Spirit World

Ghost History

Whether we choose to believe or not in ghosts and spirits, there is no denying that we only have to look through history to find a wide range of spooky encounters.

In the 1st century AD, a ghost was reported to haunt a house in Athens belonging to Pliny the Younger. According to Pliny the ghost would rattle chains and take the form of an old man with a beard.

The first poltergeist was recorded in 856AD at a farmhouse on the banks of the River Rhine in Germany. The spirit tormented the family by throwing stones, banging on walls and making fires. Even when several priests armed with holy relics came to visit, it sent them packing with a hale of stones.

Sightings of spectral armies after key English Civil War battles were reported in contemporary sources, similar accounts also came from Gettysburg, The Somme and Gallipoli.

The last two hundred years has seen a huge increase of interest in science but also in the spirit world. It seems that no matter how much we progress, we have a natural interest in ghosts.

Signs of the death

One of the most frequently reported ghosts are apparitions of the dying or recently deceased. As well as breaking ties with the physical world, this type of encounter seems to be a final farewell.

In 1700’s Boston, America a young Englishman wrote to his friend in England about the whereabouts of his brother. Three days earlier the man had seen his brother's apparition in his bedroom looking deathly pale, with a bloodied napkin on his head. He felt that something terrible must have happened. Indeed it had; three days earlier his brother had been hit over the head with a poker and a fractured skull had caused his death. There was no other way that the Boston based brother could have known about his brother’s untimely death in England.

In certain villages in China it is believed that a father will appear to his son, 90 days after he dies. Indeed one son was so scared of his father’s return that he decided to take a plane flight with the hope that it would stop the visitation. However on visiting the toilet he noticed his father standing behind him for a few brief moments, in the mirror.

Spiritualism

The birth of Spiritualism began at the home of the teenage Fox sisters in a small village in New York State. On 31st March 1848, the sisters began to communicate with a spirit through the method of table rapping, the sisters asked a question and a series of knocks stated yes or no. The Fox sisters were a sensation and for many years would hold séances with many famous dignitaries and researchers who believed that they were authentic.

The Fox sisters started a trend and various forms of mediumship developed. Italian, Eusapia Palladino, soon followed the Foxes and claimed to be a physical medium with the ability to manifest three-dimensional entities using ectoplasm and perform acts of psychokinesis – the moving of objects with her mind.

To investigate the claims of the new mediums and clairvoyants, the Society of Psychical Research was formed by distinguished scientists of the time; indeed the society is still in existence after 120 years. In the early years they uncovered many frauds and hoaxes that were rife and took advantage of people’s circumstances.

It is amazing that something started from a game played by three teenage girls has now become a worldwide phenomenon and is a belief widely held by millions of people

Stone tape theory

Since the 1970s, the Stone Tape Theory has been one of the main notions behind the ghost phenomenon. Essentially the theory is based on the suggestion that buildings and materials are able to absorb a form of energy from living beings.

Researchers speculate that the recording is laid down during times of high emotional stress such as murder, grief or an important scene in someone’s life. This energy can be stored for an unspecified amount of time and the replay is triggered by the witness with the correct attributes. These attributes could include psychic ability, stress levels or even brainwaves and seem to set off the recording like a “psychic video”.

The replay can take a form as a full manifestation or even sounds such as voices or footsteps and may even be repeated. The theory certainly explains many of the sightings and incidents that occur, however no one knows for sure exactly what the recorded energy really is. The possibility that it could be our natural electric and magnetic fields seems remote but could it be another undiscovered energy?

The exorcists

One of the earliest mentions of exorcisms comes from the Bible, although in all cultures the removal of evil through ritual exists.

The Roman Catholic Church is the most well known institution that uses exorcists. Pope Cornelius wrote in the third century that the then Roman Church had fifty-two exorcists, which is similar in number to those employed by the church today.

There is a lot of misconception about what exorcism really is. The exorcist performs a religious rite called “The Roman Rite” and is used to drive Satan or evil spirits out of a possessed person, place or object. The ritual involves using holy water, prayers and relics.

Many cultures around the world perform similar rites. In China, a form of exorcism and potentially dangerous rite, called the Wutu Ritual, is normally performed by young men. It involves a trance medium and the construction of a mountain god altar. Seven men are painted with symbols of various gods and the rite is performed. This is repeated every year to stop evil returning.

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