ABOUT GHOSTS By Alan.J.McNamara (GWUK) Copyright © 1999. All rights reserved.   Introduction What is a Spirit Types of spirits How to tell different types of activity What if........ Who can help? About Ouija Boards Sleep Paralysis   Introduction Some year's back, I was having a drink in an old inn with two friends and colleagues, one a microbiologist the other a physicist. Because of my interest in the paranormal, I happened to remark about the numerous accounts of Haunting of such places. ‘All a load of rubbish’ one declared, ‘no such thing as ghosts, its all in the mind’ said the other. Both then continued to express their own theories of what people perceive to see and experience. One thing was clear both were sceptics with very closed minds. I thought I would put their scepticism to the test. Earlier I had mentioned that I had a busy weekend ahead, they replied that they were going to take it easy at home with their families. Having previously established they would be doing nothing in particular, I informed them that I was intending to carry out an all night vigil as part of some research of an old Victorian graveyard, would they wish to come along. One suddenly remembered he was going away for the weekend, the other said ‘you wouldn't get me into a graveyard at night for all the tea in China’! How could they be afraid of something that they both believe don't exist!   [Top]   What is a spirit A ghost or apparition, (we prefer to use the term spirit) has a very wide definition. No one can say for any certainty what a ghost, apparition or spirit is, at best one can only theorize. Our own theory is that a spirit is another name for a type of energy unique to all life, for example similar to each individual having their own DNA profile. When life comes to an end, this energy leaves the body and enters a dimension that is beyond our knowledge. One thing we do know is that energy cannot be destroyed, only changed, and if one accepts this, then we must ask where does it go and what happens to it. It is this uncertainty that is the driving force behind researchers to seek an explanation by scientific based study of this unknown dimension. The aforementioned dimension is beyond the knowledge of the orthodox scientific establishment, many of who will ridicule researchers of the paranormal and disbelieve those who have had first hand experiences. Accordingly many people who have had some sort of paranormal experience prefer to keep it to themselves for fear of ridicule and being called a crank. In time gone by, people thought the world was flat and that if a ship sailed too far out it would simply fall off! It was thanks to the few progressive thinking, open-minded explorers of the day that in the end, proved otherwise. Before they did so the sceptics of the day thought they were crackpots too. In our experience, about 95% of purported haunting and ghostly activity are found to have a logical explanation, but what about the other 5%? We are inclined to think there are three major types of spirit activity as outlined below. Copyright © 1999 Alan.J.McNamara. All rights reserved. [Top] Types of Spirit: SPIRITS A spirit is an entity that is on the lowest energy level and therefore unable to materialize. It usually makes itself known by creating a cold spot or a cool breeze regardless of the general overall temperature. Even if all doors and windows are closed tight you will still feel the breeze or cold spot Another means of letting you know they are around is by a sweet smell like flowers, especially roses, and of fruit. You can also sense a spirits presence; for example you may feel that something is in the room or feel you are being watched when no one is there. GHOST OR APPARITION The energy of a deceased person we believe, remains the same after death, for example if an individual was kind and gentle when alive, the energy will remain so and accordingly if unkind and grumpy the same will apply. This type of spirit is of a higher energy level so can therefore manifest itself. Apparitions tend to be attracted to places rather than specific people. They seem to be in some sort of time-warp inasmuch that they may seem to walk through walls that was once but no longer there. They may appear to walk on a lower level, as was the original floor height, and seem to be repetitive on their movements. Whatever happens, this category of spirit will never do you any harm. However it is unwise to give it any attention for if you do there is a possibility that it will become more prevalent by using your energy, just like recharging a car battery when it is low. Some researchers class this type of activity as a recording type ghost. ENTITY OR POLTERGEIST. This type of spirit, commonly known as a Poltergeist, has the highest level of energy and literally feeds on a host's energy and zaps away. This type of manifestation is usually very intense, noisy, evil and destructive, it can weaken its host and try it's best to possess them. It is usually accompanied by an extremely unpleasant smell, often like rotting flesh, vegetables or a sewer type smell. We feel that this type of spirit or energy originates from those who in life were of a very violent or had an evil nature. Poltergeists seem to be brought about by unpleasant atmosphere and where stress levels are extremely high such as a very argumentative household, a period of life when there is a lot of unusual stresses and worries. This type of entity usually attaches to children, adolescents and sometimes the elderly. It takes them over and forces then to do its bidding by projection. Fortunately the haunting or activity is fairly short lived, usually anything from a few weeks to a few months although on one or two extremely rare occasions it has gone on for far longer. There are those who are inclined to think that poltergeist activity is a product of the people involved and it is their psychological situation that is causing it. Then there are those who are inclined to think that it is a spirit that operates through a person, similar to that of a medium. In truth, as yet nobody knows. Copyright © 1999 Alan.J.McNamara. All rights reserved. [Top]   WHAT TYPE OF ACTIVITY CAN I HAVE   SPIRIT Spirits unlike Poltergeists are not noisy, are not distinctive and do not take on form. They appear to be more attracted to people rather than places. Never worry as they will do you no harm and try not to show them any attention, which they want. If you do show attention they will draw energy from you and will therefore hang around longer. APPARITION Apparitions or Ghosts will not harm you and are not usually disruptive. They are like lost souls, which is probably what they are. Like spirits they can bring smells, and sometimes instead of full materialization you may see a light out of the corner of your eye. Items such as jewellery and other personal effects may be moved, or disappear and reappear often in a different place. Small items such as coins, etc can appear out of nowhere. Other factors are as follows: The feeling that someone is watching you. You hear voices when no one is there. Bed covers jerked or moved off you. Electrical household appliances coming on by themselves, often when not plugged in. Plugs removed from sockets when no one has physically done so. Footsteps when no one is there, maybe from an empty room or passageway etc. Lights coming on or going off when no one has touched the switch.   POLTERGEISTS This type of entity can cause a lot of harm to property and individuals to which it centers upon both physically and mentally. It will do its best to destabilize and take over your environment. Unlike our friendly spirit or apparition/ghost it is usually downright malevolent, nasty with a smell that matches it character of rotting vegetables or flesh which often becomes completely overpowering. In addition to most of the characteristics as stated above you most properly will experience some or all of the following: The movement or the upsetting of furniture. Foul language. Voices from nowhere usually of a frightening nature. Knocks on walls or ceilings very often grouped in threes or fours. Strange unaccountable noises like animal scratching etc. Strange arrangement of items such as plates knives etc. Sometimes a full materialization will occur which can look like a three dimensional solid human form and on other occasions in the form of a dark shadow with no features. Items being thrown with great velocity. Small pools of liquids appearing. Fires and self- ignition of items. Writing on walls. Copyright © 1999 Alan.J.McNamara. All rights reserved. [Top]   What if ......... Before you become sure that you have a ghost around you must remain as calm as you can and think in a logical way. The first thing you must do is to see if you can find a logical explanation for what you think is going on. Starting with yourself, answer the following:  Do you feel stressed? If so, try and remedy the situation and get the stress level down.  Are you taking any medication or prescribed drug and if so could it be contributed to the side effects? Could that strange tapping or knocking be the result of air in the water or heating system? Could that scratching you hear coming from the skirting, walls, ceiling or elsewhere be a mouse or rat? Could that voice or faint noise you hear coming from the walls be the result of your next door neighbor's TV, radio or hi-fi? Remember that your dividing wall can be thin. Is that creaking or any other noise due to the house settling, expansion or contraction? Should you get yourself a medical check-up? Copyright © 1999 Alan.J.McNamara. All rights reserved. [Top] Who can help? If you have successfully eliminated the above factors and still think you have a problem, which is causing you upset, you can choose to do the following: Ask a friend or relative to make a very thorough check. Contact someone like us. Copyright © 1999 Alan.J.McNamara. 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