Do you believe in Gohsts?

Summary:

Like being able to communicate with the "other side"? ....see if you can help me understand this!

Do you believe in Gohsts?

HLP1245 14 Dec 2012 15:20

So, I want to share my story with someone and hopefully someone can help me understand this…It is kind of long..but totally interesting so hang in there with me please! :)

I haven't really shared this but with 2-3 people so here we go….

I dated this guy in the 9th grade up until the 11th grade (for the sake of the story my bfs name was Clay)….that was back in 05 when I was a 9th grader….His brother-in-law (for the sake of this story his name was Anthony) was a "Paranormal investigator" as a hobby for the most part. He would always bring his digital recorder over to Clay's house and share these creepy sounding recordings of people talking….he told me several times it was spirits from the other side. Being a Christian I laughed at him on several occasions because the bible states that you can't or you aren't supposed to communicate with the other side….I can't remember which one but either way, I was convinced he was making all of this up and recording it himself.

One day Anthony got mad at me because I didn't believe him….So, he takes me to wal-mart has me pick up a digital recorder…I checked the recorder out…opened it…and held it the entire way home. We got back to my boyfriends house and Anthony told me and Clay to come to the backyard with him. He said "I feel like there is something here….I have been wanting to record here for a while and since she doesn't believe me I want to do it with her here"……So he tells me to hit record with the recorder I had been holding onto with a death grip ever since I purchased it to make sure he couldn't mess with me and make his own recording on it.

I hit record and Anthony starts pacing the yard and talking. Asking questions like, "Is there anyone one out here…Speak now" and such..I was still kind of laughing….He stopped talking I rewound the tape and hit play. At first I just heard Anthony talking…and then a little girl came on and said "Help me." three or four times….

Anthony told me to hit record again…so I did…he talked some more..and I rewound the tape…..This time he asked who she was and why she was here and what happened to her….she replied "My name is Angela and my parents drowned me in the creek behind this house"…….

I went from laughing to being totally freaked out! There is NO way he could have been playing a trick on me…..I had held that brand new recorder the entire time…and it wasn't me hearing things because it was clear as day what she was saying…..sounded just like a little girl…

Now….You can think I'm crazy and tell me Im crazy but I know what I heard and I have a MILLION more stories of things that happened after that day….I can tell you things that happened and you would probably say I needed to be put in the nut house LOL…

How is this possible? Do you really believe that spirits and such can communicate with us in that way? Obviously I have had many encounters and some creepy crap happen to me…and I still refuse to believe it. I am now 21 and still am freaked out by what I have been through………

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

TheGreatJuju 14 Dec 2012 15:55

Perception is a very complex process, and when our brains try to find patterns, they are guided in part by what we expect to hear. If you are trying to hear your friend while conversing in a noisy room, your brain automatically takes snippets of sound and compares them against possible corresponding words, and guided by context, we can often “hear” more clearly than the sound patterns reaching our ears could account for. Indeed, it is relatively easy to demonstrate in a psychology laboratory that people can readily come to hear “clearly” even very muffled voices, so long as they have a printed version in front of them that tells them what words are being spoken. The brain puts together the visual cue and the auditory input, and we actually “hear” what we are informed is being said, even though without that information, we could discern nothing. Going one step further, and we can demonstrate that people can clearly “hear” voices and words not just in the context of muddled voices, but in a pattern of white noise, a pattern in which there are no voices or words at all.

Given that we can routinely demonstrate this effect, it is only parsimonious to suggest that what people hear with EVP is also the product of their own brains, and their expectations, rather than the voices of the dearly departed.

http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/electronic_voice_phenomena_voices_of_the_dead/

---

"They tell you, but do you believe it? If so, why?"

http://www.undeadrufus.com

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

ThanksAlot 14 Dec 2012 16:25

Well said Ru.

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

HLP1245 14 Dec 2012 16:42

Well……if someone heard the recording and didn't know what was going on (like wasn't aware of my bfs brother-in-law looking for the paranormal) then why can they clearly hear what is being said or what I heard on the tape if they don't know what they are looking for? that is what I guess I do not understand if what you shared is true.

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

TheGreatJuju 14 Dec 2012 16:59

then why can they clearly hear what is being said or what I heard on the tape if they don't know what they are looking for?

Do they? In any case, why would someone need knowledge of the circumstances to find the same pattern in the audio?

I'm left to wonder just how clear and identifiable the sound was, as the line you provided is remarkably long and specific.

"My name is Angela and my parents drowned me in the creek behind this house…."

Did anyone ever bother to find out whether such a thing actually happened? In your shoes, I would be amply motivated to find out, even if it meant combing old microfiche. Even if it did happen, I would still strongly suspect your acquaintances of pulling a fast one, especially if your boyfriend was upset because you didn't believe. "I feel like there is something here" = red flag.

I strongly suggest you follow the link above and read the whole article.

---

"They tell you, but do you believe it? If so, why?"

http://www.undeadrufus.com

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

HLP1245 14 Dec 2012 19:33

It wasn't all one line like that….it took a good 45 min to get all of that information i was just summing it up….

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

SmartyPantz 15 Dec 2012 05:26

Okay, to a certain extent I hold an open mind about this sort of thing only because I have seen things that can't be explained, and as a Jew, I do believe in God, etc.

However, here is my take on this whole thing; Do I believe that there is a spiritual world that exist outside of our own? Yes. IMO, yes. But, I also believe at the same time you should not go around f#%&ing with it — leave it alone.

What you are describing is what is known as EVP, Electronic Voice Phenomenon. If you know anyone messing with that s#%&, stay the f#%& away from them!! They are really stupid for even trying to go there in the first place!!

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

metalangel 15 Dec 2012 05:09

I believe in ghosts, South Carolina is known for their ghost stories.

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

SmartyPantz 15 Dec 2012 05:14

So I have heard.

I hear you - Here where I live, San Francisco is considered to be one of the most haunted cities in America. Personally, I have never seen anything, but there is a lot of haunted history in this region which is very interesting. Personally, I find the history around the legends very fascinating.

Last edited on 15 Dec 2012 05:15 by SmartyPantz Show more

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

gcarini1985 15 Dec 2012 05:53

No I can't say that I do. I do get a laugh out of watching Ghost Adventures though. It's hilarious.

I've been to Europe and to supposedly haunted locations in Italy and Spain… and nothing.

I think people may perceive what they want, but I have never seen any valid evidence for ghosts. That's just me.

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

metalangel 15 Dec 2012 06:13

One interesting SC ghost story that I heard was about a young girl who fell in love with a guy that her family forbidden her to see because he wasn't on their level on society. The guy gave her a ring that she wore around her neck. She was sent to boarding school so she wasn't able to see her boyfriend. The girl got sick and died. When she died the ring was found on her neck. It was taken off her neck and thrown in the marsh. Legend has it that the girl walks around the cemetery looking for her ring.

~Look up Alice Flagg—very interesting(and famous)ghost story.

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

SmartyPantz 15 Dec 2012 06:22

Reminds me of one our little ghost stories here.

I know this will sound strange, but if you want to hear a good SF bay area ghost story similar to that you are descibing, google "Haunted Toy R Us in Sunnyvale, CA."

But, the coolest "haunted" location out here is a place called the Brookdale Lodge" which is in the Santa Cruz mountains near Big Basin. You should google that too just simply because the facility is really beautiful. When they built the inn back in the early 1900s, they built the restaurant of the inn around the creek, and the creek runs right through the middle of the restaurant. It is really cool!

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

jasonb75 15 Dec 2012 06:31

So what do you guys think about when it comes to the shows they have on TV. There are a few of them, but I can't name them off the top of my head. I've always wanted to believe there was something else, and I'm also Jewish which holds a special meaning in after life. I've walked away from religion since College, and haven't been able to go back to it. I've never seen nor heard a ghost, and I was just wandering if A. the stuff on TV is real or fake, (and don't hammer me on that please), or if any of you actually had a real experience that you would like to share.

Last edited on 15 Dec 2012 06:32 by jasonb75 Show more

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

odo77 15 Dec 2012 06:35

Only ghost shows iv watched is like ghost hunters and stuff, spend an hour to hear a faint clank noise.

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

SmartyPantz 15 Dec 2012 06:53

I think allot of those shows are dumb, There is only one I ever saw that was half way decent that was made recently, and it is called "Fact or Fake" (?) I used to watch Unsolved Mysteries back in the 1990s when Robert Stack used to host it. Cheesy visual effects by today's standards, but it was enjoyable to watch on stormy nights.

I have been wanting to put something similar together myself, but more of a documentary mini-series focusing on the haunted history of the SF bay area, but not anything like these shows that are being put out now. That is all I want to say about it on a public forum so someone doesn't steal my idea. It is a project I am researching and putting together on my spare time, but that is limited given my work schedule.

I will tell you this though, the building I work at in downtown SF is supposedly "haunted" but, I do work long hours, and have been in the building several times alone late at night and have not encountered anything, and I have been there a long time. Not really sure what the supposed ghost story is supposed to be behind the building though. So, no, I never seen a ghost per se.

I hear you about walking away from religion. I haven't been to a house of worship in a very long time, but I still believe in God. You may want to check out some time "Angry Conversations With God" by Susan Isaacs. It is not what you think by the title, but her story puts a lot in to perspective for those that struggle with religion vs. faith. She is pretty funny, but also very smart and serious too. There is a very good interview with her on the Steve Brown Etc. show that you may appreciate. It is about 30 minutes long.

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

jasonb75 15 Dec 2012 08:46

Thanks smartypantz: I will check it out in my spare time. Its funny because my wife is super ultra religious, but shes a protestant from the Phillippines. Religion is to them, is a way of life. I've lost interest in God after learning about the cosmos and during my college days.

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

SmartyPantz 15 Dec 2012 23:22

If anything, the cosmos only makes me more fascinated with God as it did Albert Einstein, but everyone is different like that.

Religion is very different from faith in my experience. Religion is just going through the motions so to speak, so it is not hard to see why most thinking people with a conscious would be turned off by it; I know that it did with me.

But there are also those, even some very bright and intelligent people that cannot function without the customs and structure of organized religion. To each his own as they say.

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

TheGreatJuju 16 Dec 2012 00:09

If anything, the cosmos only makes me more fascinated with God as it did Albert Einstein, but everyone is different like that.

Einstein did not claim to believe in "God" in the way typically understood by most theists.

---

"They tell you, but do you believe it? If so, why?"

http://www.undeadrufus.com

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

SmartyPantz 16 Dec 2012 00:24

Einstein was raised Jewish, and although not particularly religious, he was very spiritual.

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

TheGreatJuju 16 Dec 2012 01:16

Einstein overtly criticized Abrahamic theism.

"I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a childlike one. You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth. I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being."

"My position concerning God is that of an agnostic. I am convinced that a vivid consciousness of the primary importance of moral principles for the betterment and ennoblement of life does not need the idea of a law-giver, especially a law-giver who works on the basis of reward and punishment."

"It seems to me that the idea of a personal God is an anthropological concept which I cannot take seriously. I feel also not able to imagine some will or goal outside the human sphere. My views are near those of Spinoza: admiration for the beauty of and belief in the logical simplicity of the order which we can grasp humbly and only imperfectly. I believe that we have to content ourselves with our imperfect knowledge and understanding and treat values and moral obligations as a purely human problem—the most important of all human problems."

"The idea of a personal God is quite alien to me and seems even naïve."

"I believe in Spinoza's God, who reveals himself in the harmony of all that exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fate and the doings of mankind."

On being portrayed as religious:

"It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it."

On being Jewish:

"For me the Jewish religion like all other religions is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions."

All quotations referenced here.

Einstein's religious, philosophical and so-called "spiritual" leanings have been a subject of great interest to me over the years — primarily because of who he was, but also because his name is inevitably invoked in certain types of discussions, often in ways that grossly misrepresent him.

---

"They tell you, but do you believe it? If so, why?"

http://www.undeadrufus.com

Last edited on 16 Dec 2012 01:18 by TheGreatJuju Show more

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

jasonb75 16 Dec 2012 01:31

@GreatJuJu@ Amazing, right? I bet most people don't know that about him.

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

obaeyens 16 Dec 2012 01:35

I always thought that Einstein was a Geek and had no dates.
To my big surprises he had mistresses.

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

SmartyPantz 16 Dec 2012 01:58

That makes him cool?

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

Angelxxx 15 Dec 2012 10:28

I'm what you can call a sceptical believer lol. I have seen things in my life that I can't explain no matter how hard I have tried to explain it. There are people who try to explain certain paranormal stuff but their explanation for those things sometimes is more dumb then the fact it simply cannot be explained.

Re: Do you believe in Gohsts?

SmartyPantz 15 Dec 2012 23:49

I am pretty much in the same boat you are.

I love that description, "Skeptical Believer." That is very good, and I can relate to that as well.