Ghost huntings shows always travel to sites of death and torture in search of hauntings. But the question that comes to mind is, "can we bring the ghosts to us instead?" It doesn't seem like an illogical concept. They certainly shouldn't be limited by the lack of availability on plane flights or the unreliability of cars, so why not? Is it something in the environment that they need in order to manifest? Conditions so specific, they just can't show up in "weak" spots?
This question came to me once when I was at a cemetery. One thing I've noticed about them is that there seems to be a good deal of activity when a grave has recently been visited. Is it the family calling upon the loved one? Or is the residual of the family's emotions leaving an imprint on the environment. Or, as I am beginning to suspect, do our emotions create a condition that is attractive or perhaps produces enough spiritual energy for some interactions to occur?
Let's look at some popularly accepted ways hauntings are believed to be brought to your doorstep:
Mediums: In the old days, séances and Ouija boards supposedly brought the dead right to your location. How many people have had séances trying to conjure up Blackbeard’s ghost or even Elvis Presley? Some say that, once you use a Ouija board in your home, you now have unwanted guests. I am definitely of the mind set that Milton and Bradley do not possess such manufacturing abilities. However, there are those in the ghost hunting world, such as J&G of “Ghost Hunters” notoriety, who believe the use of the Ouija board opens you up as a doorway to spirits to communicate, so they believe the real danger is to the person and not the environment. Essentially, the board has no power, but stopping and meditating, and calling up spirits makes you a potential receiver of sorts.
I am not a believer that either method has efficacy that can be verified and therefore, like using my psychic abilities in a site, it is purely for my own curiosity and entertainment and not for true evidence gathering.
Haunted items: The acquisition of new objects to the home, i.e. inherited items, flea market finds, and antique shop purchases are often associated with the onset of strange events in the house. Does this mean you just brought home a ghost?
I highly doubt that. If anything is associated with those objects, it is the residue of the people who once used it, held it, associated with it. Their souls would certainly have better things to do than to clamp down to a favorite easy chair for eternity. As someone who does read objects, I can tell you that residue can last a long time. I’ve dug up Civil War and Revolutionary War items and found them to be fresh with memories. It’s rather amazing when you consider that more than likely these items were left on the ground for decades before the rains and mud buried them under. If a new object in the house seems to coincide with strange happenings, it’s not necessarily a direct connection, but anecdotal. More than likely you are sensitive to its residual.
Deceased family member: Death of someone close to you seems like the obvious haunting situation. I can tell you how many people report visitations from their deceased family members, myself included.
Most stories of the deceased showing up occurs at the time of death or soon after and are not long-lasting. Admittedly, with an enormous amount of loved ones on the other side (last count over 2 dozen), I have yet to get one of them to come forward and make the KII meter light up. I have done a lot of readings of deceased family for people, but those readings I do not believe are directly with the deceased, but the reading of the dead through the living.
In my quest for what creates hauntings and what sustains them, I do believe once the elements are understood, creating a haunting will be possible. The concept that somehow souls are trapped in places and stuck there seems absurd. That they’re looking for loved ones 100 years later when their loved ones are now in their own realm seems illogical. That they don't know they're dead is an insult to their intelligence. I would very much like to bring the ghosts to me, but for now I’ll leave that to researchers. I hope some day they can figure out what electrical/magnetic conditions are necessary to attract them and any other elements necessary.
As always, I love having your input in the subject of the day.
hey, this is a good ga! my daughter went to the haunted prison one year at halloween! it's only about 45 minutes away from me!
ReplyDeleteand, yes, i hate that some ppl act like ghosts are stupid or something...i think if a ghost could be here, it wouldnt be stupid, right?
i've often wondered that too. i'm too chicken to try, but i have asked my dad to give me a sign that he is ok. but nothing, i haven't received a sign yet. maybe he knows it would freak me out. but i sure wish we could communicate somehow. so it makes me wonder, are ghosts all around us, every moment of our lives. can they control whether they can interact with us. are the ghosts that don't visit in a different plane? i can go on and on, hee hee, but i won't
ReplyDeletehey, there's a new show starting this sunday on the Animal Planet channel re ghosts and animals. i saw some clips and it looks pretty interesting. it's call The Haunted.
Have a great weekend.
Libby; Yeah, your state is one freakin' huge ghostie playground--lucky girl!
ReplyDeleteSandra;
I have tried the same and when I let myself go and really open up, I feel a sense of unity. As if when my father, mother, sister, and brother all passed, they actually became part of me. I assimilated them. It's in my decisions and mannerisms, my dreams and my talents. That's to be expected, but occasionally it comes out in the strangest ways. Like, my sudden interest in taking up risky sports--happened soon after my brother the mountain climber/scuba diver passed on. When my mother passed, history and genealogy; two things that I always thought were a snooze became an obsession. When my sister died, I suddenly started cooking southern food--something I never enjoyed doing before because I grew up on the stuff and liked lighter cuisine, but it was something she excelled at. I've spoken about DNA memories before and whether we carry on memories from past generations, but I wonder sometimes if the way we continue on is truly by our souls "staining" other souls. They give us a bit of themselves and so they live on. My brother lives on every time I try rapelling or spelunking. My sister lives on when I cook biscuits from scratch (and finally mastered it!) So, when we wish to hear from them in the sense of clear cut answers and signs, that's not the way they continue on, I think. I think they simply put a little of themselves inside of us... Hope that helps. Now, I'll all misty-eyed.
I believe for some reason that it is possible for a seanse to work. Never tried one or a quija board! I am scared to do it by my self and can't find any volunteers!
ReplyDeleteWhen the time is right i quess!
Brightst blessings!
Have you ever heard of Philip? The Toronto Society for Psychical research 'created' a ghost named Philip back in the 1970s. They even gave him a backstory. Apparently they conducted seances with him and there were also levitations. Here's an article about it:
ReplyDeletehttp://paranormal.about.com/od/ghosthuntinggeninfo/a/create-a-ghost.htm
If the whole experiment wasn't a hoax, my guess is the effects were coming from the researchers own subconscious minds. But I wouldn't rule out the possibility of a mischievous spirit playing tricks on them.
Georgina;
ReplyDeleteI suggest enjoying seances and Ouija if you weren't raised in a traditional conservative Christian order. They tend to lay down some tracks in the mind that make doing such activities as talking with the Devil. If you have no concept of devil and demons, then certainly it can be enlightening and entertaining. As I can read the dead, I still cannot say the dead talk to me, but that I can pick up their existence through those who knew them.
Jeff;
I heard about that. In fact, what set me to writing this post was an experiment to have people haunt others, or project their image in other locations which apparently good success. It intrigues me how sometimes the worst hauntings occur within dysfunctional families which makes me feel there is an element of either attraction or projection at work. I hope in the future months to begin to pick over in great detail actual university-driven research to see what we can find about common elements and running themes.
Hi, I am new to your blog, and I have one for you. I work in downtown Manhattan in an old, old building which is said to be haunted. I am always the first one at work, and one morning I was at my desk and heard footsteps at the end of the hall heading for another co-workers office. I called out a loud "good morning" and received no response. "Oh, well," I thought, "someone's in a bad mood." But five minutes later when I headed to the ladies room, I discovered I was totally alone. Ny co-worker had not arrived yet. Another time, my co-worker was off and myself and the director heard a commotion coming from her office. I said it must be the ghost, and he said it was a mouse. Sorry, but too loud to be a mouse. Again, nothing there.
ReplyDeleteI've been searching the history of the building which is fascinating. There is at least a dozen doors in the basement which lead into a series of tunnels connecting all other buildings in the area. I've found it was a social security office, a bank, and at one time a boy's home. Can't find any info on the tunnels. Sorry for being long-winded.
Mary
Mary;
ReplyDeleteYour story is fascinating. Office building hauntings is something I have notes on right now that I was planning a post on. As if by some kismet, you bring up the subject I've been intrigued by. I believe in a combination of factors that can affect hauntings of office buildings. They're not particularly known for trauma, but then neither are lighthouses and both have a lot of repetitive activity--same activities day and night over and over again, years on end, decades... which I believe might create a pattern somewhat like running your feet across a carpet and causing static electricity. You factor in a building made of stone materials, brick and concrete, the underground tunnels and a certain geology/feng shui elements interacts with it. I believe such places, if they have an incident of trauma can definitely be a better place for a haunting to occur. What you're describing sounds a good deal like residual and that could actually be a replaying of sounds from the daily activities in a continuous loop. You might try the library information desk to find out more about the building's history. You might also try doing a google search for the address followed by words like "death" or "fire" or "accident" or "died." You'll be surprised how many articles might have been written up about the place. If you find anything out, let me know. I am definitely excited about office ghosts.
Thank you. I've tried googling the address, but not with words behind it. I will be sure to let you know. Also have a household spirit, but will let you know about that one later.
ReplyDeleteMary;
ReplyDeleteWill definitely want to hear about that!
In my own experience with ghosts I tend to categorize into two categories. The first is what I call memories, which is the residual energy left surrounding an object or a location. This is usually present when a place or thing was very highly valued by an individual or group for a long time. Memories can also occur if an event involving high emotion is tied to a place or object. A moment of extreme happiness or trauma can leave a residual effect.
ReplyDeleteThe second kind of ghost I refer to as a spirit. It is my theory that these are the spirits of deceased that have something they must do before passing on to the spiritual realm. This may be to tell a loved one they love them or in the case of a traumatic death haunt a killer. It may also be that the spirit wants its body found and put to rest in a proper manner. Or any manner of business left unfinished.
That's just my five cents worth.
Panademona;
ReplyDeleteThanks. I cover many of these theories in my blog, including the ones you've mentioned. I enjoy being able to give everyone lots of viewpoints and I depend on readers to share theirs. I am always glad to hear other people's views on hauntings. Thanks so much for commenting.