Do you believe in Ghosts and Evil Spirits?


Reply
 
Topic Tools Search this Thread
Diana_P is offline Diana_P Post #1  July 10,2011, 6:20pm
Diana_P's Avatar

Board Leader - Religion & Spirituality

Joined: Sep 2010

Posts: 1,118

See profile

Ever since I was a child I’ve been terrified of demons, dwellers of darkness, disembodied entities and the like. Some believe it is all superstitious nonsense; others will testify that such things are real.

Here’s your chance to share you most frightening “ghost” stories or debunk it all as nonsense.
 
  Reply With Quote
AudioDad is offline AudioDad Post #2  July 11,2011, 8:06am
AudioDad's Avatar

...has left the building

Enthusiast

Joined: Aug 2008

Posts: 800

See profile

Energy is neither created or destroyed, but transformed into some other form of energy. Humans are simply another form of energy - bio-electrical while we're alive. The physical shell that carries that energy around eventually dies, however, the remaining energy (soul, spirit, whatever) carries on in some other form. Whether that remaining energy retains any consciousness or memory of its past life is anyone's guess. Still, it's certainly feasible that such energies linger on in some way in this plane of existence, perhaps phasing in and out of it. I've had a number of experiences throughout the years that I could find no rational explanation for. Some were merely curious, others were somewhat disturbing, though at no time have I ever felt threatened or in danger in any way.
 
  Reply With Quote
mitchell175 is online now mitchell175 Post #3  July 15,2011, 6:08pm
mitchell175's Avatar

mixing metaphors in a mellifluous melange of malapropisms

Power Poster

Joined: Oct 2010

Boston, MA... or thereabouts

Posts: 6,395

See profile

Diana_P wrote :
Ever since I was a child I’ve been terrified of demons, dwellers of darkness, disembodied entities and the like. Some believe it is all superstitious nonsense; others will testify that such things are real.

Here’s your chance to share you most frightening “ghost” stories or debunk it all as nonsense.
I believe in ghosts, evil spirits, whatever you call them. I personally have never seen one, but I know other people who have. When I was in college, our "dorms" were actually old manor houses that were purchased by the college and converted to dorm rooms. Supposedly, most of these houses were haunted. I would hear the stories of stuff that happened late at night to some of the other girls: footsteps running in the attic, children laughing, doors opening and closing by themselves, lights coming on and going off at random... These things could probably all be explained by "logical" reasons, but I really believe that they were ghosts.

Once, I went with a few other girlfriends to visit a friend's home in Connecticut. She lived in an old house, built around 1600, and she told us how when her parents bought the house, there was a grave marker in the basement. Supposedly, there was a ghost in the house (the owner of the grave in the basement). My friend's father had seen the ghost, but kept some details about the ghost's appearance to himself. While we were there visiting, one of my girlfriends said she saw the ghost, and she could supply the missing details. I was, to say the least - freaked out! Now, I have no idea if they made up this whole story just to pull one over on me. But, that was 20 years ago, and they have never fessed up to that, so I believe.

But, I have always had a very overactive imagination, and could freak myself out pretty easily. As a kid, I watched way too many Creature Feature movies on TV (you know, those old "horror" movies, like "Creature From The Black Lagoon" or "Earth Vs. The Spider"). Not to mention those "classic" horror movies, like "He Knows You're Alone" or "When A Stranger Calls". Our washing machine was upstairs, but the dryer was down in the basement. We used to take turns doing the laundry, and I would always volunteer to wash, fold, put away... anything else to avoid going down to the basement alone to put the clothes in the dryer! If I couldn't get my sister to come and "help" me lug the clothes up from the basement, I would sometimes bring the cat down - for protection! If I absolutely had to go down alone, I would run as fast as I could (sometimes dropping a few socks along the way) and then race back up the stairs. I have no idea what I thought would happen, but I know I was scared to death!

This is a really long post, but I just want to say that no one can really know for sure what is "real" or "not real". I was just reading a short story by Stephen King about a man who thinks it is his duty to prevent a sort of "evil" from entering our reality. Everyone thinks he is "crazy", because they cannot see what he sees - this "evil presence" that is "not of this world" trying to seep out into our reality. If he does certain things: counting, touching and placing (seen by his psychiatrist as classic obsessive-compulsive behaviors) it helps to put reality back together, and keep the "evil" at bay. Who's to say that what he sees - just because no one else can see it - is not real?

So, I believe. I can't say why I believe, but I believe...
 
  Reply With Quote
Diana_P is offline Diana_P Post #4  July 16,2011, 9:10am
Diana_P's Avatar

Board Leader - Religion & Spirituality

Joined: Sep 2010

Posts: 1,118

See profile

mitchell175 wrote :
I If I absolutely had to go down alone, I would run as fast as I could (sometimes dropping a few socks along the way) and then race back up the stairs.
LOL!

Great post! Thanks for sharing!
 
  Reply With Quote
sawtooth is offline sawtooth Post #5  July 17,2011, 10:58am
sawtooth's Avatar

Newbie

Joined: Jul 2011

Posts: 12

See profile

Diana_P wrote :
Ever since I was a child I’ve been terrified of demons, dwellers of darkness, disembodied entities and the like. Some believe it is all superstitious nonsense; others will testify that such things are real.

Here’s your chance to share you most frightening “ghost” stories or debunk it all as nonsense.
I don't believe in ghosts or evil spirits. To believe requires sufficient evidence (which I've never encountered) or a leap of faith. I love a good ghost story or horror movie, however.
 
  Reply With Quote
Diana_P is offline Diana_P Post #6  July 19,2011, 3:43pm
Diana_P's Avatar

Board Leader - Religion & Spirituality

Joined: Sep 2010

Posts: 1,118

See profile

There is a reason why we have an innate fear of dying, death, and the dead. No matter how you slice it, we kill to live and we feed on death so why does it frighten us so much? Is it fear of the unknown? What is unknown about the fact that our bodies don’t live forever?

Death seems to be the sum total of all our fears. The thought of being buried alive or waking up in a casket or mortuary terrifies us. What is it about the stillness and quietness of the now lifeless husk that is so unsettling? Oh, we may understand the processes of death hormones and rigor mortis, and we may see the effects of the organs shutting down, but we also know that the whole person was forever more than the sum of the parts that are left to decay.

Is the Spirit only the last measurable electrical impulse in the brain of a dying person? Is it the instant in time between self awareness and oblivion? Is it a thought; something created by energy, but a thing that possesses no energy or mass itself?
 
  Reply With Quote
shapeShifter79 is offline shapeShifter79 Post #7  July 19,2011, 7:22pm
shapeShifter7…'s Avatar

likes dancing!

Board Leader: Health & Wellness

Joined: Apr 2011

CA

Posts: 2,499

See profile

Diana_P wrote :
[FONT=Tahoma][SIZE=2]There is a reason why we have an innate fear of dying, death, and the dead.
I don't agree that we have an innate (present at birth but not necessarily hereditary; acquired during fetal development) fear of dying. At least, that's not one of the phobias attributed to infants and young children--

Primitive reflexes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Phobias & Fears wrote :
Phobias in children are common. According to The Child Anxiety Network, 90% of children between the ages of 2-14 have at least one specific fear. The following fears are shared by many children and are considered normal:
0-2 years – Loud noises, strangers, separation from parents, large objects.
3-6 years – Imaginary things such as ghosts, monsters, the dark, sleeping alone, strange noises.
7-16 years – More realistic fears such as injury, illness, school performance, death, natural disasters.
I queried my children today about their phobias and "death" did not make the cut. "Big spiders" did and "the dark" was worrisome.
Last edited by shapeShifter79; July 19,2011 at 7:41pm.
 
  Reply With Quote
shapeShifter79 is offline shapeShifter79 Post #8  July 19,2011, 7:29pm
shapeShifter7…'s Avatar

likes dancing!

Board Leader: Health & Wellness

Joined: Apr 2011

CA

Posts: 2,499

See profile

Diana_P wrote :
What is unknown about the fact that our bodies don’t live forever?
Shakespeare says it best--

Shakespeare wrote :
To die, to sleep,
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep;
To sleep, perchance to dream – ay, there's the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause – there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of disprized love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Last edited by shapeShifter79; July 19,2011 at 7:42pm.
 
  Reply With Quote
shapeShifter79 is offline shapeShifter79 Post #9  July 19,2011, 7:39pm
shapeShifter7…'s Avatar

likes dancing!

Board Leader: Health & Wellness

Joined: Apr 2011

CA

Posts: 2,499

See profile

A fear of death in adults is not abnormal, but it's by no means universal. Many do not fear death. I do not fear death--I have a healthy respect for it. There are worse fates in my estimation than an early demise.

Diana_P wrote :
The thought of being buried alive or waking up in a casket or mortuary terrifies us.
That doesn't terrify me at all. What terrifies me is the thought of squandering what time we have and regretting the life that we lived.

Rodney Dangerfield wrote :
My doctor told me
if I take perfect care of myself
for the rest of my life,
I'll get very sick and die.
Last edited by shapeShifter79; July 19,2011 at 7:41pm.
 
  Reply With Quote
mitchell175 is online now mitchell175 Post #10  July 19,2011, 7:44pm
mitchell175's Avatar

mixing metaphors in a mellifluous melange of malapropisms

Power Poster

Joined: Oct 2010

Boston, MA... or thereabouts

Posts: 6,395

See profile

shapeShifter79 wrote :
I queried my children today about their phobias and "death" did not make the cut. "Big spiders" did and "the dark" was worrisome.
Any spiders make my cut! Yech! (Shudder). You have no idea what arachnophobia is like until you are faced with a spider the size of a pencil eraser that you have to strategize for 5 minutes on how to kill it. Don't even get me started on larger size spiders... (Shudder again)
 
  Reply With Quote
Reply


« Is there life after death? | Religion & Spirituality | Is praying in a restaurant on a first date a little strange? »
Topic Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new topics
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are Off

Looking for a Great Relationship?

Get started now. Fill out this form and take the questionnaire to receive your matches.

First Name:

I'm a:
seeking

Postal Code:

Country:

Email:

Confirm Email:

Password:


How did you hear about us?


Latest on our Dating Advice Discussion Boards

“ Excellent, thank you. I think I will leave out the first part, I think it is unnecessary information to give him. I'm not interested in putting myself out there like that and it might be a little ... ” –  generallyyou

Join the “Ending a friendship” discussion

“Alfred Hitchcock - 18 Steven Spielberg - 62 *notice what?” –  dmi

Join the “War of the Directors” discussion

“ I would be "certain people" :P The issue isn't a deal-breaker, but a very strong factor preference-wise, for me.” –  ThePriestess

Join the “How much does race play in your dating someone?” discussion

“Love Texas Hold'em!.. I'm thinking of trying another tournament this summer...not sure yet though.. Never entered a tournament before, outside of online ones. Personally I prefer to play with ... ” –  Freezepop

Join the “Favorite Card Game” discussion

“Make that 3! I also had a crush on Donny Osmond. I think I still have a record or two of his. Suzie ” –  legend29

Join the “Robin Gibbs Dead at 62...How Deep is Your Love?” discussion

“Oh, my revised profile can be seen in the forum in the section where you can ask for a profile review. Suzanne” –  SuzanneScorpio

Join the “Photo Review” discussion

“Just remember, everything that you are feeling and/or are capable of he is as well. If he wanted to reach you, he could. Right now he knows that you are hurting, and that this is not what you ... ” –  lynntlb78

Join the “Can I wait and move on at the same time?” discussion

“ Yohio. And the shortened form (Anya) is nice too.” –  ThePriestess

Join the “Where is Becky?!?” discussion



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 9:35am.

Discussion Boards Archive

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2012, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0