Do You Believe In the paranormal and Did you ever experience supernatural Phenomena?

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Originally Posted by sHaRp12

I do not believe in ghosts one bit. These personal occurences many of you seem to have are probably mind tricks or some other weird formation. I see ghosts as kind of silly subjects. And Im surprised that so many of you voted yes. In an enviroment filled with intelligent reasonable people I find that surprising. Ghosts are rubbish fictional characters made popular by main stream entertainment. Ugh! I just cant get over how some of you are so naive!

Science shall disprove, or prove all.

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Well, opposing views are always welcome. Without cynicism, most things in which people believe would have fallen apart long ago. The voice of the cynic, the one who dares to question, is what keeps those who believe on the path, because they feel they have something to prove now. That there are things that are far from easy to explain is my own viewpoint, and my vote is "not in the usual sense". Still I have seen and experienced things I cannot explain.

I live about a half-mile (straight line, not by road), from an historical tavern. It remains closed, despite efforts to reopen it several times. It has a haunted reputation; and the owners refuse to even say much about it. I'd love to go inside and check it out. It is centuries old. But, que sera, sera. People will believe what they believe, and you cannot shake them.

Science has some explanations and they are solid. But it's not that far to Brown Mountain, NC, famous for its Ghost Lights. I have yet to hear an explanation that will hold water. They don't know what causes the lights. Are they ghosts? I really don't think so. But what are they? That, we just don't know. They have appeared on that mountain as long as man can remember. Everyone's tried to explain them. Nobody has come up with a good reason for them. They're wild to see... :nod:

I don't know if I believe in "ghosts," but I do believe in strange circumstances that cannot be explained by science. I've had "unique experiences," and even though there are paranormal terms and theories to describe various phenomena, I don't know how to describe what happened. I don't know how to explain it. Do souls of dead people still roam the earth? Could be, but maybe not. Do tragic events leave a psychic imprint on the places they take place? Who knows. All I can say is that there are things that I can't understand and they don't seem to have any rational explanation. Maybe there isn't a rational explanation, or maybe I just haven't found one.

Ghosts exist as a matter of perspective, as a form of interpretating the world, in the way that Gods do. However, the fact that something is of a cultural or psychological origin does not mean it is less real. Hence, ghosts are real.

Wow, you leave for a while and a thread really builds up which is all good. Lately I have run into people saying that someone whom has seen a ghost or Spirit which I perfer to call them is mentally ill. It is a touchy subject but for I know that Spirits do exist and that it is not a figment of my imagination. I also feel the energy that humans who are alive have and when they are deceased. I for one wonder how many people truly think outside the box we place ourselves in.

alot of those pictures that are supposedly ghosts don't really convince me. I especially don't like the orbs and votex stuff. One person made a book about their paranormal experiences and put a few of the pictures they'd taken into it. They placed a sample of a room where dust had been disturbed and one that hadn't. The one that hadn't was suppose to hold the real orbs but to me the dust one looked just the same. People see a difference because they want to. And they had taken a picture of a votex in their book but anyone with enough sense would have seen that it was just part of a spiderweb really close to the lense. Strange things in pictures can be easily explained without turning to the paranormal. If it was an apparition that appeared in the photo (so long as it isn't tampered with) I'd probably believe that. Anything else I'm a skeptic to.

For the record, I'm not thrilled by pictures of orbs or vortex shots as they are almost certainly either dust, water, snowflakes, in the case of orbs, and camera straps, fingers, and strings in the case of vortex shots. Few ghost pictures I have ever seen impressed me at all. And here is a point I wish to make: Why do people assume that it has to be dark for a ghost to manifest itself? If they are, as many claim, not aware that they are even dead, why would they be afraid of the daylight? If you go on the hypothesis that what you see is a glitch in the fabric of time, again daylight has no place where you must factor it in. I've seen things I could not explain in broad daylight, in well lit houses, and felt the weird feelings. So, why do you need to "go dark"?

Because it's far more mysterious :D .

I think I've come across a few pictures that were taken in daylight. I don't know if they were real or not, but you never know. Maybe it's just easier to see them when it's dark? Of course, this would suggest that they give off some sort of light.

As far as pictures go, I'm a big skeptic but they are fun to look at occasionally. One of my sisters had a strange experience once though, and so did my mom so I'm willing to believe them. My sis was lying in bed one night and she felt something brush her leg and then suddenly the light came on in her room. It's one of those lights that has a remote control so there wasn't any flipping of switches. Then my mom was at a hotel and she felt something small, like a child, get up on the bed and lay behind her like it was cuddling up. There was something freaky with the shower and tub in her room too. Shower would suddenly get cold, and the jets in the tub would suddenly go off on her. And cliche of all cliches in scary stories, she was on the 13th floor.

While I beleive in an after life and spirituality, God, and even angels, but I do not believe in paranormal. Sorry.

how 'bout loved ones watching over us? I would think they'd occasionally want to see how we're doing or something like that.

I don't see ghosts. Is there something wrong with me?

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Originally Posted by cuppajoe_9

I also like this one:
http://paranormal.about.com/library/..._hooded_lg.jpg
But I'm certain it's fake. As if actual ghosts go around with pillowcases on their heads. Is that supposed to be the ghost of a Klansman? Did he die in an explosion in a hotel laundry?

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Funny stuff, Joe :lol:
He looks familiar.

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Originally Posted by PierreGringoire

I don't see ghosts. Is there something wrong with me?

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You sound fairly normal to me, mon ami! I always think the things I have seen were some type of time wrinkle or something, not a dead person come back. There are sme weird places out there though, that I really have no desire to explore and see what's going on, more power to those who do! :p

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Originally Posted by cuppajoe_9

I also like this one:
http://paranormal.about.com/library/..._hooded_lg.jpg
But I'm certain it's fake. As if actual ghosts go around with pillowcases on their heads. Is that supposed to be the ghost of a Klansman? Did he die in an explosion in a hotel laundry?

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That one has been floating around (hee-hee) out there for a long while. I've never been impressed. Even if you assume the white area to be a skull, why would the figure be so out of shape-- elongated? No, this one hits my list of fakes in a hurry. The Ghost Hunters (TAPS) based in Rhode Island, have a TV show, and I've seen some impressive footage. And they've caught some fakes, someone messed with their equipment once to fake a bed unmaking itself. They thought they had good footage, but a sharp-eyed member of the crew caught the pause in the action where the faker had stopped the camera.

"I'm open minded on the subject. I've also had odd occurrences to totally discount ghosts or the paranormal - but then again there's always the very slim possibilty that it's all in my head.[/QUOTE]

have experienced and felt the same. Wonder how many ppl experience unusual occurrences and wonder if it's "all in their head"? What would it take to 'convince' one?

i always thought things like that are just the creation of our wild minds...but if you come to see one,you'll barely believe!like me...wheew,i never thought it was really true till i come to see one.no it wasn't just an imagination.

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Originally Posted by PierreGringoire

I don't see ghosts. Is there something wrong with me?

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i wish i dont see ghosts too!!! that's a bit normal and that will be better! at least i won't worry to see one in an unfortunate moment.

Lately I have seen a full apparition which is a bit unusual for me although it does not frighten me since I have always been sensitive to spirits all my life.

i see/hear/feel "paranormal" stuff and i used to believe in the paranormal. which is why i joined the forum at ghosts.org. anyone interested in the paranormal should check it out. now i believe that i have a more than slightly perturbed mind.

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Originally Posted by blacksheep

i see/hear/feel "paranormal" stuff and i used to believe in the paranormal. which is why i joined the forum at ghosts.org. anyone interested in the paranormal should check it out. now i believe that i have a more than slightly perturbed mind.

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Why? Because someone else told you that you were being delusional? I have seen very little in the way of evidence that I find convincing, and many things that I don't believe to be faked, could have been, if one knew how. Now comes a good question. The people out there that claim that personal experiences are not to be taken as evidence are the same ones that would sit on a jury and sentence a criminal to death based on eyewitness testimony, which they would call "rock solid evidence." Is this a double-standard or what? :rolleyes: If it fits what they want to prove, yes, eyewitness account is perfect evidence. If it fits something they deny existence, "Oh, the mind plays tricks, and one is so easily fooled in to thinking one saw this or that but when examined by a rational mind (skeptic), it falls apart easily. Yas, you see what you want, don't you? ;)

I am a scientist who considers all hypotheses untrue unless they are overcome by consistent experimental evidence to the contrary. "Ghosts exist" is an hypothesis that has been tested many times with results that do not allow, using the rules of science, a rejection of the null hypothesis, i.e., that ghosts no not exist. Antecdotal evidence from personal experience notoriously is unreliable.

As a person whom believes through personal experience I can tell you that somethings you just cannot prove through science. I do however believe that people whom are skeptic need to express their opinions to help balance out the issues of life. I cannot explain how I knew certian things without having the schooling to back it up. I can sense cancer and serious illness within people when there is now logical way I should be able to. What happens when we do not yet have the science to back up what we know to be true when a doctor confirms what you already knew without any medical knowledge?

Again, I have to point out that you cannot 'prove' anything in science. Proofs happen in logic and math. What you do in science is develop a theory that explains all the available evidence.

pendragon, i hope i don't see what I want to see. I think that I think I'm insane because insanity runs in my family. my mother saw ghosts of her mother. my grandma has sleepwalked to cemetaries and was caught digging at a random grave while she was asleep. she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and other random diseases and was put into an asylum. when she was released, she commited suicide for unknown reasons. my mom... well, she's crazy. I hope I'm not crazy but the appearances of paranormal activity seem to fit precisely into my mood and embarrasingly, my period cycles. I have never seen anything completely solid. I've hear mostly whispers or voices that are indistinguishable. and lots of music. Whenever I do see anything, it's in the dark.
well, at least that means i havent gotten to be as insane as my grandma who saw stuff everywhere...
(don't tell me to go see a psychologist)

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Originally Posted by blacksheep

pendragon, i hope i don't see what I want to see. I think that I think I'm insane because insanity runs in my family. my mother saw ghosts of her mother. my grandma has sleepwalked to cemetaries and was caught digging at a random grave while she was asleep. she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and other random diseases and was put into an asylum. when she was released, she commited suicide for unknown reasons. my mom... well, she's crazy. I hope I'm not crazy but the appearances of paranormal activity seem to fit precisely into my mood and embarrasingly, my period cycles. I have never seen anything completely solid. I've hear mostly whispers or voices that are indistinguishable. and lots of music. Whenever I do see anything, it's in the dark.
well, at least that means i havent gotten to be as insane as my grandma who saw stuff everywhere...
(don't tell me to go see a psychologist)

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Since you asked me not to, I won't ask you to go. But consider this. If you are aware that an predisposure to this type of illness runs in your family, and there has already been one suicide, don't you think that you might need to get some help? I know that having to admit to a problem is hard, I have bi-polar with severe complications that make me unemployable, so I'm classified as disabled. I must take more than 14 pills daily (after my latest increase in medication, about a week ago.) I have an IQ of 140. I am shunned by many, that's true. Their loss, not mine. All I will ask is don't let this thing go so far that it destroys you because you fear getting help. If I can talk to you and help in any way here's my e-mail [email protected] Just mention blacksheep in the "about" line. Otherwise my e-mail filter might toss it. I'll be praying for you.

Pen

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Originally Posted by Pendragon

I have seen very little in the way of evidence that I find convincing, and many things that I don't believe to be faked, could have been, if one knew how. Now comes a good question. The people out there that claim that personal experiences are not to be taken as evidence are the same ones that would sit on a jury and sentence a criminal to death based on eyewitness testimony, which they would call "rock solid evidence." Is this a double-standard or what?

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Originally Posted by statman

I am a scientist who considers all hypotheses untrue unless they are overcome by consistent experimental evidence to the contrary. "Ghosts exist" is an hypothesis that has been tested many times with results that do not allow, using the rules of science, a rejection of the null hypothesis, i.e., that ghosts no not exist. Antecdotal evidence from personal experience notoriously is unreliable.

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Didn't take very long to prove that statement at all. The Dragon rests the case. Let our scientist sit on a jury, and eyewitness testimony be all the evidence they have to present, and then see if it becomes "Notoriously Unreliable."

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Originally Posted by cuppajoe_9

Again, I have to point out that you cannot 'prove' anything in science. Proofs happen in logic and math. What you do in science is develop a theory that explains all the available evidence.

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When there is a scientific test that can prove I knew before a doctor even saw my Sister what medical condition she had. I have no way of knowing about such things since I never studied medicine. You only have my word and I know today one's word is not worth anything but that is all I can give.

I'm open on the subject, but very skeptical. Too many people have faked and such in the past for it to be wise to blindly believe anything. However, to be utterly honest, if I could know for ceirtain there were Ghosts and such, I would rarther not know. I get scared worryingly easily by these things.

I voted yes because i have had a few paranormal experiences.

Throughout time, and from all corners of the world, all forms of religion have had one thing in common: a belief in a spiritual realm that cannot be discerned, measured, or explained by the physical or natural world. It doesn't matter if you consider aboriginal native beliefs, prehistory peoples, death rituals, the mythologies of the Greeks, Romans, Babylonians or Chinese, the leading religions of the world such as Buddaism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, or the emerging religions of the future such as Scientology or what I sometimes refer to as "Starwarism" (as in "Use the force, Luke!").

How can so many people and cultures, some of them completely isolated from the others, in time, in geography, and in philosophy, all have the same idea that there is "another world out there" which has no physical properties, but rather, contains the essence or spirit of everything, and that this spiritual realm can interact with the physical realm, even though the physical realm cannot interact with the spiritual realm?

With our western devotion to science, we call this imaginary spiritual realm "the paranormal" because we cannot interact with it, sense it, or measure it in any meaningful, scientific way. Ah, but by that definition, our very thoughts must also be called "the paralogical" because there is no scientific way to measure, observe or prove thoughts, either. Therefore, I call arguments both pro and con about the existance of ghosts, spirits, the paranormal and the unexplained, "Paralogical discussions."

There is far too much diversity in the physical realm -- from the expanding universe to elemental atoms with specific properties that, when combined with other elemental atoms into molecules, exhibit completely unrelated properties, to the origins of life, to the definition of life, to the duration of life, to relativity to special relativity, to the very real probability that there are many more (perhaps endlessly more) dimensions than the four we can observe -- to dismiss the idea that a spiritual realm might also exist.

So, do I believe in ghosts? No.

Do I believe in what ghosts are about? Yes.

I believe that hautings and such things are rediculous, and created to bring tourists. But to an extent I do believe in the paranormal. Most people at my church see believing in the paranormal as ungodly, but Jesus cast out demons and such didn't he? I believe that could be classified as supernatural.

I'm not sure what I believe, and I doubt I will ever need to decide. As long as tennis balls dont start following me around I think indecision is fine ^_^

I am, as always, open-minded.

If you are a person that reads and places value in Holy Scripture, there is account given of spiritual beings existing. Some of them have been referred to as "Demons"; e.g., the third of the angels that joined Satan, Adam and Eve in the rebellion against God.

The term "ghost" is, I believe, an older word meaning a "spirit".

As for the paranormal, there is a large body of literature and much research being done in this area, like parapsychology. There is also testimony to the affects/effects of unseen forces operating about us. We cannot see some of the electromagnetic spectrum with our eyes, but with certain instruments we can. Also, we can sense/feel this radiation (and other forces) at times as many persons have testified.

ok,i know this sounds a little bit crazy,but i have nightmares about ghosts and zombies and vampires and,etc.and i think they are real!!!
Take a look..
(these things are from my computer,but my sister got them from the internet .if i found out wich site it is I'll give it to you).

Mm, I didn't look, but what's wrong with that? If you don't have something big in your life going on or changing, then you don't have to worry about them. It's more important what is going in your waking life. Your dreams should fade away, I should think. - er, I know that that sounds bad, but you know what I mean. I don't mean dreams as in aspirations, but tell me, are your nightmares a problem? I have nightmares occasionally but seldom. I don't think there's any problem.

Or do you mean when you wake up you think that you have actually been visited by ghosts and zombies?

I'm sure I've had zombie dreams, hell I've watched 28 days later enough times for that. Lately I haven't really been remembering my dreams.

I feel them in my room ,its horrible!

It's interesting to see what people have to say. . .
I actually voted no, (I'm a Christian), until I realized that Satan, is ,I guess, a sort of demon.
Hmmmmm. . . . .:)

Yes, I can read palms and sometimes I swear there are faces in the nights. It sounds stupid but true.

Well, I am a 100% firm believer in ghosts/spirits (whatever you choose to call them).

I have just had too many different experiences with them to not be anything but a believer. Then there are the experiences that other family members have experienced that make you believe.

The house we all grew up in really had some stuff happen. Then there are incidents at other places (i.e. my Gettysburg moment - yes, I had one!).

I try not to talk about it too much, though, because I swear people think I am crazy. Like I said, though, other people I know have had experiences, too.

When I was talking to a co-worker about it a few years ago, my boss overheard and just said "Noooo". I looked at her and said "What would I gain by lying? I sure as hell don't want the attention over something like that!!".

So, having said all that, again, yes I will say that I beleive!

my house has a ghost, a young girl died here, and she likes to move things, we have never realy been bothered by it, because she just moves silverwear, opens drawers, moves keys, we once found all of our keys, cell phones and wallets in the freezer. verry strange seeings how we have a bowl on the oposite end of the house where all of that goes lol.

I believe in the Otherworld. But since our perceptions of it are seen 'through a glass darkly' what I'd really like to know is if ghosts (spirits) believe in us.

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Originally Posted by Pendragon

Why? Because someone else told you that you were being delusional? I have seen very little in the way of evidence that I find convincing, and many things that I don't believe to be faked, could have been, if one knew how. Now comes a good question. The people out there that claim that personal experiences are not to be taken as evidence are the same ones that would sit on a jury and sentence a criminal to death based on eyewitness testimony, which they would call "rock solid evidence." Is this a double-standard or what? :rolleyes: If it fits what they want to prove, yes, eyewitness account is perfect evidence. If it fits something they deny existence, "Oh, the mind plays tricks, and one is so easily fooled in to thinking one saw this or that but when examined by a rational mind (skeptic), it falls apart easily. Yas, you see what you want, don't you? ;)

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"For those who believe, no evidence is necesarry. For those that do not, none shall suffice."
-Source unknown

Seeing is not believing. Believing is seeing.

Well yes, but that's why they say the accounts are not to be taken as evidence...the mind makes patterns, it sees them in everything, the clouds, the cereal, the grass, rocks, trees...ooh, especially trees. I used to have a tree I thought was somehow a person or something, it was right outside my window and I thought it was sentient.

I don't believe in Ghosts, or Faeries, but my mind isn't closed about them. I have other ideas that fall into similar lines...but I don't really think there's anything supernatural or paranormal. If there are ghosts, then they are natural and normal, and are meant to be here. Unless they are people who stayed because of un-finished business, and all that, but that seems so far fetched to me..

I've always felt that ghosts/spirits basically never made it to the "other side" (wherever that is!) because of the way that they had died. Generally that would be in a tragic way. So, their souls are unsettled. Then I do believe that there are the ones that don't really realize that they are gone.

I can't help it. As I've said before, just too many things have happened in my life and other mambers of my family. I can't be anything but a believer.

Yes, I do believe in them, but I don't really think about them most of the times because the more you think, the more it becomes true and that makes me shiver. :cold:

A friend once said, "I am paranormal myself!" I would go with that one. :p