Anyone into ghost hunting?

[eharding]

drainbrain said:

Hate to say this, but having no 'fear of death' isn't a handicap in this life, it's a blessing.

I suggest you share this sentiment with your insurance companies, and observe quite how much of a blessing they think it is.

[rxtx]

drainbrain said:

The best known 'ghost' is the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit who innumerable people have experienced.

Then there's the Transfiguration of Jesus and The Lord's resurrection, and many other instances of 'beyond death' experiences in The Bible. Many people say that's all just lies. But many others know it's not.

Death's just a gateway moment. Ok, many people don't realise that, but many do. Hate to say this, but having no 'fear of death' isn't a handicap in this life, it's a blessing.

Please don't turn this into a religious discussion, this is about ghosts.

[Colonial]

rxtx said:

Please don't turn this into a religious discussion, this is about ghosts.

They are both as based in fact as each other. Seems a fair comparison.

But can we also include unicorns and leprechauns?

[Cliftonite]

Colonial said:

rxtx said:

Please don't turn this into a religious discussion, this is about ghosts.

They are both as based in fact as each other. Seems a fair comparison.

But can we also include unicorns and leprechauns?

Sounds Fairy Nuff to me . . .

[FourWheelDrift]

crazy about cars said:

Hey, once upon a time, way back then, we genuinely believed the world was flat.

Haven't you seen Earth from space?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Wiccan of Darkness said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

It's amazing that ghosts have somehow managed to avoid being picked up on any CCTV camera, anywhere in the world, ever.

Not true, I've seen the evidence with my own eyes. Friend of mine (also a witch) had a shop with CCTV. At night, it would switch to infra red and pick up all sorts of orbs floating around.

Surely CCTV would have picked up something a bit juicier than that. What about furniture that moves and the like. Loads of people claim to have ghosts that open cupboards and move chairs and stuff. Yes millions of shops, offices and houses around the world covered by CCTV, and not a sausage.

[jmorgan]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Wiccan of Darkness said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

It's amazing that ghosts have somehow managed to avoid being picked up on any CCTV camera, anywhere in the world, ever.

Not true, I've seen the evidence with my own eyes. Friend of mine (also a witch) had a shop with CCTV. At night, it would switch to infra red and pick up all sorts of orbs floating around.

Surely CCTV would have picked up something a bit juicier than that. What about furniture that moves and the like. Loads of people claim to have ghosts that open cupboards and move chairs and stuff. Yes millions of shops, offices and houses around the world covered by CCTV, and not a sausage.

What? Sausage ghosts?

[drainbrain]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oKiHHnZLl0

[Gargamel]

Goaty Bill 2 said:

In western tradition a ghost will be a soul that can not rest. Scrooge's partner Jacob Marley being one classic example.
The traditional causes being a desire for revenge/justice, a guilty conscience or a punishment (presumably by God).
As western tradition is historically Judeo-Christian based, animals do not have eternal souls.
No soul, no unrest, no ghost.
That, and animals also lack morals and moral obligations, so they can possess no animosity, have no 'unfinished business' or revenge to take, and feel no guilt; the majority of the proposed reasons for the existence of human ghosts.

And yet there are regular sightings of both headless horsemen and ghost ships...

[TwigtheWonderkid]

drainbrain said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oKiHHnZLl0

Given that these videos aren't the opening story on the news in every country on the planet, front page news in every paper, and the people involved aren't household names, i think it's safe to assume they aren't genuine.

Because proof of the supernatural would be!

[liner33]

Went to one at Chillingham Castle in the summer, not the spookiest place I've been but it was very good

[liner33]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Given that these videos aren't the opening story on the news in every country on the planet, front page news in every paper, and the people involved aren't household names, i think it's safe to assume they aren't genuine.

Because proof of the supernatural would be!

So you believe what you read in the paper ?

[Goaty Bill 2]

Gargamel said:

Goaty Bill 2 said:

In western tradition a ghost will be a soul that can not rest. Scrooge's partner Jacob Marley being one classic example.
The traditional causes being a desire for revenge/justice, a guilty conscience or a punishment (presumably by God).
As western tradition is historically Judeo-Christian based, animals do not have eternal souls.
No soul, no unrest, no ghost.
That, and animals also lack morals and moral obligations, so they can possess no animosity, have no 'unfinished business' or revenge to take, and feel no guilt; the majority of the proposed reasons for the existence of human ghosts.

And yet there are regular sightings of both headless horsemen and ghost ships...

Probably because too many people watch films like 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and 'Sleepy Hollow' which, much like the recent trend in vampire films and serials, almost completely ignore the traditional mythology as and when it suits and create their own.
Likewise very few people these days would bother reading Bram Stoker, never mind researching the older myths and legends or doing any critical thinking on the subject of vampires.

As for ghosts, Christian belief does not allow for spirits of the dead at all. Spirits yes, both for evil and for good apparently, but not disembodied souls of people remaining on the earth after death.
Most religions carry some belief in an eternal soul so it can be no surprise that the uneducated and those weak in their theology, or those creating/writing ghost stories simply for the fun of it, should imagine ghosts and link them to earthly souls. It is good imaginative stuff after all.

I know. Ichabod Crane saw a horse in the original story by Washington Irving, but the horse would have been very much a part of the horseman's fantastic existence rather than being a ghost for it's own sake or purpose.

It is an odd turn is it not, that a Christian properly versed in their theology, would have no fear of ghosts because they would simply know that ghosts don't exist.

[liner33]

Goaty Bill 2 said:

It is an odd turn is it not, that a Christian properly versed in their theology, would have no fear of ghosts because they would simply know that ghosts don't exist.

I'm not sure that is true at all

The bible says that ghosts are fallen angels trying to deceive us

[Goaty Bill 2]

liner33 said:

Goaty Bill 2 said:

It is an odd turn is it not, that a Christian properly versed in their theology, would have no fear of ghosts because they would simply know that ghosts don't exist.

I'm not sure that is true at all

The bible says that ghosts are fallen angels trying to deceive us

I refer to the ghosts of dead humans which I presume is the sort most people would be thinking of here (aside from animals ).

Evil spirits of the fallen angel / Satan variety would of course be a separate matter.
But then we are wandering into an entirely different belief/mythology structure that has been so badly mauled by popular writing and Hollywood that it's virtually impossible to untangle. The writings of Milton and Dante having done IMO more to muddle than to clarify. Though apparently the popes of their times were most impressed by them, albeit Dante's experiences with popes were somewhat complex if not actually fatal.
While normally comfortable with allegorical writing, it is likely that I have read them too literally.

I dare say however, that a 'face to face' meeting with a fallen angel would be unlikely to leave much room for speculation or uncertainty

[Moonhawk]

darker grapefruit said:

"There's an invisible man
Posting in this thread
Who you gonna call ?..."

He-Man, He-Man, He-Man!

[Moonhawk]

Wiccan of Darkness said:

Many low light pictures also capture orbs and weird floaty things. Sceptics will say they are dust particles. So why do they float across radiators without a change in height?

I have watched videos on youtube purporting to show these "orbs". They are dust particles. They are close to the camera lens - and hence are thrown out of focus. They are bright because they are close to the infrared LEDs illuminating the scene (which are usually around the outside of the camera lens - or just beside it.

They may appear to float across radiators without changing direction because they aren't actually above the radiator - they are close to the camera lens and just appear to be above the radiator due to a forced perspective optical illusion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPwF2cYhULs

If they were real - they would show on infrared cameras that don't have inbuilt illumination. I doubt you can find such footage.

[RDM]

crazy about cars said:

Hey, once upon a time, way back then, we genuinely believed the world was flat.

I'm not sure that's actually true either. Is there any
Evidence of this?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

liner33 said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Given that these videos aren't the opening story on the news in every country on the planet, front page news in every paper, and the people involved aren't household names, i think it's safe to assume they aren't genuine.

Because proof of the supernatural would be!

So you believe what you read in the paper ?

I certainly don't believe every video I see on Youtube.

[anonymous-user]

I really want ghosts and other paranormal things to be true, understandable and manageable

So far, that isn't the case