Ghost Sightings

The very fact that ghosts are a source of much fear for many people seems somewhat bewildering to me. The reason is probably because they represent the ‘unknown’ and this factor is unsettling to the human psyche. But why should the unknown be something that causes such angst?

Many world renowned psychics consider ghostly phenomena as being nothing more than pockets of intense emotion that are trapped within the layers of time. The emotional states of human observers often seem to match those of the ghostly figures encountered, as though these said expressed emotions trigger off the entity that we know as a ghost.

Those who have encountered the spectra known as a poltergeist, that being a spiritual phenomena that seems to hang around children who are approaching puberty, may have witnessed an unusually violent force that can move objects, slam drawers and levitate heavy furniture. It has been theorized that the energy surrounding the child somehow causes the disturbance and in fact there is no other being involved.

A famous ghostly case known as the Enfield Poltergeist was eventually thought to have been a psychic disturbance caused by a lonely young girl who was simply seeking attention. When doors and furniture started moving, seemingly by themselves, people indeed started paying attention to the fact.

Some ghostly sightings have probably been nothing more than tricks of the observer’s imagination, including the smoky, haze like apparitions that sometimes appear in photographs. A flaw in the film perhaps?

Psychic theory also poses the possibility that some ghost sightings are of spirits of deceased people who are visiting from the other side in order to warn humans of impending disaster or related troubles. Of course if you don’t happen to believe in life after death then this idea may seem a little ludicrous.

One often hears stories that someone has seen the ghost of a beloved Aunt or Grandmother or some other relative. Perhaps this occurs as a strong emotional bond continues to exist after the family member has passed away. A ghostly experience may indeed be simply a reminder of a loved ones continued existence.

From personal experience, after my beloved Grandfather passed away from pancreatic cancer I thought that I saw his image in a television show. It was a very unusual event for me and one that left me wondering about his continued existence.

It seems unlikely that ghosts are beings that are at all threatening to humans and the ongoing fear that surrounds them probably has more to do with their unexplainable factor.

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Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Why-Are-We-Afraid-of-Ghosts?&id=1396408] Why Are We Afraid of Ghosts?

How to Tell Good Ghost Stories

Whether it is on Halloween night or simply sitting around a campfire with your closest friends, telling ghost stories is a popular American tradition that goes way back. The idea of course is to tell a story that terrifies the listeners in a frightening yet entertaining way. Typically, these short stories center on a supernatural being or occurrence such as haunted house, vampires, white gliding ghosts, monsters and psychotic humans. While most stories are fictional or urban legends, many listeners still believe some of these as they hear them from a lot of sources. Telling scary stories is a fun thing to especially if you’re already good at it as your young relatives and friends will ask you to tell them your ghost stories over and over again. To be good at telling ghost stories you have to keep three things in mind.

Preparation

Before you start looking for good ghost stories to tell, you should be aware of who your audience is first. Knowing who you’re going to tell the story to is crucial because people have different opinions and takes on topics. If you’re planning to tell a story with gruesome images, telling it to teenagers and young adults would be a safe bet, but not to children as imagining horrible and repugnant scenes may be too much for their innocent little brains. That said, always remember to match the level of horror your story has to the level of tolerance your audience has. Now, there are plenty of urban legends out there that you can use. These include the “Mothman” in West Virginia, or the “Hunted Railroad Tracks” in San Antonio, Texas, or the local “Big Foot” sightings, which always works well with the kids. There are far more short stories that can be found in the internet. Just visit your favorite search engine and type the kind of story you have in mind.

Choose the right venue and have props ready

To be honest, setting the ambience is more important than the story itself. If you told a really scary story during breakfast, none of your listeners would get scared. In fact, laughter would probably be the more appropriate reaction than getting scared. The point is you have to set the right mood in order to tell a scary story effectively. You will need a dark room or dark outdoors, candles, firewood (if applicable), flashlights, atonal music, and a really low voice. The more props the better. Getting a partner to help you out in delivering the story is even better as he can help you with the effects. For instance, you can have your partner turn a fan on the room briefly so the candles would flicker, or have him slam a door during suspenseful point in the story. Be creative.

Practice makes perfect

Once you’re done with the setting and props, it’s now time to practice telling the story. Ideally, you should practice in front of a mirror with all the props present so that actually telling the story will be automatic. This also helps you identify the right voice tonalities on the parts of the story that matter. Most importantly, learn the story by heart. Believe it, or at least make your audience believe you believe it. GP

Benedict Smythe is an article writer for Costume Finder. Costume Finder is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of Fancy Dress Costumes [http://www.costumefinder.co.uk/] such as Vampire and Skeleton Costumes [http://www.costumefinder.co.uk/ShopList.asp?cat=1731&MainCat=1725]

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Much to the displeasure of our parents, we liked hanging out in the old barn. The barn was situated toward the back of the house and was a dilapidated, crumbling building that we were forbidden to enter.

My brother and I usually went there at night and with our flashlights we would enter the barn through a side door that hung precariously on its last corroded hinge. It appeared ready to collapse at the tiniest provocation, so holding our breath and very careful to avoid touching anything, we would squeeze through the tiny opening to the inside.

Scattered randomly throughout the interior were rusting farming implements, rakes, a scythe and numerous long-forgotten other tools that no longer resembled anything useful. All of the items appeared dangerous and capable of serious damage if they were mishandled or if careless passage caused contact with fragile skin. We kept our distance and tried to remain clear of these things, finding our usual seats in the center of the room on the old hay bales left there.

The barn itself was pretty spooky and in the darkness, the outlines of the objects and decaying contents resembled the skeletons of the dead, but my brother and I liked it. We would go there and share spooky stories and get ourselves so frightened, we’d barely find our balance to get back out the decrepit barn door as we would literally be shaking in our boots.

But the loft was the most sinister part of the barn. It was dark as pitch and the ladder leading up to it had years ago crumbled into an unusable heap of kindling that lie uselessly on the barn floor. The few remaining steps appeared in tact at the top, but at ground level the decaying rungs appeared through the murkiness to be the gaping holes of a skeleton’s dislodged teeth.

We never went up to the loft and could only imagine its contents: huge spiders covered with coarse hair and menacing fangs. Their enormous eyes watched and waited for anyone who dared to ascend the rotting ladder to the elevated platform. Other than our mental images of the spiders, we had no idea what was in the loft.

One night, we were in the barn sitting on the floor talking. During pauses in our conversation, we listened to the mournful groans of the old structure slowly yet very audibly decaying. Why this caused us such fascination is unknown to me, but we were thoroughly enjoying the spooky, musty ambience that was the old barn.

My brother was telling his favorite ghost story for the hundredth time in low, hushed tones. I was enthralled by the tale as my brother was very good at making any story sound terrifying beyond belief.

Just when the story hit its scariest point, a scraping noise began to emanate from the loft. At first we thought it was our over active imaginations. But the soft sound grew in intensity as we listened, almost as if the originator had waited to ensure it’s audience was paying attention.

Scraaaaape. Screeeeeech. Scraaaaape.

Then for a second, the only sound we could hear was our heartbeats pounding wildly in our ears. We stared at each other with wild eyes, lids locked wide open, almost bulging.

A chill ran down my spine. I grabbed my brother’s hand and held it to me. I couldn’t imagine what could be causing the sound and in terror, I whispered loudly, “Michael!”

At that, my brother shifted position and leaped over to sit beside me. He shook loose my grip and wrapped his arms around me, covering my mouth with one of his hands. “Shhh,” he whispered, very quietly.

Screeeeech. Scraappppe.

It was a metallic sound, hollow and ominous.

Michael grabbed my hand and pulled me with him as he jumped up and ran for the door. We held our breaths as we squeezed through the passageway, careful to keep from touching the sides. We escape the barn and ran out into the night using all of our might to keep from screaming.

We made it to the backyard and stopped, bending over and holding our sides, chests heaving. We gained our composure before we stepped onto the porch and opened the screen door. Mom was there and said, “Time for dinner kids!”

“I’m glad you’re here,” she continued, “a man escaped from jail tonight and the police are on the lookout. You kids should stay inside. Guess the guy was a terrible, evil person. Murdered five people before he got caught.”

We half listened as we pulled out our chairs to sit down.

“Shouldn’t be hard to find, though. He had a metal hook for a hand. Gotta be pretty easy to find a fellow like that.

“Did you kids wash your hands?”