Japan tsunami survivors turn to exorcists for help- Many claim they are seeing ghosts of victims

reply to post by TrueAmerican


I have PTSD and have never seen a ghost. I wish I would/could!

Mine stems from trauma of having watched a child/teen die a slow death for five years.

My thinking seems to veer toward the possible "energy" that is in the area. All the souls who died a traumatic death still have lingering fears/trauma lurking in the area. Doesn't mean they are still in the area, just some of the traumatic energy as I am sure it was enormous.

None of us will know for sure exactly what is going on there.... but it's easy to call it a disorder and give meds rather than getting to the underlying problem especially if it is related to the paranormal or energy.

The sheer amount of energy left behind by so many sudden deaths coupled with emotional energy, I believe is bound to leave traces. There is evidence emerging now that the energy released on death can leave light behind (if i can find the link I'll post it) so I imagine this phenomena will fade over time as the energy dissipates and goes to wherever it should I don't believe these images are real people per se just light/energy images of those suddenly taken

I'm with Phage on this one. Ghosts are unlikely given the situation.

Massive stress from disaster + cultural scarring = widely experienced hallucinations of a ghostly flavor. One of the first things you learn in even an introductory psychology class is that hallucinations can occur in, and have been reported by, completely sane individuals. Is it so odd that it could happen here?

reply to post by Captain Reynolds


If that is the case... Do you not find it odd there are so many reporting the same type of hallucinations.

Why are they all experiencing the same?

Even though I have experienced trauma, I don't "see" things that are non existent.

The soul I watched experience the trauma first hand is not lingering either. He did for a few days and it was quite surreal and some may say a blessing.

When you have soooo many die a tragic death in one localized area their energy may indeed remain. This energy that remains could present paranormal sightings that make the individual experiencing such feel crazy or hallucinogenic.

Of course a Dr. would call it a medical condition and prescribe a pill. Thats the society we live in but not necessarily the reality in which we live.

reply to post by phyllida

so I imagine this phenomena will fade over time as the energy dissipates and goes to wherever it should

Some places have long reputations of being haunted. Civil War sites and New Orleans cemeteries come to my mind. It's been quite some time, and people are still seeing ghosts in those places.

You asked about the Sumatra Tsunami and ghosts? Yeah, I read a little on the "hungry ghosts" that were interfering with tourism on the National Geographic site

news.nationalgeographic.com...

Whats a hungry ghost?
Hungry ghost is a Western translation of an Eastern phrase representing beings who are animalistically driven by intense emotional needs..
en.wikipedia.org...

Originally posted by windword
reply to post by phyllida

 

so I imagine this phenomena will fade over time as the energy dissipates and goes to wherever it should

Some places have long reputations of being haunted. Civil War sites and New Orleans cemeteries come to my mind. It's been quite some time, and people are still seeing ghosts in those places.

I was raised in New Orleans. The only thing haunting the cemeteries these days are drug dealers, voodoo wannabes, and tourists.

This reminds me of the movie Paranorman or something like that. He can see ghost that others can't, and there are alot.

This is sorta similar. Maybe they want to say goodbye or they have unfinished business.

reply to post by Advantage


LOL!!

I watch too much TV!

Its well known that people with unresolved issues concerning recently deceased loved ones will imagine all sorts of things as being ghost related. This happens even more if the deaths were traumatic as they were in this case.

In some Asian countries they believe that if people are not buried in a correct way by their families the deceased will come back to haunt the still living relatives.

So this is more than likely a psychological problem not really a paranormal one. With the right counseling these problems will go away.

If so many people are seeing so many ghosts, it should be simple to get some footage or photos of them, right?

Unless our eyes can pick up ghosts but cameras can't? If that's the case, there's decades of supposed ghost evidence on film we can throw in the bin. So...where is it? Or is it that these ghosts are merely the manifestation of a brain that has gone through severe trauma? Seems more likely.

Found another source on this story, and it is from January, 2012:

Many victims report seeing more vivid images, such as eyeballs appearing in puddles of water or people walking on the surface of the ocean.

Others say that they’ve been visited by the ghosts of missing family members, begging to find their bodies and give them a proper burial.

However, like the elderly couple in Sendai, many of these people don’t know how to cope with such problems.

The Sendai branch of the United Christ Church (UCC) in Japan currently provides emotional support services regardless of religious affiliation. “The government can’t do anything about it and it’s difficult to discuss the issue with family or other people in the neighborhood,” says Reverend Naoya Kawakami.

Working together the UCC church is head priest Taiou Kaneda of Tsudaiji Temple in Miyagi prefecture, who adds: “Regardless if they are real or not, these people are seeing apparitions. We weren’t prepared to lose all of those lives. Religion must patiently give counsel to these people until they can accept the death of their family and friends, until they can lift their heads up again.”

en.rocketnews24.com...

Yahoo news is also carrying it here:
news.yahoo.com...


In fact, there are ton of sources on this story!
www.nodeju.com...

And the list goes on.

And then we have this:

Ghost Stories Haunting Thailand's Tsunami Zones

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Many Thais believe ghosts are wandering tsunami-hit beaches, spooking taxi drivers, making the Andaman Sea hungry for more victims, and jinxing an economic recovery for devastated resorts.

"Did you hear the one about the taxi driver, who picked up passengers who turned out to be ghosts?"

That question, spread through conversations, e-mail and the Thai media, has become an urban legend in Thailand.

Most versions of the tale describe an unidentified Thai taxi driver who picks up a "foreign tourist" and his Thai girlfriend, for a taxi ride to Phuket's airport or elsewhere.

When the taxi arrives at the destination, the driver turns around and freaks out when he sees the passengers have already disappeared.

Source

And this one:

Tsunami Ghosts Haunting Beach Resorts

Dark stories of ghosts has been spreading like wildfire at the beach resorts that were hit by the tsunami. Many locals in Phuket and Khao Lak claim that they have had ghostly sightings and meetings.

Another story which had been circulating told of locals hearing people crying and partying by the beach but when they went closer to have a look, there was nobody around.

Guards at a beachfront plaza in Patong told AFP one of their men had quit after hearing a foreign woman cry "help me" all night long, and similar stories abound of a foreign ghost walking along the shoreline at night calling for her child.

Source

And then there is a whole forum dedicated to those from 9/11 who are experiencing the visits ghosts, there are many stories here.

Lets Roll Forum

The fact that some people are still in denial of the spirit world is sad. There is just too much evidence that it exists. We can only hope that the naysayers will finally have their own experience, because that will be the only way for them to be convinced.

reply to post by Julie Washington


Right so- we have similar reports of people seeing ghosts from two separate, unrelated mass casualty incidents, and it is PTSD...

Seems like the logic is failing, Phage.

reply to post by Julie Washington

Wow I would hate to be a taxi driver there

Could be either PTSD like Phage mentioned. Or the radiation had an effect on their brains somehow?

Is that possible?

Originally posted by humphreysjim
If so many people are seeing so many ghosts, it should be simple to get some footage or photos of them, right?

Unless our eyes can pick up ghosts but cameras can't? If that's the case, there's decades of supposed ghost evidence on film we can throw in the bin. So...where is it? Or is it that these ghosts are merely the manifestation of a brain that has gone through severe trauma? Seems more likely.

Not really so simple. Most cameras see only a very limited spectrum of light, as well as our eyes. There are full spectrum cameras which can process a wider range and are used for capturing images of ghosts, but most people do not have these types of cameras.

PSTD, or hallucinations don't cause objects to move, evps, other phenomenon to occur. Also you can have multiple witnesses see the exact same thing which rules that out.

I actually read an article years ago about another mass death caused by a tsunami, and tourists were seeing the dead walking on the beach there, which brought revenue down.. I always say to a skeptic, go to a known haunted location at night, don't use any flashlights, and stay a while. Then tell me ghosts are a figment of someones' imagination.

These events create ruptures and turbulance within the astral plane, which is like a reflection of the physical reality.
The souls don't know how to release their death state and move on so they become trapped within that fracture of reality.

Originally posted by KaelemJames
I am a believer of the paranormal, but this could be a case of mass hysteria.

Why do you believe the story at all? Seems like complete BS to me and certainly not worthy to be called 'news.'

Pretty bold to be asserting there are no such thing as ghosts. "Ghosts" are supposed to be people that have died and then are "glimpsed" by the still living, right? Unless you have died and returned to tell us there aren't any such thing... oh wait people have died and returned to tell us such things. Well lets see, how can you assert there are no such thing as spirits if you haven't died yet ? Literally.

Pretty arrogant. Imagine going back in time before telescopes and trying to convince everyone who ever lived that all the astronomy we know today exists? You'd be a laughing stock.

For ghostly phenomenon to begin to be credible there must be some kind of corroboration to back up any "stories" about encounters. By that I mean, well...

Let me explain with an example of a personal nature.

In a previous life, I used to manage a house where I was in charge of renting rooms, maintenance, etc. I lived there for 8 years and placed ads in the local newspaper, rooms for rent. These people that moved in were from all walks of life, none of them knew each other and surely had no reason to conspire or make up the same story over and over.

The reports I got of a stranger in the house shuffling around in the kitchen (when nobody else was home) unnerved some so much that they suddenly moved, making my life miserable for having to re rent the rooms for the high turnover rate. Each would in turn give me accounts of somebody in the house, late at night or when they were alone, that would scare the crap out of them. One tenant told me he was tired of the "old woman who shakes him awake in the middle of the night and tells him, "You have to leave, you have to get out of here", as though it was a regular occurrence. He didn't seem disturbed by it too much, just told me one day out of the blue.

Another tenant who had a wife and daughter slept in the master bedroom (off the kitchen). Their first night, they all heard the footsteps. It unnerved the man so much he got his shotgun out and searched the house. Others would ask me if I came home from work during the day because they could have sworn that someone was in the house. I hadn't. They would get mad and accuse me of lying, then give notice. Some didn't bother to give notice or say anything, they just left-- voiding their last month deposit.

You see, during all those years I never put two and two together until my very last day there. The owner passed away and the house was to be put up for sale. Everyone had moved out except me and I was leaving the next day. As I lay down to sleep in the master bedroom (off the kitchen), I heard it, plain as day...

Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle, pause... shuffle shuffle, pause... someone was in the kitchen just on the other side of the wall! Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle... it went on long enough for me to determine I wasn't hearing things, and the usual blink, blink, scratch your head make-sure-you-are-awake. The sounds were still there. They were quite distinct. I was not hungover, PTSD'd, or wishfully hoping to hear anything.

I had not until now given much merit to the stories I had heard over the years from complete strangers whom I did not know, nor they each other. I dismissed them like anyone would. There is this auto denial magic most people practice whenever they need to continue on despite the growing "evidence". Me included.

The next day as I was cleaning out my stuff I saw the old coot living next door watering his backyard. He had lived there longer than I and I asked him if he knew who lived there before me. He said, yah some lady bought the house when it was knew and lived there until she died in the house... of a heart attack... in the kitchen. They found her when nobody saw her for a few days and opened up the house to look for her.

"That place is haunted you know", he says to me, looking me dead in the eye. I'll never forget it. What an epoch in my life. I still get a little chill typing this.

One thing. I went back a few months later to look at the house and some guy was outside in the yard, so I stopped and asked him if he thought anything weird was going on there. He said no. I told him about the lady that lived (and died) there and the shuffling in the kitchen. You know, not to worry if he ever heard anything like that, she's just come back to make breakfast and die one more time (I didn't say that).

I never got the chance. As I began to tell him not to worry if he ever did hear foot steps late at night in the kitchen, not to worry about... his eyes got bigger and he looked at me like I was crazy. Without saying a word, he turned and walked away, closing the front door behind him.

I felt better having embarrassed myself , better that I at least told him (and he heard it too). That way he doesn't have to go through the same adventure I did. When it happens to him he will remember our conversation. I wonder if he heard the "don't worry about it" part?