Thursday, December 2, 2010

A Search for Ghosts- Part 1

(Part 1)

There are a number of TV shows out there and books written about “ghost hunters”. Many ghost hunters or paranormal investigators have elaborate equipment and work in an organized, professional and scientific manner, others may have fancy equipment but not the technical skills or knowledge to use it correctly. Paranormal investigators strive to prove (or disprove) the existence of the particular phenomenon they happen to be investigating. If you can’t accept that the human personality survives death at least as a theoretical possibility, then the possibility of ghosts would be pointless to discuss.

I’ve always had a fascination with ghosts and ghost stories since I was a kid. I collected books on ghost stories and still have a ton. I always wanted to see a ghost but it wasn’t until I moved into my house in Florida that my wish came true. That ghost was of an older gentlemen and I wasn’t the only one who saw him. The house wasn’t that old, only forty years or so. Now that I live in a house that’s over 100 years old and is located by a cemetery, I should see ghosts, but alas, no ghosts.

Whether or not you believe in ghosts or the different types of ghosts I’m going to discuss here, I found the topic interesting. Others may have other theories. One book I can recommend if this topic interests you: THE CASE FOR GHOSTS, An Objective Look at the Paranormal by J. Allan Danelek. A great book about ghosts and ghost hunting.

The paranormal investigators claim there are seven types of ghosts. I’ll talk about the first three types today and the rest on Monday.

TYPES OF GHOSTS- Seven Types

1) Interactive Ghosts- These are ghosts of deceased human beings. They’re self aware, intelligent and can interact with the living by becoming visible, being heard, even touch the living or manifest odors. As with humans, these manifestations display the full range of emotions and temperaments—from playful to violent.

2) Non-Interactive Ghost- Or an “imprint”. This ghost tends to act oblivious to its surroundings and to anyone close by. Sometimes their activities are like a scene from a movie rewound and repeated. They’re also called “Repeaters” or “Residuals”. Some investigators don’t believe these are real ghosts, but somehow images that have been etched into the environment, like a supernatural DVD that keeps playing over and over.

3) Living Ghost- There are accounts of people seeing the manifestations of someone—usually a living person close to them who appears as a ghost. The person of this ghostly apparition might be hundreds of miles away and in great stress or danger, like a soldier in a war. He’ll appear suddenly to a loved one even though it’s known that he’s hundreds of miles away. I call this situation astral projection. But that’s another topic. The living ghost can occur with a friend or family member at the precise moment of their death.

The other four types of ghosts will be discussed in Part 2 continued on Monday December 6th.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

The house I grew up in had a ghost. I believed it was a little girl and it would tap my shoulder or back in the middle of the night. I'd wake and see this little form standing by my bed.

My father's SO, was asleep a few years ago and she swore she heard my father come in from work. She looked up and saw him, but fell back to sleep. When she woke later she learned he hadn't been home, yet she swears he'd been there.

Very interesting post today.

Meljprincess said...

Wow. This is one of my favorite subjects. My entire family have had experiences with ghosts. I am a 'sensitive' and I visit homes and help people with their 'visitors'. I have tons of ghost books but no special equipment. I don't need it. I think the ghost shows are terrible. It's all blackness and people screaming. I would find your ghost for free! I've definitely dealt with Interactive Ghosts. I've also heard my dead grandmother on the phone. A word of advice...if you have a ghost in your home you can light a white candle and talk to it. Tell it you mean it no harm and you will coexist with it if it doesn't harm you. You can banish negative energy this was as well. A word of warning....The Poltergeist (German for 'noisy ghost') can be nice or mean. Proceed with caution. If you'd like to speak to me about this topic e-mail me.

Mel K.
Meljprincess AT aol DOT com

Firetulip said...

I love ghost stories. And while I don't have a personal encouter with a ghost, I have a story that raises hairs at the back of my neck. Takes place back home (Croatia) where you can walk out onto the highway and flag down a bus. The road follows steep and winding coast. The woman in black flags the bus, she pays her fare and talks to the passangers, no one saw her getting off but when the bus comes to the final destination, she's gone. And when it happened a few times, people started to get susspisious and started to look into the incident. It was discovered she died on that streach of road in the car crash, only about few months before her first appearance. So what happened to her soul? She's still earth bound for some reason. She's not evil or scarry, those she spoke with said she was really freindly and they had no reason to fear her. Now, this happened years ago, is she still around? The story seems to died out slowly. I guess she didn't make her appearance. Maybe she found her peace and left. I hope so.

Nina Pierce said...

I grew up with ghosts in my house. Yes, I saw them and heard them and felt them. They scare the bejeebers out of me! I'm happy when they don't show themselves. Though they absolutely fascinate me. Quite a contradiction.

Kathy Kulig said...

Amber those are two great stories. Thanks for sharing. The ghost I had in my house would touch me too. I would wake up feeling someone stroking my hair or sitting on the end on the bed. It would scare the heck out of me.

Mel, I doubt the ghost hunters TV shows are real. There's too much, "Oh, did you hear that?" going on in every show. Real ghost hunters spend hours with little or no results. I've heard the white candle thing.

Kathy Kulig said...

Hi Fire, Thanks for share that story. Pretty cool. She sounds like one of those "repeater ghosts". Maybe repeating her final moments before death like a broken record.

Nina, How interesting to grow up in a house with ghosts. I'm with you. When I saw the man-ghost standing at the end of my bed in the middle of the night. I screamed. He disappeared. Then I wished I hadn't panicked and had tried to talk to him. Each time I saw him I freaked. Maybe if I wasn't surprised. LOL