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i've read up a bit on theories of ghosts, and been an avid watcher of ghost hunting shows for years now. basically, there are believed to be two kinds of paranormal manifestations. residual and intelligent. a residual manifestation can be described as a skip on a record, that just keeps playing back the same moment in time, over and over again, and is incapable of interacting with humans. it's unknown whether these represent true, trapped spirits, or if it's just some kind of naturally occuring phenomenon.

the intelligent haunt is an altogether different beast. the idea here, is that for some reason, the spirit didn't move on, and remained here on earth, either attached to a property, a person, or even inanimate objects; perhaps that they were attached to in life. these entities can interact with humans, but it takes a tremendous amount of energy to do so. the idea here is that these spirits can draw out energy from static electricity in the air, from any kind of battery devices, or even from the living, as many will tend to feel drained. it is thought that this is what accounts for "cold spots," where spirits are literally draining the energy from the air, in order to manifest. such manifestations may include making knocks, sounds, or even verbal speech, or on rare occassions, it may in fact be in the form of a visual manifestation.

then we come to the topic of demonic, or dark spirits, which can seemingly torment and bully any other spirits in the same location, and can sometimes attack or influence the living, even leading to possession.

it is my wonder if this could consitute hell. those spirits who turned away from the light, lost, sometimes trapped, lonely, and isolated, cursed to linger on in a place they no longer belong, AND subject to the demonic forces which i have no doubt are out there.

AND SO IN CLOSING, what do you think, and what are some of your theories on this subject?

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Are ghosts in Hell?  Well, the thought has crossed my mind.  

There is another theory out there which is kind of based on a theory of parallel dimensions.  It’s a very old theory but there may be something to it.  Seems the ancients believed in a land of the dead and at certain times, the veil that separates this world from that one is lifted briefly, or may be thinner than normal sometimes.  And when it is lifted or thin, we may be able to view the people there.  

Of course, I take a more Christian-religion view of the afterlife. For those that have this pov, some things seem clear.  When you die, you do go somewhere else, there to remain until some appointed time later. Jesus told the thief on the cross that he was going to prepare a place for him, and “this day you will be with me in Paradise” (or words to that effect).  

However…then we come to the problem with ghosts.  Do they exist?  The Bible mentions them.  It also gives examples.  Samuel apparently returned from the dead when called by the medium/witch/whatever.  Of course he wasn’t very happy about it.  And also, we are warned to not try and communicate with the dead because harm can come from it.  So that makes me wonder…if the Bible warns us against this, then it must be possible.  For why would the Bible warn us against trying something impossible?

So to me, ghosts must be real.

As for draining energy from batteries, electrical appliances, cameras, etc… I don’t believe it.  There are stories of ghosts going back throughout time…long before electricity was discovered.  How’d those ghosts appear?  If ghosts drain energy from batteries, wouldn’t every car lot in the USA be haunted?  And warehouses  that sell batteries.  And electrical power station?

I also don’t believe the garbage about using EM detectors to find ghosts.  That idea was probably dreamed up by the manufacturer of those devices.  And electro-magnetism can probably be found anywhere.  Usually they walk around a room with an EM detector…(in the dark) and look for spikes in the numbers.  However, EM frequencies can be set off even if the power is turned off.  GH International has pointed out that nearby power transformers can set them off.  Also, appliances can set them off even if there is no power going to them.  You can even find it with a magnetic compass.  Do you know that is you pass a compass near a tv or radio or something that gives off electromagnetism, the needle will move?  So if it will do this to a compass, it will do that to an EM detector.

I also don’t think ghosts are made up of energy.  Rather, they are likely the physical manifestation of the soul.  If they were merely energy…then why couldn’t we reanimate a long-dead corpse with a jolt of electricity?  No, something else must be in play.  If the soul has departed the body, no amount of energy will bring the corpse back to life.  

Ever wonder why these tv ghost busters always…always do their hunting with the lights turned out?  Why do they do this?  Especially when most ghostly sightings on those shows happen with the lights on!  They do this imo, to hide all the wires and special effects the SCi-Fi crew has dreamed up.  (I used to love  TV’s Ghost Hunters, but then I began to wonder how they found a ghost nearly every weekend, when most of us would be lucky to find 1 in a lifetime?  If they know soooo much about finding ghosts, wouldn’t science journals be filled with the info?).

I don’t mean to imply that I don’t like the ghost tv shows.  I do.  I’ve watched em along time too.  I can remember when people were crazy about orbs, and now ya almost never hear of em coz most turn out to be dust particles…or bugs.  Even Ghost Hunters don’t bother to mention em much anymore.  GH used to be my favorite show.  But I just began to have my doubts about em when they started commanding that little flashlight to go on and off.  It’s pretty clear to me that light has a short in it.  

Fact or Faked is currently my favorite paranormal show.  It seems like they go waaay out of their way to debunk things.  Even further out of the way than GH did.  (The chicks are hot too).  ;p  And 'Most Hanted' is the absolute worst show.  

And now to demonics.  Yes…I most certainly believe in demons.  And they are deceptive and I believe they can appear in any form…both pleasing and hideous.  They can imo, appear as ghosts.  They can speak to us.  And this may be why we are warned against trying to contact the dead.  Because we may be inviting demons into our lives by doing so.  Even some paranormal experts (if there is such a thing)  agree with that.

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well, to be clear, i think that there are a lot of falsehoods and misinterpretations, particularly when the imagination is involved. however, when you have old locations with hundreds of years of reportings, i think it's clear that there is some truth to be had. and as for the energy thing, who's to say it would be "energy" as we define it in this realm? it could be dark energy, or some afterlife energy, that we can't fully interact with. however, if we believe that the soul CAN exist absent of a body, or that ghosts ARE a physical manifestation of a soul, then we know that the soul must be made of something, and that there must be something to sustain it, at least if it dwells in this reality.

but here's another question to be asked. if there is a heaven, and if there is a hell, would spirits lost in this world be a form of purgatory? because i don't think that ALL manifestations/occurrences are demonic in nature.

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See, that’s a good question.  Maybe the Catholics are onto something eh?    Kind of shakes my Southern Baptist tradition.  Lol!  (But hey…we still have good pot-luck suppers).

I think I should mention that I have had some …paranormal experiences as well.  Furthermore, my cousin (who’s rich as heck) bought a known ghost house in our town a few years ago.  It was built back in the 1800s and every previous owner since the 70s has sworn it is haunted.  They don’t live there but we have our traditional holiday parties at the house (its on an old plantation) and none of us will go there alone.  My cousin remodeled it and told us that he drove up there one night before the renovations and there was a light on upstairs.  No one had the key but him.  

So yes, I tend to believe that there is at least something to the idea of ghosts.  I just don’t know what they are.  

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What are your thoughts / opinions of the following tv shows?

Ghost Hunters:
Most Haunted:
Paranormal State:
Fact or Faked?:

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Originally Posted by Dennis Young:
What are your thoughts / opinions of the following tv shows?

Ghost Hunters:
Most Haunted:
Paranormal State:
Fact or Faked?:

ghost hunters....i used to watch a lot, but not so much anymore. ever since they got rid of steve and tango (who now do ghost hunters academy) i lost interest.

most haunted is interesting, and i like how they use actual footage from different paranormal teams.

paranormal state, again, i used to watch a lot, but it's become completely lame, with little in the way of "evidence" and few resolutions. that's what i used to like about that show, is that they really tried to help people, and make them understand, rather than just trying to document, but you have to have the documentation to go with it.

fact or faked, i've watched, but they always seem to pick the stupid stories, imo.

the show i really like, is ghost adventures on travel channel. they're a little more extreme, with the tauntings, and stuff, but boy do they get a lot of good evidence. not just evps, but actual attacks, and apparitions. they've also done a good job of incorporating other teams footage from the locations that they visit, and do a good bit of history too. plus they're just funny sometimes.

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I didnt know Steve and Tango were gone completely though.  I knew about GH Academy (I hated the show), but I thought Steve ad Tango were still with GH. But nothe thig that bothers me about GH is th gross commercialism...like last nigh I think they were working with The Housewives of Atlanta!  God why would anyone think that would be a good idea???

I got blown out on Most Haunted back when Derek (the guy how got possessed each and every episode) got caught faking.  Also all the rocks being thrown and books hitting the floor (just off-camera).  

One thing I liked about 'Fact or Faked'is that once when they were investigating UFO lights over the desert, they showed how it could easly have been donewith a laser pointer shining on a plate glass window.  Or with one of those cheap 'Air Hogs' battery helicopters.

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Anyone here (other than me) ever had any sort of paranormal experience?

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Originally Posted by Dennis Young:
Anyone here (other than me) ever had any sort of paranormal experience?

i've seen some weird kind of staticy/shadowy type figures, at a hotel here in st. aug. they or it was very fast, and my eyes would only catch a glimpse of them for a split second. they were vaguely humanoid shaped, but the weird thing is that they kind of looked like a snowy tv screen. strangely enough, at around this same time (when we were between homes) i kept feeling like i was being watched, any time i was in the back of our moving truck. so much so, that on numerous occassions, i would stop and look over my shoulder, just sure someone would be standing there.

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Hmm...St Augustine is an old old old city!  I think there are ghost tours there too.

I've had a few things happen too...but nothing since I was...probably 12.  And I cant prove any of it either.  Had something throw rocks at me once even though no one else was there but me.  Also saw a shining..orb of sorts hovering above a field across from my house.  Not saying it was little geen men...but I dont know WHAT it could have been.  Like a red LED light.  No movement, no drifting, no sound.

And lastly I will prbably go to my deathbed believing I have heard angels singing.

Then I became a teenager, discovered girls and all that paranormal stuff ceased.  Lol!

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Originally Posted by Dennis Young:
Hmm...St Augustine is an old old old city!  I think there are ghost tours there too.

I've had a few things happen too...but nothing since I was...probably 12.  And I cant prove any of it either.  Had something throw rocks at me once even though no one else was there but me.  Also saw a shining..orb of sorts hovering above a field across from my house.  Not saying it was little geen men...but I dont know WHAT it could have been.  Like a red LED light.  No movement, no drifting, no sound.

And lastly I will prbably go to my deathbed believing I have heard angels singing.

Then I became a teenager, discovered girls and all that paranormal stuff ceased.  Lol!

we believe my niece was "sensitive" when she was younger. she, along with all the women in the family, stayed at a house once in tybee island georgia,  for their annual "mother-daughter weekends", that they believe was haunted. she saw outside of the second story window, a "lady with a beard, and buckles all over." the next day they saw some kind of exhibit or picture (or something) of a pirate, and she said that this person looked like that. so we think that she thought it was a lady with a beard, because it had long hair. and this was when she was maybe 4-5. anyway one of them was pushed down the stairs in that house, all of them felt like they were being watched in the shower, the fire alarm would beap randomly throughout the night, and only during the night, and one of them heard a baby crying.

but anyway, my niece also had an "imaginary" friend, she called her "babe." and she would talk about her babe, and to her babe, as if he were really there, and any time she was with her babe, bad things would happen. she was walking down the hall one time, and all of a sudden her finger got sliced open. she didn't fall down, i was looking at her, and she was just right in the middle of hall when she reacted in pain. another time her babe was around she had a bad accident with a treadmill at my in-laws, and got road rash all over. there were a few other things. one time when she was riding in the car with my wife, mom-in-law, and sis-in-law, she all of a sudden said, "i thought i told you not to come!" and they were like who? and of course she said it was her babe. and there is some history with her grandfather being a sensitive when he was younger as well.

strange stuff.

i've had a few genuine premonitions in my life, just knowing something bad was about to go down, but not knowing what. and it'll turn out someone has died, or something telling me to buckle up before getting in an accident. but i think that stuff like that comes from god. what some call clairvoyance, others may call guardian angels. it's strange, but there's something to it.

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I think there's something to it as well.  

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I personally believe in ghosts only because I have had my own personal experiences...mind you with no equipment either. I know GH went to the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park ,CO. I visited there last summer and its a pretty "heightened" place. Mind you it is built on limestone. When we went on the tour, we headed into the baLLroom. The guide started to tell the story about Stephan Kings experience here. I didnt want to sit on the stage so I moved to the side of the room. The room is split slightly to the left by pillars and arches. I stood underneath one and felt this huge surge of energy move through me. It did not feel good, so I moved. 10 minutes later the guide says" The old inn keeper was shot straight threw the floor into the basement from an explosion while trying to light the gas pilot. She nearly died." This was the DIRECT spot I stood at before. That freaked me out!

In the apartment down from where I live now, we had ghosts who used to move stuff around. My neighbors went on vacation. They took there dog with them so I know the apartment was vacant. The washer and dryer were in the basement. I keep hearing what sounded like the bed or dresser being slid across the floor. I go upstairs and ask my b/f" are so and so home?" He says no...than says" you heard that too huh?"

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here's something to consider. what if "residual haunts" weren't ghosts at all? what if all points in time are all occurring simultaneously, just in different "dimensions" (for lack of a better term) and that sometimes, in some places, we can glimpse what's taking place at different points throughout what we know as history?

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True enough DM( aka Dark Man is your new nickname). I'm down with 11th dimesional physics and string theory