Why Would Ghosts 'Haunt' Cemeteries?

This has undoubtedly been discussed here before, but please indulge me, because I'm really intrigued by a recent experience that a good friend had.
My fellow ATSers who are psychics andor spiritual mediums may be able to offer some explanations, but I welcome any theories or comments.

First and foremost, I believe in ghosts. Regarding ghosts, logic tells me that they would want to visit, or they would be 'drawn to' an area they felt was pleasant or comfortable... like the house they lived in, or even the house of a friend or relative that held happy memories. Conversely, I can buy the idea that they'd hang around the place where they died, if their death was sudden or violent, like a murder. They may have "unfinished business" as it were. I can believe the idea that they are somehow trapped and can't move on, and need help, or they want to somehow try and communicate with somebody. That's why they wrap and tap and move objects around and what not.

It seems unlikely to me that ghosts would hang around a cemetery, because there's really 'nothing there' for them. It's simply the place where their body was 'laid to rest', and their body is no longer of any use to them. After hearing a recent story, however, I wonder if the ghost in question was visiting a loved one's grave for some particular reason.

Here's the story: I have a good friend I've known for 20 years. He's one of those rare people who I think is literally incapable of lying. His mind is not "wired" so that he can lie. If you ask anyone who knows him well, they'll agree. He recently told me that a few months ago, he and two other mutual friends decided to stroll through a local cemetery after watching a "Ghost Hunters" marathon. They were just screwing around. They weren't attempting any sort of ghost-hunting mission. It was late at night, so they had to jump the fence. They had been walking for about 10 minutes and were well inside the cemetery. My friend said he saw the ghost of a man standing over a grave, looking down solemnly, as if paying respect, just as a living person would do. The man was not solid, but "smoke-like" as my friend described, but absolutely crystal clear. Not a shadow, not a patch of fog or mist. He said there is no doubt whatsoever that it was a ghost. My friend said he was absolutely terror-stricken and took off running, with the others not far behind. The others didn't see it, but they sensed the fear or danger, so they followed him. His fright may have been caused by the 'high-strangeness' factor. He's not a person who scares easily, but he emphasized he felt a bone-chilling fear and ran away like he's never ran before.

I don't know.... If the entity was quiet and looked to be in peace, why would your friend be afraid?
I have had my share of apparitions and not all of them were cause for the flight reflex. (Some were!)
It would seem to me that the entity or another in the vicinity (visible or not) may have caused that reflex to run.
But I am one to tip the scale toward caution in this type of situation. If your friends gut told him to run without any obvious cause, then run. I am of the firm belief that there are entities out there that can cause you harm. He can reassess once he is safely out of harms way. If he decides to continue the investigation, tell him to go prepared in body and in soul.

because they are still emotionally attached to their bodies and don't want to leave them, even though they are rotting beneath the ground. It could also be a shock to be out of the body and especially for those who thought that once they were dead, nothing else would happen.

Dunno .. but it's as good of a guess as any.

To scare goth kids.

Assuming ghosts are real and they act the way we assume they act, it is because they are attached to their mortal existence somehow and remain near their bodies.

Don't think I've ever seen a convincing ghost photo though, especially not one fro a graveyard.

I think the whole cemetary thing is nonsense.

I love cemetarys...old ones. Perre Lachaise is like walking in a different world (city of the dead)...Most of the people buried there are of upper class narcissisist types.
If a ghost is the conscious energy of someone departed, they might see such a place as prestige..who knows.

One thing to consider.."ghost hunters" goto cemetarys to find ghosts and stuff...perhaps the ghosts (again, lets suggest ghosts are indeed the common understanding of a ghost), are following the person around...that person goes to a cemetary, they "tune in" and look for ghosts, suddenly they see evidence of such...same thing could have happened if they simply tuned in at a shopping mall, or their living room.

I think when your looking for something specifically, you tend to have a better chance in finding it. when your looking for (not just to debunk) a ghost, you have a better chance at having an experience...that does not mean that when you get to that point of perception, that the place your at is haunted though.


If we go with Sylvia Brown (hack), she suggests cemetarys have a portal in em all due to the nature of the place...so thingies can come and go from that point. Of course she is just talking random bullocks in my opinion, however, if you find yourself dead and in ghost form one day...and missed your ticket towards "the light" but want to "cross over", might want to poke around your local cemetary and see if its there...never know.

I think Brown has made a tidy profit off the gullability of others though..just my opinion.

reply to post by ColeYounger


I suppose the most simple answer would be:

"Because thats where the dead people are"

Originally posted by eNumbra
Don't think I've ever seen a convincing ghost photo though, especially not one fro a graveyard.

edit on 1/26/2011 by eNumbra because: (no reason given)

I don't think there is any tool currently that can properly record a ghost.

I know ghosts exist...but I have no clue what they are. I have my suspicions, but no evidence to their nature. I do know that taking a picture would prove to be futile however unless perhaps the picture was taken in a very different frequency than what we are taking it in..perhaps ultraviolet...who knows..

It would be interesting for the ghost thing to be taken up by some actual thinkers in order to build some proper full spectrum tools to finally measure this phenomona

I too have pondered such things. While I believe in ghosts and such, I have lately been pondering an other, not so obvious theory. Now if I can only put it in words...

Your friends essentially went searching for evidence of an after life; and they found what they sought. Maybe all or most apparitions (and the like), are not what they seem, but an answer or gift from an archetype or guardian, guide, ect. ect.. Just enough to convince or comfort. Maybe apparitions ( and such ) are not really grandma coming back to comfort you, but a vision or dream that a guardian or such has given to the same effect. Proof of something larger.

People have moved from seances and Ouija boards to infer red cameras , 'ghost boxes' and EVPs, yet we still get no more than a tease. Just enough information to make some believe and go further down a rabbit hole. Never the whole story. So why would grandma want to keep secrets now? Maybe its not her.

Thanks for all the replies. I guess it makes sense that the person can still be emotionally attached to their body.
Again, what seemed strange to me was the way the ghost appeared to be 'visiting' the grave.

I got a kick out of the comment "Cause that's where the dead people are" . That's funny.

I'm going to call my buddy tonight and ask him if he can show me the grave the ghost was standing over.
I really want to go check it out. If it's a man's grave, and that man died when he was around 50-60 years old, then maybe he was visiting his own grave!

Originally posted by SaturnFX
I don't think there is any tool currently that can properly record a ghost.

I know ghosts exist...but I have no clue what they are. I have my suspicions, but no evidence to their nature. I do know that taking a picture would prove to be futile however unless perhaps the picture was taken in a very different frequency than what we are taking it in..perhaps ultraviolet...who knows..

It would be interesting for the ghost thing to be taken up by some actual thinkers in order to build some proper full spectrum tools to finally measure this phenomona

Indeed; whether ghosts are ethereal incarnations of our dead relatives or extradimensional beings slipping through our dimension, I will agree there is something there, but all we have now to record the phenomena is left open to vast amounts of speculation.

Closed minded, "nothing exists, not no way, not no how" attitudes never help. A real open-minded think tank might one day get us real answers.

reply to post by ColeYounger


A very good question and one that I have thought about and discussed with other believers in the paranormal, many times!

I really don't see why someone's spirit would choose to hang around a cemetery, unless they were just THAT attached to the body. It's hard to say though... who knows what goes on the minds of dead people.

Now, with that said, it does make sense to me that residual hauntings could take place in cemeteries. If someone spent lots of time visiting the grave of a loved one during life, the image of that person (remember, residual hauntings are more like recordings of something that happened before, and not a ghost that can interact with you) could very well show up at the grave, just like the person used to do before he/she passed away. Logically, residual hauntings in cemeteries are the most likely scenario, I think. Of course, I'm not a medium nor a psychic, so I very well could be wrong. This is just a guess.

I've been a ghost hunter for years (although not really active at the moment) and I've always tried to stay out of cemeteries, just out of respect for the dead. There were a few times that I broke my own rules and went to one that was rumored to be haunted, but that was early in my ghost hunting years and I never came up with any kind of evidence whatsoever.

I don't doubt your friend's story at all. I believe it happened to him, but I think it was residual. Just my opinion though and I have been wrong before.

reply to post by SaturnFX


I don't think it's nonsense at all. Like Unumbra said, they may be attached to their mortal body.
I like graveyards too, but I have become more weary of them since my young adult days when I had a job placing headstones (1.5 years). To many strange occurrences and apparitions, some that caused a deep sense of sorrow, others outright gut wrenching terror. ( I eventually quit because of one such event. I won't go back and haven't been back to that cemetery).

reply to post by gemineye


I'll concede that some may be residual. I don't believe that they all are. Some of the experiences I had seemed way to interactive .

What if spirits hang around at cemeteries for the simple reason they want to stay in touch with their friends and loved ones but do not know where they live? So they hang around where they were laid to rest in hope of someone coming to visit them. I can imagine someone in that situation being lost, confused, and lonely and that seems like the best place to be.

My dad passed away last year in March and we have since moved and are planning on moving again when we can find something better. So I can imagine this happening very easily.

Originally posted by palg1
reply to post by SaturnFX

 

I don't think it's nonsense at all. Like Unumbra said, they may be attached to their mortal body.
I like graveyards too, but I have become more weary of them since my young adult days when I had a job placing headstones (1.5 years). To many strange occurrences and apparitions, some that caused a deep sense of sorrow, others outright gut wrenching terror. ( I eventually quit because of one such event. I won't go back and haven't been back to that cemetery).

Would you mind sharing some details of the event? As I stated in my OP, my buddy said he felt terrified!
One would think that if you saw a ghost standing there, as he described it, you'd be fascinated and you'd want to watch it for as long as possible...till it disappeared or whatever. He said that was not the case. He was terror-stricken and ran.

Originally posted by Hantrid
What if spirits hang around at cemeteries for the simple reason they want to stay in touch with their friends and loved ones but do not know where they live? So they hang around where they were laid to rest in hope of someone coming to visit them. I can imagine someone in that situation being lost, confused, and lonely and that seems like the best place to be.

My dad passed away last year in March and we have since moved and are planning on moving again when we can find something better. So I can imagine this happening very easily.

Your theory about the spirits being confused\lonely makes sense. Thanks for sharing that.
Sorry about your loss. I wish you the best and hope you find a nice place!

reply to post by ColeYounger



What happens if you are a ghost and have no surviving relatives. Also I don't think that ghosts are too bright so perhaps they loose a lot of their intellect on dying or it goes away somewhere else like into purgatory and leave the shell behind.

The burila plot in a graveyard is the only piece of land in this world the departed has left. It is like a link in a chain for them to this world. Often this happens when the deceased didnt own any propert or have any attachmetns in life to a house or dwelling.

I don't know why they would hang out in cemeteries, although they are peaceful, and often really pretty.

I think if I had the freedom of a spirit to travel, I'd find more interesting things to do. On the otherhand, I might cruise by there once and a while to see if someone brought me flowers. Yeah, I'm that way.

I don't know why ghost's would hang out in a cemetery either. Resurrection Mary likes to be dropped off at the cemetery and called it her home. So maybe that is all there is to that. I just don't know.

Jerry Palus, a Chicago southsider, reported that in 1939 he met a person who he came to believe was Resurrection Mary at the Liberty Grove and Hall at 47th and Mozart (and not the Oh Henry/Willowbrook Ballroom). They danced and even kissed and she asked him to drive her home along Archer Avenue, exiting the car and disappearing in front of Resurrection Cemetery