The Paranormal

[Gonzoie - Luclin]

Interested to see how many of you have had a paranormal experience or at least believe in it.

[Fairweather Pure]

Damn, I have this same poll listed as something I was going to ask once October started. Don't worry, I have plenty more!

Anyway, I'm very on the fence about the whole paranormal/ghost thing. When I was a child, I believed, but now that I'm older I tend to not think any of it is real. But on the other hand, if you wanted me to spend the night alone in a haunted house, I would say "no fucking way". So, I guess deep down, I still think there is some truth to it.

[Fash]

edit: I'm an ass, pay no attention to me.

I don't believe.

[Asheran Mojomaster]

Well, its hard to say. Do I believe in ghosts as in spirits from the past coming to haunt us? No. But Its hard to deny that some weird shit happens in the world that we cannot explain. People do see and hear things and I don't believe they are all crazy or having hallucinations. Maybe a mixup in time causing people to view the past? Maybe another dimension? Maybe aliens? Maybe ghosts really are spirits? Or maybe its nothing at all, and they really are just crazy.

One thing that makes it hard to completely dismiss is my grandmother's old house. I've heard weird shit going on in there and when I said something to my mother I found out I was not the only one. One night I was sitting in her kitchen and heard footsteps coming up from the basement. The stairs were very loud and it is obvious when someone walks up them. I heard every step until they got to the door, but no one opened it. I thought it was my cousin, so I went and opened the door and nothing was there...freaked me out. Also my uncle has been there before, alone, and heard something that sounded like children's footsteps running down the hall. He checked the whole house and no one was there.

The house is built on top of an older house that burned down around 50 years ago. A 6 year old little boy died in the fire.

[Sylvus]

Abstaining from voting because of the wording of the question.

"Ghosts", not really. But I've experienced some weird stuff that I can't explain. So I'd say "yes" to more of an amorphous paranormal context, but "no" to ghosts as traditionally viewed. It's more random psychic phenomena that I have experienced, so I don't really know how you can say that it can be explained by something normal. Paranormal just means that science can't explain it, so by definition the paranormal has to exist; science cannot (at least at this time) explain everything.

In the early 1980s, my mom was driving with a friend in the mountains of Colorado when she freaked out and made her friend pull the car over. She called my dad and asked if one of their friends (I forget the lady's name) was alright, as she'd had a vision of her in an accident. My dad said he hadn't heard anything, and hung up. Mom flew home to Michigan on the redeye that night and when my dad picked her up, he broke the news that he'd just heard that the very same lady had been killed in a car accident earlier that day.

I'm open to whatever normal explanations you have for that. But seeing as how she was in Colorado, before the advent of cell phones and where a car accident in Michigan would not be on local or national news, particularly before my dad or anyone else had heard anything about it in Michigan, I've never been able to explain it.

[rhyae]

parallel universes yes
ghosts no

[Winnow]

Paranormal != just ghosts

Poorly worded poll.

Wiki:

Paranormal is an umbrella term used to describe a wide variety of reported anomalous phenomena. According to the Journal of Parapsychology, the term paranormal describes "any phenomenon that in one or more respects exceeds the limits of what is deemed physically possible according to current scientific assumptions."[1] For this reason, the scientific community often avoids research on the paranormal, believing that it may not conform to the standards required by the scientific method.

Paranormal describes subjects studied under parapsychology, which deals with psychic phenomena like telepathy, extra-sensory perception, psychokinesis, and post-mortem survival studies like reincarnation, ghosts, and hauntings. However, as a broader category, the paranormal sometimes describes subjects outside the scope of parapsychology, including anomalous aspects of UFOs, some creatures that fall under the scope of cryptozoology, purported phenomena surrounding the Bermuda Triangle, and many other non-psychical subjects

Don't believe in ghosts, and "ghosts" isn't defined in the poll.

Word it, "do you believe in anything considered paranormal" and you might get more useful results...or remove paranormal from the title and keep it specific to ghosts.

[Lynks]

I used to but not anymore.

[Leonaerd]

Ghosts don't exist. There's no way we could have such an exacting description of something we don't claim to understand.

On the other hand, with all our knowledge as humans we are still only one tiny part of a big huge universe, so there's no telling what kind of species are out there. Think, firstly, about whether or not there can exist life without water. If such things do exist, I can't even imagine the cosmic possibilities for life. There could be huge space whales that survive on black holes and move from place to place via time, not necessarily location. All sorts of crazy possibilities (and impossibilities) can be assumed. Why not? So I'd say while there's no such thing as a "ghost" as we know it, there's certainly the possibility of a shit ton of stuff that would probably freak us out existing.

[Hesten]

Well, you havent really defined what you mean by "ghosts".
If you mean some poor soul trapped between heaven and hell haunting something, then no.

If you mean various paranormal things happens around the world, then yes.

I have not personally seen/heard anything, but have tried two times to dream of minor non-everyday events with some very specific details that came true later. Of course i cannot prove that my brain are just playing tricks on me, but the details that happened vere uncommon enough for me to remember then.
And my uncle, a VERY rational man with normally no imagination (quite a bore really) claims that he have 3 times over a period of 20 years seen some floating lights looking like a human over the swamp that come all the way up to his back yard.

Maybe the people seeing "ghosts" are more sensitive, or can in some situations be more sensitive, and are able to see/hear some sort of echo of what happened in the past? Thats my theory on that most people would call "ghosts" at least.

[lmnt9]

I would love to be contacted by a "ghost" but as of yet, I have not. So I want to believe, but it's hard when I haven't experienced it first hand. And I hold the same belief for UFO, aliens, etc. I have seen some fairly convincing evidence as well, but I still would prefer to have the experience myself.

[cadalano]

FWP's stance is where I'm at



I think its a bunch of bullshit but I live in a house where the previous owner was a medical malpractice double-amputee who died alone and was eaten by her dogs in the bedroom (hey, that brought the price down).. and I can still semi-voluntarily freak myself out if I'm just hanging out there alone.. so clearly there is some subconcious reality to it for me. Like I dont give it a second thought until I'm trying to go to bed and I think that someone died in the exact spot that I'm in right at that moment!

But, I've never experienced anything at all to make me believe in that stuff, even slightly.

[Gonzoie - Luclin]

Sorry for the wording but i've been watching too much American Hauntings and the like. Even tho i feel most of the crap found is retarded, there are some cool shows like TAPS.

However, i do believe in the paranormal, And i've had a few first hand experiences with some things that i cannot explain.

I have some good stories that all involve the same house.

The house my step brother lives at currently has had 2 of his relatives die in it. His uncle and his Pop Pop. His great grandmother also lived there but didn't die inside the house, but in a hospital. His bedroom is his Uncles old room.

Anyway, his room is adjacent to his great grandmothers old room when she lived there. Every now and then you hear banging on the wall and a woman's voice yelling at us to be quiet. His Nana lives downstairs in the living room, and is bed ridden at 76 years old. No shared walls between her and the room, including first floor. So theres really no explanation for it. Turns out Granny used to have to yell at my step brother's uncle in that room all the time. She used to knock on the wall and yell "Be Quiet!"

Also, we have gotten the door to close by yelling "Shut the God Damned Door" a few times before, seems stupid, but it has happened. Yes the windows were closed, and the door handle needs to be turned for the door to sit comfortably and stay closed.

I always liked that story, but i like the next one even more.

My friend walked into the house one day while we were all sitting in the living room talking to Nana. He had to walk through the kitchen and the dining room to get to the living room. When he reaches the living room and we are all talking, he suddenly stops and asks "Who's Rosie?"

Rose is my step sisters middle name, and the only person who called her Rosie was her Pop Pop. Our friend had no clue about that previously, and all our jaws dropped when he asked. He said he heard someone say "Rosie" in the kitchen.

So I believe in paranormal activity! But i like to think that they are there to protect, not haunt!

[Abelard]

One thing that makes it hard to completely dismiss is my grandmother's old house. I've heard weird shit going on in there and when I said something to my mother I found out I was not the only one. One night I was sitting in her kitchen and heard footsteps coming up from the basement. The stairs were very loud and it is obvious when someone walks up them. I heard every step until they got to the door, but no one opened it. I thought it was my cousin, so I went and opened the door and nothing was there...freaked me out. Also my uncle has been there before, alone, and heard something that sounded like children's footsteps running down the hall. He checked the whole house and no one was there.

The house is built on top of an older house that burned down around 50 years ago. A 6 year old little boy died in the fire.

The floorboards in a lot of older houses reset themselves after being trodded on all day. Thats why it sounds like footsteps when they're all resetting from being stepped on. My summer house has that happen an awful lot. Use to freak me out a lot as well when I was younger.

[Winnow]

I live in a house where the previous owner was a medical malpractice double-amputee who died alone and was eaten by her dogs in the bedroom.

wtf, pics!

[Fairweather Pure]

The floorboards in a lot of older houses reset themselves after being trodded on all day. Thats why it sounds like footsteps when they're all resetting from being stepped on. My summer house has that happen an awful lot. Use to freak me out a lot as well when I was younger.

Funny, this was part of my "growing up" phase about the paranormal.

When I was a child, I used to stay at my grandmother's house for an entire week, about twice a year. She lived in a trailer. It was a nice one, in a nice little community. Anyway, I used to sleep in a bedroom located at the very end of a hallway that ran the length of the trailer. At night, I could hear, honest to God, footsteps that would start at the far end of the hallway. These footsteps would "walk" all the way from the start of the hallway, right up to the foot of my bed and stop. It scared me so bad, I would literally freeze in place. I couldn't make a noise or move. I tried explaining this to my grandma and mother, but they didn't believe me. Sure enough, it happened various times throughout my visits with her.

When I was older, I realized it was nothing more than the heating duct, which ran the length of the hallway and ended at my bed, contracting after the furnace shut off.

It made me start thinking about rational explainations for many of my fears up until that point of my life.

[Fairweather Pure]

so clearly there is some subconcious reality to it for me.

That's actually a good way of putting it. I'm uncertian if I am just influenced by popular culture or if there's just an undercurrent of natural fear for certain types of situations.

I do not believe in ghosts. However, if you told me a house I was interested in buying had a haunted history, I'm not going to buy it. Maybe that makes me a supernatural hypocryte. I would never put myself in that situation because my mind would start looking for things and blaming things on the supernatural. I would later try to justify everything in a rational way, but my first thought would always be "They were right, this place is fucking haunted". The time between that and rational thought would be too much stress and freakiness than it would be worth to me!

[Midnyte_Ragebringer]

No. There is no such thng.

[Aabidano]

No one lives in reality full time. Some spend less time there than others.

[cadalano]

When I was a child, I used to stay at my grandmother's house once a week about twice a year. She lived in a trailer. It was a nice one, in a nice little community. Anyway, I used to sleep in a bedroom located at the very end of a hallway that ran the length of the trailer. At night, I could hear, honest to God, footsteps that would start at the far end of the hallway. These footsteps would "walk" all the way from the start of the hallway, right up to the foot of my bed and stop. It scared me so bad, I would literally freeze in place. I couldn't make a noise or move. I tried explaining this to my grandma and mother, but they didn't believe me. Sure enough, it happened various times throughout my visits with her.

When I was older, I realized it was nothing more than the heating duct, which ran the length of the hallway and ended at my bed, contracting after the furnace shut off.

i had a similar experience


my house in AZ was surrounded by gravel, like most out there. every night for over a week i started hearing the *crunch* *crunch* *crunch* of someone pacing around in the gravel outside my 1st floor bedroom window and it went on for 30-40 minutes straight every night. It was a fenced off area so it wasnt a neighbor or anything. If this were to happen today, I would assume it was dog or whatever but being around 8 years old it was quite plain to me that a space alien had come to abduct me. The alien was simply scoping the place out. It was only a matter of time before he would freeze time or phaser-stun my entire family or whatever and walk into my room, and I would be ready to punch him in the eye and run away like I heard about on that TV show Sightings (which was to blame for all of this paranoia).

Anyway, the crunching went on for a few nights. Up until now I hadnt told my family about it, but one evening I decided to get up and tell my parents, who were still up watching Murphy Brown or whatever the fuck. As I start to walk down the hallway I realize the noise is getting louder and as I enter the living room I find my dad sitting on the sofa chawing loudly on a bag of pretzels *crunch* *crunch*

[Al]

Ghosts? No. Zombies, on the other hand....

[Nick]

Poorly worded poll.

You say this in nearly every bloody poll we have you gurny bastard!

Edit: No, I don't believe in ghosts. What a load of bullshit.

[Winnow]

Poll Nazi!

and there are a lot of poorly worded polls!

[Winnow]

I may have spotted a UFO in a picture.



proof!

[Boogahz]

Poorly worded poll.

You say this in nearly every bloody poll we have you gurny bastard!

Edit: No, I don't believe in ghosts. What a load of bullshit.

Well, this poll doesn't even match the damn title of the thread.

[Midnyte_Ragebringer]

Poorly worded poll.

You say this in nearly every bloody poll we have you gurny bastard!

Edit: No, I don't believe in ghosts. What a load of bullshit.

Well, this poll doesn't even match the damn title of the thread.

Ghosts are paranormal. Not all paranormal are ghosts. However, it's kind of all the same shit. I would think the religious folks would be the same people who believe in ghosts and the paranormal. If you are smart enough not to believe in magic and you live in reality, then you don't buy either. They are both feeble-minded inventions of man.

[Canelek]

If you would all give your hearts to jesus, then there would be no issues, capice?

[Truant]

I need another option. In fact, it's the same opinion I have about religion.
My option would say:
I don't really care, and I don't think it really matters either way.

I believe we technically classified it as apathetically agnostic during a way too late night discussion.

[Winnow]

Opinions on religion matter because it's responsile for slaughtering millions of people. Paranormal is only responsibe for a few people wetting their bed or peeing their pants.

Being interested in Airline Pilots reporting unexplained objects in the sky is pretty harmless for example.

[Arborealus]

I have no belief in the supernatural. I have seen no compelling evidence of any ghosts or hauntings and as such I am skeptical.

While we are in the neighborhood, I am also very dubious about the existence of most notorious cryptofauna though there are certainly undiscovered fauna and flora. I do believe that it is fairly probable that there is extraterrestrial life but haven't seen any convincing evidence that it has visited this planet.

[Boogahz]

I have no belief in the supernatural. I have seen no compelling evidence of any ghosts or hauntings and as such I am skeptical.

While we are in the neighborhood, I am also very dubious about the existence of most notorious cryptofauna though there are certainly undiscovered fauna and flora. I do believe that it is fairly probable that there is extraterrestrial life but haven't seen any convincing evidence that it has visited this planet.

ORLY?

[Markulas]

ghosts? heavens no. Stupid people, affirmative.

[Aabidano]

I don't have an "active disbelief", but I don't care enough to look into it either.