I think I would examine all other possibilities before jumping to the conclusion that it's a ghost.  Because, once you jump to that conclusion, your mind is going to play tricks on you and make you assign normal noises and natural phenomena to your ghost.

First, I would have to ask if you've ruled out high electromagnetic fields in your home?  You may have exposed wiring or copper piping running near uninsulated or exposed electrical (you house is old... it's possible).  It's documented (in spades) that some humans respond to electro magnetic fields, even subtle changes in the fields.  If you're usually in certain areas of your home when you experience these things, I would first look at those rooms.  Call in an electrician who has an EMF meter.  People who've been exposed to high EMF will claim the very things you are claiming.  Once the wiring is fixed, the "ghost" usually goes away. 

In regards to shadows: even without a high EMF reading, shadows can often be debunked.  Usually, it's movement outside the house blocking the ambient light.  You have to stop and consider where the light source is coming from (and if there are multiple sources; i.e., the moon AND your bedside lamp) and then determine whether or not something may have passed between either or both.  Birds and bats can throw up gnarly shadows.  Also, cars from the street can throw shadows on objects inside and outside.  So, keep that in mind as well.

Houses, especially old ones, make noise.  And, remember...once you allow your mind to think there MIGHT be a ghost, you're going to give credence to sounds that you'd have previously dismissed.  If you have a child in the house, remember that toys are finicky - they make noise when batteries are low, when the light changes, and if they're accidentally kicked, stepped on, played with, or nudged.  We have a fire truck puzzle that scares the crap out of me now and then.  AND, when heard from the other room one night, my husband said - "did you just say something?"  The bottom line - sound is sound.  Don't assign it paranormal value because the sounds that your husband, and you, would be able to hear cannot exist outside the realm of physics...the waves have to be created by something and your ears have to pick up those noises. 

Bottom line- there is no definitive proof for ghosts or evil entities.  Everything on the topic is experiential and subjective.  I'd be happy to come out and sit in your house with you and listen... but, with some of the behavior you're reporting, I think EMF problems need to be ruled out first.  The best bet is to change your focus and try to debunk the things you've seen/heard. 

As to your son - he's little. If you're scared- he'll be scared.  If you're keyed up, he'll pick it up.  And, babies DO cry occasionally. ;)  Babies will look at walls for the sake of looking at walls. 

Opossum mom I would stay far away from there as you have abandon God's protection and made yourself the willing tool of the devil.  You would only bring greater harm to yourself.

Opossum mom I would stay far away from there as you have abandon God's protection and made yourself the willing tool of the devil.  You would only bring greater harm to yourself.

ROFLOL...whatever, Buffoo.  You continue to let superstition and fear rule your life...I'll continue to use reason and logic. 

Interesting isn't it?  Buffoo's offended by my suggestion to take a calm, rational approach to dealing with the unexplained.  He'd rather have everyone get all worked up into a frenzy. 

My husband says I shouldn't share this, because he says everyone will think I'm a wacko, but . . .

First let me say I don't read horoscopes, I don't give credence to fortune tellers, and I don't have a *sixth sense* when it comes to easily being able to *see* or *feel* the presence of ethereal matter (though one of my sisters claims to).  But I DO believe in spirits because I have experienced them three times in my life. 

The first two times it was just a gut feeling that something evil was nearby. The first time in particular I felt that my infant child was in danger.  I woke up in the middle of the night and felt like this *thing* was in the hallway between my room and my child's and moving toward his room.  In both that instance and a later one when I was visiting my folks, I invoked the name of my Lord to be with me and my family and to protect us.  In my prayers I warned whatever *it* was that was out there that there was One with greater strength and power than *it* had, and to leave my family and me alone.  Within what was probably just a few minutes, I felt the evil thing leave.  Laugh if you want, but anyone who has had a similar experience will understand what I mean by having a feeling there is something out there and knowing when it is gone.

The third time I had a creepy experience it was more like what charliehorse describes.  I was staying alone at the Luxor in Las Vegas (before I had heard any stories about the place being haunted).  I woke up during the night hearing sounds in the bathroom like someone was rummaging through my personal effects in there.  At first I thought I might be dreaming, but soon realized I wasn't because I also heard the hum of the air conditioner.  A minute or so after hearing the sounds in the bathroom, I felt a depression on my bed down by my knees.  I never opened my eyes (too frickin' scared!), and immediately started praying, again a combination of asking the Lord to protect me, but also for Him to take this wayward soul out of my room -- kind of like what you described, PP2.  Not long after I started praying, the depression on the bed lifted like someone had stood up and left.  I felt quite a bit unnerved, but safe.  When I told my sister about it the next day (she lives in LV and she had come down to the Luxor to see Blue Man Group with me and then spend some time chatting in my room), she said she'd *spotted* the soul when it took up with us after leaving the BMG show, and that it had followed us up to my room.  While we were chatting, she was trying to assess if it was "dangerous."  She said it was *agitated,* but she didn't think it would harm me.  I asked her why the heck she hadn't mentioned it to me then.  She said it was because she knew I didn't believe in supernatural occurrences the way she did, and she figured if it was harmless, I'd probably never even know it had been there.

As for your predicament, charliehorse, I don't know how to advise you.  You could try what I did (if you believe in God).  I've heard of situations where people become "fond" of and get along with their supernatural tennant.  If it were bothering my son, however, I'd see what I could do to get rid of it...WHATEVER it is, even that stuff possummamma is talking about. 

I don't think you're crazy, ColorNine.  Superstitious and sensitive to suggestion...mmm, maybe.

 But I DO believe in spirits because I have experienced them three times in my life. 

Our experiences often need to be backed up with evidence in order for them to be reality.  Example - are my dreams, or the things I can imagine, real because I've experiened the emotions that go with those dreams and images?  I don't deny you've experienced something... but, what that something is/was is up for debate. 

The first two times it was just a gut feeling that something evil was nearby.

I can relate to this, but I would've used different words.  Instinct is often a really good indicator for danger.  You label danger, or the indicators of danger, to be "evil".  I wouldn't label it like that, but I realize that some people do.  I, too, have experienced things I can not explain... but, that's just what they are, unexplained.  I don't, and won't, label them as "ghosts" or "supernatural" because the experiences may very well have natural basis. 

    Laugh if you want, but anyone who has had a similar experience will understand what I mean by having a feeling there is something out there and knowing when it is gone.

I'm not laughing.  I'm intrigued. 

I have had scary experiences and happenings that I just cannot explain.  As a child, I was taught to bless myself and rebuke Satan whenever I felt scared.  And, as a child, it was comforting.  However, looking at the instances now, in an objective manner, I see that there was probably nothing to fear and my imagination ran wild.  How many of us have become freaked out by ghost stories or bumps in the night?  It's not the story that is making your body react in a fearful manner, it's the way your mind interprets the information.  It's not what you see and hear, it's what you do with it. 

So...you were in a strange environment wherein thousands of people run amok each night, twenty-four seven, and you find nothing amiss with labeling this as something supernatural?  Most bathrooms, in hotels, back up to other bathrooms, and are above and below other bathrooms.  If there's an ice machine in the hallway, you've just doubled your chances of unexpected bumbs and knocks.  Also, most bathrooms have ventilation fans that can get off balance and rattle when someone walks on the floor above it (in the bathroom up one level).  I'm not saying you didn't hear something... I'm just wondering why you'd rather believe it was supernatural than take a few moments to apply logic and reason?   Because, in the end, whatever it was was just a noise until proven otherwise. 

Posted by charlie:

May I ask does this happen at night?

Poss wrote:

Bottom line- there is no definitive proof for ghosts or evil entities.  Everything on the topic is experiential and subjective.  I'd be happy to come out and sit in your house with you and listen...

# 1 Ghosts and Evil spirits are the same: Something in your family someone has allowed this spirit to enter your home, they come because they are invited, if you feel Poss is right invite that person to sit with you.

If you would like my view and beliefs, buy enough Bible's,  I prefer the King James version, for each sleeping room.

Each night read to each other before bed time and all confess that Jesus is your Lord and Savior, have each one take the Bible and sleep with it as you would a pillow, if during the night this spirits try's to enter your sleep time and you are awaken, confess Jesus is Lord.

This being will leave your home and will stay gone till he is invited back.

I can tell you from my own experience's, they only come back when sin enters one of you.

I've had a few Pastor's ask why I wasnt in the will of the Lord and why I didnt answer God for the calling He layed on me. We are never to confess our Sins among men so I will not get into that. But I do know when I have willing Sinned I have been visited, each time @ night not every night but usually right after I failed, they make there move on me to see if my will has failed. I reach over and touch my wife and it will leave.

Why do I touch my wife, the spirit cannot invade her and by me touching her I become part of her and he knows Jesus and the Holy Spirit is with her and he dare not try to invade or confront Them. When you have the Word of God in bed with you and feel things are wrong, hold your Bible and confess Jesus is your Lord, I guarantee the spirit will leave.

How do you know?  If they are, the Jesus (the Holy Spirit) is an evil spirit, since they're the same.  No? 

I'm being very serious.  Where is your evidence?  And, I think you're being a bit harsh by trying to tell this woman that she's invited some sort of sin, and therefore an evil spirit (which you can't prove), into her home when you don't even know her.  If you've got hang-ups about sin, then repent with your bad self or whatever...but, don't lay your guilt trip at the feet of others or suggest that their problems are due to some fault with them.  You've basically written yourself an exclusionary clause, in your instructions to this woman:  Pray. Pray hard.  Keep Bibles in each room.  If you do all of the above, the disturbance (ghost/spirit) will go away.  However, if the disturbance comes back, it's because you aren't faithful enough. 

What kind of bull is that? 

Once again... rather than take a logical approach to try and explain the issues in this woman's home, you've immediately accepted that it *is* an evil spirit and that she's done something to deserve it.  What if an electrician went in there are found that there was an abnormally high amount of EMF because of an exposed fuse box or something?  What if it turns out that every one of her claims has a natural rationale? 

I could understand going for the mystical and religious explanations AFTER you've investigated the situation thoroughly... but, not straight out from the gate. 

Oh my gosh... I just saw my curtains sway.  Maybe it was a ghost?  Or.... maybe it was the fact that one of the kids shut their door in the front of the house and our house is so well sealed that any door being opened or shut causes air flow and pressure to change just enough to make the curtains move? 

Schizotypal Personality Disorder:   Peculiarities of thinking, odd beliefs, and eccentricities of appearance,  behavior, interpersonal style, and thought (e.g., belief in psychic phenomena and having magical powers).

poss: I see nothing wrong with the answer I gave and I see no problem with yours, I'm just giving her/him a option.

I have been through what they are going through and if I was to continue in the old way I would be dealing with them every night till I was defeated.

Ron.

I'm sure that's how you view it.  I just don't think it's appropriate to jump straight to demons and other unproven, improbable entities before considering what might be causing the disturbances in the natural environments.  I mean, there's a reason the CC has people whose sole purpose is to investigate claims of the paranormal.  They have doctors and other scientists give opinions before they'll perform an exorcism,...because, 99% of the time, you can find reasonable explanations for events and occurrences.  And, even with that 1%,... all it is is unexplained. 

I want to make it clear - I don't have a problem with someone saying a protective prayer or whatever.  I think they're hypocritical to think that it's any different from the spell casting in a Harry Potter book, but that's a different post.  If uttering a few words and appealing your the god of your choice helps you sleep at night, then... I say go with that.  If it gives you comfort to believe that you can call up on God as your personal "Ghostbuster".  Fabulous.  If, however, you want to determine what the causes might be, I think it's logical to start from a position of skepticality and neutrality.  My problem with your statement is, once again, that little disclosure clause that if your "cure" doesn't work, it's her fault for not being spiritually strong enough.  That's a cop out. 

By the way, when I offered to go sit with her, it was meant to provide her with a neutral perspective to what she was experiencing.  She's obviously scared and worried.  Scared and worried people can have problems remaining objective.  Someone, and it certainly doesn't have to be me, who isn't so vested in the occurrences (or scared of them) might help her find rational causes for her experiences. 

Poss: now you see why most Christians are agaisnt Harry Porter and many other books and films as such.

You being a Athiest I understand and I know you will never have trouble at night with evil spirits, WHY, because you have been taken over till you realize these beings roam this earth looking for familiar beings.

I cant preach or teach others that have not been dealt with by the Holy Spirit, God gave all of us a certian amount of Faith, some see and other dont.

I cant go beyond God, I listen to people and say God Loves you, God died for you, God sits and waits to see if that gain of Faith He instilled will grow.

Yes He wants all to be saved but He will not go agasint your will. Your will might want to be saved but your life show's you dont.

(not yours, cause i'm not judgeing you) but  not believeing and still except Him to save you at the last day doesnt work.

You being a Athiest I understand and I know you will never have trouble at night with evil spirits, WHY, because you have been taken over till you realize these beings roam this earth looking for familiar beings.

Did you insinuate that I'm possessed?  And, did you just insinuate that evil spirits will leave atheists alone?  If so, then the original poster has an answer for how to make those evil beasties go away, huh? 

Seriously...do you really believe what you're saying or do you do it purely for shock value? 

I cant go beyond God, I listen to people and say God Loves you, God died for you, God sits and waits to see if that gain of Faith He instilled will grow....and then you tell them they're damned to hell and possessed...but, it's really all about love, I see. 

Did I say your Dammed to Hell ? I dont think so buddy or  what ever He/She. Read up I said not Judgeing you/ death and Hell is your decision.

I will say all that believe there's no Christ that came and died for your sins, will be judged and by what I read about God and His Judgement / they have no chance.

But we could get into the finer points what I said is not a blanket for all.

Here's an interesting question?  Why are atheist interested in this matter if they don't believe in the spiritual and why do they fear the advice of a Orthodox Priest?

I'm interested in explaining the world as it is, not as I imagine it to be.  And, I don't fear the advice of an orthodox priest.  He has no secret powers or authority. 

Forget it Ron you know she always goes from rational and neutral to ranting and raving at the drop of a dime.

Yeah...because *I* am the one who looks like a fruit loop.  Right.  Keep telling yourself that.   No my friend, I think you have the award for "rantnig and raving" sewed up and in the bag.

God has nothing to do with energy left in a home. There are several homes in the down town area that have old energy left from the early days. If a sole dies tragically or before its time the energy is sometime left behind. If the sole is full of hate it too can not move on because the angry energy is to strong.

You will need to call on a medium in order to find out for sure what you are dealing with. This person should also be able to tell you the best way to deal with your problem.

We all carry positive and negative energy and sometime negative anger is harder to get rid of.

And NO a medium is not the devil and you will not go to hell for useing one.

posted by possummomma on Aug 4, 2007 at 03:06 PM

 I don't think you're crazy, ColorNine.  Superstitious and sensitive to suggestion...mmm, maybe.

   Maybe, but there was nothing that occurred prior to any of the incidents I mentioned that would have put me in a frame of mind to immediately suspect something supernatural; especially the first one, my never having experienced anything like it before.  I consider myself a skeptic most of the time: fortune tellers, psychics, that crossing over stuff - - not for me.

 But I DO believe in spirits because I have experienced them three times in my life. 

Our experiences often need to be backed up with evidence in order for them to be reality.  Example - are my dreams, or the things I can imagine, real because I've experiened the emotions that go with those dreams and images?  I don't deny you've experienced something... but, what that something is/was is up for debate. 

  In the first two instances, I would say they could be debateable.  It would depend on one’s beliefs as to the side of the debate one would take. Again, I think only someone who has experienced something similar would understand what I was talking about.  But in the third instance (at the Luxor), there were things that people said AFTER I told them about it that I feel would support what I believe I experienced. 

The first two times it was just a gut feeling that something evil was nearby.

I can relate to this, but I would've used different words.  Instinct is often a really good indicator for danger.  You label danger, or the indicators of danger, to be "evil".  I wouldn't label it like that, but I realize that some people do.  I, too, have experienced things I can not explain... but, that's just what they are, unexplained.  I don't, and won't, label them as "ghosts" or "supernatural" because the experiences may very well have natural basis. 

    Laugh if you want, but anyone who has had a similar experience will understand what I mean by having a feeling there is something out there and knowing when it is gone.

I'm not laughing.  I'm intrigued. 

I have had scary experiences and happenings that I just cannot explain.  As a child, I was taught to bless myself and rebuke Satan whenever I felt scared.  And, as a child, it was comforting.  However, looking at the instances now, in an objective manner, I see that there was probably nothing to fear and my imagination ran wild.  How many of us have become freaked out by ghost stories or bumps in the night?  It's not the story that is making your body react in a fearful manner, it's the way your mind interprets the information.  It's not what you see and hear, it's what you do with it.

  I agree that as children our imaginations often run wild.  As children we also haven't had enough life experiences or education to sometimes be able to evaluate accurately what is going on around us. You said, "Our experiences often need to be backed up with evidence in order for them to be reality," and you say, "It's not what you see and hear, it's what you do with it."  If it's not what we "see and hear," how else do we process evidence?

I was staying alone at the Luxor in Las Vegas (before I had heard any stories about the place being haunted).  I woke up during the night hearing sounds in the bathroom like someone was rummaging through my personal effects in there. 

So...you were in a strange environment wherein thousands of people run amok each night, twenty-four seven, and you find nothing amiss with labeling this as something supernatural?  Most bathrooms, in hotels, back up to other bathrooms, and are above and below other bathrooms.  If there's an ice machine in the hallway, you've just doubled your chances of unexpected bumbs and knocks.  Also, most bathrooms have ventilation fans that can get off balance and rattle when someone walks on the floor above it (in the bathroom up one level).  I'm not saying you didn't hear something... I'm just wondering why you'd rather believe it was supernatural than take a few moments to apply logic and reason?   Because, in the end, whatever it was was just a noise until proven otherwise. 

   Have you ever stayed at the Luxor?  A lot of hotels have thin walls where you can easily hear what’s going on in adjacent rooms, but not that one.  And even though it’s Las Vegas, with people "running amok" in the casinos 24/7, up on the floors where the rooms are this isn’t the case.  There are guards at the elevators, and you must show your room key to even get into the elevators, much less "run amok" along the corridors. My room was not near an ice machine, and true, air coming out of vents can make weird noises.  But I know what a zipper sounds like and I know what pill bottles being shaken sound like, and assorted other noises.  The real clincher for me, though, was feeling the depression of the bed mattress.  THAT was VERY real.  Honestly, I thought someone had broken into my room as there was no bar latch on the door, only a deadbolt.  I remember thinking how easy it would be for an employee with a master key card to sneak in to steal something while I slept (though it would make more sense for them to do it in the daytime when I was out), but nothing was taken, even though my jewelry and cash were on the nightstand beside me.  I laid motionless for a loooong time even after the mattress went back to normal.  I never heard the door open or click shut which it would have if someone had physically been in my room.  And if it had been a “real” person, why would he/she have risked waking me up by sitting on the bed? And when I didn’t stir, why didn’t they take anything? The best "evidence" probably would have come if I just hadn't been so friggin' scared to open my eyes.

  BTW, I appreciate the thoughtful dialog.  YOUR thoughts intrigue ME.

RedMouse: I'm not allowed to call you names.

I will say with your beliefs about God or evil spirits, Harry Porter must be a very read book for you and movies about such.

In my life I have wished God would return sooner than what I read about His Coming. Then I read His Word and I understand it's not you or others that speak like you, Paul tells me it's the spirit behind those and  those that believe that way.

If we lived and died only, your world would be more understand able, but the good news, we dont and we look forward to His coming and Judgement.

Okay, I am not afraid of "it". I do not feel that it is evil. How do you explain an impression in the shower curtain of a man? Or the shower curtain being forceably pulled open when my son is in the shower right after the widow slams? We probably do have high EMF due to the fact that our wiring in the main of the house is the original, however our bedroom is an addition that is only a few years old. So why would the door knob turn by itself? I've tried my best reason with scientific conclusion of what is actualy happening but there is always missing pieces. I don't think that praying for it to go away will help, if it was evil I am sure something horrible would of happened by now, and I am pretty sure no one invited anything here, but who is to say that the old lady that lived here before us didn't?

You say you believe in God, which you have never seen, but you have felt his presents. Why then can you say that this women has something in her home that she has  never seen but has felt is a falsehood?

If you believe you will go to a place of peace when you die why then do you not believe there is also a place of anger and hate for others or that they can be left behind.  If you believe in god then you believe in angles again that  you have never seen and you say I read to much Harry Potter.

Each person has a need to believe in something this women believes there is something in her home, why can't she just ask for help without anyone calling her names. Is that really what jesus would do?

Another note that I would like to add, I am not an athiest but I do not believe that God would condem someone solely for their beliefs. I do not think that there is a correct religion. I do pray at times, but I do not feel that this situation really needs that. I just want to know who or what it is so that the missing pieces to the puzzle are there. I have thought about recording and trying to ask it questions but I do not want to do that with my children here just in case something weird happens. By the way the comment about my son, that is not him in the picture that is my infant daughter, my son is almost seven. I also want to add that I do not have paranoid delusions nor am I skitzo by any means.

As you say Redmouse: a man called of God not of the devil.

If this lady believes in what she belielves then "B" it but she did ask for help in a way. I put my .02 cents in and thats it.

AllRED, I appriciate your point of veiw I am not discounting you, however, I don't feel that this thing is evil. I think maybe it is stuck here. I am open minded and not just fixed on one point of veiw. If all else fails, well then yes, I will pray for guidence. It does state in the bible that God helps those that help themselves, I will try to solve it first myself and if I fail then I will ask for help from him.  Maybe Redmouse is right I need a person that deals with spirits regularly and they can guide me on how to put this thing to peace.

The Orthodox Church is the only one with experence in spiritual warfare and it has been the Churches that dabbling in mediums and the occult creates this situation if the first place.  The spirit is demonic ,because God's Angel wouldn't act that way and that means it's malicious.  Only God's grace keeps it from harming you and yours. + May God keep you and help you+ 

Ah, didn't mean to be judgmental....that's normally not me....it must be the moon or something. 

Recently, I've just had surgery.....on pain meds....I could've sworn my mother in law came up to my bedroom and pulled the blankets up on me....my husband says she wasn't there.  The next night, I could SWEAR my husband was watching a game show on TV at 2AM, because I could hear it.  He said, no I didn't.

Right after I had my first child, I was sleep deprived.  I could swear someone sat on top of me in my bed and I couldn't get up or even scream.  It felt so real.  It WAS a dream, all of these, dreams....from medicine or sleep deprivation...but they seemed so real.... 

Now I'm not saying this about your situation.  It's obvious you're scared....but  I'd hate for you to be ripped off by some so called medium too.  How 'bout calling the police station and asking them who they use for the cases they need a physic.  At least that would be more reputable.

Oh and I'm snooty tonite, I dunno why, ok my dang foot aches in this cast....

Hey Redmouse it's SOULS not soles, and it's PRESENCE not presents.

I agree with Woof. I'm not trying to rain on your paranormal parade.  What I *am* saying is that you should take a look at your environment and rule out all of the rational explanations first.  I hate to tell you this, but seeing things is one of the trademarks of high EMF sickness.  And, it's backed up by solid science...our brains are affected by electromagnetic fields.  It can cause a myriad of problems.  Everything from hearing voices, to seeing things, to smelling smells, to subtle hallucinations and seizure like brain activity.  If you're truly seeing the outline of a man in your shower, then you need to have your home investigated by a licensed contractor....for your son's sake.  If nothing shows up in that inspection, then you need to see your doctor.  If you phrase the experiences in terms of reason ("You know, doc.  I feel weird sharing this, but... I keep having these little episodes that I cannot explain and they're worrying me."), he/she should treat you as a rational individual because you are notating the problem.  You don't have to say, "Hey doc.  I'm seeing ghosts."  Just tell the doctor that you're hearing things, small noises and you've noticed that your peripheral vision is heightened or whatever.  As woof said, sleep deprivation and/or anxiety/depression and some TRULY organic problems can result in what some consider to be paranormal experiences.  And, if there is something wrong with you (physically), then you owe it to your child to get yourself evaluated.  He needs his mommy. :)  And if, after all of that, you STILL have no explanation...then, I would agree that it may be time to try other approaches.  If that's spiritual, great.  If it means you invite a team of paranormal experts into your home, then I can hook you up with some of the best.  They work in tandem with TAPS ("Ghost Hunters").  Or, I can hook you up with some people at a magazine that investigate the para-sciences. 

Either way, you need to realize that whatever it is has never hurt you.  And, it can only hurt you if you allow it to dominate your thoughts and let it scare you into changing your behaviors.  It's your life.  It's your house.  It's your child.  NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, should make you fear your own home.  I don't care if it's a ghost or faulty wiring... good luck.

By the way - your soon is incredibly cute!!!  I miss the baby years. 

I'm more open-minded about ghosts than are most atheists.

I'd suggest this:

First, as others have said, earnestly try to rule out natural explanations.  Wind closing doors, rattling things, the sounds of the house itself settling as it cools off after a hot day.  As for voices calling out your husband, a person's eyes and ears become attuned to certain familiar sounds and can, sometimes, "alter" an unrelated ambient noise and interpret it as that familiar voice.  How many times have you heard the phone ring when it didn't?

In other words, really try to rule out the natural, and see if anything is really left.  (My wife, my (late) mom, and I all have some hum-zinger stories to rell.)  And if it's really something real, and it's not bothersome, try being friends with it.

I don't buy the Christian "all spirits are demonic" stuff, though Allred and Buffoo have said this with the best of intentions.

The source of UFO's and Goblins..

      "O God, that men
should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away
their brains! that we should, with joy, pleasance
revel and applause, transform ourselves into beasts!"
William Shakespeare
Othello

Human beings have evolved brains which interpret the unfamiliar as more-likely-harmful-than-helpful.  All kinds of experiences are unfamiliar; that explains why there are so many religions.  Humans are pattern-recognizing animals, and they put things into patterns even when no patterns exist.

.

There are no ghosts, spirits, angels or demons.

Why are atheist interested in this matter if they don't believe in the spiritual and why do they fear the advice of a Orthodox Priest?

For the same reason Married With Children was such a big hit.

The Orthodox Church is the only one with experence in spiritual warfare and it has been the Churches that dabbling in mediums and the occult creates this situation if the first place.

Buffo, meet Pax.

Haunted House
October 31, 2003

This Halloween, when I go trick-or-treating with my nephews, I'm dressing as an 18th-century Russian-born priest. Halloween is supposed to be about what's scary, and what Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin encountered -- called by the Baltimore Catholic Review the "truest ghost story ever told" -- sounds scary enough.

Gallitzin's father was Prince Demetrius Alexievitz Gallitzin, Russian ambassador to France and then Holland, who numbered Diderot and Voltaire among his friends. His mother was the Countess Amalie von Schmettau, a devout Catholic and considered by one observer "the most brilliant woman in Europe." When the son was 17, in 1787, he too became a Catholic, adding the "Augustine" as a confirmation name.

At age 22, Gallitzin traveled to the New World, entering St. Mary's seminary in Baltimore. He was moved by the needs of the early American church, which only had a handful of priests to cover the million square miles. Contrary to the wishes of his friends and relatives back home, Gallitzin became a priest in 1795, going by the last name Smith so that no one would suspect he was royalty. He was sent to Conewago, a tiny outpost in the wilds of what would become western Maryland, western Pennsylvania and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

While Gallitzin was making his way in the New World, something strange was happening in what is today West Virginia. In the 1790s, Adam Livingston, a Lutheran who lived on an estate in the Shenandoah valley with his wife and children, began to witness weird happenings in and around his house. Cattle died without explanation. Worse, the Livingstons were kept awake at night by the sound of galloping horses and wagons charging through their living room. Furniture moved by itself and crockery smashed to the floor. The family often heard the sound of shears and scissors, and the clothing they owned was cut to pieces by an invisible force, or so they claimed, often into crescent shapes. Soon the town, many of whose members said that they saw the frightening occurrences themselves, started calling the Livingston estate "The Wizard's Clip" and "Cliptown," names still in use today.

Livingston begged a local Episcopal minister for help. The man, named Alexander Balman, had been a chaplain in the Revolutionary War, but his courage did him no good with the Clip. One account claims he "attempted an exorcism, and was famously abused by the scornful spirit, so that the prayerbook he used was found subsequently in one of the rooms, in a place which indicated no great respect for our admirable liturgy on the part of the ghost."

Livingston tried sorcerers, who also failed. Shortly after, he had dream: He was climbing a mountain and when he reached the top saw a beautiful church and a "minister dressed in peculiar robes." Livingston was informed that a minister in robes had to be a Catholic priest. He traveled to Shepardstown, where he met Father Dennis Cahill.

Livingston was stunned: Father Cahill, he said, was the man he had seen in his dream. The priest said prayers and sprinkled holy water around the house. Some money that had been lost suddenly appeared, as if carried by invisible hands, and was laid on a mantlepiece. For several days the house was quiet, but then the trouble started again, and the bishop of Baltimore, John Carroll, decided to send another priest to conduct an investigation -- Father Gallitzin.

Gallitzin stayed three months. His lengthy account of the spirits at the Wizard's Clip has been lost, but there are surviving letters and the accounts of those who knew him. He started as a skeptic but, after interviewing witnesses and seeing the phenomena himself, changed his mind.

Father Cahill ultimately drove the spirits out. Livingston became a Catholic and claimed that strange things kept happening in his house, except now they were holy. He frequently heard a voice that instructed him in Catholic dogma and demanded that the Livingstons pray. He also claimed that a bearded, barefoot stranger appeared in his house and stayed for four days, instructing him in the faith. As the stranger was leaving through their field he simply disappeared, leading the family to refer to him as an angel.

At the prompting of the voice, Livingston donated some of his land to the church, which still owns it. As a result of his conversion, Gallitzin forfeited his royal inheritance. But he dedicated everything he owned, which wasn't much, to establishing a church in western Pennsylvania. In 1840 he died penniless and today is largely forgotten -- though perhaps not in the town of Gallitzin, Pa., pop. 1,700 and 95% Catholic.

How *CONVENIENT*, as the Church Lady would say.  Just as in the Gospels, the first-person accounts in Pax's tale are long-lost to history, and what's left is the "friend of a friend" accounts so necessary for the birth of an urban legend.  But a good Hallowe'en tale needs no evidence.  "Who's got my GOLDEN ARM?"

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Human beings are wired to be "on edge."  Subsonic sounds abound in old houses and cause uneasiness (drive around with your front windows up and your rear windows about half-way down for the effect. 

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The human mind is software running on the neuronic computer of the brain.  When the power gets shut off to the brain, there's no software, there's no mind, there's no ghost.

I don't see you, Pax, so don't pretend to be there. :)

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Last night I saw upon the stair
A little man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today
I wish, I wish he'd go away.  (Nash, maybe?)