Do you believe in ghosts ? What if you saw one, what would you think then? (read details)

I’ve had multiple experiences with things that I can’t explain. That said, I still don’t know if I believe in ghosts in the traditional sense of the word. I’m too uncomfortable sharing some of my weirdest experiences with people that I don’t know well, however, because even I recognize how insane they would seem.

Edit: I would and have visited places that were said to be “haunted”, and I’d do it again, just because of my experiences. Would I do it alone, though? Hell no. :P

I would do it. We had a seance when I was in high school. A friend of mine believed she saw a spirit/ghost and there was definitely some interesting things going on in the room (temperature changes, changes in my mood, lights flickering a little). None of it can be proven after the fact, so it would just be the word of those of us that participated. Even if it wasn’t ghosts/spirits, something definitely happened that we couldn’t explain.

I’d believe it if I saw it. At this point, I’ve never experienced any evidence for the existence of the supernatural and thus I don’t believe it exists.

A friend of mine actually had an idea to go spend the night in a haunted house in Ione. The idea kind of freaked me out and I didn’t really want to do it (the idea eventually fizzled out). If that doesn’t indicate that I think it’s possible they exist, I don’t know what it does. :)

I’d probably do it if I got another opportunity. I’d love to “know” if ghosts exist or not. Still, it depends on the evidence. Some of the evidence for ghosts that people describe is not exactly convincing.

I love the idea of ghosts, and want to believe in them, but I don’t. I’m a skeptic.

My mum has a firm believe in ghost. Her parents lived in a house purportedly haunted by a woman who died there. The spirit wanted her parents out and attempted to smoke them out. They evacuated and called the fire department, but when help arrived on the premises the smoke was gone. They took the hint and moved to California.

… where they purchased a house that was on sale because a man committed suicide in the basement. He haunted their home but was a calm spirit. Each member of my mum’s family had an experience with the ghost. I’ve heard lots of stories and they’re fascinating. But they’re stories. Because they didn’t happen to me, I have a hard time believing.

The Queen Mary is supposed to be haunted and it’s not far from where I live. My friend has been trying to set up a Halloween night there for years. I’m not against looking for ghosts by any means. I just don’t think I’ll find them.

I’ve seen, heard, and felt a lot of oddball things that I couldn’t explain. And I’ve been accused of everything from making it up to having an epileptic seizure.

@mrentropy Fucking goddamn annoying, isn’t it? That’s exactly why I choose not to share most of the time.

No, ghosts do not exist. Every situation has a rational explanation that is unique to its particular circumstances. Whether or not that explanation is evident or not, it is there, and ghosts are not. If I were to see a ‘ghost’, I would seek all rational explanations until I found the one that fit the circumstances I had experienced.

Some explanations are unlikely, but they are near certainties when compared with the minute probability of ghosts actually existing.

I’m very much with @muppetish on this one. I love the idea of ghosts and I would love to see/experience one. But I haven’t so far, so I’m still a skeptic. When others relate stories of things that have happened to them, I believe something happened. But there is usually an explanation. Even when there isn’t, because I didn’t experience it first-person, I’m still sure there’s a logical reason that we’re missing.

I’ve gone to plenty of reportedly haunted places. I’ve never been able to spend the night at any of them, but I would. Probably even by myself.

I did experience some phantom smells when I was at the Danvers State Hospital site last summer, but… uh… I had brain tumors at the time, so… I kind of doubt it was really anything.

I’ve seen a ghost so I know they exsist. I wasn’t on anything and I had a witness who saw him, too.

Yes. My ex and I were visited by one and I just feel lucky about it.
We never saw it; we were sent a strong flower scent for about 15 seconds that woke us up. That is, it woke him up Friday night, but not me. On Saturday night, he woke me up so I could smell it too.
Next day his mother told us that her mother used to sleep in that bed.

I live, and have worked, in some of the oldest settled places in this country and I have had some experiences but I still remain skeptical (New England is seriously creepy in the fall).

However, I would NEVER stay in any haunted places alone, or probably even at all. I don’t know if it is just me but, I get freaked out and overwhelmed by feelings of fear and the desire to “get out of there” very easily (I also suffered from night terrors and fear of the dark as a kid for quite a few years so that could be why).

There is always the possibility that there is a scientific explanation, but we simply aren’t “there” yet in terms of knowledge and understanding.

If I saw what I thought was a ghost, I would look for a logical physical explanation. Even if I didn’t find it, I’d be sure there was one.

@loser 30,000 to 100,000 sober people witnessed the Miracle of the Sun, but that doesn’t mean anything supernatural happened.

@DrasticDreamer Yes. Yes it is very annoying. Especially when the person who thought I was having an seizure begged me to tell them one of the stories.

And for the others… There just comes a point where a “ghost”, or whatever, becomes a rational explanation. It is not, though, my first line of defense.

And, while a couple of things may have been “ooooh, scary fun!” there were others that were just annoying, and at least two that weren’t fun at all.

@mrentropy Yeah, I agree. Even though I’ve had experiences, I myself am skeptical. I’m not one to get scared when something unusual happens and say, “Oh, my god! Ghost!” I look for explanations. That said, sometimes there just aren’t any.

And some of my experiences have been downright scary. I don’t know if that’s what you meant by “not fun at all”, but that’s how it was for me.

@DrasticDreamer One wasn’t very scary for me until my girlfriend told me her side of the story the next morning. The other was kind of scary because I was pinned down to my bed.

@mrentropy My scariest experience was actually partly shared with my sister. Thank god, because if it hadn’t been for that, I probably would have genuinely questioned my own sanity.

@DrasticDreamer I know how you feel. Had something similar with a 6’+ lengh of tree branch that got jerked down into an old, colonial-era, well.

@FireMadeFlesh Whatever. I know what I saw. I didn’t think ghosts were real either until I saw one.

loser, I’d love to hear more about your ghost.

Interesting array of answers, thanks all.

I wouldn’t call them ghosts but spirits of people who have lived in the past. I had a friend die in an accident and he actually came to me and talked with me. I seen him as I see anyone else though he was slightly opaque. He told what had happened to him and where he was. I led the rescue team to him from where he told me he was and they found him. He had been missing for two days and his wife was frantic about it. By the way he left a message for me to give his wife which I did. So yes I do believe in them and know they exist. I have had many many life experiences and most people don’t believe so I don’t share most of what I have experienced. There were two times I was terrified because of what happened and I don’t mean scared I mean terrified.

i dont think ghosts are real i think they are feelings