Something I "stumbled" upon

I was on the website stumble upon, and this was brought up. I thought it was pretty interesting so I decided to share it with everyone. Its on the the most haunted cities. Enjoy!

10 Most Haunted Cities

Science Says...

An article published in the BBC News on May 21, 2003, based on experiments conducted by Dr. Richard Wiseman, concludes that ghosts are products of our minds reaction to certain surroundings. Wiseman took hundreds of volunteers to the most haunted places in the UK, Hampton Court Palace, England, and the South Bridge Vaults in Edinburgh, Scotland. Volunteers were asked to record their experience and then mark on a floor plan where they felt the most "haunted." In a normal place, one would assume that the markings would be all over the place but it is expected of haunted places that certain areas should have more prominent paranormal experiences. The results proved exactly this; people often marked the same areas of where they felt a "presence." Researchers concluded that hauntings are real. People do feel more "spooked" in certain areas more than others BUT this does not mean hauntings are caused by ghosts. "People do have consistent experiences in consistent places, but I think that this is driven by visual factors mainly, and perhaps some other environmental cues," Wiseman said. As he measured the light, room space, and temperature in each place, Wiseman felt that the places gave off erie feelings which produced the sensation of being haunted, without the ghosts. What about mediums who can sense spirits in areas they have never been? Wiseman says that these people could simply be more sensitive to the environmental cues that create the feelings of being haunted. 


This makes me think of a so-called haunted prison by my house. Many of my friends have gone and told me it is "SO FREAKY" but thinking back it could be freaky because its a dark, gloomy, run down prison that's made to look scary because people are trying to make money off the tours.... not because it is infested with ghosts. 

Spiritualism

Confession: I haven't been to church since the 4th grade. So it's safe to say I don't consider myself a very religious person. Before I dive into religion, and the different theories of afterlife, please do not think I am attempting to persuade or offend. I am simply researching and explaining various religious views of paranormal activity. 

spir·it·u·al·ism

–noun: the belief or doctrine that the spirits of the dead, surviving after the mortal life, can and do communicate with the living, especially through a person (a medium) particularly susceptible to their influence.

Spiritualism is a religion (an apparently unknown, since I have not heard of it before 20 minutes ago) in which followers believe in God, but put an emphases on the belief that spirits are able to communicate with the living. They believe that all people posses the power to communicate with the dead, through study and practice. Spiritualism was a religious fad during the 1840s to 1920s. At its peak, it is said that 8 million people were practicing Spiritualism. During this stage, there was no formal organization or texts. It was just mediums traveling and holding trance lectures or camp meetings. When people realized that half the leaders or mediums were compete BS, the religion began to lose followers and fade away. Today, Spiritualism is practiced across the world in a more formal matter. There are sectors of Spiritualism, just like any other religion, but they are each founded on certain common grounds. 

1. The belief in spirit communication

2. The belief that the soul continues to exist after the human body dies

3. After death a soul can still lean to improve itself -- this belief links to the belief that the afterlife includes many levels in which spirits can advance to as they evolve, and that morals in the afterlife do exist. 

4. A belief in God ( or what they call Infinite Intelligence) 

I think this religion is a beautiful view to afterlife. Portraying spirits as moral beings, continuously growing and leaning as humans do while looking for a chance to communicate with those who still live. Yet, in order to believe you would need to posses a strong belief in mediums, which is hard for many. Including myself. But I guess that's a part of what religion is, putting faith into the unknown. I mean hey, we have half the country going for the whole Eve taking one bite of an apple and ruining the world story. And Moses parting a whole ocean. After comparing with those beliefs, communicating with the dead is starting to sound pretty darn believable. 

Spiritualism in comparison to other religions:

Christianity: Both religions share the same basis of moral right and wrong, but Spiritualism does not include a belief in Heaven or Hell, but just various levels. As Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross to save our sins, Spiritualism says that each individual is responsible for their life actions as they enter into the afterlife. 

Judaism: The Jewish religion is not a fan of Spiritualism. It is even written to Moses from God: "I will set my face against the person who turns to Mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people." (Leviticus 20:6)

Islam: Islam and Spiritualism have intertwined views of afterlife, Islam believes the communication with spirits as possible and that "good spirits" would be on a higher plane. 

Hinduism: Like Spiritualism, Hinduism states that the spirit carries on after death. Although Hinduism's main focus is reincarnation, followers do believe ghosts to exist when a person has an untimely death. In this case, the person would take the form of a ghost until the time of their natural death, and then enter into reincarnation. 

Say Cheese! Ghosts on Camera

I've got to stop doing these assignments late at night...

While surfing the web for information on ghosts, it is hard to find a credible source. Many people claim to have been haunted by a ghost, or visited by a spirit. But ad mist all the exaggerated stories, real life documentation of ghosts is very compelling. Here are some pictures of spirits captured on camera. 

1. "Girl on the gravestone": This is a very famous one, having been printed in both the Chicago Sun-Times  and the National Examiner. It was taken on August 10, 1991 by a group of GRS members. The girl's outfit is old fashioned and parts of her body appear to be transparent. The team members were the only people in the cemetery. 

2. "Confederate Ghost": Notice the figure in the upper right corner. This photo was taken at the Confederate Cemetery in Franklin, Tennessee. The closer you look, the more this figure seems to be a man in a Confederate uniform. Nothing out of the ordinary was seen on this day. 

3. "Old Lady In the WIndow": Taken by the son of the man working on the roof, the image of an old women showed up in the photo. The owner of the house, an elderly women, had passed away three months before. The new owners had hired them roofers to fix the roof, and no one was in the house at the time the picture was taken. 

4. "Red Spectre in the forest": Looking to take pictures of nature, the photographer set out in the forest. The red image is the shape of a human being. The sunlight could not have caused this effect. 

5. "Hampton Court Ghost": This photo was captured by the security system of the Hampton Court Palace in England. The palace was built in 1525 and was one of the homes of King Henry VIII. This photo was printed in the Chicago Sun-Times in 2003. The ghost of Jane Seymour has been notorious for haunting Hampton Court, due to her death there while she was in childbirth. 

Reality Shows on Paranormal Activity

Now that reality TV shows cover everything from making extravagant cakes, winning a chance to have plastic surgery, and self proclaimed "guidos" fist-pumping in the Jersey Shore, reality shows about Paranormal activity seem almost normal in comparison. Although a reality show on paranormal activity, something that is not even labeled "reality" to most people, may conjure up an image of a team of people in Ghost buster outfits and pop familiar lyrics into your head..."There's something weird, and it don't look good. Who you gonna call?..." documenting the lives of people who work to communicate with, or even expel, paranormal activity is quite fascinating, and will give a little faith to skeptics. Here are some of the best paranormal activity-documenting-reality shows out there. But just a warning, they won't be covered with green goo. 

1. Psychic Kids: A&E TV

It's the image of a child's face, scared and shaking, as he whispers the infamous words "I see dead people." Although the kids on "psychic kids" may find deja vu in the movie The Sixth Sense, they're not getting beat up by ghosts or finding horribly disfigured dead people everywhere they go. Complaints of seeing unknown people by their bed at night, or when they closed their eyes, made their parents aware that their children had a gift. Or possibly a curse. Regardless, a team of experts comes to their home (with a camera crew capturing each moment), learns their story, and helps them to harness their abilities. This special team is made up of therapists, acclaimed psychics, researchers, and people who were once "psychic kids" themselves. In the end, the child realizes that he/she is not alone in the world.. cue heartfelt moment soundtrack... and finds a way to utilize their abilities. The most poignant part of this show lays within the title itself, these are kids. Not con-men mediums and psychics making to make a buck. They are innocent, and upset about their powers, not looking to utilize them for their own profit. It would make any Nay-Sayers of potential communication with the dead reevaluate their opinion. 

2. America's Psychic Challenge: Lifetime 

This show will not blow your mind, but it is very entertaining. A bunch of misfits, who label themselves psychics and mediums, come together to compete against each other so one may be named the winner. Their challenges include things such as searching for one man within an empty hospital, completing a reading for someone that they know nothing about, and walking into a place where a murder happened and being able to recite exact details. This show is about as fake as "The Hills" (... Spencer wasn't wearing those shoes a minute ago) but the entertainment levels are high enough to keep the seasons coming. 

3. Paranormal State: A&E TV

Warning: Do not watch late at night, while home alone. (Learned from past experiences) This one is creepy. Led by Paranormal Research Society Founder Ryan Buell, along with his investigating team, this shows records the team going into peoples homes and building that have reported paranormal activity. This is the closest you'll get to real life ghost busters. According to the website, past cases have included "a couple besieged by paranormal activity in their home, an aggressive poltergeist in Maryland, and a ghostly has nicknamed "Lady Vampire" by the Texas family she torments." These ghosts most definitely are not named Casper The Friendly Ghost, this show is dealing with much darker spirits. When the victims of this unwanted paranormal activity call the team, they come in and with the use of Electronic Voice Phenomena recordings and video documentations hope to 'solve' the case. With video recordings of the team members inside haunted areas, describing their feelings and the sounds around them, this one is sure to give you goosebumps. search Society founder Ryan Buell and his team of investigators

What They Say...

They say that ghosts are creations conjured up to create fear. They say that the noises people hear in "haunted houses" are all in their heads, that the shadows of people captured on film are mist or a blotch on the picture, and mediums are con-men looking to make money off grieving people through fake readings. Most people have trouble believing in afterlife, not to mention spirits on earth communicating with the living. Without testable, feasible, and tangible evidence that spirits exist, or that communicating with them is possible, they may never accept their possible presence. Only those not grounded to earth, who believe in the unbeliveable, and accept the oddities in life, will find the ability to believe in paranormal presence and communication. 

Writing Analytically: Exercise # 1

http://media.www.thetriangle.org/media/storage/paper689/news/2004/10/29/SciTech/Psychics.Fake.Spirit.Mediums.Actually.Money.Monkeys-786327.shtml

This is an opinion piece written for Drexel University's student newspaper. The author, Aaron Sakulich, was a Drexel senior majoring in material science when he wrote this article in 2004. The article, titled "Psychics fake spirit mediums, actually money monkeys," criticized famous mediums such as John Edwards for using grieving families to make millions. The most compelling pieces of evidence he presented was when he gave how-to steps for being a medium, making it seem like a ridiculously simple scam. Sakulich mocked Edward's show by pointing out how he chooses a month or an object that the deceased is "showing him." Yet, these general things will mean something to everyone. It is obvious what the author wants his readers to believe; he wants them to doubt the abilities of psychic mediums and the presence of afterlife. But what are his reasonings for all this doubt? Why did is fill him with enough anger to publish 700 words of disagreement? The author is obviously concerned with mediums' profit off of people who are innocent and willing to pay for answers, but his disapproval is intense. Sakulich was a material science major at this time, and therefore unable to accept occurrences that have yet to be proven by science. His true motive may be his lack of religious beliefs and the need to disprove the beliefs of others.