Welcome to part 6 of TMGM: Ghosts! @downwithwritersblock and I have teamed up to bring you this next spooky instalment. As always, this is meant to be a quick overview and not a super specific in-depth guide! There is a lot of ground to cover on ghosts.
Definition: A ghost is the spirit of a living being that gets left behind or trapped on, or in between the mortal plane. They often haunt either the place they died in, where their body was buried, or where they spent most of their time when they were alive. Can be good, bad or neutral.
Description: Ghosts manifest in different ways, depending on their strength. Most often they appear in the mortal plane in the form of energy, looking much like a ball of light or mist. Sometimes you might get more of a shadow like figure. If a ghost has more power or energy, they might be able to fully manifest, where they essentially look like a transparent, or hazy version of their living selves. Sometimes, though it is a bit rarer and never captured on film, people often do report seeing ghosts so clearly they look theyâre alive.
Abilities: Ghosts donât really have abilities, but more traits (that vary depending on the spirit)
Though most ghosts cannot be seen by the common human eye, they are more likely to be caught through technology. However, even that is not always easy.
It is said that ghosts can absorb the energy around them to help fuel their power, which is most likely why in haunted environments, people feel drained and tired and things like phones, flashlights, and computers will suddenly lose all battery life.
Some ghosts might be able to physically manifest in the living world so that humans can see or hear them.
If a ghost is strong enough, they might be able to interact with objects and people in the living world like a poltergeist). Iâll talk more about this later.
Ghosts are said to be capable of possessing a living being, and communicating through them.
Some people believe that ghosts can communicate with the living through dreams.
A medium is a common title for a living human being who is capable of seeing and communicating with spirits. While they donât have power of ghosts, they claim to be able to communicate with them. Mediums come in a variety. You might have a medium who can only sense a ghostâs presence, one who can only hear them, one who can only see, one who can hear and see, or one who only sees the ghosts in dreams or under certain circumstances, or any combination of any number of these things.
Ouija boards is a board game that supposedly allows the living to communicate with the dead. Down With Writerâs Block sees the Ouija board as nothing more than an entertaining parlor game that has been twisted into something evil. For others, the board holds much more power. Many believe that it is a portal or door into the spirit realm, and will allow hostile spirits or demons access to the living plain, and possibly into your own body. Before playing with an Oujia Board, I highly suggest looking up, and carefully following all the rules and cautions. You know. Just in case.
Cameras. Ghosts usually are not seen by the human eye. They are much more likely to be caught on camera. Professional ghost hunters use all sorts of fancy equipment. They have recorders, night vision cameras, heat vision cameras, motion capture monitors and a ton of other things I donât know the name of. Thatâs all great to have, but a good old fashioned still photo is still capable of capturing a ghost on film.
Audio devices. Professional ghost hunters again usually have more expensive, high-tech stuff, like âspirit boxesâ which are devices that apparently make it easier for a ghost to communicate. Traditional handheld recorders, or even a recording device on a phone or laptop could be used.
Religious symbolism like sacred scripture from the bible, crucifixes, rosaries, salt, certain charms or symbols and holy water are all said to ward off spirits or the possessed.
Priests (usually specialized ones), other religious/mystic figures might be capable of cleansing spirits from an environment or from the body of a living human. The removal of a spirit is often called an exorcism.
Good Spirits: These ghosts are usually spirits who, regardless of how they died, stick around in the afterlife to help guide and look out for their loved ones. These ghosts usually appear as solid manifestations, or more misty like figures.
Neutral Spirits: These ghosts are usually, but not always, unaware that they are dead. Theyâre stuck in a sort of purgatory, moving about their space as if they are still alive.
Evil Spirits: Ghosts who lived a tragic life, or died a painful death and have stuck around in the afterlife, dwelling on their negative emotions. Evil spirits are typically fueled by hate, anger, jealousy, envy or fear. These ghosts are often seen as shadow figures. And often if they fully manifest, they are shown in the manner in which they died. Evil spirits are thought to be the more powerful, or at least the most active spirits. They often cause problems, and negative emotions or experiences for living creatures that enter their environment.
Poltergeist: Meaning âNoisy Ghostâ, a Poltergeist is a type of haunting where the ghost is powerful enough to interact with objects and people. Think Peeves from Harry Potter, though some are much more malicious. Some signs of a poltergeist include:
-Loud unexplained banging sounds
-The movement or breaking of objects
-The levitation of objects
-Unexplained knocking sounds (three knocks in a row is said to be a mocking of the holy trinity, which signifies a demonic spirit)
-Pinching, biting, scratching, tripping, pushing and shoving living beings
Practically every culture around the world has its own version of the ghost, and has different descriptions and meanings for them. As much as I want to include some famous ghost stories from around the world, I am afraid it would make this post far too long.
Iâve got something else though thatâs much shorter and quicker.
Infamous haunted locations around the world (also known as DownWithWritersblocksâ dream vacation list *cough cough*). Obviously there are many, many, many more around the world, but for sake of simplicity and the length of this post, I edited the list down to 20 locations around the world with a rich history and some of the most infamous hauntings:
1. Ancient Ram Inn in Wotton-under-Edge, England
2. The Queen Mary in Long Beach, California
3. The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, Massachusetts
4. Casa Loma in Toronto, Canada
5. The Stanley Hotel (aka the hotel from Stephen Kingâs âThe Shiningâ) in Estes Park, Colorado
6. The Tower of London in London, England
7. Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana
8. The Haunted Vicarage in Borgvattnet, Sweden
9. The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose California
10. The Driskill Hotel in Austin, Texas
11. Akershus Festning, Norway
12. Â The Catacombs of Paris, France
13. Hoia Baciu Forest in Cluj-Napoca, Romania
14. Gettysburg Battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
15. Corvin Castle in Hunedoara, Transylvania
16. Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Â
17. Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town, South Africa
18. Hell Fire Club in Montpelier, Ireland
19. Alcatraz in San Francisco, California
20. Bhangarh Fort in India
Ghosts in Media (again, a very long list, but narrowed down for by popularity and diversity):
The Conjuring (Movie, 2013)
Paranormal Activity (Movie, 2007)
Beetlejuice (Movie, 1988)
The Shining (Movie, 1980/ Novel by Stephen King)
Ghostbusters (Movie, 1984)
Poltergeist (Movie, 1982)
The House on Haunted Hill (Movie, 1999/ Novel by Shirley Jackson)
The Amityville Horror (Movie, 1979)
The Exorcist (Movie, 1973)
Ghost Adventures (TV series, since 2008)
Ghost Whisperer (TV Series 2005-2010)
Celebrity Ghost Stories (TV Series 2009-2014)
A Haunting (TV Series since 2005)
A Christmas Carol (Novel by Charles Dickens)
Ghost Story (Novel by Peter Straub)
Heart-Shaped Box (Novel by Joe Hill)
Pet Sematary ( Novel by Stephen King)
The Women in Black (Novel by Susan Hill/ Movie 2012)
The Lovely Bones (Novel by Alice Sebold/ Movie 2009)
Wuthering Heights (Novel by Emily Bronte)
The Canterville Ghost (Novel by Oscar Wilde)
The Woman in White (Novel by Wilkie Collins)
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Novel by Washington Irving)
Thereâs also the Youtube series Buzzfeed Unsolved, in which co-hosts Shane and Ryan visit supposedly haunted places and their pasts.
(Note: they donât only do paranormal events, they also cover murders and the like. Highly entertaining series)
âAlright. The Ouija Board thing is starting to weird me out. There has to be an easier way to talk to you.â
âI thought we agreed; no hauntings until after I have had my morning coffee.â
âIf you think Ouija Boards are scary, you should see a ghost try to use an Etch A Sketch.â
âIm sorry. I know you probably hear that a lot, but I really am sorry. You donât deserve this.â
âI better end up on âBuzzfeed Unsolvedâ for this goddammit.â
âIt feels like.. It feels like being stuck on the other side of a one-way mirror. I can see everything thatâs going on. I can see my family⊠my friends⊠I can see them crying⊠I can hear them talking about me⊠but thereâs nothing I can do about it. I canât comfort them. I canât help them. They canât see me. They canât feel me. They canât hear me. I canât do anything for them, but stand by and watch them suffer without me.â
âI used to hear people describe ghosts as being in purgatory, trapped in between the living and the dead. But this? This isnât purgatory. This is hell.â
âNo. No, I canât move on. Not until I finish what I startedâ
âDoes it count as a poltergeist if all it does is help me with my chores?â
âIf youâre smart, if you value your sanity and your life, then I suggest  you turn around and walk out of this house right now, and donât ever look back. Because this house doesnât belong to you anymore.â
