Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Troma · 07-18-2002, 05:55 PM

I saw a ghost today!

No really, I did. It was possibly the creepiest thing I have ever experienced.

This is what happened; as I was waking up I saw a clear outline of a person hovering over me while reaching out for me, I could almost make out a face even. It only lasted a few seconds but the image had time to burn itself into my memory.

Now I'm curious, what actually happened? I know it wasen't an actual ghost. Was it some sort of residue from a dream or something? I'm curious to hear anyones thoughts on this.

Philosoft · 07-18-2002, 06:04 PM

None here that I know of are clairvoyant psychologists, so the objective truth of your experience may well elude us. However, if I was you, I might consider the implications of this:

Quote:

...as I was waking up...

Lots of kooky things can happen, brain-wise, during sleep/wake transitional states. I'd start with <a href="http://www.dreamviews.com/whatislucid.html" target="_blank">lucid dreaming</a> and go from there.

Doubting Didymus · 07-18-2002, 06:07 PM

Dreams impress imiages and sounds onto the sensory perceptors of the brain. It is entirely possible that dreams can last partially into the concious state. It has happened to me on several occasions, but it is usually something so stupid (giant evil toes) that I never bother to think about it afterwards. However, If I really believed in giant evil toes, I would be quite convinced!

When sleep paralysis occurs, however, the brain can be almost fully awake, and the dream imiages still don't switch off. This creates one of the most powerful hallucinations that humans can experience, and can acount for a variety of reported phenomena.

Michael Ledo · 07-18-2002, 06:13 PM

Seen them many times. Stopped drinking. They went away.

trunks2k · 07-18-2002, 08:01 PM

Things like that happen rather often to me when I am in bed, especially as I am waking up. I always see it as my mind mixing my dreams with reality as I wake up. Many times it takes me a while (more than 10 seconds) to figure out if I actually still asleep or not. For example, I was one time dreaming I was at work taking care of a customer (rather mundane dream), I woke up to go to the bathroom as I got up I swore I was at work (my work enviroment was blended in with my room) I told myself "I gotta take care of this cutstomer first", turned around and went back to bed. I then woke up a few seconds later going "what the hell was that?!".

It's funny though, sometimes in the morning I really feel like I can predict the near future (only a few seconds away). Many times in dreams I will realize it is a dream and think to myelf, my alarm is going to go off in a second. I'll then wake up look at my clock and it will be only a few seconds away from going off. And several times I have been laying in bed in the morning and I'll hear the phone ring in the the back of my mind and think "the phone is going to ring in a second" and the next second, is does ring.

But it's probably not that I have any real supernatural ability to foresee the direct future. It is probably due to things like my brain's "internal clock" being aware of when my alarm clock normally goes off so my subconcious is keeping track of time and telling me to get up around the time that my alarm is supposed to go off. I almost always wake up naturally right before my alarm goes off after it's been going off at the same time for some short period of time, probably around 3 days or so. That would be an interesting experiment though, to see if people will begin to naturally wake up at a certain time after being woken up by an alarm at the same time for a period of time. And as far as the phone ringing, the phone ALWAYS wakes me up in the morning several times (stupid sales calls), so saying thinking to myself "the phone is going to ring" isn't really that bad of a guess as to what will happen within the next few minutes.

Troma · 07-18-2002, 08:38 PM

Now that I think about I have had similar experiences while waking up, but usually not creepy like this time.

I guess this might be related to sleepwalking. And speaking of which, sleepwalking was something I use to do as a kid. But I only did while I was sick with a fever.

I use to scare the crap out of my mom... She told me one time while I was sleepwalking I was trying to climb our walls and while doing that I kept repeating; "there are ghosts in the cracks of the walls".

At the time though I was reading alot of spiderman and horror comics. So It's kinda easy to put two and two together on that one

Secular Pinoy · 07-19-2002, 03:54 AM

Lucid dreams, according to the link, is a dream where the person knows he is dreaming. If the person thinks he is not dreaming, or if he is unsure, or if he thinks he is awake but is in fact still asleep, then he might be having hypnogogic or hypnopompic hallucinations, dreams shortly after going to sleep or just before waking. These dreams are said to involve sleep paralysis, feeling of weight on the chest, a seeming presence nearby, and others. Try getting any compilation book by CSICOP / Skeptical Inquirer as they will surely have at least one book detailing hypnogogic and hypnopompic hallucinations.

Or try these misc links:

<a href="http://www.csicop.org/si/9805/abduction.html" target="_blank">http://www.csicop.org/si/9805/abduction.html</a> - Sleep Paralysis (In the context of Alien Abductions)

<a href="http://www.theness.com/articles/hypnagogia-cs0102.html" target="_blank">http://www.theness.com/articles/hypnagogia-cs0102.html</a> - Hypnagogia

<a href="http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~acheyne/S_P2.html" target="_blank">http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~acheyne/S_P2.html</a> - Sleep Paralysis and Associated Hypnagogic and Hypnopompic Experiences

philechat · 07-20-2002, 09:35 AM

I had one. I was a fourth-grader then, first time I went away from my family to a two-week camp. The stress I experienced at that time was extreme: 10 hours of violin a day, got criticized by coaches, beaten up by students, plus I read that collection of horror stories by the name of Holy Bible.

Every night we were allowed to swim. However, the violin practice ended at 9pm every day, and at the time we arrived the swimming pool it was already 10. Waiting for friends while reading the horror stories. Then the 10-minute walk under broken streetlights.

But the ghosts were not among the dark streets where we usually were told. And the last 3 or 4 days at the indoor swimming pool I swam peacefully, ignoring the other students who always looked to me for trouble. But I was unaware when they ditched me. I swam concentrating on my breathes and strokes, until I hit on a rock-hard object.

When I stood up trying to apologize I discovered that the person had bamboo-like arms and legs, and a head-sized lump on his right shoulder. He wore a black bathing shorts. And he ignored me. I decided to leave him alone when such vision appeared:

There were two swimming pools, one for children and one for adult. And both pools were surrounded by people who looked exactly like him, wearing the same exact bathing shorts. They were all quiet, legs dangling idly in the turquoise-colored water. And moreover, all the "normal" members of the swimming pool were absent. I decided to leave the scene alone and return to my bedroom--immediately.

[ July 20, 2002: Message edited by: philechat ]</p>

punta · 07-22-2002, 02:09 AM

[punta takes off cynical hat]I had a similar experience awakening from nightmares to see a shadow standing over me. it radiated pure malevolence. I yelled "fuck off!" at it and it slowly seemed to dissipate.

I've encountered this same shadow thing previously as well (always upon awakening from nightmares which would seem to support the sleep paralysis theory).

the creepy part about that time is my roomie down the hall said she thought she heard me yell "fuck off!" took a peek into the hall and thought she glimpsed a "shape" outside my door.

I've always assumed this shadow experience to be some hyper-realistic dream state, and I wouldn't expect anyone to believe it unless they've experienced it, but my roommates corraboration I can't explain to my satisfaction.[/punta replaces cynical hat]

must've been the cheese you ate. sleep paralysis can be a mofo.

abe smith · 07-22-2002, 04:51 AM

At Bareneed alone, the winter of 50-51, one night up in the back bedroom, (must've not blown-out the lamp yet), I was lying awake in bed; a Presence (invisible ) stood in the doorway & announced "HEL-lo! I'm your Grandmother." I said "No, you're NAWT! Go away!" , blew out the lamp & went to sleep. (And it went away, presumably.) In the 50-some years since then I've occasionally regretted that I didn't invite It in; altho I was then & am certain now that It wasn"t Grandma B****. Another (real) funny event also at the Bareneed house; our kinsman (we hadn't met yet) Can'n Richards (then in his 80s) came to the door; and when I opened to him, he asked first-off, w/ some ado, If I believe(d) in ghosts? I said No, & invited him in. Afterwards, as I got older & more resemblant to my foregoers, I assumed he took me for my Grandma , younger.... The familial visible strain is strong; at our Mom's wake, a stranger came up to the bier; I said " I recognize you as a B****, altho I've never seen you before,,," Interesting. Maybe we should have a topic here at EyeEye about apparitions? W/ one other exception, those are my only experiences, apart from dreams, wh I don't count here. Abe

07-18-2002, 05:55 PM	#1
Troma Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: USA Posts: 24	I saw something... I saw a ghost today! No really, I did. It was possibly the creepiest thing I have ever experienced. This is what happened; as I was waking up I saw a clear outline of a person hovering over me while reaching out for me, I could almost make out a face even. It only lasted a few seconds but the image had time to burn itself into my memory. Now I'm curious, what actually happened? I know it wasen't an actual ghost. Was it some sort of residue from a dream or something? I'm curious to hear anyones thoughts on this.

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07-18-2002, 06:07 PM	#3
Doubting Didymus Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: East Coast. Australia. Posts: 5,455	Dreams impress imiages and sounds onto the sensory perceptors of the brain. It is entirely possible that dreams can last partially into the concious state. It has happened to me on several occasions, but it is usually something so stupid (giant evil toes) that I never bother to think about it afterwards. However, If I really believed in giant evil toes, I would be quite convinced! When sleep paralysis occurs, however, the brain can be almost fully awake, and the dream imiages still don't switch off. This creates one of the most powerful hallucinations that humans can experience, and can acount for a variety of reported phenomena.

07-18-2002, 06:13 PM	#4
Michael Ledo Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: SC Posts: 49	Seen them many times. Stopped drinking. They went away.

07-18-2002, 08:01 PM	#5
trunks2k Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 6,997	Things like that happen rather often to me when I am in bed, especially as I am waking up. I always see it as my mind mixing my dreams with reality as I wake up. Many times it takes me a while (more than 10 seconds) to figure out if I actually still asleep or not. For example, I was one time dreaming I was at work taking care of a customer (rather mundane dream), I woke up to go to the bathroom as I got up I swore I was at work (my work enviroment was blended in with my room) I told myself "I gotta take care of this cutstomer first", turned around and went back to bed. I then woke up a few seconds later going "what the hell was that?!". It's funny though, sometimes in the morning I really feel like I can predict the near future (only a few seconds away). Many times in dreams I will realize it is a dream and think to myelf, my alarm is going to go off in a second. I'll then wake up look at my clock and it will be only a few seconds away from going off. And several times I have been laying in bed in the morning and I'll hear the phone ring in the the back of my mind and think "the phone is going to ring in a second" and the next second, is does ring. But it's probably not that I have any real supernatural ability to foresee the direct future. It is probably due to things like my brain's "internal clock" being aware of when my alarm clock normally goes off so my subconcious is keeping track of time and telling me to get up around the time that my alarm is supposed to go off. I almost always wake up naturally right before my alarm goes off after it's been going off at the same time for some short period of time, probably around 3 days or so. That would be an interesting experiment though, to see if people will begin to naturally wake up at a certain time after being woken up by an alarm at the same time for a period of time. And as far as the phone ringing, the phone ALWAYS wakes me up in the morning several times (stupid sales calls), so saying thinking to myself "the phone is going to ring" isn't really that bad of a guess as to what will happen within the next few minutes.

07-18-2002, 08:38 PM	#6
Troma Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: USA Posts: 24	Now that I think about I have had similar experiences while waking up, but usually not creepy like this time. I guess this might be related to sleepwalking. And speaking of which, sleepwalking was something I use to do as a kid. But I only did while I was sick with a fever. I use to scare the crap out of my mom... She told me one time while I was sleepwalking I was trying to climb our walls and while doing that I kept repeating; "there are ghosts in the cracks of the walls". At the time though I was reading alot of spiderman and horror comics. So It's kinda easy to put two and two together on that one

07-19-2002, 03:54 AM	#7
Secular Pinoy Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Quezon City, Philippines Posts: 1,994	Lucid dreams, according to the link, is a dream where the person knows he is dreaming. If the person thinks he is not dreaming, or if he is unsure, or if he thinks he is awake but is in fact still asleep, then he might be having hypnogogic or hypnopompic hallucinations, dreams shortly after going to sleep or just before waking. These dreams are said to involve sleep paralysis, feeling of weight on the chest, a seeming presence nearby, and others. Try getting any compilation book by CSICOP / Skeptical Inquirer as they will surely have at least one book detailing hypnogogic and hypnopompic hallucinations. Or try these misc links: <a href="http://www.csicop.org/si/9805/abduction.html" target="_blank">http://www.csicop.org/si/9805/abduction.html</a> - Sleep Paralysis (In the context of Alien Abductions) <a href="http://www.theness.com/articles/hypnagogia-cs0102.html" target="_blank">http://www.theness.com/articles/hypnagogia-cs0102.html</a> - Hypnagogia <a href="http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~acheyne/S_P2.html" target="_blank">http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~acheyne/S_P2.html</a> - Sleep Paralysis and Associated Hypnagogic and Hypnopompic Experiences

07-20-2002, 09:35 AM	#8
philechat Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Mind of the Other Posts: 886	I had one. I was a fourth-grader then, first time I went away from my family to a two-week camp. The stress I experienced at that time was extreme: 10 hours of violin a day, got criticized by coaches, beaten up by students, plus I read that collection of horror stories by the name of Holy Bible. Every night we were allowed to swim. However, the violin practice ended at 9pm every day, and at the time we arrived the swimming pool it was already 10. Waiting for friends while reading the horror stories. Then the 10-minute walk under broken streetlights. But the ghosts were not among the dark streets where we usually were told. And the last 3 or 4 days at the indoor swimming pool I swam peacefully, ignoring the other students who always looked to me for trouble. But I was unaware when they ditched me. I swam concentrating on my breathes and strokes, until I hit on a rock-hard object. When I stood up trying to apologize I discovered that the person had bamboo-like arms and legs, and a head-sized lump on his right shoulder. He wore a black bathing shorts. And he ignored me. I decided to leave him alone when such vision appeared: There were two swimming pools, one for children and one for adult. And both pools were surrounded by people who looked exactly like him, wearing the same exact bathing shorts. They were all quiet, legs dangling idly in the turquoise-colored water. And moreover, all the "normal" members of the swimming pool were absent. I decided to leave the scene alone and return to my bedroom--immediately. [ July 20, 2002: Message edited by: philechat ]</p>

07-22-2002, 02:09 AM	#9
punta Regular Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Can-a-duh! Posts: 148	[punta takes off cynical hat]I had a similar experience awakening from nightmares to see a shadow standing over me. it radiated pure malevolence. I yelled "fuck off!" at it and it slowly seemed to dissipate. I've encountered this same shadow thing previously as well (always upon awakening from nightmares which would seem to support the sleep paralysis theory). the creepy part about that time is my roomie down the hall said she thought she heard me yell "fuck off!" took a peek into the hall and thought she glimpsed a "shape" outside my door. I've always assumed this shadow experience to be some hyper-realistic dream state, and I wouldn't expect anyone to believe it unless they've experienced it, but my roommates corraboration I can't explain to my satisfaction.[/punta replaces cynical hat] must've been the cheese you ate. sleep paralysis can be a mofo.

07-22-2002, 04:51 AM	#10
abe smith Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: springfield, MA. USA Posts: 2,482	At Bareneed alone, the winter of 50-51, one night up in the back bedroom, (must've not blown-out the lamp yet), I was lying awake in bed; a Presence (invisible ) stood in the doorway & announced "HEL-lo! I'm your Grandmother." I said "No, you're NAWT! Go away!" , blew out the lamp & went to sleep. (And it went away, presumably.) In the 50-some years since then I've occasionally regretted that I didn't invite It in; altho I was then & am certain now that It wasn"t Grandma B**. Another (real) funny event also at the Bareneed house; our kinsman (we hadn't met yet) Can'n Richards (then in his 80s) came to the door; and when I opened to him, he asked first-off, w/ some ado, If I believe(d) in ghosts? I said No, & invited him in. Afterwards, as I got older & more resemblant to my foregoers, I assumed he took me for my Grandma , younger.... The familial visible strain is strong; at our Mom's wake, a stranger came up to the bier; I said " I recognize you as a B**, altho I've never seen you before,,," Interesting. Maybe we should have a topic here at EyeEye about apparitions? W/ one other exception, those are my only experiences, apart from dreams, wh I don't count here. Abe

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