I admit I just can’t watch horror movies. I know it’s all fake, and as is obvious in the points below, ghosts and hauntings just are not plausible or rational. Maybe I’m too prone to suspend my disbelief when watching movies or quality TV, since I’ve had a lifetime of practice. God, angels and demons are real, but their purpose is not to creep people out for the sake of spooky thrills and entertainment. Human beings have a need to believe in the supernatural, but some restrict their curiosity to the superficial and improbable. Below are ten incursions on the eerie, uncanny and ghostly.
“Arguably
one of the most famous ghost stories in America began in an unassuming house in
Amityville, New York, in 1974. If you've seen any of the films based on the
events, you know the story — a family moves into a house that had recently been
the site of horrifying murders. They begin hearing voices, seeing ghosts, and
experiencing other paranormal activities before ultimately fleeing their home
in terror…..
“The home's
previous owner Ronnie DeFeo really did murder his entire family in the home. At
his trial, he said that voices in the house made him do it. When George and
Kathy Lutz moved in, they may or may not have experienced something
supernatural. What we do know is that they worked closely with DeFeo's attorney
to either fabricate or exaggerate the hauntings, according to ABC News. Out of
this, the Lutzes hoped to secure book and film deals, which they did, and the
attorney hoped to give credence to his client's ‘not guilty’ plea, which he
didn't.
“DeFeo was
sentenced to life in prison where he still resides and eventually admitted to
ABC that he lied about the voices. No other tenants have reported anything
spooky in the Amityville house since.”
A sense of
the bizarre and unknown – as on the Winchester estate - can stir up creepy
thoughts and impressions:
“In 1924, Harry Houdini visited a rambling architectural oddity in the
heart of California’s Silicon Valley. Though a magician by trade, Houdini was
devoted, at this time in his life, to debunking what he considered a scourge of
fake spiritualists and mediums. The massive Winchester estate, partially
demolished by the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906, had a reputation for
being haunted—and not even Houdini himself could shake the sense that something
inside those walls was wrong. Picking up on some popular nicknames of the day,
Houdini dubbed the building ‘Winchester Mystery House’ after the late Sarah
Winchester, the secretive woman who built and lived in it. A Bay Area brand was
born.
“There have been over 12 million visitors to the house since its
mysterious architect died in 1922. Part historical preserve, part spooky theme
park oddity, the Winchester Mystery House has now inspired a new horror movie, Winchester,
starring Helen Mirren as the
titular, reclusive heir to a massive rifle fortune. Believe it or not, this
ghost-packed film could be the closest mainstream audiences come to
understanding that Winchester was far from just a ‘crazy’ lady who built a
crazy house.
“Your mileage may vary when it comes to believing there are, in fact,
spirits lurking in the corridors of the Winchester Mystery House. But there are
certainly enough unsettling sights within—a stairway the leads to nowhere, a
repeating motif of the number 13 baked into the elaborate decorations, a
second-story door that opens out to nothing—to convince Houdini, the friendly
Winchester tour guides, and scores of Bay Area residents who visited the house
as children.”
The RMS Queen
Mary, possibly the world’s number one ghost ship, stirs up sentiment and
imagination:
“I’ve had a fascination with classic ocean liners for most of my life.
In particular, I have had a sincere awe for the RMS Queen Mary (QM)
since I first stayed on board in the early 1980s—well after her retirement in
1967 and subsequent conversion into a hotel. She is a thing of beauty—a
near-perfect expression of the industrial design aesthetics of the era
(conceived in 1929, launched in 1934, maiden voyage in 1936). To say that we
don’t make them like we used to is an insulting understatement…….
“The Queen Mary was built to be in
motion. She feels like she is in motion even when she is standing perfectly
still in dry dock. The extreme shear of the decks (the curve that is apparent
in the longest stretches of corridor) plays with your normal perception of space.
We’re not accustomed these days to being inside structures with such tight
compartments, such detail in wood and metal constructed with an artistic eye
but, underneath, all machine. Its power—even with the engines now long
dormant—is palpable through the deck plating. Every rivet, every section of
carpet, every porthole was witness to the widest variety of intensely human
experience.
“From the
builders who put her together to the crew who stayed with her in extreme
circumstances to the celebrating passengers, every square centimeter has been a
part of a pageant of history. One can’t help but stand in a room onboard and
immediately conjure up the images of the hundreds of thousands who occupied the
same space years, decades before. She makes great noises, even sitting still,
as the metal skin holding her together expands and contracts and pieces jostle
around after seventy-five-plus years of settling. We don’t get that in our
daily experience in the interactions we have with architecture. We don’t stop
to think about who came before us when walking into a conventional building lit
up by fluorescent glare.”
When
people believe they are in a “haunted” place, they are more likely to attribute
mundane sounds to something more:
“It's the
power of suggestion, as well as fear. When we become afraid, blood flows from
the fingertips from the major muscles of the body as you get ready to run or
fight, and that can make you cold. You also become hyper-vigilant, so you start
noticing footsteps or voices you wouldn’t have noticed before, and start
assuming this is some sort of weird paranormal activity.”
Electromagnetic fields explain many
ghostly presences:
“For
decades, a Canadian neuroscientist named Michael Persinger has been studying
the effects of electromagnetic fields on people’s perceptions of ghosts,
hypothesizing that pulsed magnetic fields, imperceptible on a conscious level,
can make people feel as if there is a ‘presence’ in the room with them by
causing unusual activity patterns in the brain’s temporal lobes. Persinger has
studied people in his lab wearing a so-called ‘God Helmet,’ finding that
certain patterns of weak magnetic fields over someone’s head for 15 to 30
minutes can create the perception that there’s an invisible presence in the
room.
“Some
subsequent research has pushed back on this theory, arguing that people were
responding to the suggestion that they would feel a ghostly presence, rather
than to the electromagnetic field. However, Persinger counters that this
experiment followed very different protocols than his own research. Other
scientists have also found that environments that have a reputation for being
haunted often feature unusual magnetic fields.”
Almost undetectable low frequency
vibrations explain many creepy feelings:
“Infrasound
is sound at levels so low humans can’t hear it (though other animals, like
elephants, can). Low frequency vibrations can cause distinct physiological
discomfort. Scientists studying the effects of wind turbines and traffic noise
near residences have found that low-frequency noise can cause disorientation,
feelings of panic, changes in heart rate and blood pressure, and other effects
that could easily be associated with being visited by a ghost. For instance, in
a 1998 paper on natural causes of hauntings, engineer Vic Tandy describes
working for a medical equipment manufacturer, whose labs included a reportedly
haunted room. Whenever Tandy worked in this particular lab, he felt depressed
and uncomfortable, often hearing and seeing odd things—including an apparition
that definitely looked like a ghost. Eventually, he discovered that the room
was home to a 19 hz standing wave coming from a fan, which was sending out the
inaudible vibrations that caused the disorienting effects. Further studies also
show links between infrasound and bizarre sensations like getting chills down
the spine or feeling uneasy.”
And then
there are toxic hallucinations:
“Supernatural perceptions can also arise from reactions to toxic
substances – such as carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and pesticide. It has also
been suggested that fungal hallucinations – caused by toxic mould – could
stimulate haunting-related perceptions…..
“Shane Rogers and his team from Clarkson University in the US observed
similarities between paranormal experiences and the hallucinogenic effects of
fungal spores. This may explain why ghost sightings often occur in older
buildings with inadequate ventilation and poor air quality. The notion is not
new and experts have previously reported a similar effect associated with old
books. They claim that mere exposure to toxic moulds can trigger significant
mental or neurological symptoms, which create perceptions similar to those
reported during haunting experiences.”
"Spirit photographs",
photos that purport to have captured the image of a ghost, have simple and
natural explanations:
“Despite dramatically improved optical equipment and cameras over the
past century, most 'ghost photos' fall into two categories: 1) hazy,
indistinct shapes that can be interpreted as a human form; and 2) ‘mysterious’
glowing white blobs called orbs.
“Both can be easily (and accidentally) created by photographic error,
and the latter are by far the most common …… In a series of experiments, I was able to create orb
photos under a wide range of circumstances. Orbs can be found in the most
un-spooky of settings, and are actually fairly common in daily, amateur
photography. They are usually only noticed when a person is actively looking
for them as evidence of ghosts.
“Orbs seem
otherworldly because they are almost always invisible to the naked eye and go
unnoticed until the photo is examined, later revealing the presence of a
ghostly, unnatural, glowing object, sometimes appearing over or around an
unsuspecting person. To those unaware of scientific and optical explanations,
it is no wonder that orbs spook people (as Mumler's photos did 120 years ago).
Most ghost investigators will admit that at least some orb photos are of
ordinary phenomena. Still, they insist, there must be some orbs that defy
rational explanation. None have yet been found. Of course it's possible that
ghosts and spirits do exist and can be photographed. But if so, where's the
proof? And why do images of ghosts look exactly like images of photographic
errors?”
Related
Posts
Busted: Psychics Exposed For The Con Artists They Are https://www.mybestbuddymedia.com/2019/04/busted-psychics-exposed-for-con-artists.html
John of God: Medical Quackery & Fake Spirituality http://www.mybestbuddymedia.com/2018/06/john-of-god-medical-quackery-fake.html
8 Reasons Why Homeopathy Is A Cult http://www.mybestbuddymedia.com/2018/01/8-reasons-why-homeopathy-is-cult.html
10 Simple Reasons Why UFOs Are Not E.T.s http://www.mybestbuddymedia.com/2015/01/10-simple-reasons-why-ufos-are-not-ets.html
9 Compelling Reasons Why Alien Abduction Beliefs Are Delusions http://www.mybestbuddymedia.com/2014/11/9-compelling-reasons-why-alien.html
16 Quick Tips To Enhance Clarity Of Thought https://www.mybestbuddymedia.com/2019/05/16-quick-tips-to-enhance-clarity-of.html
30 Prying and Probing Questions To Bolster Critical Thinking http://www.mybestbuddymedia.com/2016/10/30-prying-and-probing-questions-to.html
Photo: https://www.ronhibbardtoyota.com/2018/09/05/best-haunted-attractions-near-gallatin-tn/
Jerry De Luca is a Christian freelance writer who loves perusing dozens of interesting and informative publications. When he finds any useful info he summarizes it, taking the main points, and creates a (hopefully) helpful blog post.
0 comments :
Post a Comment
Feel free to leave any comments...