Jump to content
Join the Unexplained Mysteries community today! It's free and setting up an account only takes a moment.
- Sign In or Create Account -

Ghosts with clothes


quillius

Recommended Posts

Hi all,

 

Ok, quite simply put, why is every ghost, in every image or story clothed?

surely if the spirit leaves the body it would not do so with 'man made' objects...ie clothes.

Does this not, on its own, prove that ghosts are, in the main, figments of the human imagination?

I have never heard one decent counter argument...but would like to.....

 

fire away!

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a ghost is supposed to be an afterimage of a person's life, you could also ask: Why not?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, FLOMBIE said:

As a ghost is supposed to be an afterimage of a person's life, you could also ask: Why not?

hmm, can you possibly expand on 'afterimage'?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, quillius said:

hmm, can you possibly expand on 'afterimage'?

 

There are numerous concepts of what a ghost is supposed to be. It's not only supposed to be the person's 'spirit' or 'soul', but also to be directly connected to the ghosts former life, which means they'd look somewhat like they did in their lives. It's an afterimage. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am having difficulty with this concept. 

so basically the type of clothes are irrelevant. its more a case of they wore clothes so the 'afterimage' portrays them with clothes?

Assuming not more in line with they always wore white gowns so the after image has them with a white gown?

If one was to see a caveman ghost what would he be dressed as?

(has there ever been sightings of a caveman ghost? if not why not?)

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, quillius said:

I am having difficulty with this concept. 

so basically the type of clothes are irrelevant. its more a case of they wore clothes so the 'afterimage' portrays them with clothes?

Assuming not more in line with they always wore white gowns so the after image has them with a white gown?

If one was to see a caveman ghost what would he be dressed as?

(has there ever been sightings of a caveman ghost? if not why not?)

Ghosts always wear white gowns? No. It's common, yes, just like that used to be a common night gown, that many people, naturally, died in. There are ghosts wearing armor. Ghosts on the toilet with their pants down. Ghosts of WW1 soldiers, and whatnot.

Popular culture also adapts certain concepts and exploits them over and over until you think that is the only existing one, when it is in fact not, and you're only looking at a lack of imagination.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, FLOMBIE said:

Ghosts always wear white gowns? No. It's common, yes, just like that used to be a common night gown, that many people, naturally, died in. There are ghosts wearing armor. Ghosts on the toilet with their pants down. Ghosts of WW1 soldiers, and whatnot.

Popular culture also adapts certain concepts and exploits them over and over until you think that is the only existing one, when it is in fact not, and you're only looking at a lack of imagination.

sorry it was my poor wording. What I was trying to say (albeit poorly) is that lets assume someone always (regularly) wore X. Would their afterimage be of them wearing X due to it being directly linked to their life....or could they be seen wearing Y...

I am trying to establish the 'afterimage' and link to their lives as you said it was directly linked to their life. So if they wore X regularly then they should appear in X and not Y.

(not sure that made it any clearer :(  )

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, quillius said:

sorry it was my poor wording. What I was trying to say (albeit poorly) is that lets assume someone always (regularly) wore X. Would their afterimage be of them wearing X due to it being directly linked to their life....or could they be seen wearing Y...

I am trying to establish the 'afterimage' and link to their lives as you said it was directly linked to their life. So if they wore X regularly then they should appear in X and not Y.

(not sure that made it any clearer :(  )

It is not clear anyway. We are only talking about concepts here. Maybe it's the cloth they used to wear a lot, maybe their favourite, maybe the one they've died in. All you can say is: There is no clear rule for that, and pretty much any ghost is described differently. And then story also get copied. So all I can really say is: Why wouldn't they wear clothes? It makes little to no sense to think logically about a concept like ghosts. 

Edited by FLOMBIE
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, FLOMBIE said:

It is not clear anyway. We are only talking about concepts here. Maybe it's the cloth they used to wear a lot, maybe their favourite, maybe the one they've died in. All you can say is: There is no clear rule for that, and pretty much any ghost is described differently. And then story also get copied. So all I can really say is: Why wouldn't they wear clothes? It makes little to no sense to think logically about a concept like ghosts. 

mainly due to the fact I always thought of them as spirits/souls.....so could not understand why man made objects would pass to the 'afterlife' so to speak...

I had never heard of the 'afterimage' concept.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, quillius said:

fire away!

 

On the non-physical planes we appear as we choose to appear and this is usually as ourselves in our usual type clothes. That is how I would want to appear; wouldn't you?. We would be no more likely to appear naked than we would be to walk into a restaurant naked while alive.

It may seem strange to us but the subtle planes matter is more malleable and controlled by thought.

Edited by papageorge1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, quillius said:

mainly due to the fact I always thought of them as spirits/souls.....so could not understand why man made objects would pass to the 'afterlife' so to speak...

I had never heard of the 'afterimage' concept.

 

Well, at that point they are not man made anymore, are they? And maybe the soul is even more than you expect it to be. Maybe it does includes traits of the person's personality, like their sense of fashion, who knows? I don't know why you've set such strict boundaries for your fantasy. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, papageorge1 said:

That is how I would want to appear; wouldn't you?.

No?

If you can appear however you want to appear wouldn't half the fun be in appearing as stuff like...idk...medusa in a cocktail dress?

I guess after a while the novelty would wear off, but still...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, Orphalesion said:

No?

If you can appear however you want to appear wouldn't half the fun be in appearing as stuff like...idk...medusa in a cocktail dress?

I guess after a while the novelty would wear off, but still...

Actually I have heard where entities make changes they would like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, papageorge1 said:

On the non-physical planes we appear as we choose to appear and this is usually as ourselves in our usual type clothes. That is how I would want to appear; wouldn't you?. We would be no more likely to appear naked than we would be to walk into a restaurant naked while alive.

It may seem strange to us but the subtle planes matter is more malleable and controlled by thought.

Why don't ghosts appear as we wish them to appear? Frankly, you can't possibly claim to know what ghosts choose to do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, stereologist said:

Why don't ghosts appear as we wish them to appear? 

Because they are separate entities. I wished my ex-wife to look like a supermodel in a bikini. Nothing even close seemed to be in my power.

4 minutes ago, stereologist said:

 Frankly, you can't possibly claim to know what ghosts choose to do.

Your right, I can't. I get my information from those who I have come to believe have a psychic insight on these things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, papageorge1 said:

Because they are separate entities. I wished my ex-wife to look like a supermodel in a bikini. Nothing even close seemed to be in my power.

Your right, I can't. I get my information from those who I have come to believe have a psychic insight on these things.

So there is nothing of value to report on what ghosts like, assuming of course there are ghosts.

Ghosts, assuming their existence, should be able to appear as they wish yet they show themselves as we wish to see them. They appear in a form we recognize. I say they are constrained by our wishes and not theirs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, stereologist said:

So there is nothing of value to report on what ghosts like, assuming of course there are ghosts.

Ghosts, assuming their existence, should be able to appear as they wish yet they show themselves as we wish to see them. They appear in a form we recognize. I say they are constrained by our wishes and not theirs.

No, most people are not wishing or expecting to see ghosts at all and they don't necessarily look like people expect them to look. As for me, if I were a ghost and came back to my family or house I would want to look like myself probably. And residual hauntings may be playbacks of the past with people wearing period clothes.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with quillius that the appearance of ghosts comes from our own minds and we see them as we want to see them, as we are used to seeing them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, FLOMBIE said:

Well, at that point they are not man made anymore, are they? And maybe the soul is even more than you expect it to be. Maybe it does includes traits of the person's personality, like their sense of fashion, who knows? I don't know why you've set such strict boundaries for your fantasy. 

my fantasy? really?

must admit I wasn't expecting that one.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, stereologist said:

I agree with quillius that the appearance of ghosts comes from our own minds and we see them as we want to see them, as we are used to seeing them.

as much as I want to believe, I still think the fact that they appear dressed does seem to indicate that its a fabrication of the mind...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, quillius said:

as much as I want to believe, I still think the fact that they appear dressed does seem to indicate that its a fabrication of the mind...

Frankly, my personal belief is that, whatever ghosts are (real or imaginary), they are not the souls of the dead wandering the material plane. The most supernatural explanation I feel able to accept is that they are echoes left behind by a departing person, like projections, but neither sentient nor sapient. Which would explain the period wear.

Not sure if I feel confident in calling all of them figments of imagination, but most of them probably are.

 

11 hours ago, papageorge1 said:

No, most people are not wishing or expecting to see ghosts at all and they don't necessarily look like people expect them to loo.

Actually a lot of people who are afraid of cessation of existence after death hope and wish to see ghosts. Apparently spending eternity doomed to wander a hallway in the clothes you happened to die in is better than nothingness *shrug* 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, quillius said:

as much as I want to believe, I still think the fact that they appear dressed does seem to indicate that its a fabrication of the mind...

I believe the term is residual haunting, the basis of which is that it isnt a spirit wandering around but the energy from past events echoing and replaying itself. 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, Orphalesion said:

Frankly, my personal belief is that, whatever ghosts are (real or imaginary), they are not the souls of the dead wandering the material plane. The most supernatural explanation I feel able to accept is that they are echoes left behind by a departing person, like projections, but neither sentient nor sapient. Which would explain the period wear.

Not sure if I feel confident in calling all of them figments of imagination, but most of them probably are.

 

 

im not confident in calling them all figments of the imagination either, however I struggled toget over the clothes part hence the thread and desire to be convinced otherwise.

Edited by quillius
typos...left hand working slower than right
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Farmer77 said:

I believe the term is residual haunting, the basis of which is that it isnt a spirit wandering around but the energy from past events echoing and replaying itself. 

 

ok thanks Farmer, will ponder this some more

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, Farmer77 said:

I believe the term is residual haunting, the basis of which is that it isnt a spirit wandering around but the energy from past events echoing and replaying itself. 

 

Does anyone has seen tattooed ghost, smoking and wearing nose ring, and with Walkman in the pocket?

Rhetorical question...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.