Do you believe in the paranormal?

[RWG]

With Halloween coming up and the wide release of highly anticipated independent film Paranormal Activity, I figured this would be quite the timely discussion.  Vote for whichever best describes you given the following criteria and then feel free to discuss

Paranormal entities include spirits, ghosts, angels, demons, mythical creatures, cryptids or monsters and intelligent extra-terrestrial beings (for the purpose of this discussion, only those which have visited Earth or otherwise been in contact with humans.)  Paranormal activities include witchcraft, wizardry, curses and the like.

[Scrambler Fanny]

definitely believe in the spiritual realm where angels and demonic spirits reside. pretty scary to think about really, but trusting in God for peace and comfort works quite nicely. and though i have never really seen or experienced anything resembling REAL wizardry or witchcraft (spirit realms brought or summoned up by other people) i know that it was an issue more prevalent back throughout history. though i wouldn't doubt that it is still an issue in certain places throughout the world like Cuba and Jamaica and places where voodoo is present... kinda creepy...

[RWG]

I'll explain my choice in detail.

I believe in most of this stuff.  Here's why.

Ghosts - I've thankfully never had any encounters with this kind of thing, but I've heard so many stories of people who have.  Some from close, intelligent friends as well.  The stories are often of a dead relative who has a special connection to some things or people and these stories just make so much sense.  There are so many of them out there that if even one is true, they are real.

Angels & Demons - This stuff frightens me too much to discuss but it has a lot of religious, historical and practical backing.

Cryptids & Monsters - Obviously true... you're pretty naive if you think we've discovered every living species out there.  Some of these animals have to be badass motherfuckers as well, like the sasquatch and whatnot.  You can point out specific examples like the Loch Ness Monster or that crazy lizard man in Virginia (I believe?) which might not necessarily be true, but there definitely are these creatures out there.

Extraterrestrials - I'm a huge believer in encouters of various kinds, up to the 4th kind (abduction) and this is definitely the paranormality which frightens me the most.  There is simply no way that so many people have had encounters of the 1st to 4th kind and they are all untrue.  Mathematically, there has to be life on other planets and technologically, if the life formed and evolved to an intelligent form merely a few thousand years before us on Earth, they could be capable of inter-galactic exploration by now.  Throw in all the theories of ancient civilizations having drawings or sculptures of foreign creatures or of advanced technology they didn't have then, with the construction of huge pyramids, stone structures and other things like the Nazca Lines which only seem to have significance when seen from above (heights the people of the time couldn't reach then) it is pretty undeniable that we have had contact with aliens from elsewhere.

[Lovins]

Just got back a few hours ago from seeing the movie actually. I voted believe in some, but limited. Not looking forward to trying to sleep tonight...

[RWG]

Yeah, that movie does to sleep what Psycho did to taking showers

The past two nights I've only fallen asleep around 6:30am with a light on.

[wishiwasfamous]

The X-Files are great Science FICTION.

[ToTh]

i hate the demons because i watched with my friends the exorcist, so im scary about that.. when i was playing futbol (soccer) i watched something in the sky.. but i dont believe in Ufos.. that's sucks..monster is the stupid thing ever. i never wacth one of "them".ghost. ajaaja.. well , in 2002-2006 i lived behind of "the haunted house" and i never wacthed any ghosts or something paranomal,, i just believe in god and jesus. good topic ryan,, in venezuela nothing happens. but were living great. that's paranomal things only occur in usa or canada or europe..... im 13 years old, maybe in the future something would happen. again nice topic

[octoinky]

I have never heard nor experienced anything in my life convincing enough to make me believe in any of that. Not in the slightest. A story is a story, and most "encounters" have a much more logical explanation. And just because you can't come up an explanation doesn't mean that one doesn't exist.

If this movie is as creepy as you say it is, I'm looking forward to seeing it!

[Jimbo]

Yeah I've never believed in any of this garbage.

[GuitarFailKid]

I will believe it the day I see it with my own eyes, until then I don't believe anything anyone says anyway, believing someone talking about a ghost story is even less likely to happen.

I used to as a kid believe it however, but that's only because my dad used to scare the shit out of me about that kinda thing. Very funny dad ha ha.

I'm not going to be that ignorant and say there are no aliens out in endless space though. The probabability of there being something else out there is extremely fucking high. So I think it's silly to disbelieve in that kind of thing.

[Infected Mind]

Agree pretty much with goose said.

Never believed in any wizardry or the like though, but do find it enjoyable in my video games lol

[RWG]

SHUN THE NON BELIEVERS

I can't believe how lame most of you are, and when you are all proven wrong in however many years it takes I hope you look back and are morbidly embarrassed.

[GuitarFailKid]

^ how many years has it taken already?

What makes it even more unbelievable is all these stupid fucking phoney tv shows that have people that act like a SPAZ whenever they think they have felt a presence. c'mon.......

I think that when people who misplace their keys and blame it on a ghost are fucking morons, END OF

You said yourself RwhiteGoose that you havn't experienced anything yourself, what makes you fall for this crap that people are telling you? I don't care how intelligent they are, it just means they are better at telling stories, or selling shit. I will say that the most intelligent person that you think you know is actually a dumb fuck in reality though, I've seen this numerous times with customers I work with all the time "Plane engineers/Police Constables/Bank Managers/Software engineers", I see them fuckup all the time in the most mundane of tasks. I'm no bright spark, hahahahaha everyone knows that already. but I'd like to say i'm not stupid enough to believe in something that people have told me ESPECIALLY about the paranormal, that's just hope for a life after death IMO, and maybe I'm just a depressive person (and I'm not) but maybe my mindset is kinda built that way y'know?

I rambled, sorry... And I know it was a pointless ramble because people believe what they want to believe and I'm not trying to change peoples opinions, I'm just stating reasons why i don't believe about this kinda thing. SO don't flame back for that or anything, i didn't mean to piss you off.

(drunk again)

[RWG]

Kingpin0072001 wrote:  
  I've seen this numerous times with customers I work with all the time "Plane engineers/Police Constables/Bank Managers/Software engineers", I   see them fuckup all the time in the most mundane of tasks.

If you knew my personal philosophies, you'd know that I don't regard "professionals" or people with high ranking education very highly.  Everyone is intelligent in different ways.

And FWIW there has been plenty of evidence constantly for thousands of years proving ghosts and extraterrestrials, but everyone who is "educated," "professional," or "scientific" tends to deny them because "OMG ITS NOT SCIENCE."

Scientific method is great but it's not the only thing there is to life... grow up, open your minds and your hearts.  Stop being sheep to what "the man" wants to tell you.

[GuitarFailKid]

I'm not clued up on what FWIW means, I thought you was talking to wishIwasFamous for a second. But if there is one thing I do not care for then that is "the man"
EDIT: ( FWIW = for what it's worth, ok I just figured that one out all on my own, go me hehe)

If there was actually evidence then i'd believe. I wish I did trust me. I'm actually looking for a reason to believe. So convince me?

Do you think a ghost is going to watch me wank in a minute? hope not, hehe

[RWG]

Ghosts are dead people who are just wandering or trying fulfill some goal they never got to complete in their actual life, so no.

A demon on the other hand might be watching you wank, but I wouldn't worry about it too much if you haven't had any weird paranormal issues in the past.

On the other hand, you can be damn sure some extraterrestrials somewhere are spying on some man here on Earth masturbating as we speak, trying to learn about our kind.

[Quiet Bol]

SHUN THE NON BELIEVERS  
 
  I can't believe how lame most of you are, and when you are all proven wrong in however many years it takes I hope you look back and are morbidly   embarrassed.

I guess you won't have to worry about being proven wrong yourself, since weirdos and nutjobs will always exist and always make ridiculous claims wherever there's room for it.  

And FWIW there has been plenty of evidence constantly for thousands of years proving ghosts and extraterrestrials, but everyone who is "educated,"   "professional," or "scientific" tends to deny them because "OMG ITS NOT SCIENCE." Scientific method is great but it's not   the only thing there is to life... grow up, open your minds and your hearts. Stop being sheep to what "the man" wants to tell you.

What kind of retarded shit is this? If ghosts and extraterrestrials do exist, they'll be proven and explained by science, same as everything else, and there won't be anything paranormal about it. (You realize extraterrestrials are just animals from another planet, right?) The evidence just seems to shrink up and disappear any time an unbiased party shows up to examine these phenomena, so all we're left with is a bunch of sketchy anecdotes.

[RWG]

Every historical claim accepted as fact is a "sketchy anecdote."

[Thiradell]

Demons, sure. Ghosts and aliens, not so much.

[Smit]

This is an interesting subject to be honest. I have to say, since I cannot see it I find it hard to believe but every now and then you feel and see certain things that just go above the comprehension of a human being. I will try to describe one certain experience I had in Holland.

When I was living in Holland I had several friends who were practising the Wicca Faith. Means that you are friends with the earth and every human creature on this planet etc. Anyway, one of these girls told me that she could extract a ball of energy from the earth and after that she could go ahead and give the ball of energy to me. Bullshit I thought at first but then when she actually did it I could actually feel something between me hands. I tried pressing my hands together but something was there. It was weird. After that she asked me to return the ball of energy to the earth and so I did.. I dunno, maybe it was just all between my ears or something but I am convinced that the earth is holding some kind of mystical energy or some shit.

I definity believe in life on other planets as well.

Ghosts. Not so much..

[Red Bull]

This topic becomes extremely hilarious, when...
- people claim that demons exist (booooo!)
- people are talking about collecting balls of energy out of the earth and returning it

[Smit]

Thanks for being on topic Max. As always !

[Time was untied when set.]

I have 2 balls of energy!

[Smit]

Haha. Because they are not being used? They are swelling up with energy?

[RWG]

OWNED

[Time was untied when set.]

Actually, last night din mor screamed "goodness greatness great balls of fire!"

So to answer, yes, they are being used!

[Smit]

Well, if min mor screamed that, it doesn't actually mean you "unleashed" your energy?? :P

[Time was untied when set.]

Oh believe me, she swallowed my energy like a champ.

[PerfectTaste]

How did paranormal activity turn into someones mor swallowing balls of energy?

[Smit]

I blame baby Jesus!

[Darth Vader]

I blame din mor for last night

[Time was untied when set.]

Damn wiccans!

[Scrambler Fanny]

LOLZ @ 2 balls of energy!

[Wyst3r]

It lies within human nature to run to the paranormal whenever something is unexplained. Ghosts for one is an obvious human concept, Now IF ghosts existed, the concept would still be older than the first sighting. Simply proving that humans have a wild imagination. So far there's absolutely nothing in history that says paranormal stuff exists, most "proof" lies within things that CAN be exaplained through paranormal activity but if you think about that for a moment, it doesn't prove paranormal activity at all.

Me and a friend of mine both saw a still today very unexplained phenomena about 10 years ago, a white glowing shape resembling a ghost behind a tree(we were on our way out looking through a window). Now when we did go outside there was nothing there. I'm sure many poeple(including my friend) would take this as pretty good proof for the paranormal(ghosts). Personally however, i still don't believe shit of it. If you think about it further, there's really no reason to conclude that this would be a ghost at all, the paranormal have unlimited possibilities and therefor the concept of Ghost is highly unlikely, EVEN WITHIN THE PARANORMAL.

I truly hate when the supernatural is even considered a possibility, sometimes it's shameful to be human...

[Darth Vader]

Whatever you wanna see or fear to see most, you will see or hear. When i was little i was afraid of walking out of my room when it was night because i thought there would be ghosts and demons. So anyway, when i had to go to the toilet, i had to go through the hallway that seemed sooo long that time. I was fearing seeing ghosts and demons sooo much, that my mind automaticly would make a picture of it, when any little sound or shadow i might saw or heard, your mind will be so observed and concentrated about these things, that you will see and hear things that you really can't observe when not caring. It's the same thing with ghost haunters

it's Just an illusion you are making up yourself without knowing it. And of all the ghost videos/pictures i've seen, iv'e only seen a few photos that looked real, but it could be the sun irretating the cameras licence, to shape forms that looks like a spirit. Like all of those UFO videos.. Not denying life from outer space don't exist, but every UFO video is fake. Experts can make exact copies of the videos by just make a tiny UFO toy and bind it to a string and wave it in front of the camera then you got yourself a UFO video.

[Lovins]

Ha that actually sounds like a common dream I had when I was little...I'd be walking down a hallway and feel like there was a ghost or something behind me, but if I tried to run from it, it would immediately catch up with me and grab me and carry me away.

[Darth Vader]

Haha i've drome several times and still do, that i'm trying to run away from somethng, but my legs are so heavy i can't even run the same speed i'm walking. I'm sure every people have this dreams.

[Lovins]

Yeah definitely, being a basketball player I was always dreamt of having the ball and about to take the winning shot, with a clear path to the basket, but all of a sudden I couldn't dribble, or run, or even lift the ball. Or similarly, be at a door with some predator chasing me, like a snake or something, and it would be really far away but I'd keep fumbling with the doorknob and could never get through the door in time.

[miss-emily-blomzy]

hehe i Belive or I know too... that ghosts and spirits and angels and even demonds existes!! ^^ And it's cool, funny and scary meny times. But actually it's nothing to be scared of:)^^ eheh

[RWG]

Results as of Nov 12, 2009, 3:42am EST.

Total Votes; 44 (100%)

No belief; 18 votes (40.9%)
Some but very limited; 14 votes (31.8%)
A fair amount; 8 votes (18.1%)
Pretty much everything; 4 votes (9.0%)

rounded within 2% accuracy

Also figured I should copy/paste this... it  happened to me last night and I typed it up to post on the kart and GLB boards.  I'll post it here to see what you guys think.

Tonight I wanted to get to bed "early" (around 2am) because I've slept horribly the past few days (damn people waking me up at 3pm) and I have to do things tomorrow such as put up Christmas lights.

So anyways, I'm there laying in bed. I turn out the lights, put a pillow between my legs and cover myself with 2 flannel sheets, a heavy blanket and a comforter as usual. I heard some sharp knocking noise (a single knock) which I figured happens sometimes in a normal household late at night due to the walls compressing, and I also felt some cold air, but again, this is pretty normal. I shrug it off like it's nothing, even though I do believe it could be something. I figure it's best not to pay these kinds of things attention when they are minuscule, plus like I say, it had an easy "scientific" explanation.

A couple minutes later I felt this vibrating under my bed. I only felt it for very few wave cycles and no, my phone, dildo, gamecube controller or anything else that vibrates was not under my bed. I would have checked later.

Anyways, a few minutes pass and I'm still lying there thinking about hockey and sex and all the good things and all of a sudden I sort of start shaking. It was sort of like an up and down motion which was perpetuated horizontally (because I was laying down) but it felt completely internal. When anything bad is happening, the best thing to do is make a change, so I just lifted my head up and took off the sheets briefly which successfully broke this trance.

I flipped over, lay back down, covered myself again and close my eyes. Only a few minutes later I got this same sensation again. Again, I broke the trance and figured, wow this is weird.

Again I'm not too concerned because this sort of thing has happened to me in the past and I'm still alive, so I try to fall asleep again. A couple minutes later, the weirdest thing happened yet... out of nowhere I experienced what felt like some sort of radio wave being pulsated through my head in one violent shock. I immediately turned on my lamp and got out of bed. I went downstairs to get a coca cola where I found my mother in the kitchen who was really sketched out by me being downstairs at 2:30am. Anyways, she warmed up some tea or something and I came back up here.

So here's my question to you, paranormal skeptics. What is a possible scientific explanation for what happened here? I honestly don't know what happened or how to explain it, so I am hoping for some sort of science expert who can tell me.

Things to note;

-I only got about 5 hours of sleep yesterday so I'm a bit tired
-I have not fallen asleep today and while laying in bed I did not fall asleep at all
-All electronics in my bedroom were turned off... TV, DVD recorder, laptop, boom box

So what do you guys think?

Could any of this have been some sort of act-up with my neurological chemistry? Electromagnetism or anything along these lines?

[Ngamer]

So the believers defeat the skeptics with 59.1% of the vote. Good work, paranormal believers!

[Lovins]

The strangest thing about that story is that you are already about to put up Christmas lights.

[miss-emily-blomzy]

I think it sounds like some spitit/guardian angel is wisitting you of some reason:) maby it is some of your close realtive who has pased away who wants to tell you something:)...here is one idee about what you can do if you darre to fined out who it is: lay down in your bed and relax and consentrate on your self and ask "who is here" or who are you or somthing like that.. in your head. and the first mind you get or felling is the answer on your question:) yeah and i know that your going to feel a little stupid and wierd and maby your not going to belive in the thougth or feeling you get... BUT I promes IT IS THE RIGHT ANSWER EVEN IF IT DOSEN*T FEELS LIKE THAT!....(ryan)

[Darth Vader]

Why do you end with a (Ryan) ?

[miss-emily-blomzy]

so he knows that i am talking to him....beacouse some times i can be very confusing for me....you know i am a girl LOL:P

[Lovins]

Yeah watch out for that spitit that wissits you.

[Scrambler Fanny]

Yeah watch out for that spitit that wissits you.

ROFL!!!!!

[RWG]

WHo is the animated babe on the LEFT of Emily's avatar? SHE IS HOT! I hope it's her lillasyster.

[Scrambler Fanny]

looks like miss blomzy on the right and a version of joanna dark on the left...

[Wyst3r]

Goose:
Since i wasn't there i can't really account as to why you experienced all those things but just because something is unexplained doesn't really mean anything  And from what i can tell nothing impossible occured and wierd stuff happens all the time(for a reason, we just don't know what that is)  Besides, brain can fool us in an unlimited number of ways, even what we see is just an interpetration of the brain. Can't really trust it.