Thursday, March 11, 2010

Ghosts, Real or Hoax?

As one takes a trip to the movies, a popular genre to watch is "horror". This type of movie ranges from slasher flicks, to monster movies, to even psychological thrillers. One of the most popular types though is the "ghost film". This consists of a spirit, either demonic or human in nature, terrorizing the living to the extremes. Where did this idea come from though? Let's try to find out.

The idea of ghosts has been around since ancient times. While there is much speculation on the exact time when these undead spirits first came about, the general idea is that they first were thought of by some of the earliest people - such as cavemen. Most people who think about ghosts imagine a comical figure, to some a "floating bed sheet" with eyes cut for the head.

In the United States alone, ghosts are a very popular idea. When we go to most American-made horror movies, they involve ghosts. Many authors, such as Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft write extensively on ghosts, and become very popular because of it. The common idea of a "campfire story" in our country usually involves either human murderers, but more popularly ghosts. Does this make it real though?

Phasmaphobia is the scientific term for a fear of ghosts. People experiencing this phobia have symptoms of anxiety when watching horror movies or telling stories that feature ghosts. They also can see ghosts in places where most normal people would otherwise not, such as a supermarket or a school. (http://phobias.about.com/od/phobiaslist/a/phasmaphobia.htm). Some people believe that this phobia could relate to a general fear of death, but for many it is just limited to ghosts.


Why then should we, as a collection of "normal" people, believe that something so irrational as ghosts are real? Well, to these "Phasmaphobia" patients, these ghosts are something very real indeed. To them, they exist everywhere. From their beds, to their televisions, these ghosts appear to them as very much existing spectral beings. Is it too farfetched for them to be right though? You have to decide that for yourself.

Besides Phasmaphobia patients, many people see ghosts in other places. Just googling the word "Ghost" can come up with literally hundreds of supposed ghost pictures, ranging from realistic to nearly laughable. These pictures can either be some people's claim to fame, or actual believers trying to spread their message. While some take these pictures as proof of the afterlife, most consider them to be simple hoaxes.

EVP is another thing that many people look to as proof to ghosts. EVP stands for "Electronic Voice Phenomena". It is when general recording equipment supposedly picks up a paranormal voice; a whisper or phrase from "beyond the grave". The supporters of EVP say that it is ghosts that attempt to communicate with us humans from beyond the grave, and can only do so via extremely sensitive radio equipment. Non-believers state that it is simply hoaxes; nothing more than the people trying to fabricate actual proof. Either way, EVP is one of the more popular forms of "ghost proof", gaining popularity in many movies and television shows.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_voice_phenomena)


Thirdly, "ghost sightings" occur everyday around our nation. There is not much to explain here; people either "see ghosts" or think they see them. Unless you experience this phenomena yourself, it's hard to believe these people who say they've seen it. I myself swear I've seen a ghost, but most people shrug of this idea as falsehood.

Do you believe ghosts are real or a hoax? After looking at all the "proof", we must make the logical decision for ourselves. Never in our history has something so greatly affected our horror culture as to take something, perhaps even a myth, and root it so firmly into our minds as the truth. Whether or not these ways to prove the reality of ghosts are hoaxes or not, we know for sure that ghosts are, and will forever be part of our society.

23 comments:

  1. I don't know if I believe in ghosts, I think that the thought of something we cannot see but can see us is really creepy!!

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  2. I liked your thought about ghost and i liked your post thank you!

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  3. I am not sure if i believe in ghosts, but the post was good.

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  4. Well written post, but currently i'm undecided on ghosts. I would like to believe their not real, but lots of people have had encounters... so im not sure what to believe

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  5. I can't say the ghost is exist , but the post was interesting.

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  6. This post is both short and fails to connect its topic with the blog's theme. An easy solution to both problems would be to write more paragraphs connecting the post's topic to the theme of this blog.

    Until this is done, I cannot give Longfellow's post a grade.

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  7. I really liked your post because I have encountered a ghost before more than once.

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  8. This post was really cool to real. i haven't had an encounter with a ghost but it would be cool.

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  9. I don't know if I believe in ghosts or not, but I thought this was a good post.

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  10. Good post. I don't know if I believe in ghosts...but just thinking that there could be something out there that you can't see is really scary!

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  11. Ok, better. What's fascinating to me about American culture and our interest in the paranormal (of which ghosts are a part) is that we've always been interested in proving them.

    Whether it was the attempt of the court at Salem to determine if demons inhabited the bodies of young women, attempts in the later 20th century to explain them as some sort of ectoplasm (see Ghostbusters), or nowadays with the rise of EVP, Americans have always wanted proof, and our ideas of what constitutes "proof" have changed as our technologies have changed.

    Once we had electronic technology, EVP arose as a way of justifying the stories we tell each other about ghosts. The technology changed the way the stories were told; it changed the culture. But the culture was responsible for creating the technology in the first place.

    Technology and culture, it would seem, are caught in a tight cycle, each influencing the other. In fact, I sometimes am tempted to say they are the same thing - that storytelling, for example, can be thought of as mental technology, and a toaster, perhaps, can be thought of as a work of art.

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  12. I believe in ghosts and I hope that I never have an encounter with one!

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  13. I don't know how i feel about ghosts. I have never encountered one so there okay by me!

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  14. I loved your post! I'm not sure whether or not I believe in ghosts.

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  15. Oh well... I don't want to believe that there is a ghost and I don't believe either.
    I never have seen ghost. I heard from other people. I wish there is no ghost :(

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  16. I like your post and I think that ghosts actually are around.

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  17. Seeing is believing. I have never seen a ghost, therefore I cannot say that I do, or do not believe in them. If there is such a thing, I would say that ghosts are not always bad or a danger.

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  18. So I believe in ghosts when real people tell stories of thier own experiences with "spirits."
    But some of the ghost shows on TV are really fake and just make me not believe in ghosts.

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  19. I like this kind of post. I like to watching horror movies. and also I believe in existing of ghost. Good post:)

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  20. I don't believe in ghosts. But I do believe in terrifying coincidences haha.

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  21. I don't believe in ghosts either. It is interesting to hear all of the stories people make up about them though!

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  22. ehhhhh NOT cool I'm alone in my dark creepy basement right now...good post

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  23. Ghosts are for sure real. Too many experiences where i can no longer believe it.

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