Ghosts ?

[Bizarra]

I ,myself am inclined towards believing in the possibility of their existence, from a couple of unexplainable incidents in my life. I'm not fanatical about it, as long as they keep out of my bedroom in the dead of night. Mind you, Spectral fair Ladies are welcome :D

It struck me , the other day, that while there are numerous reports of ghostly horses, hounds/dogs & cats, one never hears of ghostly cattle, sheep, pigs, mice etc.

In other words, the 3 types of animal with which Humans have the closest mutual bond are reported to appear in ghostly form & the rest don't appear to.

A pointless post, I know, but if anyone has theories or opinions, I would be delighted to hear them.

[JappyBeast]

I turned it in to a poll and I think they do.

[Boro Sera]

Although there are things we don't understand and don't know ( rightly so too - keeps things interesting ), I don't think that there are ghosts

[balli hi]

( I feel a little daft sharing this with you...... anyway!!!!! )

I too have experienced some unexplainable events, and one in particular when i was six years old, it frightened the life out of me at the time and i have never forgotten it.

I was in hospital, after having my appendix out ,i was placed in a room on my own, during the night i was sound asleep when i was rudely awakened by water being thrown over my head, i sat bolt upright straight away and saw no one, the door to my room was still closed, there was no one to be seen and not a sound to be heard, naturally i started crying , then pressed the button frantically for the nurse, the nurse duly arrived and saw that i was soaked and i was sobbing uncontrollably, she asked what had happened and i said that someone had thrown water over me.

The nurse changed me out of my soaked pyjama top, dried me off and stayed with me untill i went back to sleep.

The next day i was placed in a communal ward.

If someone had entered my room and thrown water over me i would have seen them leave the room, because as soon as that water hit me, i was up straight away and i would have seen them , and by the way, no one was under the bed iether, LOL .

I did have a water jug in my room but it was still at the level i had left it, and to reach it myself i would have had to get out of bed.

Its just one of those that i just can't explain..... but despite it all, i am still not 100% sure that ghosts exsist, and untill i actually see one , i'll remain 50/50

P.S Thinking about it, the incident i have just described would, if i'm not wrong, be described as poltergeist activity.

So Victor, what exactly happened to you ?

[Blue84]

I love watching Most Haunted, however I don't necessarily believe everything they do on there.

As for ghosts yeah I do believe in them, I know a lot of people don't and that's fine too.

[Bizarra]

I turned it in to a poll and I think they do.

Thanks, Andy Good idea which I hadn't considered :P

[Bizarra]

Ok , since you asked, Balli Hi

As a child,we lived in a 200+ year old Farmhouse, far from the nearest neighbour. 6 days a week we would eat in the Dining room, but it was the custom, on Sundays to eat our evening meal in the Drawing room.

One Sunday in Summer during the meal we heard footsteps in the room above which was the bedroom of my Mother & Stepfather. My baby 1/2 sister was asleep in a cot in the corner diagonally opposite the door & the steps went from the door to her cot. They did not return. We sat , silent & unmoving for a moment & my Stepfather said that he had better go up & check. There was no one there or in the house & the baby was sleeping soundly.

I think that it was a fortnight later that the exact same thing occurred. Footsteps crossed in one direction only & no body but ourselves in the house !

A few years after that, I asked my Mother about it & she quickly replied "Oh, it was only mice ". I doubt it, but the important thing in my mind was that she had not forgotten the incidents either.

The house had been occupied by our family for approx 150 years, so perhaps one of the ancestors came to see the newly born descendant. I don't know.

Another incident, which could have been a joke occurred in another older family farmhouse which we were visiting. My cousin & my self were in the bathroom, the door of which had an opaque glass upper 1/2. There was a loud knocking & we both rushed to open it. Nobody was to be seen silhouetted against the glass or in the corridor outside. We went down to join the company PDQ & asked who had been playing jokes on us. Everyone denied it. That took place about 57 years ago & neither my cousin nor myself have forgotten it.

Nothing as spectacular as having water thrown all over you in a Hospital. Seriously, no human would do that to a young child in a ward on their own. Definitely Poltergeist

[balli hi]

Thanks for your story Victor,

Despite being a sceptic, i do find peoples storys on this subject interesting, and like Blue84 i also liked to watch the most haunted program, however i often found myself remaining to be convinced, i'm sure most occurances do have a simple explanation.

Anyone else got any storys ?

[plus one]

i believe in ghosts and the after life.

we used to own a black lab......and a couple of months after we had her put to sleep we could hear dogs foot steps walking across the kitchen laminate floor......we didnt have any other pets!!!

i only heard them once, but my mum and bother used to hear them on a regular basis......they have stopped since we have had another dog....

[JappyBeast]

No worries Biz,

I have a few stories growing up in Scotland but I'm going to wait till I'm at work tomorrow to tell them as I have nothing else to do!

[balli hi]

i believe in ghosts and the after life.

My brother in law claims to have had an out of body experience, after he died on the operating table, he claims to have left his body and could see the doctors working on him, he then entered the waiting room where the family were gathered and he could see my sister and niece were crying and being consoled.

Basically my brother in law suffered a heart attack at home, he initially died in the ambulance on the way to hospital, but was revived, he died again on the operating table for the longest period, and this is when his out of body experience happened .

He has only ever told his daughter about the experience , and has never discussed it with anyone else, my niece told my sister about it, who in turn told me, but added that he had told his daughter in confidence, which is why i or anyone else have never discussed it with him .

The heart attack was caused by a blocked artery

My brother in law, by the way has made a full recovery.

Now i'm not saying he made the story up for definate, and like i said he told his daughter in confidence, but a part of me says that its a possibillity that he did make it up,.... fascinating subject none the less.

[chance]

I was the 13th voter on the poll... I believe a little too much sometimes, I think. When I was young I used to daydream about seeing ghosts, I really thought that I was the type who was sensitive to presences, but I guess it wasn't to be...

One spooky incident I did have, at age 13, was the night my Grandfather died. My Father had left to visit him in the hospital, we were quite sure he was going to die within the hour. My Mother had myself and my siblings kneeling on the sitting room floor, saying the Rosary for him. On the fourth mystery, my turn to 'lead', my beads broke between my fingers. Minutes later, my Dad called to say Grandad had died, just at the time my beads broke.

For weeks afterward, doors were found banging in my Grandparents home, and my Dad saw a silhouette through the kitchen door that he to this day insists was Grandad. He seemed to be quite like a poltergeist for those weeks, there were fights in the family, and we knew he wasn't happy.

Interesting thread, Victor. Either yourself or Dave should tell his story about what he saw at Mass as a child. Most inexplicable story so far...

[Demonic Angel]

I saw dead people as a child.... No I really did! My Grandmother died when I was 5 and I've always believed that she has watched over me since and I've had a couple of unexplainable situations (such as people being there and then disappearing with no explanation) that I was convinced I could see ghosts!

I used to believe my house had a ghost in it, at first I was a bit scared but I got used to the "feeling" I used to get and I called him Cuthbert! The unknown is scarier than the known, but I've never felt that ghosts or spirits are here to harm us, only to give us a message.

I think that sometimes you have to have an open mind about these things... fair enough if you don't believe but personally I'm as open to the existence of ghosts as I am to life on other planets. What happens you you when you die fascinates me and I've always wondered where the soul goes when the body dies.

I also had the experience of a ouija board when I was about 18... now that did genuinely frighten me!

[Pompey Gaz]

shosts are cool

[Bizarra]

There is a problem, of course, with 2nd hand stories. My town used to be known as "Little America" because of its textile factories. Kids left school & got work for life.One of the biggest & most famous was the Smyco factory, which won many awards & still has the plaques on its walls. They made silk stockings for Queen Victoria, which charmed her because they were so fine that she could pass them through her Wedding ring. Also "Long Johns" are to this day called "Balbriggans" in the States. A man, whom I'll call John Doe(not his name) worked in the Smyco place as a maintenance man all his life ( I knew him personally) & it used to be said that when John died, the Factory would close. So, it happened on the 200th anniversary of the Factory. The factory was divided into commercial units & I had one for my business.

Having a quirky sense of humour, if something wasn't where it should be, I would say to my girls "Oh, John Doe must have been around, last night. I can't find my spanner" This was an in joke amongst us, BUT, it got out. I heard a few mentions of it in the street, which I glossed over. Came the day, however, when I was confronted by a man who told me that I had opened the door one morning & there, standing looking at me was John Doe. I told him that it was utter rubbish & only a private joke that had got out. I still don't think that he believes me, to this day.

When I first came to the town, I stayed in Digs for a few years. In due course I moved on, being transferred by the Bank. After a few years my ex landlady died & her house was left to her niece, who didn't need it & rented it to people who were total strangers to the town.

They awoke one night to see a strange Lady standing at the foot of the bed, looking at them. The next day they told their next door neighbour about the incident, & described the Lady. Without any doubt she was my ex Landlady. They left.

I believe this 2nd hand story, because of their leaving & the fact that it was told to me by the said neighbour.

[Bizarra]

I'll shut up after this for a while (maybe )

In a small Antique shop in Dublin, I bought my wife an Ushabti, which is a little statuette of an Egyptian which used to be buried with the body of some Notable in the pre Christian times (2000 b.c. approx.) They were to attend to the dead person in the afterlife.

To keep it safe while on display, we placed it in a transparent box, Cello taped shut, & put it on the Mantelpiece. My wife was in the house on her own with our baby daughter, most of the time, while I was out at work. After a while she started to hear a young girl singing, on a fairly constant basis. Having doubts about the whole business which was happening, we reopened the box & found a few hairs from my daughter's head under the Ushabti's feet.Certainly neither of us had done that, so that was that, proud as we were to have it , it had to go.

We wouldn't destroy it, so we rang the Professor for ancient history in University College Dublin, who was delighted to have it.

No more girls singing in the house

[JappyBeast]

i believe in ghosts and the after life.

we used to own a black lab......and a couple of months after we had her put to sleep we could hear dogs foot steps walking across the kitchen laminate floor......we didnt have any other pets!!!

i only heard them once, but my mum and bother used to hear them on a regular basis......they have stopped since we have had another dog....

You never told me that one chick :( xxx

[Soundman]

I'll shut up after this for a while (maybe )

In a small Antique shop in Dublin, I bought my wife an Ushabti, which is a little statuette of an Egyptian which used to be buried with the body of some Notable in the pre Christian times (2000 b.c. approx.) They were to attend to the dead person in the afterlife.

To keep it safe while on display, we placed it in a transparent box, Cello taped shut, & put it on the Mantelpiece. My wife was in the house on her own with our baby daughter, most of the time, while I was out at work. After a while she started to hear a young girl singing, on a fairly constant basis. Having doubts about the whole business which was happening, we reopened the box & found a few hairs from my daughter's head under the Ushabti's feet.Certainly neither of us had done that, so that was that, proud as we were to have it , it had to go.

We wouldn't destroy it, so we rang the Professor for ancient history in University College Dublin, who was delighted to have it.

No more girls singing in the house

I'd forgotten about that one, Dad. As weird as it would be, I would love to see it. I wonder if they still have it there, or even if the Professor is still teaching.

My first experience was in church one Sunday (as you do) with my Dad (Bizarra) and my sister. I think I was only about 8 or 9, though I can't remember exactly. Being young and in church, I was fairly bored with the proceedings and was looking around me studying the building and the stained glass, et al. At one point I was gazing up at the huge wooden rafters that spanned the church, admiring them and wondering how it was all constructed. Out of the corner of my eye I saw what I thought was a shadow at the start of one of these rafters. Once my eyes settled I realized that it wasn't a shadow, as shadows aren't a sort of transparent white. And they don't move fluidly across the ceiling without distorting. Bewildered, I watched it cross the ceiling, as if there was an invisible floor directly at the base of the rafter. Once across, it disappeared through the wall on the other side. Quietly I nudged my Dad and asked him if he had seen it, which of course he hadn't. I started to wonder had I been imagining things.

It turns out I didn't imagine it, as a little while later, still looking around and trying to figure out what I had seen, I saw the shape coming back from where it disappeared through the wall. Again it crossed along one of the main rafters as if gliding over an invisible floor (or at least a floor that used to be there once upon a time). My Dad probably won't remember but I nudged him and got him to look up. I pointed to where it currently was and as far as I recall, he saw it too, just before it passed through the original wall on the left of the church when facing the altar.

It was only when leaving the church I realized what it was I had seen. The shape was that of someone wearing a large cloak with a hood up over their head, their hands in front of them clasped together. Leaving the church I noticed a stone memorial to all the monks who had resided at the church, and who had passed away years before. I am 100% certain that what I saw was one of these monks wearing a habit, going about their daily business.

My second experience was in approximately March 1994, shortly after my Grandfather on my late Mother's side passed away. My Mother and I went over to visit my Grandmother in England where they were living, to see how she was doing and see if there was anything we could do and so on.

We arrived at the house and greeted my Grandmother, dropped our bags and jackets and went in to sit down in the living room for a chat and a bite to eat. The house was very warm, with all the windows and doors closed to keep the heat in. I sat down on the couch and made myself comfortable and was chatting away. Within 5 minutes of sitting down I suddenly felt a chilly breeze across my shins and lower legs in general as I had them stretched out in front of me. Within a few seconds of this there was a very strong smell of Vicks VapoRub even though we were the only 3 in the house and nobody was using it, nor had they opened any doors or windows to cause the breeze. I mentioned these two things to both my Mother and Grandmother. Both their jaws instantly dropped and tears filled their eyes as they both said that it was my Grandfather visiting and letting us know that he was alright and was with us.

Regardless of what anybody says... These things did happen and I do believe with all my heart what they were. I know what I saw, and I know that what I felt in the house that day was my Grandfather.

So to answer the question....

YES. I do believe in ghosts, or spirits, or whatever you wish to describe them as.

Edit: I just had a visit :hokus-pokus: from the ghost of Christmas future , Dad. He told me that you are going to be visiting the O2 Arena on Monday July 20th to see a jolly spirit called Leonard Cohen.

[kirst_ie]

I believe in them, never seen one face to face mind ya, but wouldn't want to. But i have seen a few strange things happen, and no matter what people say until its happened to them, they cant really say.

Them people who say there is always an explanation for these things happening annoy the living hell out of me

[balli hi]

I believe in them, never seen one face to face mind ya, but wouldn't want to. But i have seen a few strange things happen, and no matter what people say until its happened to them, they cant really say.

Them people who say there is always an explanation for these things happening annoy the living hell out of me

Yep 9 out of 10 happenings usually have a simple explanation

Yep 9 out of 10 happenings usually have a simple explanation Yep 9 out of 10 happenings usually have a smple explanation

[jaxx]

No lol

Unless science can proove it... then no

[JappyBeast]

No lol

Unless science can proove it... then no

But science cant dis-prove it either!

[SJandMR2]

I beleive in ghosts :D

And faries, and witches, and goblins and monsters :P ;)

[Bizarra]

No lol

Unless science can proove it... then no

Used to be, in days of yore, that we had to believe what the Priests told us, either Pagan or Christian,. They couldn't prove any of it

Now, Science has taken over from the Priests & we have to believe whatever they say is True or untrue. If they can't prove something, we are to ignore the possibility of it being fact ?

[jaxx]

No lol

Unless science can proove it... then no

But science cant dis-prove it either!

No but common sense can

Ghost are a 'theory' and a theory stands until proven to be false in essence

Personally if you do believe in ghosts i concider you as a 'mental' or on drugs....