why do you believe or not believe in ghosts?

[TOPGUN]

i believe in ghosts but not because of watching footage that may or may not be paranormal but because of peoples experiences.

for example (and this is just made up but you get the idea)

if someone is on holiday in a country theyd never visited and walks into a bar that theyve never heard of or been to before and talks to someone and then that person disappears into thin air before their eyes and then they tell the bar staff what happened and they reply that many people have seen the figure before disappear

you cant explain that as imagination, hallucination, tricks of the light, electromagnetic fields etc..

the only thing that is the most logical explanation is that person really did see a ghost

its stories similar to things like that that make me believe.

pictures and video can be hoaxed so easily so i dont consider that reliable

[pixi]

I understand what you are saying TG.
Circumstances where different people have independently reported the same phenomena with no prior knowledge of the other experiences are very interesting.
I think this is what makes me so curious and open minded into the possibilities

[ricey]

I believe in ghosts because of a personal experience.
Too long to type ,but i will do it tomorrow.

[cam]

Its experiences that many have witnessed in exactly the same way that do intrigue me as well.

[DragonMaster]

good way at looking at it pix....n it must be true when people see the same thing....and yet they don`t know one another..? got to be something in it..

[slightlysceptical]

I always try to look at things from a sceptical and rational viewpoint before viewing anything as paranormal, but personally there are some things that just can't be explained. I've read and heard of too many experiences for them to all have been hoaxes and/or due to imagination. Add to this my own personal experiences (including seeing a full-body apparition of what I later found out to be my great-grandmother) and I tend to lean towards the 'believer' side, although I always try to look at these matters from all perspectives.

[cam]

Good way of looking at things ss.

I used to be just the same but I have grown very cynical over the last 6months or so.

Its much better to be open minded than cynical as the way I feel now I dont have any hope that there is an afterlife.

[slightlysceptical]

Lol...would your heightened cynicism have anything to do with a certain paranormal TV show?

I sometimes feel the same as you, but then I just try to tell myself that there MUST be something more than this. The universe is so vast and full of things we can't even dream of. Surely life continues somewhere, in some form. At least, I hope so.

[cam]

Not due to the show really although it has not helped purely for the fact that after all the shows they have done they have not got one shred of evidence.

I agree that there should be something.
What is it all for if there is nothing.?

Life basically sucks for most people and the thought that this is all we get makes me sick.

All I need is one bit of proof.Even if everyone scorns me for it I wont care so long as I believe it.

[misty]

I agree SS, that's a really healthy way to look at things.

I have to confess that all my life I have heard, seen, smelt and felt things that other folk don't seem to. It made me very unhappy for many years until I learned to accept myself. So I can't say that I 'believe' one way or another - I don't have any more choice in the matter than folk have over the colour of their skin - it's just the way I am. But it doesn't mean that I don't constantly question my experiences and I certainly have no inclination to try and convince anybody else.


Oh cam! *sigh*

[cam]

Sorry to hear that your exeriences made you unhappy misty

It must have been so scary at first when you had no idea what was going on.

Seems that we all.....believers and sceptics alike...are still seeking answers.

[misty]

Oh, it wasn't the experiences made me feel bad cam, it was other people's reaction to them.

Imagine the scenario: you are four or five years old. There is a bit of a family gathering and there are lots of adults you have never seen before crowding about and nattering. You are wandering about, offering biscuits and trying to be polite. There is a lot of talk concerning one aunt who has decided to marry a particular man. One of the adults attracts your attention. She seems somehow different from the others, a bit older, clothes are a bit old fashioned, heavy and a bit musty, heavy make-up but a nice perfume. She speaks to you kindly and knows your name, she knows all about you. She tells you her name. She tells you that the man will make the aunt very unhappy if they marry. She tells you that they won't listen to her, but that they might listen to you. She encourages you to 'speak up' and tell the aunt not to marry the man - it's a mistake - things will be very bad. She becomes quite insistant ... and eventually, being an obedient child, you do what you are asked. You open up your mouth and state quite clearly 'Aunt ****, *name* says that you are not to marry **** because he will hurt you and make you very unhappy.'
"What did you say?"
so you repeat '*name* says,etc. etc.'
Deathly silence, closely followed by bedlam and tears!
Red-faced mother ushers you roughly to your room, through calls of 'cheeky brat', 'not fit to be in company', 'well, where did she get that name from?', 'knew there was something odd...!'

So now you are in your room, under pain of death not to leave it. Body aching from the physical assault, mind reeling with bitter humiliation, stomach churning because it feels like the end of the world. This is not the first time.... you must indeed be the very worst child anybody ever had, a liar, a freak. Nobody speaks for days after. Nothing is ever explained or spoken of again. But you learn to keep your mouth shut!

Years afterwards, you discover that the adult who got you into such trouble had been very close to the aunt in question, but had been dead for some years at the time of the incident. The aunt did marry the man and he made her life a misery with his womanising and beat her often when he was home. She died at quite a young age and many said it was just to get away from him.

I share this little story because sometimes it's just the way life is.

[cam]

Oh how awful that you had to go through that.

Have to say that as I was reading it I was getting annoyed at the spirit who insisted you gave the message.
You were but a child.

[misty]

I'm a great believer that 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger', cam! Best just taken as part of life's rich tapestry, hon ;D

The importance of this kind of forum is that other people might recognise this kind of experience and realise that they are not alone. Being able to talk about it may help them realise they are not 'freaks' after all.

[cam]

True..life does make us stronger.

Its great to share experiences.
For a medium it must be vital since I cant imagine what must go through their minds when they are hearing/seeing things.

I have learnt so much since being online as well as becoming a lot more self assured.
Who says the internet is evil.

[ricey]

Well, i believe in an afterlife.
Not sure i believe in Ghosts. I do believe that mediums have the power to contact the spirits of dead loved ones.
I believe that Dead loved ones, do leave energy behind in a place they once loved and the medium picks up on that.
As for Ghosts. Na, don't believe in that.
For example. How do ghosts get their clothes? I don't think Ghosts exist, but spirits do.
If that makes sense?

[pixi]

ricey said:

How do ghosts get their clothes?

well this one didn't bother!
*click me*

[cam]

[TOPGUN]

i like the drawing they did

[DragonMaster]

[pixi]

it was Jim's comments that cracked me up...

Well, it definitely appears to have a figure of a woman... very interesting.

Geez.... I know us girlies tend to have a hang up over our bodies, but thank **** mine's not that shape!

[cam]

[DragonMaster]

ohhh pix ya make me laugh.....roflmao....

Misty, that was sad how you got treated, and people should have known after ya said the name you didn`t make it up.....then look at the outcome, which comforms it. see this is why people sometimes need to step back and just listen...