Well the answer is YES
This is a very famous case, but many people may not have heard of it, so here it is ~
In the early seventies, a paranormal research group in Toronto, under the leadership of a Dr. A. Owen, began an exceptional experiment. They decided to see if it was possible to create their very own ghost!
The small group decided that before the ghost could be brought to life as it were, every single member of the experiment would have to believe in it.
The members then created a totally fictitious background with great care and detail. It was an epic romantic story set in England in the seventeenth century, a time of turmoil and trouble.
Their creation would be an English Aristocrat, named Philip. He would be married but having a passionate affair with a servant girl (or gypsy girl - depending on which account you read). Philips' wife found out about the affair, and accused the girl of witchcraft - a crime that carried an automatic death sentence in such superstitious times.
The unfortunate girl would be tortured until she confessed, then burned alive at the stake or strangled, and her lover Philip would fail to to save her life because of his social standing. To admit an affair would have caused a dreadful scandal, and affair with a witch would surely have ruined him. He chose his wealth and let his love die.
This then was a brief explanation of the background of the ghost, and his reasons for not being able to rest in peace. He would need to assuage his guilt, and be reassured that his true love would forgive him, and be waiting for him on the other side.
After months of meditating and convincing themselves of his existance, the group then tried to contact him.
Their first attempts proved to be fruitless and produced no results at all.
Undaunted, they continued and it was the late summer of 1973 that they finally made contact with the 'spirit' of anguished Philip.
(It is worth pointing out that by this stage, the group were very relaxed, not concentrating too hard on the task. It is in this state that many groups claim to contact spirits).
The group were using 'rapping' to contact their creation. No, not 'yo-yo wassup my dawg?' rapping!
They would ask a question and used the general code of rap once for yes, two for no etc
They began to get responses. The questions asked of Philip, and the answers given were generally in accordance with the false story the team had concocted.
Philip graduated to moving a table on which the researchers lightly placed their hands - a practice called 'table turning'; The energies were so strong that the table was reported to shoot across the room.
A TV company, Toronto City Television, expressed an interest in the story and invited the group along. In front of TV cameras Philip put on a sterling performance, rapping the table and making it sway.
Once the group had achieved their goal, the belief in Philip waned, and they were no longer able to contact him. It was only when they began to re-learn the story, and re-learn their belief that he popped up again.
This is very similar to Tulpas and how they are created.
Perhaps this is why people who blindly and desperately believe in ghosts, see ghosts?
The full story of Philip is easy to find - just Google it and see what you find!
) but Holzer and the psychic claimed to contact numerous ghosts. Some of what they came up with fit the known history of the house and some of it was frankly nonsensical, but the manifestations stopped. So what's the deal? Where is the line between imagination and reality? How much is objective and how much is "Phillip"?
