Ghosts

Ok so I have a lot of problems with ghosts. This is not to say I find my self pestered by things that go bump in the night. Rather it is that as much as I like the concept I have real issues buying into it. So if you are a big fan of the ghost phenomena I’m afraid I just might disappoint you a bit.

But before we get started, what are we even talking about? There are two primary sets of dictionary definitions that can get us started.

The “paranormal” definitions…

The center of spiritual life; the soul.
The spirit of a dead person, especially one believed to appear in bodily likeness to living persons or to haunt former habitats.
A demon or spirit.

The scientific definitions…

A faint, false image.
A secondary image on a television or radar screen caused by reflected waves.
A displaced image in a photograph caused by the optical system of the camera.
A false spectral line caused by imperfections in the diffraction grating.
A displaced image in a mirror caused by reflection from the front of the glass.

When you factor in science and deliberate fakery you have to be very careful when you look at evidence of ghosts. Ok so let us assume we are not talking about fakery or some plausible scientific explanation. So what we are talking about is the soul of a deceased person that is still roaming the earth and is partially visible from time to time.

So first the soul is assumed to exist, or something like it. For some reason at the moment of discorporation at death the soul doesn’t go where it should, but hangs around and does various things. But why? Most of haunting's seem to revolve around some tragic historical event that the person’s soul can’t get over. So why aren’t ghosts really common? People die tragically all the time. Why it is hospitals and battlefields arn’t just jam packed with ghosts?

So some theorize that it is not the “live” soul that is kicking around a place, but it is an imprint of the soul that had imbedded itself due to the tragic event. This imprint just plays over and over for the lucky to view. Again why isn’t this going on more often or predictably enough to put up a stand for nightly viewing's?

All right, up front I said I have a lot of problems with ghosts. But this is not to say I haven’t been looking for them. I have been to New Orleans on more than one occasion looking for a sighting of my own since the place is supposed to be ghost central. I saw a lot of interesting stuff and it is one of my favorite destinations in the world, really you should go see it before it ends up at the bottom of the ocean. (but that’s a different subject) All I ever saw ghost-wise was a lot of flickering gaslight reflecting off of period wavy glass that can give you quite a show out of the corner of your eye. Nothing else, at all and damn it I was really looking and hoping to see something, anything.

Of course that is another really big problem with ghosts. Some claim you have to be receptive to even see them at all. Of course in the real world when one person clams to be able to see things others around them cannot, we call that a hallucination, not being receptive.

And when you start looking at some of these fans of ghosts things get a little more fuzzy. For instance here is what they have to say about digital cameras.

Digital Camera - Regardless of what you've heard digital cameras are great tools for ghost researchers. Once upon a time they had their limitations and problems but that is no longer the case. Not only do they allow you to see instantly if you have a positive photo, they can also take photos in limited infrared range of light.

Ummm ok so I happen to love digital cameras but noting the fact that they can randomly pick up certain types of infrared radiation as a feature is just stupid. Do you have a remote control near you? Point it at your face and hit the buttons. You see nothing. But a normal digital cameral will pick up the infrared radiation of a remote control as white light. So great is that a little ghost in there? No it’s just something strange that happens but that is what they jump all over anything a little bit strange. A cold spot in a basement, it’s a ghost, strange reflections in a cheap camera, more ghosts.

So I’m still looking for hard evidence, because eyewitness reports, strange pictures or odd responses from fluky equipment are not proof, yet…

And for the love of Cthulhu, stop writing me about the damned Ghost Hunters show on the SciFi channel. There is a reason it is on the Science Fiction Channel, ITS FAKE!

So, sorry about the cheesy ghost effects on the page, but it had to be done. -Roblem