See ghosts? There may be a medical reason

bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com...

Diane Mapes

Spooky footsteps, faint figures, the feeling of being watched – these unsettling signs of a ghost are as familiar to us as the goose bumps on the back of our arm (or neck).

But are there physiological explanations for those things that go bump in the night?

Absolutely, says Joe Nickell, a senior research fellow for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, an organization that promotes scientific inquiry and critical investigation of paranormal and other extraordinary claims.

“I’ve investigated haunted houses, inns, theatres, graveyards, lighthouses, castles, old jails, and even office buildings,” says Nickell, who’s researched stories of ghosts, vampires, werewolves, sea monsters, psychic phenomenon and other unusual phenomenon for 40 years. “And I’ve never found a paranormal explanation.”




Instead, Nickell says “ghosts” are often the result of pranks, environmental phenomenon, or physiological conditions such as sleep paralysis and the hypnogogic and hypnopompic hallucinations that accompany it.

This is just to easy and convenient of an explanation. Even from reading the accounts here on ATS of members paranormal events is enough to concince me that there is something occurring other than psychological or natural phenomenon

Thats the thing with plenty of people, who do not experience anything. They just write it of as there 5 senses would.

Who cares what they think, if you have seen something then you have.

The thing that gets me, is that they say the police are better at observation than normal people, like when is that reality, lol.

that story might be beliveable , except for the thousands of EVP recordings, photographs, Thermal Images, ect.

Sure you can make a point for any of it to be in your head, and make it belivable, but when you have hard evidence to back it up, kind of blows their therory out of the water.

oh no does this mean that the skinny cat meowing by my bedside is real and not a ghost. but seriously though I think this is a thing many people should consider before stating they see ghosts because this is also giving a bad rep to the people who believe in ghosts.

How is that explanation 'too easy'? There's so much of our own brains that we dont fully understand so who knows.
Makes me think of medical conditions like schizophrenia (I bet £10 Ive spelt that wrong), people with that have hallucinations and hear voices that they truly think are real. So whats the difference between that and seeing ghosts?

There's a lot to be said for the whole psychological aspect of the paranormal. There's reasons why shows like most haunted etc (apart from the entertainment factor) are filmed at night, in the dark, and send people off on their own.. if you're in that sort of enviroment then strangely enough there seems to be more paranormal experiences happening. Id happily bet another £10 that if they went to those places in groups in the middle of the day then not much/anything would happen.

Welcome to ATS.

Let me go over the rules for you.

1. The Government did it.
2. It's NEVER the medical explanation.
3. If it ever IS the medical explanation, see 1 and 2.

[edit on 31-10-2009 by HankMcCoy]

reply to post by andy1033


And you summarized very well, a star for you, is people that never will experience anything that has to do with supernatural, that is the way it is.

Some are sensitive to the paranormal others are not and it doesn't have anything to do with been a believer or not, is just that some people minds will never open to what others experience.

That is they way of human nature and what makes different from one another.