Since I just mentioned that I have had encounters with ghostly phenomenon (if you want details of one such, which was quite frightening, you can go here) I just thought I should set the record straight, in some general way, on what I think about these events. It's not a whole lot different from other people's interpretations, but I just thought I would share them, and open up to any of your stories, or theories, or comments.
First, even skeptical investigators note that, at the sites of what some purport to be spectral or ghostly phenomena, there are areas where ionic activity tends to be quite high, specifically a certain negative EM charge in a relatively tight physical space that cannot be accounted for. This would suggest that, at the physical level, we are dealing with the presence of highly ionized air, generating electrical energy that manifests itself on a physical level with what is commonly known as "cold spots". These are also well-documented; areas of highly localized drops in ambient air temperature (anywhere from five to fifteen degrees lower than the surrounding air).
None of this physically interesting yet inconclusive evidence explains spectral phenomenon. It is only evidence of interesting EM activity. In other words, we are dealing with "effects" rather than "causes" here, and it is the cause that is the source of interest.
Human beings are, essentially, bio-electrical batteries. The human brain works through an interchange of chemical receptors that are dependent upon changes in electrical charge for the exchange of chemicals. Two chemicals, acetylcholine, and cholinesterase, are responsible for the changes in electrical charge.
Human life, beyond the bare facts of biology, is often fraught with highly charged emotions, and events of such trauma that the effects linger for the lifetime of those who live through them. Attachment to a place, violent or early death, betrayal of trust, are all sources of deep emotional response. It seems to me that physical spaces, perhaps through the interchange of EM energy within them, might just become repositories of bio-electrical energy, creating and effect that is similar to watching a movie - we see, again and again, the images of those who have passed before, going about specific tasks, perhaps, or undergoing the trauma that has left the residue in the first place.
A quick example. In the summer of 1992, I drove the short distance from Washington, DC to Gettysburg to visit the battlefield. I chose to visit the site of the last day of the battle, Pickett's Charge, which, despite the slaughter that ensued, was almost successful. As I stood on the ridgeline where the Union batteries pointed toward the woods, then walked down through the field, across the road that is now there, and then faced that ridgeline as I walked in a steady gate as the Confederate forces did, I had the terrible feeling of being surrounded. I could feel a horrid fear all around me, I could almost, but not quite, hear screams, the sounds of cannon and muzzle-loader. The feelings of fear and of anger became oppressive, and I ended up practically running to my car and driving as quickly as possible back to the safe confines of our nation's capital. The truth is - I felt surrounded by the angry dead, and it was quite frightening. All this on a sunny August afternoon.
My oldest sister's house is also a source of less scary, more interesting phenomenon. Footsteps in the middle of the night. Doors opening and closing. Once, when much of our family was there, I saw, out of the corner of my eye, a woman enter the dining room from the living room (I was standing in the kitchen). I thought it was my mother, and I went in to the dining room, only to see my older sister sitting in the front living room nursing her baby. I said, "Did you see Mom come in here?"
"No."
"Did you see anyone come in here?"
"No."
Not scary. Just disconcerting. And interesting.
Any thoughts? Stories?
UPDATE: Just for the heck of it, I checked out the ever-redoubtable YouTube. While most of the "video" of "ghosts" are compilations of photos, most of which I have been exposed to in other venues, this one compilation of video is quite interesting. Except for the last portion, which I believe to be staged, a couple of the images (especially the poltergeist phenomenon) gave me chills just watching.
Virtual Tin Cup
