50 replies to this topic

[tendo]

Hey everyone, I've been a member for a long time, but life kicked in and I haven't been here in years. It's great to be back. Anyway: My girlfriend doesn't believe in the supernatural at all. She's never experienced it herself, and any evidence she's seen has been quite easily faked or explained. Does anyone have any real, convincing evidence? A good picture, a good video, a good sound clip (though those are very easily faked), or, the very best, a study, experiment, or observation recorded and or documented by a real, official group, organization, association, government body, etc. (as long as it isn't something like 'the official paranormal institute of ghosts 'n' ****' or something). We went through the entire image gallery on UM and she was not convinced. However, do NOT be discouraged to post some evidence because you don't think it's good enough or official enough. Just post it. Whatever it is will be at least worth checking out. I know this community will back me up with some good stuff. Thank you all!

[Brian Topp]

Welcome to this forum, I have not seen any, any evidence that has stood out, it's either human, machine error or faked

[AsteroidX]

technology can replicate any effect nowadays so proof positive is impossible. Your going to have to live off your own experiences and choose to believe or not what others say.

[tendo]

Brian Topp, on 24 January 2013 - 05:35 AM, said:

Welcome to this forum, I have not seen any, any evidence that has stood out, it's either human, machine error or faked

Yeah, that's the trouble I've been running in to. Forever.

AsteroidX, on 24 January 2013 - 05:36 AM, said:

technology can replicate any effect nowadays so proof positive is impossible. Your going to have to live off your own experiences and choose to believe or not what others say.

That's very true. You're absolutely right. I'm not trying to convince her to believe, however, I'm just trying to show her that some things can't completely be explained, and that there may be even a small chance that some of this is possibly real. Right now she doesn't believe any of it has a snowball's chance of being remotely possible.

[Chrlzs]

Have you considered the vanishingly small possibility that .. she might be right.. ?

[AsteroidX]

Tryijng to "convince" someone is not the best way to go about things IMO. If youve told her once then youve said all that needs to be said. If you dont believe me visit the political section someday.

[tendo]

I have considered that, and I totally understand why she wouldn't believe it, but it is how she gives it a zero chance of a possibility that is getting me. I believe maybe 1%, if that, of what is out there as far as stories and evidence go, but sometimes, some things happen that cannot be explained, and aren't made up; that is all I'm trying to get her to admit. I have personally experienced paranormal activity (not the movie), and on much more than one occasion, some of which I'm able to explain away, even loosely, some of which cannot be explained at all, hence my belief in the possibility. I'm not saying that what I experienced was true paranormal stuff, just that -it is possible that it was. I'm a very scientific, skeptically-minded person, so I've always looked for the rational side of things before I jump to an unlikely conclusion.

As far as politics, that's a little different, because that's generally both sides digging their heels in stubbornly and closed-mindedly, yelling at the other person to feel and think how they do, refusing to even give the other side an option. She is incredibly open minded when it comes to a lot of things spiritually (agnostic) and politically; to the point where, since we've been together, some of her somewhat more core ideals have been changed and questioned just because she came across respectable evidence. I'm not asking for a miracle.

[AsteroidX]

Not to derail your topic or change the subject but many of the eastern philosophies and religions explain this in detail when they talk about the cycle of rebirth. In a nutshell with each rebirth you gain or lose enlightenment and ones goal is to attain "Nirvana" or complete enlightenment.

Thats not so much paranormal but explains why some people are "unaware" or "unwilling" to accept certain things.

So yeah your talking about something real but its not necessarily something that one can change. Some people can be awakened if they are able. Some cannot.

To me it sounds like your gf is still stuck in a "physical" existence and not open to what else may be out there. Best to just keep it to yourself as gf's will change many times in a lifetime and its not worth the frustration of trying to change anothers lot if there not open to it.

Or I could be full of bs. Ill leave that up to you to decide.

[tendo]

AsteroidX, on 24 January 2013 - 10:58 AM, said:

Not to derail your topic or change the subject but many of the eastern philosophies and religions explain this in detail when they talk about the cycle of rebirth. In a nutshell with each rebirth you gain or lose enlightenment and ones goal is to attain "Nirvana" or complete enlightenment.

Thats not so much paranormal but explains why some people are "unaware" or "unwilling" to accept certain things.

So yeah your talking about something real but its not necessarily something that one can change. Some people can be awakened if they are able. Some cannot.

To me it sounds like your gf is still stuck in a "physical" existence and not open to what else may be out there. Best to just keep it to yourself as gf's will change many times in a lifetime and its not worth the frustration of trying to change anothers lot if there not open to it.

Or I could be full of bs. Ill leave that up to you to decide.

This was a great answer. I personally am Christian, but also accept truth in many other religions (Christianity itself, up until the 6th century, I believe, held within it an acceptance toward reincarnation of sorts) and Jesus himself mastered six other religions in the eastern world between the ages of ~15 to ~30, the years missing in today's New Testament. This is a very wise answer, and very helpful, actually, in how some people, even when given great evidence of things, are so unaccepting of paranormal or supernatural things. Thank you so much for your input!

[Sweetpumper]

You won't find evidence on the internet.

[Rafterman]

tendo, on 24 January 2013 - 03:27 AM, said:

Hey everyone, I've been a member for a long time, but life kicked in and I haven't been here in years. It's great to be back. Anyway: My girlfriend doesn't believe in the supernatural at all. She's never experienced it herself, and any evidence she's seen has been quite easily faked or explained. Does anyone have any real, convincing evidence? A good picture, a good video, a good sound clip (though those are very easily faked), or, the very best, a study, experiment, or observation recorded and or documented by a real, official group, organization, association, government body, etc. (as long as it isn't something like 'the official paranormal institute of ghosts 'n' ****' or something). We went through the entire image gallery on UM and she was not convinced. However, do NOT be discouraged to post some evidence because you don't think it's good enough or official enough. Just post it. Whatever it is will be at least worth checking out. I know this community will back me up with some good stuff. Thank you all!

You and everybody else buddy.

[tendo]

Sweetpumper, on 24 January 2013 - 06:21 PM, said:

You won't find evidence on the internet.

This is my biggest concern, haha. Ironically enough, she's too afraid to go somewhere that is supposedly haunted and look for evidence with me. She doesn't believe in it, but she knows her imagination will go wild, and she is easily spooked by scary movies and video games, so unless I go somewhere and record something myself, I have no way of gathering any evidence. There are a few places locally I can go, like Katie's church which is relatively local, however the origin stories and claims vary wildly, and a few places near philly, but they're several hours away. There is also a local spot which has the stereotypical "teens on prom night drowned and at night you can hear the screams" story behind it. I don't want to go alone, however, and very few of my friends would even be willing to go. I do plan on making a trip to Katie's church in the near future, however, so I may just have to wait until I do this to have any evidence for or against anything. If I find anything on this trip, I will let you all know.

[scowl]

Don't forget that if something scary happens, that doesn't mean it was a paranormal event. The reason people go to "haunted" places is to have their senses heightened to noises and sights that we would normally ignore in more familiar settings.

For example if you want to know all the scary noises your house makes during the night, have someone burglarize it! You'll be up all night hearing things you used to ignore.

[tendo]

scowl, on 24 January 2013 - 08:03 PM, said:

Don't forget that if something scary happens, that doesn't mean it was a paranormal event. The reason people go to "haunted" places is to have their senses heightened to noises and sights that we would normally ignore in more familiar settings.

For example if you want to know all the scary noises your house makes during the night, have someone burglarize it! You'll be up all night hearing things you used to ignore.

Yes, this I know. I'm not one to jump to conclusions, and I try to logically look at every experience I have. My goal when I go to Katy's church is actually to debunk it. The stories of how the hauntings occur are very different from one another, and the girl who it is based on lived a full life and died of old age; she did not hang herself as the legend suggests. However, hundreds of people claim to have seen and heard very bizarre things there. I want to see if there is anything at all to these stories, and show people that a: the origin stories aren't actually true, and b: that there is probably nothing to the legends other than crazy imaginations, but I do accept that there may be some sort of activity there, so I'd like to clearly document it.

[EllJay]

tendo, on 24 January 2013 - 03:27 AM, said:

Looking for CONVINCING evidence of ghosts

This isn't evidence of ghosts per se, but it is tangible research into the differentiation of sounds made in alleged poltergeist cases and sound of otherwise normal means. Ghosts is  reported in poltergeist cases, but this study only focus on explicitly on the unnatural sound generated in those poltergeist cases, and the result are fascinating.

The Acoustic Properties of Unexplained Rapping Sounds


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