Ghosts,do you believe in them?

[Larc]

It isn't easy to answer this question,a scientific definition doesn't exist,and no one has yet managed to provide a convincing witness.
However,there are several theories.

1) They don't exists
2) They are only legends
3) They are pure hallucinations
4) They are not the spirits of the deads,but telepathic projections of living people (maybe of missed people)
5) They are just psychic registrations

On the net I've found a lot of photos\videos and stories about this but honestly I don't know what to think...
I actually have a ghost story (believe it or not) that is related to the tragedy happened to my town almost 30 years ago...

The  tragedy of my town:
23 November 1980 (19.00 pm)
A Big earthquake with the lenght of almost 1 minute and a half and with a Magnitudo 6.8 of the Richter's scale,has brought to knees my city and the nearest towns. (actually 36 of them)
2735 people died and 8850 were injuried
But I don't want to go off and will arrive immediately at the point (because this is in part another story).

The story (sounds like a classic horror film,but I can assure you that it's true):
We are talking about one house in particular,where (before the earthquake) was living a normal family,composed of 4 persons.
Father,mother and 2 daughters (actually twins),apparently seemed an happy family,but things were very different...
The father outside an honest worker was in fact a pedophile,and the mother knowing this did nothing to stop him...(she was scared)
It is said that one of twins (the one that was abused by his father) has predicted in some way the disaster of my town (she has apparently written the date on a wall) before the event.
Their home was completely destroyed after the earthquake,and they (with their mom) died in the disaster.
Believe it or not,the father was the only survivor,and he's still alive today (he's currently 64y old and remarried).
Nobody has ever brought to light his real face (the people knows but they don't talk because the father of the twins is actually a big exponent of the local mafia [he apparently has joined the mafia after the incident,and even today he's in activity]).
Aniway one of the two daughters had a cat (who also seems to have died in the disaster)...and now in what remains of their old house,there are homeless cats that wanders around.
According to the legend,you can see the ghost of one of the two twins (actually the owner of the cat) every 23 November...

This is a true story,every people of my town knows about this (the old ones for the majority).
I will not say the name of my town for privacy purposes.

At the end,I was wondering if anyone has some interesting ghost stories to share,do you believe in them?

[IskatuMesk]

granny says she saw one of our (dead) dogs in the form of a glowy orb of light.

I just lol'd and shook my head.

[FlyingHat]

A glowy orb of light? Not a glowy apparition of a dog?

lol

[Whiplash!]

Lol, play too much video games OP?

[Zilla-]

My roommate believes in them, he claims that his house is haunted and dares anyone to spend a night in his sister's old room where someone allegedly hung themselves. I personally have no first hand experience with the paranormal, but the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. I think there is some shit out there that people don't even know that they don't know. Like space helicopters for example.

[Larc]

My roommate believes in them, he claims that his house is haunted and dares anyone to spend a night in his sister's old room where someone allegedly hung themselves. I personally have no first hand experience with the paranormal, but the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. I think there is some shit out there that people don't even know that they don't know. Like space helicopters for example.

Actually in my town there are 2 haunted houses (certified).
The first is the one I mentioned on the first post,the second is currently inhabited,but people will resist at most 5\6 months there.
They say that there is a ghost of a woman (in the 2nd house) that puts the cutlery,the plates and the cups in order every 1st of the month. (I think they are just fools,to have a ghost maid would be awesome...)
In my house also died a woman (the mother of the ex proprietary),but since I have so far stayed quiet in dreams there is nothing strange to fear...ahah

[Legion]

My roommate believes in them, he claims that his house is haunted and dares anyone to spend a night in his sister's old room where someone allegedly hung themselves. I personally have no first hand experience with the paranormal, but the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. I think there is some shit out there that people don't even know that they don't know. Like space helicopters for example.

Actually in my town there are 2 haunted houses (certified).
The first is the one I mentioned on the first post,the second is currently inhabited,but people will resist at most 5\6 months there.
They say that there is a ghost of a woman (in the 2nd house) that puts the cutlery,the plates and the cups in order every 1st of the month. (I think they are just fools,to have a ghost maid would be awesome...)
In my house also died a woman (the mother of the ex proprietary),but since I have so far stayed quiet in dreams there is nothing strange to fear...ahah

A certified haunted house? There are uncertified ones? "Sheriff, I seen a ghost in the old school building!" "Probably the wind, kid. It can't be ghosts in there, it's not certified!"

Sorry.

Anyway, I never gave much thought to this matter. People sometimes used to tell scary stories about seances in elementary school, but I can't say I've ever seen anything that looks like a ghost. Then again, everybody has a ghost story if they really want to.

But I guess I can't conclusively say that ghosts don't exist. Just like I can't conclusively say there are no goblins in my backyard, because I don't see my backyard right now.

So no, I don't think they exist. I don't know if they do, but I think they don't.

[Larc]

A certified haunted house? There are uncertified ones? "Sheriff, I seen a ghost in the old school building!" "Probably the wind, kid. It can't be ghosts in there, it's not certified!"

Sorry.

Anyway, I never gave much thought to this matter. People sometimes used to tell scary stories about seances in elementary school, but I can't say I've ever seen anything that looks like a ghost. Then again, everybody has a ghost story if they really want to.

But I guess I can't conclusively say that ghosts don't exist. Just like I can't conclusively say there are no goblins in my backyard, because I don't see my backyard right now.

So no, I don't think they exist. I don't know if they do, but I think they don't.

Unfortunately,english is not my first language,maybe "verified" is the correct term in this case.
And ""Just because you can't see something doesn't mean it's not there."" -SS-

[Mucky]

Just because you can't see the pink unicorn standing next to you doesn't mean it isn't there.

[Milldawg]

I once told a woman that I didn't need to use a condom, because I was a ghost.

There's a young man in Georgia who thinks his father was a corporal in the Civil War.

---

Ghosts don't exist because they are the opposite of science, and science is truth, so therefore by the transitive property ghosts are the opposite of truth.

[Legion]

I once told a woman that I didn't need to use a condom, because I was a ghost.

There's a young man in Georgia who thinks his father was a corporal in the Civil War.

---

Ghosts don't exist because they are the opposite of science, and science is truth, so therefore by the transitive property ghosts are the opposite of truth.

Be that as it may, I think we're looking at it the wrong way. If someone believes they can have a conversation with a dead person, it's true for them. No matter what we science says. I recently heard a story about a man calling the police because there was an intruder in his home. Policeman arrives, finds just the caller, shaking, pointing at the couch, shouting "they belong here, but him in the corner, he must go!" Policeman plays along, stretches his arm as if he's grabbing the 'intruder'. "This is the guy?" asks policeman. "Yes."

End of the day, man calls police station again to say he's happy with the way the local police handled things.

Even if the man was kidding to see if they'd play along, even if he was mentally ill, the fact remains that BELIEF can be stronger than scientific proof.

A lot of things in this world are the opposite of truth, yet still very important to a great many people.

[Marco]

Debates regarding ghosts, religion, or the afterlife are all futile.  In this world, we will never have the evidence to go beyond speculation.

Take faith for example.  If it is a human created concept, faith is an insidious concept, perhaps one which has permanently changed this world in a way which can never be undone.  A concept where you cannot possibly argue against it because the entire essence of faith is to believe in something that cannot be proven or disproven.  If it is a concept created by God, it's clear to me that God clearly has a wicked sense of humor.

[tipereth]

Metaphysics says ghosts exist but are not real.

[Zilla-]

ghosts exist but are not real.

/thread

[Legion]

Metaphysics says ghosts exist but are not real.

I think that's about right, yeah.