Are ghosts real?

[Syne]

--noises, voices, lights, EM fields, cold spots, apparitions, and moving objects. I can't conceive of an agency that isn't objectively real while having these effects.

Neither can I, which is why it's much more likely mundane causes mistaken as something spooky.

[Leigha]

Skimmed through the thread, not sure if this was touched on, MR. But, are you familiar with Anomalistic Psychology?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anomalistic_psychology

Parapsychology takes the opposite path - it goes into ''investigating'' claims of the paranormal, believing that there are paranormal explanations.

I've read somewhere that 1 out of 5 people on average, have claimed to have experienced ghost encounters. That's a significantly high number of people to be suffering from psychological issues. (which seems stranger than accepting that there could be some truth to those claims)

[Magical Realist]

Skimmed through the thread, not sure if this was touched on, MR. But, are you familiar with Anomalistic Psychology?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anomalistic_psychology

Parapsychology takes the opposite path - it goes into ''investigating'' claims of the paranormal, believing that there are paranormal explanations.

I've read somewhere that 1 out of 5 people on average, have claimed to have experienced ghost encounters. That's a significantly high number of people to be suffering from psychological issues.

Sounds like skeptical debunkery dressed in a labcoat. I say if you're so dedicated to disproving the paranormal, then spend a few nights in a haunted location. Then talk about psychological causes of the phenomenon.

[Leigha]

Skimmed through the thread, not sure if this was touched on, MR. But, are you familiar with Anomalistic Psychology?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anomalistic_psychology

Parapsychology takes the opposite path - it goes into ''investigating'' claims of the paranormal, believing that there are paranormal explanations.

I've read somewhere that 1 out of 5 people on average, have claimed to have experienced ghost encounters. That's a significantly high number of people to be suffering from psychological issues.

Sounds like skeptical debunkery dressed in a labcoat. I say if you're so dedicated to disproving the paranormal, then spend a few nights in a haunted location. Then talk about psychological causes of the phenomenon.

I thought the same thing. Under proper conditions for observation, they could certainly find a way to conduct a meaningful study, even if the goal is to disprove paranormal activity. Pick a well-known haunted location that has a history of alleged ghost happenings, and report the findings.

[Syne]

I think it's just more about apophenia/pareidolia.

Like I've said before, as soon as someone offers to pay for my travel and stay at any haunted location, for any length of time, I'm game. But then, they don't really want a proper scientific control subject/group in their testing of supposed hauntings.

[stryder]

If you have two different people going to a "haunted" location to spend a (or more) nights. One is a believer of such things and the other a scientist. You will get two completely different observations of events.

The believer of such things will claim every noise to be something out of the ordinary and that they can feel the spirits etc.
Where as the scientist will likely be a little bored at their uneventful vacation, attributing anything the believer would of otherwise seen to mundane occurances.

It actually suggests that the majority of things that people see is actually attributed to how they see it.

Think of it a bit like viewing a Ishihara eyetest with the coloured blobs. Some people will see a number, others will not because of how their brain and eyesight has developed.

The human brain is very creative at filling in blanks with peoples imaginations. The more imaginative and undisciplined the brain (Thats a reference to structure, not meant as a derogative) the more likely that something "odd" will be seen. Consider that we paint a world with a tainted pallette, it's based upon all the things we have taken in as fact/knowledge. Our observations to this point while they might be aligned are often vastly different.

[Magical Realist]

Here's a walk-thru of a haunted office bldg in Jacksonville Fla by one of the people working there. Not so easy to chalk it all up to overimagination...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA8F9ZVzfdY

[Leigha]

Here's a walk-thru of a haunted office bldg in Jacksonville Fla by one of the people working there. Not so easy to chalk it all up to overimagination...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA8F9ZVzfdY

I don't know why these people in the video who claim they had paranormal experiences at this place, would flat out lie about it (although, people may lie to promote themselves, gain attention, money, etc) because they seem genuine. But, think I've come to the conclusion that I'd have to physically witness these ''manifestations'' for myself, to really ''believe.'' Short of that, it would be most convincing to meet someone who at one time, completely rejected the notion of ghosts as being ''real,'' and then had an ''encounter'' and it completely changed their mind. Maybe someone who philosophically self-identifies as a materialist would be the best candidate. lol

[Magical Realist]

Here's a walk-thru of a haunted office bldg in Jacksonville Fla by one of the people working there. Not so easy to chalk it all up to overimagination...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA8F9ZVzfdY

I don't know why these people in the video who claim they had paranormal experiences at this place, would flat out lie about it (although, people may lie to promote themselves, gain attention, money, etc) because they seem genuine. But, think I've come to the conclusion that I'd have to physically witness these ''manifestations'' for myself, to really ''believe.''  Short of that, it would be most convincing to meet someone who at one time, completely rejected the notion of ghosts as being ''real,'' and then had an ''encounter'' and it completely changed their mind. Maybe someone who philosophically self-identifies as a materialist would be the best candidate. lol

Skeptics routinely knock anecdotal accounts as unreliable. But I find them especially convincing as it takes personal courage and integrity to admit you had a paranormal experience. What could these office workers possibly gain from making up their encounters with ghosts? It doesn't make sense.

[Leigha]

Here's a walk-thru of a haunted office bldg in Jacksonville Fla by one of the people working there. Not so easy to chalk it all up to overimagination...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA8F9ZVzfdY

I don't know why these people in the video who claim they had paranormal experiences at this place, would flat out lie about it (although, people may lie to promote themselves, gain attention, money, etc) because they seem genuine. But, think I've come to the conclusion that I'd have to physically witness these ''manifestations'' for myself, to really ''believe.''  Short of that, it would be most convincing to meet someone who at one time, completely rejected the notion of ghosts as being ''real,'' and then had an ''encounter'' and it completely changed their mind. Maybe someone who philosophically self-identifies as a materialist would be the best candidate. lol

Skeptics routinely knock anecdotal accounts as unreliable. But I find them especially convincing as it takes courage to admit you had a paranormal experience. What could these office workers possibly gain from making up their encounters with ghosts? It doesn't make sense.

I mentioned that they seem genuine, but it would be naive to think that everyone who claims to have seen a ghost, or UFO is telling the truth. The series ''Ghost Hunters'' is extremely popular and financially lucrative, so there are motives why people invest their time and energy into promoting things that seem mysterious and macabre. We seem to have a fascination with the macabre in general, which is why the horror movie genre is so popular.

Just food for thought, MR.