Ghost
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[[Image:Aliens or ghosts.jpg|thumb|right|A photograph of some "ghosts"<br/>]] | [[Image:Aliens or ghosts.jpg|thumb|right|A photograph of some "ghosts"<br/>]] | ||
Those who know claim that there are two main kinds of ghostly hauntings, namely residual and intelligent.<ref>{{wayback|http://www.signsofghosts.com/ghostfacts/}}</ref> A residual spook is unaware that it's dead, apparently, and will pass through a room, or wash ghostly dishes, without interacting with any living people in the vicinity. An intelligent ghost is the one that makes it into the movies, because they're the ones that know they are dead and are pissed off. This results in [[poltergeist]] activity, strange houses in Amityville and Freddie Kruger. In either case, almost all ghostly apparitions are "seen" wearing clothing, which may suggest that your clothes have a soul and that they will die when you do. | Those who know claim that there are two main kinds of ghostly hauntings, namely residual and intelligent.<ref>{{wayback|http://www.signsofghosts.com/ghostfacts/}}</ref> A residual spook is unaware that it's dead, apparently, and will pass through a room, or wash ghostly dishes, without interacting with any living people in the vicinity. An intelligent ghost is the one that makes it into the movies, because they're the ones that know they are dead and are pissed off. This results in [[poltergeist]] activity, strange houses in Amityville and Freddie Kruger. In either case, almost all ghostly apparitions are "seen" wearing clothing, which may suggest that your clothes have a soul and that they will die when you do. | ||
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| + | == Ghost stories == | ||
| + | Especially around Halloween, pop media like newspapers, television and the internets are flooded with supposedly factual ghost stories told from the point of view that ghosts scare people, no conventional explanation for them is likely, and witnesses couldn't possibly be exaggerating. If supporting testimony from scientific-sounding [[Ghost Hunters|"experts"]] can be found, all the better. How ghosts are treated in contemporary media is often a continuation of traditional supernatural folklore going back to deep-rooted cultural memories of 14th century Black Plague victims wrapped in white sheets.<ref>Goldstein, Grider, Thomas [http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1017&context=usupress_pubs Haunting Experiences: Ghosts in Contemporary Folklore] Utah State University Press</ref> | ||
==Scientific explanations== | ==Scientific explanations== | ||
Revision as of 16:36, 2 October 2014
| Can such things be? |
| The Twilight Zone |
Ghosts are generally defined as "The spirit of a dead person, especially one believed to appear in bodily likeness to living persons or to haunt former habitats."[1] There are two problems with this definition:
- Besides ghostly people, there are also ghostly ships (e.g. Flying Dutchman), ghostly planes, a ghostly double decker[2] and enough ghostly pets to open an SPCGA.[3]
- Ghosts are nearly always the product of apophenia (seeing a pattern that in reality doesn't exist)
You die, you're gone. But, your passing may haunt those you leave behind and cause them imaginary experiences of your coming back to... who knows what?
Ghost stories, on the other hand, are a wonderful source of entertainment — but if you decide to make one, be truthful and don't claim it's "based on a true story."[4]
Contents |
Types of hauntings
Those who know claim that there are two main kinds of ghostly hauntings, namely residual and intelligent.[5] A residual spook is unaware that it's dead, apparently, and will pass through a room, or wash ghostly dishes, without interacting with any living people in the vicinity. An intelligent ghost is the one that makes it into the movies, because they're the ones that know they are dead and are pissed off. This results in poltergeist activity, strange houses in Amityville and Freddie Kruger. In either case, almost all ghostly apparitions are "seen" wearing clothing, which may suggest that your clothes have a soul and that they will die when you do.
Ghost stories
Especially around Halloween, pop media like newspapers, television and the internets are flooded with supposedly factual ghost stories told from the point of view that ghosts scare people, no conventional explanation for them is likely, and witnesses couldn't possibly be exaggerating. If supporting testimony from scientific-sounding "experts" can be found, all the better. How ghosts are treated in contemporary media is often a continuation of traditional supernatural folklore going back to deep-rooted cultural memories of 14th century Black Plague victims wrapped in white sheets.[6]
Scientific explanations
There is nothing to explain, since there are no consistently observable phenomena to investigate. Hell, even if there was evidence, there isn't really anything that can be used to experiment on such phenomena. Evidence assembled for the existence of ghosts is largely ad hoc, anecdotal and difficult (or impossible) to duplicate or investigate further.
Explanations of ghosts supposedly dodging physical laws (like being semi-transparent or able to pass through walls) date back to Cambridge Platonist Henry Moore in the 17th century who suggested that souls (and therefore ghosts) are essentially four dimensional beings, an idea that Johann Karl Friedrich Zöllner promoted in the 19th century.[7]
Using Edwin Abbott Abbott's Flatland as his foundation, Carl Sagan in the print version of Cosmos stated:
“”"If a fourth-dimension creature existed it could, in our three-dimensional universe, appear and dematerialize at will, change shape remarkably, pluck us out of locked rooms, and make us appear from nowhere."
|
| —Carl Sagan. Cosmos pg 219 |
The problem is that most ghost lovers go the easier 'doesn't follow physical laws' route and call it a day. In reality they (though they don't realize it) mean 'doesn't follow three dimensional physical laws'.
Apophenia (seeing meaningful patterns or connections in random or meaningless data) in conjunction with strong emotions can explain many ghost sightings. This combination was used by Carl Sagan to explain the Martian canals seen by Percival Lowell:
“”"There is no doubt that the Mars canals of Percival Lowell were of intelligent origin. The only question is which side of the telescope the intelligence was on. Where we have strong emotions, we're liable to fool ourselves."
|
| —Carl Sagan. Cosmos |
Distorted shadows, reflections by not-immediately-obvious fixtures (or the flash of the camera itself), out-of-focus objects (the bug on a lens theory has been used to explain many ghost images in video tapes), and even particularities of the equipment itself coupled to the desire to believe can explain many ghost sightings and even videos of ghosts.
Other possible explanations include hallucinations due to a mental disorder or disease. In particular, Lewy Body dementia,[8] in addition to being characterized by the presence of Lewy bodies in a sufferer's brain, is also characterized by hallucinations of people and animals usually manifesting from the sufferer's memory.
A certain hallucinogenic has been reported to induce visions of ghosts. The Humr people of Sudan consume the drink Umm Nyolokh; which is created from the liver and marrow of giraffes. Umm Nyolokh often contains DMT and other psychoactive substances from plants the giraffes eat such as Acacia; and is known to cause hallucinations of giraffes, believed to be the giraffes ghosts by the Humr.[9][10]
Another probable explanation could involve the effects of sleep paralysis, especially as many sufferers experience the sensation of being held down by something, sometimes accompanied by terrifying hallucinations.
Belief in ghosts may also come from the refusal to accept the finality of one's own mortality and the absence of an afterlife, as well as the inability to cope with the loss of a loved one. Ghosts are, effectively, the "eternal spirit" of someone who has passed from the earthly realm and not finally lodged in heaven (nor hell).
See also
External links
- Buy your very own ghost hunting gear here!
- Signs of ghosts. Whoooooo. Don't visit it after midnight
- See Borley Rectory "the most haunted house in England".
Footnotes
- ↑ Free Dictionary's definition
- ↑ Well, they've seen it, so it must be true.
- ↑ The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Ghostly Animals
- ↑ See Based On A Great Big Lie on TV Tropes for more details. WARNING: TV Tropes will ruin your life.
- ↑ Archive copy at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Goldstein, Grider, Thomas Haunting Experiences: Ghosts in Contemporary Folklore Utah State University Press
- ↑ Pickover, Cliff (2001)Surfing Through Hyperspace Oxford University Press pg 123
- ↑ Lewy Body dementia in that other wiki
- ↑ Ian Cunnison (1958). "Giraffe hunting among the Humr tribe". Sudan Notes and Records 39.
- ↑ http://www.cracked.com/article/81_6-animals-that-can-get-you-high/
