Monday, October 12, 2009

What's NOT a Ghost - And What Is

First of all, the kid in the sheet is not a ghost.

Still, it's a cute photo. And the outfit being worn is likely most tantalizing to bears in the vicinity. They love it when you can't see them coming.

Things that are told to me as ghost encounters that I get VERY unexcited about are cached photos of orbs.

1. At least 99.99% of the photos of orbs taken by digital cameras are NOT ghosts. That's just an opinion, mind you. But, I really, truly never want to see another orb photo.

Until one talks to me, I remain unconvinced that digital-camera produced orbs have anything to do with ghosts.

Maybe when someone gets a photo of an orb wearing a hat or eating a piece of pizza, you can sign me up as faithful follower of the Orbitists. Until then....

2. Okay, I think it is really nifty when people find things they lost. The fact that I looked for something right there and didn't see it, then looked right there again and find it, does NOT mean a ghost was hiding it from me.

Because people do have near-death experiences, I will accept that near-ghost experiences occur. Perhaps they occur with some frequency. Sometimes when you are alone you have the eerie feeling someone is watching you. Except when someone is (now that's scary), you might be experiencing a ghost.

When you wake up in the morning in a house all by yourself and you hear someone whispering your name over and over again this could very truly be a ghost experience. I know a young woman who moved out of her ground-floor college apartment after two weeks of experiencing this ghostly whispering of her name. An old house near UNC-Asheville had been divided into two apartments downstairs.

She said she felt as if she were being softly touched... that it was this touching that woke her and then she heard the voice. She had never experienced anything similar before moving in or after leaving the apartment. She told me that even driving on the street where the old house is located still fills her with a sense of ominous dread.

Do you believe this is a true ghost experience? I do.

When it comes to ghosts, seeing is sometimes believing. But, believe me, you don't have to see a ghost to encounter a ghost. The ghost only has to see you.

10 comments:

Mary E Campbell said...

Hey thanks for your comment about my paragraph. I had to check yours out of course. It totally made me laugh. Hope that was the response you wanted.

Jm Diaz said...

Thank you! Thank YOU! for the orb thing... I know I guy is is insistent that his friends and acquaintances (me included) have spirits that follow us around. He whips out the orb pictures as evidence. I told him it was evident he needed get rid of his shitty camera.

But that gal that got the whispers, yeah, I can see that as being unnerving. Hind sight is always 20/20, but it would have been most helpful to her case had she had some kind of audio recording device.
Unless she claims that only she can hear the whisper, which at that point I'm calling schizophrenia.

Mary E Campbell said...
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Mary E Campbell said...
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Loretta Ross said...

So glad to see that you don't credit orbs! :)

Have you seen this site, which has a good technical explanation of how orbs are produced? http://www.photospace.co.nz/strange_orbs.htm

I just now saw your response to my comments on your post from a week ago Friday (I've been offline). I don't object to you repeating my stories. :) I have more background information on the hotel if you're interested. Local tradition says the ghost is Jim Younger, probably because he was the most famous possibility, but I have another theory. ;)

Also, speaking of historic ghosts, are you familiar with the theory that, after time, they seem to "wind down" like a battery running out of energy? (Personally, I think there are probably several valid explanations for ghosts and the "psychic photograph" is certainly one of them.)

Loretta Ross said...
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Willow Cross said...

Have been perusing the blog, and absolutely loving it! I'm so pleased you stopped by, I'm always looking for a new good read. Thank you!

Anita Saxena said...

Thank for commenting on my blog Mr. GhostFolk.com

But alas I am too scared to read yours (I read as far as the woman in the sheet).
I believe supernatural activity and ghosts are REAL and it scares the living crap out of me. I can't watch scary movies or read scary books or even think of scary things that may remotely be possible.
Best of luck with your haunts. =)

Ronald L. Smith said...

My comments are similar to Anita Saxena's--although I can certainly read scary stories and watch scary movies.

I love supernatural films. But if I were to actually feel or sense a ghost, I would completely freak out.

Unknown said...

You have a great sense of humor. Love the bit about the bear!

Also, relieved to hear you are sensible about orbs. For heaven's sake, Orbitists
drive me nuts.

Ooh, and the story about the whispering ghost was a good one. I used to live down the street from the "asylum" where Doc Holliday passed on; it, too was converted into apartments. I never heard anyone who lived there say it was haunted, but then, I never knew any of the people who lived there. :-) I know MY house was haunted, but then, most of my houses have been.