What Is A Ghost?

EMF meters can be useful in establishing if a place is electrically noisy, either once in a while or all the time. If so, you'd then need to do a survey with a magnetometer to properly characterise the field in case it might be causing hallucinations. Certainly, faulty mains equipment has been implicated in one or two cases as possibly causing ghosts and an EMF meter should give a first indication of this.

It's a shame the sort of electric and magnetic monitoring kit needed to really judge whether these factors are at play in a given "haunted" property are prohibitively expensive.

A proper scientific education is perhaps the best investment. By this I mean everything from qualifications to just making sure you read material of the highest quality (good quality journals / books) and learn to think about them.

It will be more expensive than an EMF meter - but as investments go - it's about the best one any of us can make!

What is a ghost? My definition would be: "A human, or sometimes animal, figure seen by somebody who has reason to believe such a person is not present." I'm sure the wording could be improved.

Most ghosts turn out, on investigation, to be misperceptions. Others may be hallucinations, in some cases induced by such things as magnetic fields. The cause of the remainder is, in my opinion, unknown at this time. Given their often reported lack of interaction with witnesses, the popular theory that they are spirits seems the least likely option.

There are reports of apparitions seeming to interact with witnesses - in at least one case appearing to leave red marks on the witness' neck.

You're right, though, that it is little reported compared to the amount of apparition sightings in general.

One tentative suggestion may be that a "ghost" is a combination of objective environmental factors and subjective human interpretation. That is to say that there's something in the environment that causes localised, repeated and independent sightings of similar apparitions, yet inevitably our own minds put their own spin on it, even to the point of psychosomatic effects like those red marks.

The case of Blue Bell Hill - where a range of witnesses over a period of decades have reported sighting different apparitions yet with repeated motifs - seems to fit this model.

Couldnt agree more Ophiel. I think also establishing good working relationships within areas that you don't much about is worth investing in. We cannot make ourselves experts in every field .

EMF related and if there is an hallucination component to hauntings then surely the individual's subconscious or conscious mind will have some input so yes I would agree with you Matt.

But what makes people have similar experiences when they have no knowledge of other reported activity? Is it some visual or audio stimulus in the haunted location that setting the subconcious down a certain train of thought, hence influencing any subsequent hallucination? Who knows?

It seems apparent that there may be a magnetic component to many reported disturbances and anomalies. Whether this is an electromagnetic or geomagnetic component may be irrelevant.

At least three phenomena categories may be characterized as PK, Interactions, and non-Interactions. Many people also call Interactions "Apparitions" and non-interactions "Hauntings" or sometime "Residuals." We do have a terminology issue here, but that is beside the point.

It makes sense that these three categories may be related but at the same time use quite different mechanisms. PK for example seems to be highly sensitive to the presence of some forms of magnetic fields. These have been reliably noted in many examples suggestive of PK namely poltergeist cases.

Apparitions (interactive phenomena) seem aware of their enviornment and those in it. I have had interactions with some things in various environments that seem quite aware of my presence and what I am doing. Apparitions in my experience can appeal to most any sense.

Hauntings (non-interactive phenomena) seem unaware of observers or of modern environments. These are typified by the 'walk through the wall' examples, although this may not be uniquely true in every case.

Consider that if it is possible for humans (and other animals for that matter) to interact inter-dimensionally with something we might loosely term "consciousness" then such interactions might explain a number of otherwise apparently anomalous phenomena, including specifically apparitions and hauntings. In fact, one of the "hard problems" of consciousness research is the location of memory. There is no agreed-upon locus for memory as of the present time. If memory itself turns out to be inter-dimenisiona, is it really so great a leap to conceptualize the ability to interact not only with our own memories but those of others, including those who may be deceased? I propose this is an excellent starting point to develop a theory of survival potential which over a long period of time might ultimately prove testable. Not in the short term though, since science is not yet at a state where such things can be seriously contemplated.

At the same time, there is an interesting relationship between PK and Apparitions. It may be that PK effects are not only the product of living agents as currently believed, but may in fact in addition be a behavior of discarnate agents. Successful experiments in remote intention, including research of my own, suggests that a non-local effect can be intentionall produced on target locations and objects. Once we understand the mechanism used by living agents we may be able to extrapolate how and likely whether such effects might be produced absent an incarnate body.

So the EMF is in my opinion, nothing more than an indicator of real or potential activity and is by no means an absolute indicator per se.

Have there been many reports of naked ghosts? I ask because, given that items of clothing are inanimate, non-sentient objects, it stands to reason that they have no spirit or soul to outlive their material existence.

Apparitions (interactive phenomena) seem aware of their enviornment and those in it. I have had interactions with some things in various environments that seem quite aware of my presence and what I am doing. Apparitions in my experience can appeal to most any sense.

I totally agree with the above.All the 'apparations' I have interacted with over the years where totally aware of my presence.I think the individual apparation's level of awareness varies,as do us humans awareness of them do,it all depends on the individual.

Think of the physical human body as a piece of clothing you take off at the end of the day(death),youre base energy/conciousness remains the exact same.

As for why some people go through a entire lifetime without experiencing any paranormal phenomenon...if you where a energy in spirit form,would you communicate or make your personality known to every Tom,Dick and Harry that invades your personal space?I think not.

Hang on a minute DV, are you talking about those 'spirits' you see that other people don't? I wouldn't count those as apparitions or ghosts. When I talk about ghosts I mean human figures seen by ordinary, non-psychic folk from time to time. These are not usually reported to interact or, be aware of, witnesses.