What Is A Ghost?

Joined : 30 Jan 2008 Posts : 138

I think the main question is what type of phenomena EM fields can induce. From what I've read on the matter, they can certainly induce the lower-level reports such as shadowy movements or sensations of fear, but writers such as Albert Budden have made an unsubstantiated leap in ascribing the sighting of full apparitions to EMF.

Subject: Re: What Is A Ghost? Sun 03 Feb 2008, 12:37 pm

There is still a lot of work to be done on EM fields and I think it needs some more good research in the field at locations where people are reporting having these experiences, as well in laboratories recreating these fields if possible. Great first post Dave Smile

, welcome to the forum.

Age : 31 Joined : 12 Oct 2007 Posts : 254

Great post Dave, really made me think about that Physics exam I took ages ago!
Ever since the progressive disappearance of traditional film cameras I have noticed a steady reduction of the good ghost photographs.
Traditional film is quite sensitive to a number of agents: for example beta and gamma radiations have been shown to be able to impress photographic film (for example take a look at the first Chernobyl pictures, taken from rescue helicopters).
If I remember correctly there have been just a few studies on the matter, mainly in the field of analytical chemistry, but as I said the recent development of digital methods has cut interest in the matter.
_________________
Fas: Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum.

Joined : 01 Feb 2008 Posts : 69

There are some good articles about EMFs and hallucinations on the ASSAP website.

The "ghosts use emfs to materialise" argument is simply false and has never been made in the scientific literature. affraid

Highly complex, weak, EMFs can interefere with neural processes - but only in susceptible brains.

These fields can induce sensory hallucination (via mild seizure) and can also induce delusional beliefs about sensory events (i.e., a bang / rap - being a ghost).

It is the temporal complexity and not the field strength per-se that is important (though obviously some strength is required)

Joined : 05 Feb 2008 Posts : 163

Joined : 23 Sep 2007 Posts : 44

So do you consider the hand held EMF meters to be useless in terms of investigating hauntings?

Subject: Re: What Is A Ghost? Tue 05 Feb 2008, 11:42 pm

Joined : 05 Feb 2008 Posts : 163

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.

Joined : 30 Jan 2008 Posts : 138

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.

Joined : 01 Feb 2008 Posts : 69

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!

Joined : 05 Feb 2008 Posts : 163

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.

Joined : 30 Jan 2008 Posts : 138

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.

Subject: Re: What Is A Ghost? Thu 07 Feb 2008, 1:24 pm

Subject: Re: What Is A Ghost? Mon 25 Feb 2008, 8:53 am

Just found this link in Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/02/21/scighost121.xml

Joined : 05 Feb 2008 Posts : 163

The ideas in that article is all very old. Why is it considered news?