What to Do If You See a Ghost
So you’ve met a ghost. Suddenly the air went cold; the light flickered; a dark figure floated in a dark corner; When you asked if you were in the presence of a spirit, the Ouija tablet in your shaking hand stretched towards YES. Skeptics be damned, you know the other side contacted you. What are you doing?
A 2019 YouGov poll found that 45 percent of American adults believe in ghosts. And regardless of whether you rank yourself in this camp or not, people do have stories of creepy experiences that they simply cannot explain. According to the same YouGov poll, about 36 percent of Americans say they actually felt a presence of mind or a ghost.
Take, for example, Kristen Lee, a New York City reporter and former Jalopnik employee. About ten years ago, she ran into something creepy while visiting her then-boyfriend Anthony at his family’s home. The house has been in the family for a couple of generations, and Anthony and his siblings have long worried about the second floor.
“They couldn’t figure it out, but they always felt something strange upstairs, like a presence,” she says. “They always told stories about the second floor, like how they hear noise.”
One night while Lee was hanging out in Anthony’s room on that infamous second floor, something strange happened. “We sat on the floor and watched TV, and he just shut up without warning,” she says. “He raised his hand and all the hairs on his arm stood on end. The next second we hear people typing from the corridor like on these analog keyboards with the noise of a space bar that is unlike anything else. ” Directly across from Anthony’s room was a room with a computer and a keyboard, but no one else was at home.
When Lee and Anthony told Anthony’s father the next day, he was not impressed. “He’s like, ‘Oh, did you hear how they write? I hear it all the time, ”she says.
Lee did not explain how to type. “No house noise I’ve ever heard sounded like I was typing on a keyboard,” she says. “I was freaking scared.”
If you have a similar meeting – or even more creepy – here’s what to do.
Know this is probably not a ghost
It is true that we have no definitive proof that ghosts do not exist, and I am far from dissuading a true believer. But there are some scientific explanations for the paranormal. People don’t necessarily see ghosts as often as they sense the presence of ghosts, and the researchers say it has more to do with a neurological response than anything Stephen King could have come up with.
For example, as reported by Gizmodo in 2015, research shows that people think they are experiencing a ghost when they come into contact with certain ultra-low sound frequencies – even when no sound is heard, the vibrations can cause feelings of dread or fear. Some researchers have also found that unusual electromagnetic fields can cause a person’s brain to believe that they are being stalked. And as NBC reported in 2009, sleep paralysis is a common fake ghosts; sometimes, before or after a REM cycle, the wires in your brain cross and create strange hallucinations or “waking dreams” that sometimes manifest as ghosts or intruders.
One of the most compelling theories about why we sometimes experience something eerie is a “sense of presence,” or FoP, as defined in 2014 by researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. A group of researchers, led by neuroscientist Olaf Blanke, linked the sensation of external presence to lesions or injuries in three areas of the brain – the temporoparietal junction, the insula, and the fronto-parietal cortex. These three areas play a role in integrating external sensory perception with the body’s response, and if all three have any damage, it can create a mind-body mismatch that can make you feel like you are experiencing the presence of a ghost.
Check your space for toxins such as mold or excess carbon monoxide.
If you are certain that your home is haunted, perhaps a little more of this land is to blame. Dr. Shane Rogers of Clarkson University has investigated whether certain toxic molds can cause hallucinations that make people think they are experiencing a ghost.
Mold can often be found in haunted areas, says Clarkson. “There are many different types of mold, and some of them release toxic compounds that can be problematic for humans. These compounds can cause sensitivity reactions or fungal infections or reactions in the immune system in humans, and there are varying results related to what may be [ghosts] related. “
Similar to the IRL ghostbusters, Clarkson and his team have traveled to various locations where people have reported ghosts, taken air quality samples, and investigated for potential mold around basements or other places where they might find it.
“We still have work to do, but we found that there is indeed a connection between the presence of mold and places that are reported to be haunted and places that are not,” he says. Clarkson hasn’t figured out which molds are causing the persecution, but “it definitely seems like there might be some connection between the two,” he says.
Another potential culprit? Carbon monoxide poisoning. Centuries of research have found a link between excess carbon monoxide and hallucinations, leading people to believe they are experiencing paranormal activity. Needless to say, carbon monoxide poisoning is extremely serious, so if you’re faced with the unexplained, make sure your carbon monoxide detector is in good working order.
Do not panic
Again, there is no evidence against the existence of ghosts, and if you are absolutely certain that your eerie experience was not caused by toxic substances or neurological damage, then you will have to stop thinking scientifically and start thinking spiritually. The most important thing to do if you see or feel a ghost is not to panic. Just as there is no evidence that ghosts exist, there is also no evidence that ghosts can harm you.
Emily Groth , a psychic and medium from Brooklyn, says that she is not a fan of ghost encounters, despite her career in contact with the other side. “A few years ago, I had a surplus of them, which coincided with a very stressful period in my life,” writes Grotte in an email, adding that “extreme stress (both good and bad) can narrow the veil in the meantime. where we are and where they are. “
The grotto writes that if you see or encounter a ghost, just relax. “Panic makes you feel bad and they’re not here to hurt you (most of the time). They are (generally speaking) human or sprite energies that want to play – to be seen – to cause harm. They are not so different from you and me. “
Set boundaries
According to Grothe, ghosts – like roommates or (most) romantic partners – respond well to boundaries. Grotte suggests setting boundaries with tools such as telepathic communication or prayer. Sage, a common supernatural cleanser, can also work, as can a spray made with essential oil and distilled water.
“It’s not the instrument, but your intention — through the prayer you say when you’re actually doing the sage,” writes Grotte. “You end your wise prayer by asking the spirit to go to the light. Keep in mind that you usually need to do this more than once. “
Emily Godette, a New York-based writer and podcaster who believes she is being haunted by the ghost of her former neighbor, says spiritual cleansing helps establish boundaries with the spirit.
“Ever since she died, and while our new neighbors gutted her apartment and made extensive renovations, I have seen a lot of strange things,” she writes, describing the flickering lights, frequent nightmares and her endlessly barking dog. “Our house was so gloomy and dark that I washed everything and bought crystals (selenite for every doorway and window, obsidian on the entire wall).”
What really helped was the establishment of verbal boundaries. “While at home alone, I said out loud to the flickering lamp:“ You can pass through this house if you do not harm us or our dog. If you become a problem, I will have to ask you to leave, ”writes Godette. “I finally spoke to her – that’s what helped me. Our dog sleeps all night, and I never dreamed of these nightmares. “
Grotte notes that setting boundaries with a ghost can be scary, “know that you have an advantage because you have a human form.”
Tell the ghost to leave you alone
Sometimes it’s important to be direct. Kotaku editor-in-chief Riley MacLeod has experienced several potential paranormal encounters, including one while living on a former WWII lifeboat.
“I lived in a small room below deck, and every night at about the same time, I heard a splashing, scratching sound outside that came closer and closer and then disappeared right where it reached my bed,” he writes. “In the end I told my boatmates about it, and they said, ‘Oh yes, we also hear it at the same time and in the same place every night! “”
MacLeod tried to write it off as a strange sound with a more rational explanation – a duck, a rat, “a very punctual monster”, but it didn’t make sense to him that he and his boatmates would constantly hear the same sound on the same time, night after night. In the end, they came to the conclusion that they were dealing with a ghost boat from the Second World War, and decided to order him to leave.
“We got together and lit some candles, and we thought, ‘Hey ghost, we’re sorry you hit this boat badly, but it’s not a lifeboat anymore. It belongs to us now and we cannot help you, and well, you are dead, so you should stop trying to get on this boat, ”he writes. After that, the sounds stopped.
Make peace with the ghost and move on
When all else fails, the best advice comes from Samantha Jones from Sex and the City: “Fight the ghost, acknowledge its presence, release it.” It works? Who can tell. But Samantha was never wrong.