English 12-1-08

Deathly Beliefs
Supernatural Phenomena exists in many different forms all over the world. Possession, apparitions, electronic voice phenomena, and ectoplasm are versions of paranormal activity most commonly experienced. There are many discoveries of this “next life” by people from all races, ages, and religions. It is obvious that the dead are trying to communicate to the living in any possible way that they can.
I believe in the existence of a unearthly life among the living. The evidence is overflowing and the experience from people around the world continues to grow every day. There is definitely something living alongside us. I think that much of the world today is beginning to see that ghosts are fact, not fictional characters that many have been lead to believe. The spirits that have yet to find their way into a higher place are left behind to roam the Earth searching for an answer to their problems and their questions.
One of the first recorded events of paranormal activity was in the 18th century when Emmanuel Swedenborg recalled that, “...a mist formed before his eyes and then separated into a silvery mass of snakes”, which eventually transformed into a figure claiming to be God (Blum 11). This was the beginning of the many activities to follow. After this vision, interest sprung from the souls of people. This was when people were beginning to look more into science and not religion. Leonora Piper, one of the first recorded mediums, sacrificed her body to spirits roaming the land by allowing them to use her as a tool to contact the living (Blum 188). Contacting the dead became popular to those who missed their loved ones or wanted to know more about a mysterious death.
Those who are able to contact the dead are said to have extra-sensory perception, or ESP. They are usually referred to as mediums. These men and women use their “sixth sense” to find a presence and make a connection with it in order to satisfy the spirit itself or their earthly connectors that are still living (Holzer 29). Mediums use their bodies as passageways for the spiritual world to use. Possession has been used for centuries to link the domains of the two beings. These events allow a spirit to take full control of a body.
Hans Holzer describes that “Ghosts[...] are the surviving emotional memories of people who have not been able to make the transition from their physical state into the world of the spirit...” (45). These spirits don't understand why they are dead and have to find someone to explain it to them (Holzer 45). People have only begun to realize that there are phantoms roaming the Earth. The reason of a spirit's eternal journey has barely even crossed the mind of the human race. These beings in our presence are in search for the pathway to the life they've been promised all of their lives.
There is a common thought that ghost will only appear at certain times, however, it is said that they will appear occasionally and usually at different times (Holzer 25). These bona fide ghosts stay around the places where they had died in their etheric body (Holzer 25). These souls are there This would mean that with several instances of recorded material there could possibly be a ghost there.
Paul Roland explains the 'Stone Tape' Theory as a ghost replaying the events it experiences previous to his or her death (60). He however then admits that this does not account for living apparitions or, more well known as, doppelgängers. A doppelgänger is a spiritual double that is projected from a living person. Usually these projections are used as anticipations of a person's thoughts or or wills. Such cases have been reported around the world.
Apparitions have been seen by many people. These specters have come for a variety of reasons. Brad Steiger compiled a book of recollections from people across the world. In these stories, ghosts came to: warn, say goodbye, and help. One story in particular told of an apparition of a man who kept a woman from her kitchen where a rapist was waiting for her (Steiger 188). Some apparitions have been said to walk in routine around certain places. The fact of their death has not completely hit them and they continue to retrace the steps of their previous life.
Electronic voice phenomena, or EVP, is recorded where paranormal activity occurs. The voices can speak of disturbing or calm messages. Usually found at higher frequencies than the human ear is able to hear, recordings must be turned up very loud to be heard.
Ectoplasm is a jelly-like substance that is excreted from a living piece of matter (Roland 33). The manifestation of ectoplasm is usually from a person with ESP that is being messed with by a spirit, however it can be anywhere in the atmosphere where a ghost has appeared, visible or not. One can usually feel this phenomena when walking and feeling as if a cobweb was on them.
Orbs, mists, and ghost lights are, in my opinion, seen as the attempt of a spirit to become an apparition. There is often a time where a figure can be seen within the sphere. One such occurrence was of a dog named Brownie, in which an orb was found in a photograph with the figure of Brownie within it's walls (Steiger 309). Other mists and lights have been recalled on highways or in graveyards.
Though most ghosts are seen to be harmless and not able to physically ever attack someone, there is always the poltergeist. “The word simply means “noisy ghost”...” explains Holzer (667). The poltergeist has been depicted in many films as harmful, but it is mostly just a spirit that moves things around and bothers a human with unwanted sounds. According to Holzer, a poltergeist is simply an uncontrolled sexual feeling that is released in an energetic and unknown phenomena (667). There was a test done in the 1930s where a medium was used on a poltergeist infested area and the medium excreted an ectoplasm that had a makeup that was “identical with seminal fluids” (667).
Spiritual photography is a very common phenomenon that people come up with when around haunted areas. Some specters aren't seen to the naked eye but are caught on camera, which can capture a very specific moment in time. Often this is the way that most people are able to view a ghostly image. An abundance of products from the camera has been released. All different types of supernatural phenomena are able to be printed from photography. There is a certain type of photography called materialization. In this type of photography, an image is seen on several pictures that are taken consecutively. When the photos are put together side by side or longitudinally they form an entity. One of the most famous materialization photographers was Hanna Hamilton, who would come up with ectoplasmic materializations in her pictures all the time (Holzer 752).
The sport of Ghost Hunting has become more popular as updates have been made and more events have been discovered. Curiosity is taking over the human mind. We are beginning to really wonder about a world beyond our own and we want to pursue our imaginations. With new technology being produced and updated with every passing year, it's become easier to discover a wandering soul. The technology used can measure magnetic fields as well as temperature. An Electromagnetic Field Meter, or EMF Meter, can help to determine whether a specter is close by (Roland 188). “The normal EMF reading is between 0.5 and 1.5 milligauss...” therefore one can fully distinguish between the normal and the paranormal (Roland 188). High magnetic fields can be explained by presences as can watching a recording of a thermograph. Watching a figure move across a thermograph when no one else was there can only be explained by another presence within the area. There is debate between whether the digital or 35mm cameras are better for taking supernatural photos. Most traditional ghost hunters use the 35mm film cameras so that it's not so easy for critics to doubt their work (Roland 197). A digital DAT recorder is usually used by hunters so that the mechanical whirring of a cassette recorder won't be present (Roland 197). I think that this is a good idea because of the fact that EVP is usually very soft and most likely unheard. Infrared lights are highly needed instead of night-vision lights on a video camera (Roland 197). Because of the movement supernatural beings cause, motion detectors are needed for hunters (Roland 198). With movement, it is unmistakable to have when no one else is around on a scene. Having a camera there to catch the details is essential to the hunter so that he or she has the undeniable proof that they need. With all of this equipment, ghost hunters are able to find spirits even when they aren't expected to be there. This technology is used for every aspect known about the ghostly world. With these things helping us to find ghosts, it's allowing beliefs to expand and new things to be considered about the world.
The Ouija board is made up of a compilation of letters, numbers, and the two words “yes” and “no”. This is used to have a spirit communicate with the user by spelling out answers to be recorded. Most people find that Ouija boards summon darker spirits and therefore advise for them not to be used. The board has been “...marketed as a 'fun' game in which the 'players' consult the 'Mystifying Oracle'...” and this really appeals to a young and troublesome crowd (Roland 111). Roland says to end his Ouija Board excerpt, “However you view it, Ouija board spells danger.” (111).
A séance is commonly used for contacting those who have crossed over to the spiritual world. This performance usually attracted dangerous entities. Mediums would begin a ring of people around a table and they would frequently use candles or other relaxing tools to open the minds of the others. These ceremonies were generally seen as fake and attempts for mediums to make a living. The séance has, however, had some successful stories.
The scientific perception of the paranormal is very negative towards its existence. For years now, science has been trying to prove that a spiritual world does not coexist with the living world. “Quantum physics now theorize that subatomic particles, know as 'dark matter', combine to produce the illusion of solidity...” which is giving the opinion of believers a chance in the scientific world (Roland 96). Some encounters of paranormal activity cannot be explained by science yet cannot be ignored as inexplicable cases.
Religion has not been able to explain incidents that happen. The Scriptures told of Jesus' resurrection from the dead after being crucified. Roland tells of an instant in the Bible where Jesus said, “'People cannot see anything in the real realm unless they become it. In the realm of truth it is not as [with] human beings in the world, who see the sun without being the sun . . . Rather, if you have seen any things there, you have become those things.'” (16). This coming from Jesus Christ has to mean that there is the existence of an unearthly world. Roland uses a excerpt from Corinthians from St. Paul where he says, “'There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another . . . There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body.'” (16). This was to help explain that Jesus had risen from the dead. For those who do believe in God and trust the Bible, this is definitely proof that there is another type of being. There are many religions in which they practice out-of-body experiences, so Christianity is not the only religion that concerns these spiritual happenings. With all of the religions in the world, these beliefs in a spiritual world are know in almost all of them. The Hindu religion sees that the death of a person is not the end of their journey. Roland explains this saying “'All the diverse elements, in the end, go back to the course and are absorbed in it, as all waters are finally absorbed in the ocean...'” (12). Buddhists believe that when a death occurs, the soul of that body is left to search for a new one. Buddhism has seen, that when a being is unable to release itself from a physical state, a decent into a ghostly world occurs and is seen to them as Hell (Roland 12). With religions and science acknowledging the existence of supernatural phenomena who are we to disagree with them. What people look to is those two branches for a sign of intelligence.
The different types of technological measurements of paranormal activity, the sayings from the Bible, and the different scientific reasonings allow me to really believe in the existence of ghosts. There is overflowing evidence of another entity among us, and therefore it is nearly impossible to deny that existence. All of these different types of supernatural phenomena are seen by a number of different types of people. Everyone can't be a liar and so someone has to be telling the truth about these phenomenons. The thought of such denial to things that are put right under a person's nose is ludicrous. Ghosts are here and they obviously aren't going anywhere.

Works Cited

Blum, Deborah. Ghost Hunters. New York: The Penguin Press, 2006.

Holzer, Hans. Ghosts: True Encounters With The World Beyond. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers Inc., 1997

Roland, Paul. The Complete Book of Ghosts. New Jersey: Chartwell Books Inc., 2007

Steiger, Brad. Real Ghost, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places. Canton: Visible Ink Press, 2003.