv shows. Everyone likes a good ghost story. Even unbelievers like me.

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Originally Posted by trish

I have to agree, they don't exist. But they are a great source of revenue. Sarah mentioned the ghost of Gettysburg. They are a big part of the tourist industry there. Even a lot a small towns with nothing happening, you can buy a ticket to tour the creepy, haunted spots and hear stories of romantic suicides, mass murders and other who met unhappy ends. Not to mention the revenue they produce in the form of books, movies and tv shows. Everyone likes a good ghost story. Even unbelievers like me.

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I agree. The most effective horror stories to me are ones that deal in death / afterlife. Blood and gore movies are just funny. The Others is an example.

im scared of ghost :oops:

They might exist, too many folks have had paranormal experiences for me to dismiss them out of hand.

I'll put it this way, I'm not looking forward to seeing any ghosts eva!!

When i die i want to be a ghost and mess w/ peoples stuff.

Actually, I've dismissed them in hand. :)

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Originally Posted by giovanni_hotel

They might exist, too many folks have had paranormal experiences for me to dismiss them out of hand.

I'll put it this way, I'm not looking forward to seeing any ghosts eva!!

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I hear ya. Here's a sure remedy to avoid an encounter with ghosts: Keep a rabbit's foot on your key chain, hang a horse shoe on your wall, never walk under ladders, or break a mirror, never cross paths with a black cat, don't step on cracks. oh, and make sure to see your palm reader at least twice a year.