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Note: The science has
been "toned down" in this section. If you want more detailed
information please see our hypotheses and related texts pages.
Are ghosts capable of communicating with the living?
Under our hypotheses, they are very limited. From
the science of neurology we know that memory is stored in the brain through
electrochemical processes and the chemical part creates a problem. It
cannot survive bodily death, meaning that "ghosts" would not
have long term memory. Oddly enough, this could also possibly discredit
electronic voice phenomena (EVP) as the "ghost" would not have
the memory to answer your questions. (Although we still do the EVP thing
out of curiosity) However, it may be possible that they have a limited
memory of thoughts that occurred just before death. They would also have
no ability to perceive the passage of time or be an observer (for that
also requires memory). They would, in fact, be quite literally lost.
Are ghosts a "perceived" phenomena?
Apparitions, noises and smells are only perceived
in the mind of the "observer". They are not phenomena occurring
in the outside environment. These perceptions are induced by the "ghost"
by using low frequency bursts of electromagnetic radiation. Studies have
already been conducted that clearly show that this kind of interaction
is possible. (Persinger, 1980)
Another interesting factor is that "ghosts"
may not be perceived by just anyone. One of our research projects has
initially turned up data indicating that only people that are sensitive
to DC electromagnetic fields are capable of "experiencing" the
phenomena. People who are not sensitive to these kinds of fields have
never had a "ghostly" experience.
Wouldn't the studies done by Persinger and others
indicated that all ghosts are actually explainable as a natural occurring
phenomena and not an effect of a paranormal entity?
First of all one must consider that ghost sightings
have been recorded in history well before the invention of electricity
and man made EM fields. They even transcend culture. Secondly, evidence
suggests otherwise. In haunted locations people report experiencing the
same things. If Persinger's theory "explained" the phenomena,
then that wouldn't be the case. People would experience different things
as the hallucinations originate from within the mind of the observer.
Each person would experience something different. This is even true in
locations were the "haunting" is not common knowledge and kept
secretive. Once again, people report experiencing the exact same things
(a little girl in a white dress for example).
However, medical research on 60hz AC fields (such
as household wiring and power lines) that have high degrees of power are
capable of producing some hallucinogenic phenomena (such as the feeling
of being watched) to people who are electrically sensitive. This effect
can increase with continued exposure to the field and create instances
that resemble a "haunting".
Can ghosts physically hurt people?
Generally not. The one exception is people who
are electrically sensitive. Research on this subject shows that people
that are susceptible to this phenomena may have side effects such as rashes,
bursting of capillaries (bruises) and nausea to mention only a few. However,
even these are extremely rare cases. Static magnetic fields (0 Hz) with
strengths of about 4 T can produce a variety of symptoms including nausea,
metallic taste in the mouth, and vertigo.
Is there a simpler way to explain your general
hypothesis on ghosts?
Lets use a model. The model will be you, sitting
at your computer, surfing the Internet. You are consciousness, your computer's
hard drive is your mind, the monitor is your senses. Now in our model,
you also have a floppy disk in the drive of your computer. For the sake
of our model we are going to say that all of the websites that you go
to are processed through your floppy disk first, then onto your computers
hard drive. This represents another element of consciousness.
As you go through life (surfing the net) your mind
records events ( your computer's cache, memory and temporary files). When
death happens naturally, your computer freezes up and shortly afterwards
your hard drive fails. The computer completely crashes, permanently. So
you get up out of your chair, remove the floppy disk from its drive and
off you go to the afterlife (so to speak).
Now if death is sudden or if you are in a amplified
emotional state, something different might happen. In this case,
the computer does not freeze up first. The hard drive immediately crashes
without any warning. You get up and go, leaving the floppy disk in the
computer's drive.
The floppy disk is the ghost. It
is composed of your last thoughts and while it is a component of consciousness,
it is only semi-sentient.
If you analyze elements of known hauntings, you
will notice that the ghosts seems to have a fixation on something, like
an object, a certain location, or even a particular person. Lets take
the ghost of Sarah at the Church Street cafe for example. All of the phenomena
related to Sarah is directly related to the house itself. She doesn't
like a particular person in the house, she rearranges objects, and she
throws pebbles to attract attention to something related to the building.
Sarah's last thoughts were probably of her home.
What was going to happen to it? Who would take care of it? Who is going
to pay the taxes? As a result the "disk" of Sarah's ghost is
fixated on the house itself. It is all that the "ghost" knows
and reacts to. Sarah herself is in the afterlife but a small part of herself
was left behind. The ability of the "disk" to gather and harness
energy will determine how active the haunting at the cafe will be. Over
time, the "disk" will degrade and the "ghost" will
become less active until finally, it too vanishes.
Can ghosts follow you home?
No, unless memory of "you" was recorded
into the " floppy disk" or if you resemble someone that was.
However, it is extremely unlikely. It is doubtful that the "ghost"
would have enough sentience to follow you to began with, much less to
find its way back. Because of the lack of long term memory, a "ghost'
cannot be an observer, so how would it be able to follow you without becoming
lost?
Demonopathic Hysteria is a major problem that comes
into play here. People will literally think something followed them home
and is tormenting them. They will let their imagination run wild and will
witness, feel and hear things that nobody else can. Often their experiences
be explained as mundane events that the person has amplified. They can
even project their hysteria on other family members and friends.
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