Do you guys believe in ghosts?

[Baydestrian]

Damn Hershey, you got a Gf and a wife?! lol

Ghost Adventures is the only believable show to me. Zak being the host puts on a show but he's the entertainment. Nick seems really believable to me. Aaron himself is a just a crazy guy and loves the paranormal shit. If you watch the newer eps they have caught a lot of really good evidence, the thermal cams are always the best IMO. In some episodes they don't really even catch anything yet they still air it, which to me is actually a good thing b/c it shows you don't always catch activity but it doesn't mean the user accounts aren't valid.

[CommonSyns]

I've dealt with things I can't explain since I was 15 when we remodeled the rear half of the house I grew up in. I swear seems like everywhere I live I notice something odd. Like when I moved into my apartment I thought everything was normal for like 2 weeks. One night I'm down stairs with my laptop and I hear what sounds like a bed squeaking. First I think I think it's my neighbor, but I looked outside to see if her car was there. Nope, no one else lives in that apartment next door and I've got an end unit, and the sound is coming from directly above me. Another time while up stairs sitting at my desk I hear a woman's voice say "hi" clear as day. I'm the only one here....no roommates, gf, wife....nottin....not even a tv was on. and I was away from any windows, which were all shut. I have also seen things that no one else has seen.

the ghost followed you from your childhood home I bet.

That might be true, Ghosts will follow if they want to, I know, I made the mistake of provoking one and it followed me home, I had to go back that same night to the same place alone this time because none of my friends wanted to come with me, An abandoned asylum is NOT what you want to go to at 2:30 in the morning at night alone going back into tunnels that lead to the crematory then back to the solditary confinement. I was only allowed to have a pen light cause anything bigger would attact attention of others.

[bbeljefe]

The human subconscious mind is an amazing thing. It can cause us to have actual physical pain in our bodies where there is no injury. It can cause us to think we see things that aren't there. It can cause us to hear the voices of dead relatives, past & present authority figures and, even, non existent deities. It also informs our every decision on a daily basis... so much so that there is now a great debate among the scientific community as to whether or not humans actually have free will.

That said... there is no magic. No ghosts. No deities. No ESP. No clairvoyance. No voodoo. No demons and no gods. There is only a vast archive of past experiences floating around in each of our minds. Perhaps one day we will understand how and why the subconscious puts on these plays for the conscious. But until then, ghost stories and other superstitions will no doubt persist.

But... if you're convinced of any of it and you can provide concrete, repeatable, demonstrable, empirical evidence of the existence of the paranormal, James Randi has a one million dollar prize waiting for you.

Mr Randi's challenge started in 1964 and has been taken on by many. All have failed.

[CommonSyns]

That is very interesting. How about a test of another where theres a handicapped person? Lets say someone who is blind and lead him or her to a active site where theres nothing but hauntings. Give him no prior knowledge of the area and see what his reactions are, the participant is blind therefore he can not see anything going around and if there is no prior knowlege he wont know where he is, Therefore eliminating the "subconscious mind" part, He was only told he was going somewhere quiet where he or she could think. If the blind person gets touched or gets scratched or something, hears a voice, or if he sees a vision then thats would disprove Mr Randis challange. It would ultimately conclude that paranormal activity exists. Get someone whos pure of all sight to go into an area that has activity but is told nothing of it and then says something about it, now that would be scientific.

[bbeljefe]

That is very interesting. How about a test of another where theres a handicapped person? Lets say someone who is blind and lead him or her to a active site where theres nothing but hauntings. Give him no prior knowledge of the area and see what his reactions are, the participant is blind therefore he can not see anything going around and if there is no prior knowlege he wont know where he is, Therefore eliminating the "subconscious mind" part, He was only told he was going somewhere quiet where he or she could think. If the blind person gets touched or gets scratched or something, hears a voice, or if he sees a vision then thats would disprove Mr Randis challange. It would ultimately conclude that paranormal activity exists. Get someone whos pure of all sight to go into an area that has activity but is told nothing of it and then says something about it, now that would be scientific.

You can't eliminate the influence of the subconscious mind because all humans have a subconscious, regardless of the function of their senses. Although it would be quite remarkable for a blind person to be physically injured by something that isn't there. As far as hearing things or seeing visions is concerned, again we have the influence of the subconscious and to be sure, when we don't know what's around us, our amygdala goes into overdrive. It is the part of the brain that handles our fight or flight response and once it is invoked without a known reason, we can see or hear virtually anything that's not there. Or, we can hear a wind blow and think it is a ghost walking past us. We could hear a deadfall limb break out of a tree outside and swear it was a knock on the wall two feet from us.

The science behind how the human mind works is, to me at least, vastly more mysterious and awe inspiring than the most clever of ghost stories. :-)

[S15_Silvia]

I believe in some influence from the other side, but nothing like apparitions and shit. No actual physical manifestations and stuff.

My uncle took his own life when I was a senior in high school; he was a huge influence in my life and is the reason I'm so into cars and technical stuff today (he owned a repair/body shop). There have been some occasions, especially while driving, where I feel like he may have stepped in and saved me a little.

[Baydestrian]

Don't start the whole free will thing. Ray William Johnson brought it up a few weeks ago on YouTube and then the most recent episode of Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman was about it, I last about 10-15 min before I turned it off b/c it was kinda crazy to hear.

[bbeljefe]

Don't start the whole free will thing. Ray William Johnson brought it up a few weeks ago on YouTube and then the most recent episode of Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman was about it, I last about 10-15 min before I turned it off b/c it was kinda crazy to hear.

Agreed. It's a subject that like so many other scientific subjects, has become blown out of proportion by people who don't even understand the basis of the claim against free will.

Ultimately, our decisions are made in our subconscious based upon the myriad past experiences we've had and because of that, there are those who argue against free will. But the bottom line is that all the thinking and decision making that takes place in our subconscious is still thinking and decision making and thus, cannot be accurately described as fore ordained or pre determined... simply because we make often make different choices in identical circumstances.

But yeah... it has become monotonous.

[hershy314]

Damn Hershey, you got a Gf and a wife?! lol

Ghost Adventures is the only believable show to me. Zak being the host puts on a show but he's the entertainment. Nick seems really believable to me. Aaron himself is a just a crazy guy and loves the paranormal shit. If you watch the newer eps they have caught a lot of really good evidence, the thermal cams are always the best IMO. In some episodes they don't really even catch anything yet they still air it, which to me is actually a good thing b/c it shows you don't always catch activity but it doesn't mean the user accounts aren't valid.

that was supposed to read NO gf or wife lol....whoops

[hershy314]

The human subconscious mind is an amazing thing. It can cause us to have actual physical pain in our bodies where there is no injury. It can cause us to think we see things that aren't there. It can cause us to hear the voices of dead relatives, past & present authority figures and, even, non existent deities. It also informs our every decision on a daily basis... so much so that there is now a great debate among the scientific community as to whether or not humans actually have free will.

That said... there is no magic. No ghosts. No deities. No ESP. No clairvoyance. No voodoo. No demons and no gods. There is only a vast archive of past experiences floating around in each of our minds. Perhaps one day we will understand how and why the subconscious puts on these plays for the conscious. But until then, ghost stories and other superstitions will no doubt persist.

But... if you're convinced of any of it and you can provide concrete, repeatable, demonstrable, empirical evidence of the existence of the paranormal, James Randi has a one million dollar prize waiting for you.

Mr Randi's challenge started in 1964 and has been taken on by many. All have failed.

I would have to respectfully disagree. I"ve started experiencing stuff way before I ever got into the paranormal or even knew what it was for that matter. How can my mind come up with something that I didn't know about? Doesn't make sense to me. All I have to say is just cause you haven't seen or experienced something doesn't mean it's not real.