- Joined
- May 7, 2009
- Messages
- 49
What is a ghost?.
Cultjunky said:You missed illegal immigrants, call yourself a mail reader tsk!
thethingishere said:Why all of the above apart from aliens.
thethingishere said:what is a ghost.
gncxx said:It's a question with no correct answer as far as we know, so speculation is all we have.
norton51 said:In fiction, and in popular culture, it is a usually depicted as a spirit. However, evidence from actual ghost sightings does not generally support the idea of an intelligent entity.
The most general definition, from actual cases, might be a figure of a human, or sometimes of animal, that is not physically present with the witness. This would cover just about all ghost sightings without excluding a paranormal interpretation.
McAvennie_ said:It comes as a surprise to many to discover that ghosts were actually invented by the National Trust in the late 1940s.
EnolaGaia said:To be certain, those observed phenomena which include the perceived form of a human / animal would steer one toward such explanations. However, many of the phenomena lumped together as pertaining to 'ghosts' don't relate to specifically human or animal forms or manifestations.
It's analogous to my antipathy toward the presumption any / all 'UFO' sightings are necessarily interpretable in terms of artificial vehicles.
norton51 said:EnolaGaia said:To be certain, those observed phenomena which include the perceived form of a human / animal would steer one toward such explanations. However, many of the phenomena lumped together as pertaining to 'ghosts' don't relate to specifically human or animal forms or manifestations.
What other kind of ghosts are you talking about here, please?
It's analogous to my antipathy toward the presumption any / all 'UFO' sightings are necessarily interpretable in terms of artificial vehicles.
UFOs and ghosts are similar in that they are both phenomena with many different explanations. UFOs can be caused by planes, clouds, balloons, birds, reflections in windows, satelliites, planets etc. Ghosts reports are mainly caused by misperception and various types of hallucination. What unites these UFO reports is the popular concept that they are extraterrestrial craft. Similarly, any report of a human figure in a place where it could not have been is interpreted as a ghost which is, in popular culture, a spirit. ...
EnolaGaia said:I was referring to phenomena that are characterized as 'ghosts' without there being a discernible human / animal form (on the basis of which to consider them the 'spirt' of any individual organism(s)). For example ... A recurring amorphous light along a road might be popularly characterized as a 'ghost', but more constructively addressed as something else (e.g., a will o' the wisp or earthlight phenomenon).
norton51 said:I am amazed by how often infrasound is mentioned as a cause of ghostly hallucination. There is little or no evidence, as yet, that infrasound has, or even can, cause hallucinations of ghostly figures...
Spookdaddy said:There may be no scientific evidence to suggest that low-frequency sound causes actual visions, but there is sober speculation, and anecdotal evidence (the Tandy case comes to mind), which suggests that it can create feelings of unease, anxiety and even dread - which, combined with other elements, might create the impression that a haunting is taking place.
jimv1 said:D'Oh! I misread the original post.
In that case, what is 'What'?