JD Thompson
Skilled Investigator
MVoltage: perhaps you represent the 1% of which I spoke. I don't imply the events don't occur--only that they either are 1. rare or 2. visible to only a fraction of the population.
-
NEW! LOWEST RATES EVER -- SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY THE VERY BEST PREMIUM PARACAST EXPERIENCE! Welcome to The Paracast+, eight years young! For a low subscription fee, you can download the ad-free version of The Paracast and the exclusive, member-only, After The Paracast bonus podcast, featuring color commentary, exclusive interviews, the continuation of interviews that began on the main episode of The Paracast. We also offer lifetime memberships! Flash! Take advantage of our lowest rates ever! Act now! It's easier than ever to susbcribe! You can sign up right here!
did you meet ghost before
- Thread starter dccruibay66
- Start date
Free episodes:
5hownewsday
Paranormal Novice
i am fond of reading ghost stories but it doesn't means that i believe in this things in fact i think there is no ghost in this world
we should believe in science not ghost
we should believe in science not ghost
Jeff Crowell
Paranormal Annoyance
I've been ghost hunting since 2006-2007. I was 36 at the time my interest really took off and until about a year and a half ago I'd never once seen anything I would describe as being a ghost or paranormal. I consider myself extremely critical in thinking with a hint of skeptic in there, but finally I witnessed something in a location we'd hunted several times before that I could not explain. It wasn't like the other stories I'd heard, ghosts doing jumping jacks or having whole conversations or such, but it was something that really got me thinking, "There's something to this!"
People who've seen ghosts are convinced that they've seen something paranormal indeed. I believe that a strong percentage of them have, the others believe they've seen something paranormal but just experienced something else or hallucinated. The story that started this post is a prime example, and dccruibay66 is exactly right to doubt that story. People waking up from the depths of sleep, or about to go to sleep, are prone to what are called hypnogoggic hallucinations (I probably jacked that spelling, but that's how it sounds!), which is basically the mind teasing you into consciousness from a dream state, and poof, you think you see something in the room.
As far as living your whole life without seeing a ghost, I think that's the norm, actually. I think the grand majority of people that walk this planet live and die without seeing a ghost...or a UFO or such. I've known ghost hunters who have looked for five years or more and never seen something they couldn't explain, but I look at it like this; when I was younger I worked at a retail store. I'd never seen a shoplifter at all, even though I wanted to see someone steal something and help our loss prevention catch them. One day I get a promotion into loss prevention and go through training and, sure enough, about 3 weeks into it I saw a guy stuff a distributor cap (think about that) down his pants and walk out the door. I couldn't believe I saw it, and at first thought someone was playing a trick, but it was, indeed, real. I had learned to recognize the signs of a potential shoplifter and learned how to use cameras and do surveillance. From that point forward I caught quite a few shoplifters in those days, but now that I don't do that any more I don't pay attention to those signs.
What my point is this; when you put yourself in situations to see things, and recognize what you're looking for, it becomes more likely to see those things. However with the paranormal you can look all you want and still not necessarily see anything before you, yourself, become a ghost. I've often speculated if that's not part of the phenomena itself....it's elusiveness.
My 2 cents.
People who've seen ghosts are convinced that they've seen something paranormal indeed. I believe that a strong percentage of them have, the others believe they've seen something paranormal but just experienced something else or hallucinated. The story that started this post is a prime example, and dccruibay66 is exactly right to doubt that story. People waking up from the depths of sleep, or about to go to sleep, are prone to what are called hypnogoggic hallucinations (I probably jacked that spelling, but that's how it sounds!), which is basically the mind teasing you into consciousness from a dream state, and poof, you think you see something in the room.
As far as living your whole life without seeing a ghost, I think that's the norm, actually. I think the grand majority of people that walk this planet live and die without seeing a ghost...or a UFO or such. I've known ghost hunters who have looked for five years or more and never seen something they couldn't explain, but I look at it like this; when I was younger I worked at a retail store. I'd never seen a shoplifter at all, even though I wanted to see someone steal something and help our loss prevention catch them. One day I get a promotion into loss prevention and go through training and, sure enough, about 3 weeks into it I saw a guy stuff a distributor cap (think about that) down his pants and walk out the door. I couldn't believe I saw it, and at first thought someone was playing a trick, but it was, indeed, real. I had learned to recognize the signs of a potential shoplifter and learned how to use cameras and do surveillance. From that point forward I caught quite a few shoplifters in those days, but now that I don't do that any more I don't pay attention to those signs.
What my point is this; when you put yourself in situations to see things, and recognize what you're looking for, it becomes more likely to see those things. However with the paranormal you can look all you want and still not necessarily see anything before you, yourself, become a ghost. I've often speculated if that's not part of the phenomena itself....it's elusiveness.
My 2 cents.
Elendil
Paranormal Maven
Would you care to elaborate on that? What did you experience exactly?
Jeff Crowell
Paranormal Annoyance
When it boils down to it, I witnessed a shadow that had no source. It wasn't the shadow like "shadow people" where it was 3 dimensional or anything like that, but when the group of people 'froze' entering an area of the location, this shadow continued to move. It was visible for approximately 15 to 20 seconds, right before me, and moved with intent. 3 minutes later (after a some debunking attempts that failed) we started an EVP session and I heard an audible voice that, again, had no source. I caught the sound on audio. After the EVP session I spent the next 30 minutes triangulating the light sources into the room and where the shadow eminated from and where the source should have been. Bottom line......I couldn't figure it out, and the only conclusion I'm able to come to at this point is it was paranormal.
If you go to my website (in my signature file) you can listen to my encounter that I related on another podcast. Just go to my home page and scroll down. I give a bit more detail in the interview.
If you go to my website (in my signature file) you can listen to my encounter that I related on another podcast. Just go to my home page and scroll down. I give a bit more detail in the interview.
Hey no problem....I did not think that you imply that the events do not occur. I am convinced of what I see.....Interesting to see other views and opinions.
Jeff Crowell
Paranormal Annoyance
So, are you saying that 100% of all reported paranormal experiences (and we can limit those to the reports of haunting-type phenomena) are false? Do you believe that the literally thousands of reports from people, just in America, who claim they experienced something of an apparent spiritual nature, are either hallucinations, mis-identifications, or human error?
Please understand, I'm not being overly critical here, I just want to know if that, indeed, is what you believe. If so, fine, if that's your view, I just want to know "if" that is your view regarding such reports.
Peace.
---------- Post added at 12:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:49 AM ----------
I'm more on-board with #1 than #2 here. Philosophy teaches us that if something is True or Real it's experienced by all in some manner. this would sort of eliminate option #2, but not entirely. More on that in a sec.
I completely discount reports by psychics and believers who state that "ghosts are all around us. You just have to open your mind to them!" Bull crap. If this were the case we're a smart enough species that we would have discovered a way of at least detecting them more reliably. Ghost hunters like myself try to do just that almost every day. It's like disease. We (human beings) knew something was behind illness, micro-organisms, which were persistent and regular, were then discovered. They weren't illusionary, they were always there, just waiting for us to discover them. Therefore I believe the paranormal is far more elusive and evasive. It's rare (but real) and not "all around us" as I hear so often. Based on that we'll have to fight harder, and be luckier, to prove it's existence.
As far as point number 2, however, we need to be careful not to discount that concept too much. There may be a more select population of the human species that can tap into and detect haunting type activity more-so than the rest of us. An example of my point is this; women hear better than men, and children hear better than adults. They hear in a much broader frequency range. If I play a sound byte someone as sent me and I don't hear anything, I can proclaim that the sound byte is blank. However if my daughter (she's 13) listens to the byte and hears the sound she can counter my claim truthfully. Her sense of hearing is far more accurate than mine, after all. It's not fair for me to then criticize her on the base ground that I don't hear it therefore it must not be there. Parapsychologists believe in a sixth sense called psi. Their claim is that psi is an ability possessed and usable by every single human being, however some human beings have a greater developed sense of psi, or are more practiced at using it. They believe that it's these individuals who happen to sense more things about other people around them (psychically) and see more ghosts...all effects related to the usage of psi. This would be grounds for the rationality of point number 2...if psi actually exists. Proving that psi actually exists is a genuine question, though.
My 2 pennies.
Chefjames60
Paranormal Novice
Hello All!
I signed up for the forums 13 days ago and a message today warned me that since I have not posted yet, I might be removed, so here goes.
I discovered the Paracast this last December while enjoying my Christmas IPhone and vacation. There are something like 250 episodes and I have listened to all but maybe 30 of them. Obviously, Gene and Chris, I enjoy the show immensely. I enjoyed David Biedny's shows as well, even though I felt his manner at times more curt than necessary. The show may be better served without him, but I think he will have an important impact upon whatever he does.
I consider myself an open minded person who attempts to view the world of the paranormal with a critical eye and feel it is very important that when those of us who have experienced something paranormal or who believe in such, present our arguments to peers, family, friends, etc. in a logical, calm, and rational manner. As I have heard on the show and read here many times, we truly are our own worst enemy. It's no wonder people don't believe in this stuff. I think the motto of "separating signal from noise" and Gene's and his other host's consistent adherence to that philosophy is what attracted me to the show and why the show seems to have had some modicum of success in an area (podcasts of the paranormal) that is overflowing with broadcasters that nothing to further the serious study of anomalous phenomena.
Since this is a thread about ghost stories and I have already said way more than a newbie should, I'll just say that I recently participated in a "paranormal investigation" that included two old guys (myself and a friend) and 4 teenagers. My friend's son has an extreme interest in ghosts, hauntings, etc. and his father called in a favor and was able to get us into a 100 year old theater in our hometown that has been called the most haunted building in our city of 200,000. Long story short is that we made almost 30 evps, some not so good, some very clear. I wonder if anyone here works with evp very much? I am a total novice. Thank you.
James
I signed up for the forums 13 days ago and a message today warned me that since I have not posted yet, I might be removed, so here goes.
I discovered the Paracast this last December while enjoying my Christmas IPhone and vacation. There are something like 250 episodes and I have listened to all but maybe 30 of them. Obviously, Gene and Chris, I enjoy the show immensely. I enjoyed David Biedny's shows as well, even though I felt his manner at times more curt than necessary. The show may be better served without him, but I think he will have an important impact upon whatever he does.
I consider myself an open minded person who attempts to view the world of the paranormal with a critical eye and feel it is very important that when those of us who have experienced something paranormal or who believe in such, present our arguments to peers, family, friends, etc. in a logical, calm, and rational manner. As I have heard on the show and read here many times, we truly are our own worst enemy. It's no wonder people don't believe in this stuff. I think the motto of "separating signal from noise" and Gene's and his other host's consistent adherence to that philosophy is what attracted me to the show and why the show seems to have had some modicum of success in an area (podcasts of the paranormal) that is overflowing with broadcasters that nothing to further the serious study of anomalous phenomena.
Since this is a thread about ghost stories and I have already said way more than a newbie should, I'll just say that I recently participated in a "paranormal investigation" that included two old guys (myself and a friend) and 4 teenagers. My friend's son has an extreme interest in ghosts, hauntings, etc. and his father called in a favor and was able to get us into a 100 year old theater in our hometown that has been called the most haunted building in our city of 200,000. Long story short is that we made almost 30 evps, some not so good, some very clear. I wonder if anyone here works with evp very much? I am a total novice. Thank you.
James
Chefjames60
Paranormal Novice
Sadly, science doesn't have that great a track record. Peter Bros makes a strong case that empirical science is nothing more than a belief system (like religions) based on false assumptions. The main one being that gravity is a property of mass. Science has decided to accept it as fact because it can never be "disproven" and accepting it makes understanding and explaining reality much simpler. Science is completely full of false predictions, false prophecy, and unsubstantiated claims.
I don't mean to suggest that the scientific method is useless when it comes to explaining reality. I'm only saying that just as Gene often talks about the "doe eyed believers" when referring to certain proponents of the paranormal, one can actually put "science" on the same pedestal.
Critical thinkers should be skeptical when science says it has "proved" something. If the paranormal teaches us anything it should teach us that reality is probably a whole stranger than the Carl Sagans of the world made it out to be.