Are Ghosts Really Hallucinations?

I recently had an unusual experience on a bright, sunny afternoon and thought it'd be fun to see if anyone else has had this happen? A midday 'ghostly' encounter that wasn't creepy at all.

I was at work and walking from one room to another to leave the building through the locked side exit. Try to picture this; you walk through a fire door and straight away see the exit door which is in a small lobby. As the door behind me was closing, I could see the exit door was ajar about 15" and closing. The sun shone brightly through the opening and the door closed quietly and somehow pricked my attention. I listened to hear someone's keys locking the door and heard nothing. This struck me as slightly (only just) interesting and I smiled to myself, "Wow, there's a stealthy key locker." There was no doubt, at that time, the door was being closed by a colleague.

I unlocked the door and should have seen whoever had left the building. Looked left and right and nobody there. Somebody drove onto the site and I asked if they'd passed anyone - nope.

It was curious because the incident was 100% realistic and no more or less. No creepiness, no sense of mystical doings. If anything, the sun shining through the doorway as the door closed was positive and uplifting. Then again, warm sun on winter days is typically uplifting, isn't it?

The building is some 110 years old and has a long and colourful history of spooky mischief. Many a sober, serious person has blurted out a peculiar tale. There are parts of the building the cleaners hate being in because they feel ‘a presence.’ Two have been emphatic their buckets and cloths were moved behind them. It's had alarms going off in the middle of the night and doors have been heard banging closed when nobody else is in there. Some have said they've seen a face in a window when it's all locked up and alarmed and others have claimed to have heard voices. To be honest, I've seeded a couple of shaggy dog stories for 'the lulz' too. In spite of that, it has that ineffable quality of occasionally giving most people the creeps.

Despite the pedigree, ghostly background of the place, the 'door incident' was broad daylight and had no emotional content beyond being weird. I've been asking myself if I had a coherent, random hallucination? They’ve been described as anomalous experiences by some in the paranormal field and visual hallucinations in the worlds of ophthalmology, neuroscience and clinical psychology. Truth is, I find either explanation plausible. Then again, this academic article could suggest problems on the horizon for my skull jelly. I was in a car accident a few weeks ago and received a colourful black eye early last week so maybe that's what happened? Could it really be a faulty neural connection or the brain flashing a warning light?


I'm not one to automatically dismiss people's accounts of banging doors or disembodied footsteps at night. People see and hear things they can't explain and always have done. Perhaps other ghost encounter stories and legends have been provoked by individuals having day-time hallucination? Have I found myself amongst the historical masses who've sworn blind they had a paranormal experience? Someone entrenched in paranormal understandings would be telling everyone they saw a ghost go out of the door. Maybe that's what happened? Others could be seeking the advice of a 'brain scientist.' I'm on the splintering, creaking fence yet again.

All I can say for sure is I absolutely 'saw' the door closing and there was definitely nobody there to have done it.

Has anyone here experienced something similar?

a reply to: Kandinsky

Wow thank you for sharing that!

Where to start.. I've seen shadows moving around me dozens of times, everytime I become aware they vanish.

eta: I'm really sorry to hear about the accident you had, I hope you're alright and doing well. And what you saw, I've seen a lot of strange things in my lifetime as well things that made me question reality, and What you're saying, I totally believe it!

Also.. let me add that a family member saw their father after he'd died,standing there as though he were real. Those instances are what helped lead me to my conclusions.

My first thought is that the exit door was ajar as you said, and by opening/closing the door you came through caused a draft, making the door that was ajar shut. Not sure about the key sounds, perhaps it was the metal in the door handle, or another sound from elsewhere caused by the draft.

Misinterpreted normal stuff is often thought to be paranormal, and I'm sure our brains have occasional "glitches" where we might see or hear something that isn't there. For the record I do believe in paranormal activity. It could even be lumped together with UFOs and other odd things. The book Hunt for the Skinwalker and some of Jaques Vallee's theories point towards that

I work in brain injury and, while no neurologist, would find it odd if this were a hallucination caused by either the contre coups brain trauma (the brain being snapped across the inside of the skull and back again by a traffic impact) or blow to the optical orb, if there were no other symptoms and you were well enough to return to work.

Are you unusually fatigued during the day? Zone out? Have memory problems? Find your patience threshold has dramatically dropped? If not, unlikely to be brain-trauma hallucination. Face it, your work place is haunted 👻

*Annoying bookmark comment*

Oh and BTW since when could we do GIFs!!!!

Knowing this makes me happy

ALS

a reply to: JesusXst

It's a twisted path through tangled trees trying to feel out an answer, isn't it? We all know people who aren't fantasy-prone and they relate experiences that are hard to explain.

Even if this was a brain fart on my part, it doesn't extend to explaining everyone else's reported encounters.

Your family member seeing their father after death is a common one. Yeah we can say 'grief hallucinations,' but there are always more that aren't grief-related. For example, my brother used to work at a large town centre store and heard a baby crying early in the morning before they opened. He thought a colleague had brought their baby to work. Turned out a few older staffers had heard the same thing in there over the years. He's not a BSer and I take his word for it.

If I saw what your family member saw, I might climb off the fence.

a reply to: vlawde

My first thought is that the exit door was ajar as you said, and by opening/closing the door you came through caused a draft, making the door that was ajar shut. Not sure about the key sounds, perhaps it was the metal in the door handle, or another sound from elsewhere caused by the draft.

The door is always locked and was locked when I opened it. There were no sounds at all which prickled my attention. It was plain ODD!!

a reply to: singingbones

I work in brain injury and, while no neurologist, would find it odd if this were a hallucination caused by either the contre coups brain trauma (the brain being snapped across the inside of the skull and back again by a traffic impact) or blow to the optical orb, if there were no other symptoms and you were well enough to return to work.

Minor whiplash from the RTA and no noticeable symptoms. Yes, I'm often fatigued and don't think I was at that time because it was middle of the day and I was quite energised. Good mood, no worries etc.

Thanks for the input and nice to meet you

a reply to: Kandinsky

It definately is a path with many secrets all leading towards different angles.

I absolutely believe what you've experienced, because i've experienced a few things like it. It's hard, when family aren't open to [the alternative] so they just go on with their lives disbelieving it all. It's frustrating to say the least.

I have come to one conclusion about seeing deceased family members after they've passed away however. It always seems to be those, ''in my case anyways'', who really never believed in that stuff, or were even aware of it's very existence.I found that part, most interesting.

a reply to: Kandinsky

Yep.. I have had some instances with ghostly mid day encounters. Most can be explained away. One though.. I still have no explanation for it. I wrote about it in a thread (which I need to update) But.. I''l just pull out the bit that is relevant to your post..

I was at work and was ready to leave for the day. This was early afternoon, between three and four p.m. I got stopped by one of my supervisors at the door and we chatted for a few minutes about what still needed to be done during the evening hours. After that I turned to leave and as I was walking out I saw someone walking in. He was wearing a suit and had on a hat, I believe a pomp adore is what it is called. About my height, maybe a little taller.

Anyways, it was too late, we were going to bump into one another. I couldn't swerve to miss him, he was to close, so I braced for impact. I kept my eyes open until the very last second, and when I would normally have closed them and looked away, at the point of impact, something strange happened... He walked right through me. And as I turned to look and see where he had gone, there was no one there.

My supervisor was still standing at the door, and I asked her if she just saw that guy who walked in. She said no one had come through the door within the last five minutes. I stood there for a few seconds, just taking it all in. Then I left, spending the ride home contemplating what the heck had just happened.


still have no idea what happened..no idea why this would happen either..

anyhow..

Thanks,
blend57

a reply to: JesusXst

I have come to one conclusion about seeing deceased family members after they've passed away however. It always seems to be those, ''in my case anyways'', who really never believed in that stuff, or were even aware of it's very existence.I found that part, most interesting.

These are the ones who catch my attention the most. They don't like talking about it and don't want to appear stupid or jumpy. There are those who say they see ghosts every other day and it's hard to take them seriously.

a reply to: blend57

My supervisor was still standing at the door, and I asked her if she just saw that guy who walked in. She said no one had come through the door within the last five minutes. I stood there for a few seconds, just taking it all in. Then I left, spending the ride home contemplating what the heck had just happened.

^^^ You know exactly how I feel about it then

We have the experience and are left none the wiser. Even if they're both 'ghost' incidents, what do we know? What have we learned and what changes? They're almost mundane with a sprinkling of WTF?

Seeing a full-bodied person like you did would cause my gears to crunch.

originally posted by: Kandinsky
a reply to: JesusXst

I have come to one conclusion about seeing deceased family members after they've passed away however. It always seems to be those, ''in my case anyways'', who really never believed in that stuff, or were even aware of it's very existence.I found that part, most interesting.

These are the ones who catch my attention the most. They don't like talking about it and don't want to appear stupid or jumpy. There are those who say they see ghosts every other day and it's hard to take them seriously.

I can adhere completely to that one! lol. Only the observant will ever catch on to this

btw Awesome Thread, I always enjoy these!

NVM glitchy post

Cool Avatar Kandinsky.

a reply to: JesusXst

Cheers

Wanted to go seasonal without too many Christmas trees and baubles.

'Winter is coming'

Kandinsky



Dunno if it was full bodied, never looked down to see it's feet.

I just know that I saw it..and we collided..and the person right next to me didn't see it. Which makes me wonder even more if it was a hallucination. Although I wouldn't know why I would hallucinate something like that. A man in a pomp adore hat and suit... not something I would think my head would conjure up.

It didn't scare me..more like it just left me questioning. Someday I'll figure it out..until then..it makes for a good ghost story

blend57

a reply to: blend57

You might enjoy a thread about apparitions. Absolutely not because I wrote it, but for the stats on people seeing figures. Curiously, there are many 'apparitions' of the living which, naturally, raises more questions and puts us back on the fence thinking about hallucinations. Puzzles and questions.

Apparitions: Glimpses of Ghosts?

Reports like this are interesting like yours. Minding your business and what looks like a normal person appears and disappears.

no. i heard ghosts running across a hallway UPSTAIRS from us. it was fascinating. 5 people heard it. i thought it was a dog, they all laughed at me, said look down, and the dog was sleeping at my feet.

im glad i heard a ghost and did not see one. true fact, what if i get so spooked i leak my pants lol!

hearing it is insane. how did it run down a hallway??? how did a ghost stomp hardwood floors?

one of my favorite experiences, especially considering my brother was there, and he is an ultra skeptic, and even he admits her heard a ghost.

a reply to: dantanna

Are you sure about 'ghosts?'

Not doubting your post at all. Just asking if 'ghost' is the right word?

Maybe 'ghost' is standing waves of infrasound. Or time slips? Or daydreams? Do you know what I mean? We've only got so many words to describe these odd experiences and 'ghost' could be a placeholder for something we've yet to explain.

This was an interesting way of describing an interesting and generally unfamiliar experience as something familiar! I've experienced this myself in some way, I think it's a way of the creative part of the mind to make it's own narrative in an ordinary, but perhaps special, sequence of ordinary events.

Like the back of your mind is telling itself a story based on the parts of your surroundings that your conscious self is unaware of.