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A Ghost is a controversial phenomen. Many people believe ghosts to be supernatural creatures. People see or hear things which they often interpret as the spirit of someone who is dead, and who is imprisioned on the Earth. Sometimes the ghost is thought to be looking for vengeance, or perhaps the ghost was imprisioned for bad things they did during life. Many cultures have some type of ghost story which shows up in their mythology. Many stories from the Middle Ages and the Romantic era rely on the macabre and the fantastic, and ghosts are a major theme in literature from those eras.
Definitions
The word "Ghost" has several possible definitions:
- A ghost may be generally defined as the apparition of a deceased person.
- A ghost may be the spirit of a deceased person, frequently one which is experienced in association with the person's former habitats, and carries the deceased person's likeness.
- The term ghost may refer to the soul, the center of spiritual life.
- The word ghost may refer to any spirit or demon.
- Ghosts are often associated with haunting, which according to the Parapsychological Association is "The more or less regular occurrence of paranormal phenomena associated with a particular locality (especially a building) and usually attributed to the activities of a discarnate entity; the phenomena may include apparitions, poltergeist disturbances, cold drafts, sounds of steps and voices, and various odors."
History
Ghost stories date back to ancient times, and can be found in many different cultures. The Chinese philosopher, Mo Tzu (470-391 BC) is quoted as having said:
"The way to find out whether anything exists or not is to depend on the testimony of the ears and eyes of the multitude. If some have heard it or some have seen it then we have to say it exists. If no one has heard it and no one has seen it then we have to say it does not exist. So, then, why not go to some village or some district and inquire? If from antiquity to the present, and since the beginning of man, there are men who have seen the bodies of ghosts and spirits and heard their voices, how can we say that they do not exist? If none have heard them and none have seen them, then how can we say they do? But those who deny the existence of the spirits say: "Many in the world have heard and seen something of ghosts and spirits. Since they vary in testimony, who are to be accepted as really having heard and seen them?" Mo Tzu said: As we are to rely on what many have jointly seen and what many have jointly heard, the case of Tu Po is to be accepted."
(note: King Hsuan (827-783 BC) executed his minister, Tu Po, on false charges even after being warned that Tu Po's ghost would seek revenge. Three years later, according to historical chronicles, Tu's ghost shot and killed Hsuan with a bow and arrow before an assembly of feudal lords)" — Taken from Chapter 31, translated by Yi-pao Mei
One of the earliest known ghost "sightings" in the west took place in Athens, Greece. Pliny the Younger (c. 63 - 113 AD) described it in a letter to Sura: Athenodoros Cananites (c. 74 BC – 7 AD), a Stoic philosopher, decided to rent a large, Athenian house, to investigate widespread rumours that it was haunted. Athenodoros staked out at the house that night, and, sure enough, a dishevelled, aged spectre, bound at feet and hands with rattling chains, eventually "appeared". The spirit then beckoned for Athenodoros to follow him; Athenodoros complied, but the ghost soon vanished. The philosopher marked the spot where the old man had disappeared, and, on the next day, advised the magistrates to dig there. The man's shackled bones were reportedly uncovered when this was done. After a proper burial, the hauntings ceased.
Very detailed information about ghosts is given in Garuda Purana. How ghosts fit into this worldview is shown here.
Skeptical analysis
Sound waves with frequencies lower than 20 hertz are called infrasound and are normally inaudible, but British scientists Richard Lord and Richard Wiseman have concluded that infrasound can cause humans to feel a "presence" in the room, or unexplained feelings of anxiety or dread.
See also
References
- http://www.parapsych.org/glossary_e_k.html#g Parapsychological Association, glossary of key words frequently used in parapsychology, Retrieved December 13 2006
- ^ http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ghost Retrieved December 13 2006
- http://www.parapsych.org/glossary_e_k.html#h Parapsychological Association, glossary of key words frequently used in parapsychology, Retrieved December 13 2006
- http://www.siu.edu/news/ghosts.html
- http://www.bartleby.com/9/4/1083.html
- "Sounds like terror in the air". Sydney Morning Herald. 2003-9-9.
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