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http://io9.com/5388994/why-do-some-peop ... thers-dont (http://io9.com/5388994/why-do-some-people-see-ghosts-while-others-dont)

The article basically says that people who see ghosts are usually less stable individuals.

Does that really surprise you?  If you see something out of the corner of your eye or something you can't explain and you say its a ghost you are obviously an unstable individual.  Just like the people who have something happen they can't explain, whether its a statistical event like having a 5% chance to survive something and do survive it or a lapse in judgement event like I don't remember making coffee, and attribute it to a deity.  God made me coffee or my dead grandmother moved my book because she doesn't like them.

Do you ever watch ghost hunters or a haunting on T.V.  I find it absolutely hilarious to watch.  They use meters that are affected by electricity (which flows through the wires in our walls) to "find a ghost or a portal to another realm or what the fuck ever".  Then if they have a little lens flare or the shitty batteries they use to power up their equipment run out of power a ghost did it and they are vindicated.  Also if you ever watched those shows notice how the vast majority of the time its catholic families that get haunted.  People are obviously predisposed to believing in this crap.  Uh oh a strict catholic family just moved into an old house call the prick ... I mean the priest so he can throw water on your carpet and bed and walls and say your house is now clean ... moist but clean.  

People might not just have some disorder that predisposes them to seeing ghosts but i'm sure there is an environmental/educational factor that accompanies it.

Right now for some reason I have the family guy episode in my head where their house was built on an indian burial ground... and this quote comes to mind

Lois: Peter, are you peeing in that skull?
Peter Griffin [sarcastically]: No, Lois, I'm getting up and walking all the way to the bathroom and doing it there. Pain in the ass.

My Mom thinks she sees ghosts, usually she interprets it as seeing dead ancestors. It happens when she wakes up during the night. I'm no expert but I think it's due to two things. First she remains conscious long enough to remember in the morning (you have to remain awake for several minutes or the memory is lost). Second I think its hypnagogic hallucination (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucination#Hypnagogic_hallucination). I sometimes hallucinate too but mine are auditory rather than visual and I don't believe they are real. Apparently this runs in families.

Quote from: "AlP"My Mom thinks she sees ghosts, usually she interprets it as seeing dead ancestors. It happens when she wakes up during the night. I'm no expert but I think it's due to two things. First she remains conscious long enough to remember in the morning (you have to remain awake for several minutes or the memory is lost). Second I think its hypnagogic hallucination (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucination#Hypnagogic_hallucination). I sometimes hallucinate too but mine are auditory rather than visual and I don't believe they are real. Apparently this runs in families.

Also another possibility is a waking dream.  And another is she just dreamed it and happens to remember that bit of her dream.

I can't find it at the moment but there's a study linking excess caffeine consumption with seeing ghosts.  To me, it's just tricks the mind plays brought on by over stimulation, anxiety, a sleep state, sleep deprivation - whatever.

Regarding "Ghost Hunters" etc.- Every time my roommate watches the show I kick myself in the ass for not thinking up the idea for that show myself.  I mean, holy hot crap, people, the production values are pathetic and the actors get to travel to all sorts of interesting places and all they have to do is stand around with some equipment in the dark and get creeped out by things that go bump in the night.  And people eat it up like candy.

There's now a childrens show about ghost hunting in which it is presented as real science.  I can't recall the name but my roommate was watching it last week and it really pissed me off to see it presented the way it was.

Quote from: "Kylyssa"I can't find it at the moment but there's a study linking excess caffeine consumption with seeing ghosts.  To me, it's just tricks the mind plays brought on by over stimulation, anxiety, a sleep state, sleep deprivation - whatever.

Regarding "Ghost Hunters" etc.- Every time my roommate watches the show I kick myself in the ass for not thinking up the idea for that show myself.  I mean, holy hot crap, people, the production values are pathetic and the actors get to travel to all sorts of interesting places and all they have to do is stand around with some equipment in the dark and get creeped out by things that go bump in the night.  And people eat it up like candy.

There's now a childrens show about ghost hunting in which it is presented as real science.  I can't recall the name but my roommate was watching it last week and it really pissed me off to see it presented the way it was.

Egon is sad.

Quote from: "Kylyssa"There's now a childrens show about ghost hunting in which it is presented as real science.  I can't recall the name but my roommate was watching it last week and it really pissed me off to see it presented the way it was.

Hmm, An african american boy and a caucasian girl and a wacky scientist with curly hair?

Yeah, Used to watch that. I think it was called Myth hunters or something. It was good. it had a skeptical stance, did stuff like Creating a UFO using glue sticks, a balloon and some dark and other stuff. Basicallly Myth busters and Art attack cross for halloween.

Quote from: "LoneMateria"Does that really surprise you?

Nope.

Someone Came to me with help for a haunting. I didn't want to hurt them. I used to be that messed up, so I know how it feels when someone tells you, "you're stupid. ghosts aren't real"(not that I ever believe in ghosts, mind you. Other stuff.)

When this happens, it's best to help them by giving them some practical advice that will help them. If someone is suffering from a haunting, usually all it takes is for the priest to come along and splash some water on the house, and that'll help the person immensely. however, a lot of hauntings are caused by repressed issues in the individual, and while Holy water may help temporarily, if the issues are not resolved, the haunting will resume.

Fight ghosts with psychologists. Not holy water. *this has been a public service anouncement from the National Psychologists Association*    

Quote from: "Renegnicat"Someone Came to me with help for a haunting. I didn't want to hurt them. I used to be that messed up, so I know how it feels when someone tells you, "you're stupid. ghosts aren't real"(not that I ever believe in ghosts, mind you. Other stuff.)

When this happens, it's best to help them by giving them some practical advice that will help them. If someone is suffering from a haunting, usually all it takes is for the priest to come along and splash some water on the house, and that'll help the person immensely. however, a lot of hauntings are caused by repressed issues in the individual, and while Holy water may help temporarily, if the issues are not resolved, the haunting will resume.

Fight ghosts with psychologists. Not holy water. *this has been a public service anouncement from the National Psychologists Association*    :)

The same reason why "some people see God and others don't".  

The same reasons others claim to hear or see their god.
The same reasons people claim to see UFOs.
The same reasons people claim to talk to the dead.
The same reasons a killer will claim his dog told him to do it.

As for what those reasons are? Psychosis? check. Religion? check. Money? check. Attention? check.
I think there's a plethora of reasons, but my guess as to what the main reason is: The mind searches to make sense out of what it doesn't understand, and when the mind makes something up, it can feel every bit as real as the real world. Also, when your psychosis is reinforced with movies, books, and supposed "first hand accounts" of the same thing happening to others... It can seem to have a snowball effect.

I'm too lazy to search in detail now, but I seem to remember hearing that the first reports of UFO sightings only started in the early 1900s and once the theme got out there the reports have been flooding in ever since. I believe I remember hearing the mass hysteria about UFOs started around the time the first radio broadcast of War of the Worlds aired and people took it as reality. As I said though, I'm too lazy to really look up where I got that info, so for now, just accept it as my worthless little 2 pennies.

If you really want to see something you can, anyone can convince themselves that they saw a ghost, look at how many people have convinced themselves that there is a god. The reasons could probably vary from person to person; they want there to be an afterlife, they want to talk to a deceased loved one or they're gullible and will believe anything said with enough conviction.

I know that people confuse a lot of other things for ghosts. I was watching a video somewhere (I think it was on YouTube) where a girl put on a helmet that sent electromagnetic waves into a specific part of her brain and she said she would feel several presences in the room during the test when there was actually none. She was already a believer so maybe she had some mental predisposition toward that sort of thing, but still, it explains that ghostly feeling she got.

Also, our brains are always reacting with natural and scientifically measurable things which we are unconscious of, but affect our behaviours and intuition and that can easily make us think are ghosts or other such "energies" .

Nobody sees ghosts. They may think they do but I very much doubt that anyone has ever seen what's called a ghost, which is just a made-up thing. Nobody has ever been abducted by aliens either.

People, some people anyway, are either very weird or they're very troubled. Whichever it is they have very weak minds. In my opinion.

But such people do make life a little more interesting, as long as they're not being too annoying about it and pose no threat to themselves or others.

Perhaps, like a "god module," we have a "ghost module."

My fiancee sees them, hears them, even recognizes some of them, but she still doesn't believe they're real. How's that for a skeptic? :eek:

I consider myself a rational person.  I don't believe in gods or goddesses and the like.

That being said, I have had experiences that I can't explain logically.  My first apartment in college is a prime example.  It was one of those places that most people said just gave them the creeps without ever knowing why.  It was always cold, even in the summer.  It was not uncommon to leave the apartment with the lights on, and come back to total darkness, or to have appliances turn themselves on and off.  The shower curtain, which we always left open, would often end up closed somehow  On occasion, it would sound like there were people walking and talking in rooms when you were there alone-these were not the sounds of people in other apartments, but as if people were in the room right there with you.  My roommate one night saw something in the bathroom that she refused to speak about.  Towards the end of the lease, when we were moving out I was there alone in the walk in closet one night packing clothes when the light went out.  In those moments I spent fumbling for the light, I felt like I wasn't alone.  Nothing was there of course, but it left me feeling deeply unsettled.

The weird occurrences started happening almost immediately after we moved in.  It wasn't until 6 months into the lease though that I found out a girl had been murdered in that apartment in the 70s, and her killer had never been found.  To quell my roommate (who was Catholic) I called our campus ministries and requested a priest come and bless the apartment.  It seemed as though the activity tapered off after the blessing, and only picked up again when we started moving a few months later.

What does it mean?  Who knows?  I think the power of suggestion can be very strong in instances of supposed paranormal activity, but we didn't find out about the murder until well after we'd started having weird experiences.  So I don't know.  Maybe there were high magnetic fields in the area that could have contributed to some of the unease people felt there, but a lot of the other stuff I wouldn't even begin to know how to explain.  Before I moved into that place, I was a serious skeptic when it came to the paranormal.  Now, I don't know what to think.  I have a hard time reconciling those experiences I did have with my lack of belief in the spiritual.  I had a few other weird experiences when I was in college, but if I wrote about those too this would turn into a real TLDR, if it isn't one already.  

I work in a spooky old drive-in theater with lots and lots of ghost stories attached to it.  I've had a few spooky experiences myself, but not enough to say that I believe in ghosts.  I classify ghosts and the human race interacting with sentient alien lifeforms together as being more likely than god but less likely than, say, someone winning the lottery three times.

So what kind of weird experiences did you have, pinko?

Nothing super weird.  The way the drive-in is set up, there are two sides, each with three screens and fields for parking and watching.  In the middle of the three screens there is a two story building with a snack bar and bathrooms on the bottom floor and then storage and the projectionist room or 'booth' on the top.  Most of my spooky experiences happened in the booth at night (of course, since it's a drive-in after all!) which makes me question my own perception of the events right away since I get jumpy in dark places at night and the building is pretty old and poorly maintained.

Anyway, one experience I had was seeing the shadow of someone move across the room, going over to where I thought I saw movements and hearing the very distinct sound of children giggling.  This is a sound that people have claimed to hear all over the drive-in, but never in the booth.  However, like I said, i's an old building and I had already heard about the giggling, so I could have totally been imagining that.  It really didn't seem imagined at the time, though.  Another time, I was cleaning the bathroom upstairs and I heard someone yell.  I yelled downstairs, but no one was there.  When I went back into the booth, the bathroom door slammed closed.  As soon as I opened the door, a paper towel dispenser fell off the wall in a way that seemed like it was flung.  Again, this happened at night, doors close on their own in drafty buildings and I realize that I could have perceived of the paper towel dispenser being flung from the wall because I was already jumpy/conscious of the ghost myth, but at the time it felt very real.  It felt so real that I can understand how some people might have similar experiences and have it be enough for them to believe.  I still don't feel like my experiences are sufficient evidence of ghosts though.

The only time I had anything happen to me during the day was when I was randomly helping on day crew and everyone else had gone to the other side for something.  I was in the men's bathroom painting and I heard the sound of the video games being turned on.  Raiden makes a very specific sound when it starts up.  I looked out at the games and no one was there.  When I went to turn the breaker off, it flipped as soon as I was about to touch it.  I went back to painting and it happened again.  All of it, from the sound, me looking, walking to the box, and it flipping before I could touch it.  I went back to painting and fully expected a third round, but it didn't happen again.  When I told my boss about it, he said the same thing happened to him once like 10 years ago, but he hadn't heard of it happening to anyone else before.  Keep in mind, however, that the electrical wiring in the place is old and unreliable, and my boss is a jackass who very well might be lying just to keep the ghost myth alive.  =D

I apologize for the giant wall of text!  

That does sound pretty spooky.  But definitely ,I hear you on the inherent creepiness of old buildings.  Even if there are no stories surrounding them, old buildings are weird.

A few years ago, me and one of my friends snuck into an abandoned movie theatre at night.  It was VERY creepy.  All the searches I did failed ot turn up anything though, including a reason why the theatre had closed in the first place.  It was just strange.

Old movie theaters sort of classically have ghost stories attached to them anyway from what I've been told.  My boss has been a manager for 30 years and his dad was a manager for 45 until he died, and they both had their own stories and stories they heard from other theater managers at other theaters about ghosts and spooky activity.  That's one of the reasons I love working there (and am very upset that it is on the verge of being shut down for good) - old theaters have a unique atmosphere attached to them that is difficult to explain.  It's like being a member of a big ol' Addams Family.  

Paranormal stuff is one of my guilty pleasures.  I love hearing people's stories, even if I don't always believe them to be true.

Quote from: "philosoraptor"Paranormal stuff is one of my guilty pleasures.  I love hearing people's stories, even if I don't always believe them to be true.

My wife is highly intelligent, has a Ph.D. and is a life long atheist. But she loves John Edwards (http://www.johnedward.net/) (so do I  :verysad:

Quote from: "Tank"

Quote from: "philosoraptor"Paranormal stuff is one of my guilty pleasures.  I love hearing people's stories, even if I don't always believe them to be true.

My wife is highly intelligent, has a Ph.D. and is a life long atheist. But she loves John Edwards (http://www.johnedward.net/) (so do I  :verysad:

Cold Reading (http://www.skeptics.com.au/publications/articles/guide-to-cold-reading-ray-hyman/)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_reading
It's known as cold reading, while he does cheat a bit by asking audience members questions before hand and having lots of people helps out his "accuracy" for his guesses. Practice it, it makes a good party trick with people you've just met.

If you've heard of Dan Brown you'll know he does a lot of debunking of Cold Reading. I've seen his shows. I don't believe that John Edwards communicates with the dead. I would like to see him tested in rigorous scientific conditions though.

Of all the 'woo' one hears about the one I am least sceptical of is telepathy because I'm pretty darn sure I have experienced it. There have been numerous occasions where I have started whistling a tune only to have my wife turn around and say 'I was just thinking that!'. On one very specific occasion  not long after we were married I was walking towards the front door of our house with my wife behind me. She said as clear as a bell 'Have we had any post today?' I replied 'No. We haven't had any post today.' She put her hand on my shoulder and turned me around and told me she hadn't vocalised the question, but she had just thought it. I have no explanation for these events.

Maybe your wife is just messing with you.  

I do know what you're talking about, though.  There have been instances where my SO has brought up something that was on my mind, or we've finished each others sentences.  Some of this I would think could be attributed to certain circumstantial/environmental cues, though.  For example, it wouldn't be strange if, when seeing a movie poster for a movie we went to see on our first date that both of us started recalling that memory at the same time.

lol

Intriguing isn't it?

Quote from: "Tank"If you've heard of Dan Brown you'll know he does a lot of debunking of Cold Reading. I've seen his shows. I don't believe that John Edwards communicates with the dead. I would like to see him tested in rigorous scientific conditions though.

Of all the 'woo' one hears about the one I am least sceptical of is telepathy because I'm pretty darn sure I have experienced it. There have been numerous occasions where I have started whistling a tune only to have my wife turn around and say 'I was just thinking that!'. On one very specific occasion  not long after we were married I was walking towards the front door of our house with my wife behind me. She said as clear as a bell 'Have we had any post today?' I replied 'No. We haven't had any post today.' She put her hand on my shoulder and turned me around and told me she hadn't vocalised the question, but she had just thought it. I have no explanation for these events.

You just said that you didn't know how he did it, maybe you just meant how he's so good at it?

He is very impressively talented at it, however the people believing what he says is too irritating for me to handle for an entire episode.

Quote from: "Davin"

Quote from: "Tank"If you've heard of Dan Brown you'll know he does a lot of debunking of Cold Reading. I've seen his shows. I don't believe that John Edwards communicates with the dead. I would like to see him tested in rigorous scientific conditions though.

Of all the 'woo' one hears about the one I am least sceptical of is telepathy because I'm pretty darn sure I have experienced it. There have been numerous occasions where I have started whistling a tune only to have my wife turn around and say 'I was just thinking that!'. On one very specific occasion  not long after we were married I was walking towards the front door of our house with my wife behind me. She said as clear as a bell 'Have we had any post today?' I replied 'No. We haven't had any post today.' She put her hand on my shoulder and turned me around and told me she hadn't vocalised the question, but she had just thought it. I have no explanation for these events.

You just said that you didn't know how he did it, maybe you just meant how he's so good at it?

Same thing really. I don't think he hears spirits. But I'd give him a 1/100,000,000 chance that he may be sensitive in a telepathic way. But I'd have to see a lot of double blind work before I would be convinced of it.

My mum believes she has seen ghosts a few times. Apparently she saw a woman in a long white gown walk past the doorway when we were all sitting down to dinner. That's fairly easy to justify, but one thing I have tried many times to come up with a logical explanation for is hearing ghost voices. Many years ago when my mums mum had just passed away, my mum and her 2 sisters were cleaning out her house. All 3 of them at the same time heard their mothers voice say "Dawn" (one of the sisters names). They all looked at eachother and said "did you hear that?"

Now I'm a very skeptical person and my logic tells me that there is no way this could really be my grandmother talking. So if anyone has any thoughts, I'd love to hear them  

Telepathy is something I actually think has something to it. As far as I'm concerned, there are senses we don't fully understand and I think telepathy is one of them. Not the 'hearing someone else's thoughts' kind, but more through feelings and subtle nuances of how the behavioural patterns of other people reveal themselves. I'm quite happy entertaining the thought that the brain is a biological mobile phone although some people are more receptive than others. In the future, I'm sure science will play around with it a little. I'm sure the findings will be surprising.

Thinking in tandem with someone is similar, but I don't think it is actual telepathy, per-se. It is more about understanding how the brain of another human works through pattern recognition. I think in tandem with my best friend of 20 years. It isn't because I read his thoughts, but because I'm so accustomed to how his brain works that we will think the same things at the same time, say the same things at the same time and can communicate entire sentences with a simple glance.

I've always wondered how someone can make direct eye-contact with you when staring at them from across a busy room/bar/train station etc. How do they know you are staring at them when they have utterly no cue to work from? I'm not sure anyone has ever been able to adequately explain that phenomenon.

Quote from: "Nikky"My mum believes she has seen ghosts a few times. Apparently she saw a woman in a long white gown walk past the doorway when we were all sitting down to dinner. That's fairly easy to justify, but one thing I have tried many times to come up with a logical explanation for is hearing ghost voices. Many years ago when my mums mum had just passed away, my mum and her 2 sisters were cleaning out her house. All 3 of them at the same time heard their mothers voice say "Dawn" (one of the sisters names). They all looked at eachother and said "did you hear that?"

Now I'm a very skeptical person and my logic tells me that there is no way this could really be my grandmother talking. So if anyone has any thoughts, I'd love to hear them  

If and it's a big IF there is such a thing as telepathy there is a possible communication path there.

I don't believe in this supernatural stuff.
Coincidences happen, occurrences that strengthen the coincidence are noted, if they don't they may be disregarded.
The mind is a funny thing, it does misinterpret stimuli.
Why is every supernatural phenomenon so conveniently elusive and unrepeatable?
Many people really want to believe.
The rational explanations of the weird, are much more interesting to me than the woo.