BootsnAll Travel Community

I have heard of several "haunted" hostels and castles along my travels but never actually saw or "felt" anything.

Anyone else had a "supernatural" experience?

I never saw one, but I heard one. It was in our house, and we had bought the house from my husband's grandfather. I was playing the piano, which was located right near the bottom of the stairs. I heard my husband walk down the stairs--at least I thought it was him at first. But the footsteps stopped on the bottom step, and that was it. I did think it was odd that I had not heard my husband come out of the bedroom and out onto the landing before he started down the steps, so I went to ask him about it. He said it was not him, but that his grandmother used to hear that too, and she always believed it was her father.

My nephews claimed to have seen the ghost--also on the stairs, and without prompting from us.

My baby daughter would stand at the bottom of the stairs and "talk" to the ghost.

There is a little historical town in Missouri called Arrow Rock, and the olde inn there has a ghost, it is claimed.

The ghostbuster movies were pretty funny!

Well I know that when my family stayed at the historicHotel Monte Vista in Flagtaff, all of the pictures my sister took from inside the hotel came out blurry with weird traces of lights.

The hotel is known for supossedly being haunted. Interesting fact: John Wayne was the first person to report seeing a ghost in the hotel.

You guys have to lay off the acid. At least the brown acid

AaA

quote:

Originally posted by Allen Ambrosino:
You guys have to lay off the acid. At least the brown acid

AaA

heh...

we experience only a fraction of what actually occurs around us. what we experience dictates our reality, but does not dictate anything elses reality.

Ive had numerous "encounters" though very rarely a full body apparition, at least in the "traditional" ghost sense.

I think, before we discuss who has seen a ghost, we define what we view as a "ghost."

for instance, I would call some living, breathing beings ghosts.

Its an interesting concept, but i believe we see it too egocentrically. its like thinking the universe revolves around the earth. a "ghost" is usually nothing more than a being that is perceivable through our senses, its possible they experience/think of us in a similiar fashion. though, id say "they" probably have a better grasp of whats going on.

Long time ago I have seen a ghost in the form of a little girl with tapered hands and feet, all white and featureless, hovering in the air above the drawers...in the middle of the night, when the whole family was asleep on a hot summer night when we all slept on the tatami (straw mat) in one room. When I tried to close my eyes, i see images of kitten getting run over by cars, so terrible that i didn't dare to close my eyes....

These days i feel like a ghost myself, because what matters to me is not the same as to others around me. It's not a good feeling to feel the walls crushing in when one finds oneself in a reality that's too much like an extended nightmare.

Anyone remember that movie, "The Others"?

quote:

Well I know that when my family stayed at the historicHotel Monte Vista in Flagtaff, all of the pictures my sister took from inside the hotel came out blurry with weird traces of lights.

The hotel is known for supossedly being haunted. Interesting fact: John Wayne was the first person to report seeing a ghost in the hotel.

Maybe her exposures were too long

I have been interested in the subject for quite some time. A while back I went to a fairly large convention on subjects related to the supernatural. During one session about hauntings, the speaker asked a question directly of the audience "How many of you have seen a ghost. Please raise your hand." To my surprise about 75% of the people in the room raised their hands!
"Interesting" The speaker said. "Now please keep your hand up those of you who have actually touched a ghost."
Not surprisingly, most of the hands went down, but there were still a dozen or so hands in the air.
"Well then," the speaker said, "of those of you remaining, who here has actually had sex with a ghost?"
There was of course some murmurings amongst the audience, and all of the hands went down except for one elderly gentleman's who was sitting in the back of the room.
The speaker grabbed his microphone and walked to the back of the room to stand next to the gentleman.
"Sir, do you mean to tell everyone here that you have actually had sex with a ghost!?"
To which the old man replied "Did you say ghost? I'm sorry, I thought you said 'goat'."

quote:

I have been interested in the subject for quite some time. A while back I went to a fairly large convention on subjects related to the supernatural. During one session about hauntings, the speaker asked a question directly of the audience "How many of you have seen a ghost. Please raise your hand." To my surprise about 75% of the people in the room raised their hands!
"Interesting" The speaker said. "Now please keep your hand up those of you who have actually touched a ghost."
Not surprisingly, most of the hands went down, but there were still a dozen or so hands in the air.
"Well then," the speaker said, "of those of you remaining, who here has actually had sex with a ghost?"
There was of course some murmurings amongst the audience, and all of the hands went down except for one elderly gentleman's who was sitting in the back of the room.
The speaker grabbed his microphone had walked to the back of the room to stand next to the gentleman.
"Sir, do you mean to tell everyone here that you have actually had sex with a ghost!?"
To which the old man replied "Did you say ghost? I'm sorry, I thought you said 'goat'."

One bad cat.

Thats pretty funny.

I'm pretty sure I saw the ghost of a little girl in my sisters room (no it wasnt her - I checked, lol). And my other sister swears that she sees a cat in her room during the night.

Best ask my mum if we were both dropped as babies.

Got one that lights up a cherry pipe every now and again around the house.

Kind of creepy...

Long ago, for a period of about two months, weird things were happening. There were sounds in te chimney, like dropping rocks. Every night, somehow, the door to my room was twisting open for no reason, and with some considerable force. Finally, out of curiousity, I went upstairs and found a WWII war chest, which was full of blocks and locked. I'd locked it on a whim. I removed the lock, and everything stopped. Don't ask me why.

My friend, while visiting our house, claimed he could call ghosts. I said NO!. He said, sure, watch. within 5 minutes the room became freezing cold, even under the covers, and a strange feeling filled the room. Then it went away.

My friend made no claims to actually talking to them, or knowig what they wanted. They just came when he thought about seeing them. It's not a gift I would want to have.

I have not seen a ghost personally, but I know a few such incidences. In Jonesville, Michigan there is an old section of town with houses from the mid 1800s. My good friend, Karmen, lived in one of those houses when she was girl. In the upstairs rooms there were secret doors that let to hidden rooms where slaves were hidden while escaping on the Underground Railroad. Karmen often saw the figures of those escaped slaves walking through the rooms of the house.

Two houses down from Karmen's childhood home is a place called the Munro House. It is now a Bed & Breakfast. The guests there often report mysterious incidences. They hear footsteps in the attic, the pictures are knocked off the walls, and there is the occational sighting of the Civil War Officer who walks the rooms.

On the campus of Adrian College where I went to school is an old building called Downs Hall. It was built in the 1840s and houses the art gallery and a small theatre (seats 50). I think some events are blamed on ghosts when in reality its just an accident or forgetfulness. One of my friends was walking down the back stairs during a play and she was certain that she was pushed down the stairs despite being all alone. Was she pushed by the ghost? Who knows. I do know this: another friend had an orchestra practice in the theater. Her boyfriend came to visit and was sitting up in the balcony while they practiced. As he sat there he saw a yellowish fog off to one side. When he look at the fog, it suddenly rushed to the opposite side. The air turned ice cold and then the fog dissipated. He was absolutely terrorfied. He also knew nothing about the rumors of ghosts at Downs Hall.

Jet

I find the subject of ghosts fascinating. It's amazing to study how the human fears of death, the dark, the cold and the unknown are manifested together in the spiritual form of a "departed soul". To me it's a purely psychological concept, in the same (more modern) realm of alien abduction stories.

It's entralling to believe, but you have to ask yourself questions. Is there any scientific proof for their existence? If you're not religious, and so don't believe in an afterlife, then how do you explain ghosts? If I told you I was a ghost, would you believe me? Why/why not? What test would you apply to me? The whole subject is so tenous, and whilst I don't doubt that the experiences people have recounted here truly happened, it's easy - and a lot more fun - to put it down to folklore rather than to look for explanations in the material world.

Steve
Party Pooper

operating solely on what you know perpetuates no growth, scientifically.

science is to explain what is currently unexplainable. meaning, what has been explained shouldnt necessarily have bearing on what has NOT been explained due to bias, and simply the fact that it has not been explained.

to apply current science to such concepts assumes current science is even applicable to them, which is too far an assumption due to the fact that it is unexplained and unknown.

science is stated as a search for truth, not the search for truth within the boundaries of what has been "defined." despite the fact that that is exactly what science has become; intellectual wankery of the highest degree! using current science to explain the unexplained is illogical due to the fact that current science can not explain it (thus it being "unexplained"). disregarding it due to preconceived biases on "how it should be" is equally illogical, because everything here is organic and constantly changing. what holds "true" today, may not hold "true" ten years from now, in many concepts and definitions.

in that regard, i hold "true" science in the same realm as "true" religion, though they have taken quite different paths.

I concur with your first two paragraphs totally. Science is an attempt to explain the measurable universe, using the scientific method and with mathematics as its language. It is forward-thinking, about constantly pushing the boundaries, and improving and overthrowing old theories (e.g. Einstein's General Relativity replacing Isaac Newton's theory of gravitation), not stubbornly sticking to old beliefs, which is the realm of some religions.

I'm sorry to hear you think science is "intellectual wankery", and would be interested to hear on what grounds you base this opinion. Certainly as scientists tackle more and more complex concepts, such as relativity, particle physics and the origins of the universe, science becomes more and more difficult to explain to the layman. Science is also not typically known for its orators, but if you do desire to learn more I can recommend to you the works of the late and great Richard Feynman, a scientific genius and a superb communicator.

You assert that the scientific method is not applicable to "unexplained" concepts. Then what other method do you propose we should use for verifying these strange observations? Or do you just wish for them to remain vague folklore?

I sympathise with your psychic channelling abilities; I also have an unexplained power myself. If I concentrate hard and push my hands together, sometimes I can make leprechauns appear. How many visit me depends on how much inner chi energy I have; usually it's two or three. The thing is, it's not controlled and I can't seem to do it when other people are watching. They also run away at the sight of a camera, the pesky critters. I have no way of providing evidence to anyone else that they exist, so people just have to believe me.

Do you believe in my powers? I do hope so.

If not, then why should I believe in yours?

condescending tones and assumptions arent too welcome...

you have no reason to believe in my "powers," as you call them, and honestly, your belief is irrelevant (as is mine in yours).

i think what science is NOW is intellectual wankery, i do NOT believe science itself is, however. i see that science will not consider the fact it may be wrong on things, and it is detrimental to the scientific community as a whole. i actually consider myself a scientist..

two questions:

Has science EVER proved itself wrong?

if so (and the answer is most obviously yes, you even noted one in your previous post), then you must consider that EVERYTHING science "knows" could possibly be wrong.

Can human science transcend the human senses/perceptions?

we can bring things into our perspective, but we will always have biases associated with what we experience, and thus flawed observations that are valid individually, but not beyond that system.

quote:

You assert that the scientific method is not applicable to "unexplained" concepts. Then what other method do you propose we should use for verifying these strange observations?

an open mind, nothing more and nothing less. no new-agey fluff, and no "intellectual wankery." no preconceived notions, no assumptions, etc etc...

how much do you think we, as humans, perceive of what actually transpires around us? human science takes that fraction of "reality" and applies it to the whole. i.e. no one, including myself or you, really has any idea what they are talking about when it comes to the "grand scheme" of things. we may know our perspective quite well, but when it comes down to it, its all just drops of water in the ocean/pieces of a whole.

my opinion is that you are entirely correct in everything you say, for your perspective and respective reality only (same goes for me). if you believe something is impossible, then why would you experience it differently? what purpose is there in basically making fun of other peoples completely valid realities? when we take action, we always have intentions, what are yours in this conversation?

I'm sorry to hear you interpret me as being condescending. I'm simply trying to be as precise and clear as possible in my explanations.

So you think science NOW is intellectual wankery? I don't understand. Science is a concept independent of time. May I ask again directly, on what grounds do you base this opinion? Are you referring to particular topics or scientists? It seems a rather sweeping statement to make.

Science is only an approximation, so in your black and white sense, yes, it is all "wrong". We observe an effect, make a hypothesis as to its cause, usually proposing a theoretical theory, measure the effect, and see if our theory can sufficiently explain our measurements *and predict all future measurements*. If it doesn't, we revise our theory. If evidence later arises that conflicts with our theory, we rethink and expand our theory to encompass that evidence. We gain a better approximation.

The theory of aerodynamics helps us put planes into the air. Like any scientific theory, it is a theoretical scientific approximation to an observed effect. In your world, it is "wrong". Perhaps you should stop taking planes?

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an open mind, nothing more and nothing less.

An open mind is essential - but it gets us nowhere on its own. An open mind is not a framework for explaining the unexplained. You need EVIDENCE gathered from a controlled environment. This concept underpins our whole society, from medical drug trials to the law courts.

My intentions for this thread are purely to make people question "unexplained" things. When we, for example, hear about a Nepalese boy who claims to have not eaten or drank for six years, should we keep an open mind and believe him to be Buddha? Or should we keep an open mind, observe his claim in a controlled enviroment, and see if he can demonstrate his ability, and if so, then claim him to be Buddha?

The former approach is faith. The latter is science.

PS, on this subject. I was interested to hear the independent scientific team were denied access to Buddha Boy. It speaks volumes.

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You need EVIDENCE gathered from a controlled environment.

Nearly. You need a control for most experiments, but a lot of the time the environment should not be controlled, e.g. when observing behaviours.

In the case of ghosts, it might be more productive to conduct any experiments in their "natural" environment, provided, of course, anybody can figure out where exactly that is.