Ghosties, ghoulies, and things that go "bump".

[Brian37]

Even before Catholics, humans notoriously confused illness and mental defect as "possession". Claudius the Roman leader scientists now believe had epilepsy, those around him also claimed he was "possessed".

[The Grand Nudger]

Yes, we know, and the metamorphosis of shapeshifters would require a metabolism powerful enough to jumpstart a star.  Stories, brian, stories, got any scary stories? Read Whatevs post for an example. He went out with a girl and didn;t get laid. Positively horrifying! I told one about spooning with Whatevs, see...stuff that might make you afraid of the things that go bump in the night. Camus was so sauced she couldn't even tell a proper ghost story...a fate worse than death.

Something like that is what we're looking for.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Being atheists, I would imagine the vast majority of us don't believe in ghosts, spirits, hauntings, or the like,

I don't either, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested in reading about them.

So, does anyone have a favourite ghost story they'd like to share?

How about a personal experience you or someone close to you have had that you just can't explain?


I'll start:  When I was younger, my brother reported waking up in the middle of the night and seeing my father and grandfather standing in the doorway of his bedroom looking at him.

At the time my father was in Perth and my grandfather had been dead a couple of years.

Being the supportive older sister, I told him that he was either drunk or stoned (he was 12 at the time), 

We put it down to a dream, but he still believes what he saw was real.

Seeing someone who is in Perth qualifies as a nightmare, not a dream. 

My story:  I used to live in one of the older houses in Belfast - it started life as a smithy in the early 1700s. For the first few months I lived there, a couple of times a week you could a voice say, very distinctly, 'It needs to be put back. It needs to be put back.'  Never found the cause. 

Boru

[The Grand Nudger]

Yer Mum. 

[The Valkyrie]

Possessed is really good, by Thomas Allen. Its the true account of an exorcism case in St Louis back in the 50's. Though im sure you don't believe the "true" part. Great book nonetheless. Super creepy.

No it is not, a "true account". A real claim someone made, sure, but not evidence one bit.

Humans worldwide make claims of spirits and ghosts, but that does not mean those things are real. It means our species perception of reality is notoriously flawed.

History has proven that humans make false claims that are documented sure. If merely claiming something constituted truth then Vishnu would be real god. Asian spirits called "nats" would also be real. Funny how you don't believe in the evil spirits of other religions but buy the ones you've been sold.

It may be true someone made the claim of the account. And it may be true an event happened that caused someone to make the claim. But that does not mean ghosts or spirits exist. It just means people claim them because gap filling is easier than testing and falsification in a lab.

Sure ghosts and spirits exist in only your brain if you want to believe in them badly enough sure. Superstition is popular in our species.

Come on, get into the "spirit" of things.

Of course I don't believe in demonic possession or anything like that.

It doesn't stop me enjoying the stories, and a certain part of The Exorcist still freaks the hell out of me (figuratively speaking, of course).

And a really good ghost story or movie will make me turn on the lights when I go to bed instead of walking up a dark hallway to bed.

[Amarok]

This is a depiction of an Amautalik . A terrifying giant that awakens from it's liar in spring looking to gorge on the flesh of men and beasts . 



This is a depiction of  Ahkiyyini the scariest monster in inuit lore . A skeleton that appears when the moon dies . Playing  the drums with human bones while dancing and throat singing prophecies of doom .

[The Grand Nudger]

Amaguq.  

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Yer Mum. 

Nah.  When Mam wanted something put back, it was more like, 'WHO DA FECK LEFT DERE FECKING SHOES ON DA FECKING SOFA!?'

When I was grown, she revealed a trick she used to use on us, that we'd never caught on to.  We had a two story house, and whenever she'd hear a loud bang or thud from upstairs, she'd call out, 'Oi, you!  Pick up yer trousers!'  With six boys in the house, it was a fair bet that whoever made the thud had at least one pair of trousies on the floor, and picking them up would distract that person from whatever they were doing that was making the racket.

Innit amazing...the older we get, the smarter our parents become.

Boru

[Amarok]

Amaguq.  

Ah yes the lone wolf . The trickster . The bane of any hunter foolish enough to stalk  the tundra alone . And a being my Grandma greatly feared.

[The Valkyrie]

Yer Mum. 

Nah.  When Mam wanted something put back, it was more like, 'WHO DA FECK LEFT DERE FECKING SHOES ON DA FECKING SOFA!?'

When I was grown, she revealed a trick she used to use on us, that we'd never caught on to.  We had a two story house, and whenever she'd hear a loud bang or thud from upstairs, she'd call out, 'Oi, you!  Pick up yer trousers!'  With six boys in the house, it was a fair bet that whoever made the thud had at least one pair of trousies on the floor, and picking them up would distract that person from whatever they were doing that was making the racket.

Innit amazing...the older we get, the smarter our parents become.

Boru

Mothers: the most cunning, and evil, beings on the planet.