Ghosts vs. Spirits

Well, starting with residual haunts as the first baby step! :) There are several thoughts on the "how" these events get captured in stone to play back. It apears it does not have to be based on the level of emotional energy in some theories, but in possible increases in Magnetic waves or fields. Here's a few thoughts on that from an article I was reading recently.

Limestone Quartz Magnetite and Residual Paranormal Hauntings Study by Long Island Paranormal Investigators - Ghost Haunted Demonic Investigation Ghost Hunter New York NY

The theory that magnetite can generate a residual haunting isn’t as far fetched as it may seem. There is no way to test to see if a magnetic field holds any kind of past events in them, but we do know that high magnetic field have a lot of energy in them. There are many theories related to high magnetic fields. One of the theories is the Bermuda Triangle theory. In the Bermuda Triangle there are high magnetic fields that are present. Some of the stories that are linked to the Bermuda Triangle is that some ships, and planes that go through the Triangle have disturbances on there electronic equipment, such as radar, fuel gauges, altimeters, barometers, lights, etc. Some of the ships and planes that enter into the Bermuda Triangle never come out of it. Some say that they are lost in time. There was one story that I heard about a plane that was flying from Bermuda to Florida. The plane was about 20 minutes off of the coast of Florida. The pilot could actually see the coast of Florida. He had communications with the airport. The airport in Florida picked his plane up on radar. A few minutes later his electrical equipment started acting up, and the gauges of his plane started spinning around, and he disappeared off of the radar screen, and lost communication with the airport. The pilot didn’t panic and he just kept heading towards the coast of Florida because it was in his vision. Two hours later he gained communications back with the airport and he popped back up on the radar screen. The airport stated that when he popped back up on their radar screen that he was in the same spot that he was when they lost him off of radar. 20 minutes later the plane landed with no problems. For 2 hours the plane did not move an inch. The Magnetic fields that exist in the Bermuda Triangle must fluctuate if these stories are true because every day planes and ships pass through there with no problems at all.

The US Navy had supposedly done an experiment using high magnetic fields, but they deny that this experiment ever took place. The name of the experiment was called the Philadelphia Experiment, or the Montauk Project. They took a ship and equipped it with a high magnetic field generator. The name of the ship was the USS Eldridge. The idea was to make the ship disappear and then reappear at another location. When the ship disappeared it would also disappear off of radar as well. Supposedly the Navy had done a few tests with this and for the most part it worked. They were successful in making the ship disappear and reappear using high magnetic fields. The experiment took a plunge when they did a test with a crew on board. They were able to make the ship disappear with no problems, but when the ship reappeared the crew that was on the ship became part of the ship. For example some crewmembers were embedded into the floor, some of them were part of the walls and the railings etc. Many died but there were some survivors. If this experiment really did take place and the stories of the Bermuda Triangle are true then I would say that magnetite could possible generate a residual haunting, based on these other theories.

Quartz: Quartz is one of the most common minerals that are around. Quartz forms a significant part of most igneous rocks. Some facts about quartz are as follows.

"When crystal quartz is cut at an exact angle to its axis, pressure on it generates a minute electrical charge. This effect makes quartz of great usefulness in radio, television, and radar. The supply of natural radio quartz is so limited that methods for growing quartz crystals in the laboratory have been developed. Quartz transmits short light waves (ultraviolet) better than glass. When not of radio quality, crystal quartz is melted to form blanks to make special lenses and prisms."
(Source: Rocks and Minerals 1962, Zim and Shaffer, page 77)

I would say that Quartz has the properties to possible generate a residual haunting. Quartz is a basic transmitter for radio, television and radar. An interesting thing about quartz also is that doubly terminated quartz crystals are often found in Limestone cavities. So it may be possible that people thought that it was Limestone that was creating a residual haunting when it could have been quartz that was really causing it to happen.

Nice details and material examples. So I think I’ve got it - residual hauntings...:

A. May be recorded magnetically.
B. May be recorded into limestone and/or quartz.
C. Are not necessarily recordings of emotional nor traumatic events.
D. [Edited to add items D and E...]. Do not change their actions/playback in respond to stimuli in the present day environment.
E. And, the images of persons seen or sounds of persons heard in these residual haunting are most appropriately called “ghosts” !?

Did I missing anything in my summary Debi?

If “D” above is a reasonable statement, what is our understanding of the residual haunting’s ability to interact with it’s environment - like opening or closing doors - which were also in place at the time of the residual recording?
 
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Any thoughts on how to categorize the following which happened to me? Don’t feel obligated to define it as my friend did (at the end of the post) as those are just his inputs. This was copied-and-pasted from an old Reddit posting.

What's the strangest things that happend at your house paranormal wise?

“... It wasn't my house but his [my best friend’s] parents asked that I stay with him for the summer while the rest of the family was on vacation.

I did not and still don't know anything really about the history of the home other than the statement my friend made to me at the end of this story.

I was in the house alone with their German Shepard which was a retired police dog so I felt pretty safe. I was doing dishes in the kitchen and it was probably about 6PM in the summer so still lots of light coming into the area from several windows.

I noticed that the dog was sitting - like a good dog - just a few feet from me and he was tracking something with his eyes and was also rotating his head. I stopped doing dishes for just a moment to see if I could see what he was tracking. I was of course suspecting a fly or some other bug. I couldn't get a visual what he was tracking so I decided to just watch his head and eyes instead - I stood very still as I watched. Within a just few seconds his eyes were looking at me as his head continued to twist in the same arc as when I first stopped to watch. Then his gaze appeared to look past me and to my left. I turned my head a little to the left to see where the "bug" might have landed and I was staring at the upper cupboard...then the cupboard door swung open.

I grabbed the dog by his collar and ran out the front door. I sat on the street curb with the dog for about an hour until my friend got home from work.

Of course he quizzed me on why i was hugging his dog on the street corner. I told him my story, and his reaction was, "Dah! Didn't my family tell you our house is haunted."

I'm kind of thinking I never got that little piece of news or I probably would not have agreed to stay the entire summer.

It was only another two weeks or so before his family returned but that house never felt the same for me.”

I don’t automatically jump to the paranormal as the cause or explanation for every event. But based upon the facts shared here, I didn’t have a mundane idea.
 
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Nice details and material examples. So I think I’ve got it - residual hauntings...:

A. May be recorded magnetically.
B. May be recorded into limestone and/or quartz.
C. Are not necessarily recordings of emotional nor traumatic events.
D. [Edited to add items D and E...]. Do not change their actions/playback in respond to stimuli in the present day environment.
E. And, the images of persons seen or sounds of persons heard in these residual haunting are most appropriately called “ghosts” !?

Did I missing anything in my summary Debi?

If “D” above is a reasonable statement, what is our understanding of the residual haunting’s ability to interact with it’s environment - like opening or closing doors - which were also in place at the time of the residual recording?
Summary sounds pretty much right on it. As to your last question of how it manifests or opens and closes a door, I'm not sure how that energy is moved or manifested.

One thing I DO know is the older I get, the more I know what I don't know! As a young one, I thought I had all the answers. Now, I'm much more open to the possibilities out there. With quantum physics and dimensional interactions, there is much to research and grow in wisdom.
 
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Thanks Debi. I’ll just leave that one question open for others here to comment on.

In case the inference is not clear, I’m assuming in that point that people reporting (residual) haunting feel that they have actually had doors opened/closed if that is in fact a phenomena they are reporting.
 
Any thoughts on how to categorize the following which happened to me? Don’t feel obligated to define it as my friend did (at the end of the post) as those are just his inputs. This was copied-and-pasted from an old Reddit posting.

What's the strangest things that happend at your house paranormal wise?

“... It wasn't my house but his [my best friend’s] parents asked that I stay with him for the summer while the rest of the family was on vacation.

I did not and still don't know anything really about the history of the home other than the statement my friend made to me at the end of this story.

I was in the house alone with their German Shepard which was a retired police dog so I felt pretty safe. I was doing dishes in the kitchen and it was probably about 6PM in the summer so still lots of light coming into the area from several windows.

I noticed that the dog was sitting - like a good dog - just a few feet from me and he was tracking something with his eyes and was also rotating his head. I stopped doing dishes for just a moment to see if I could see what he was tracking. I was of course suspecting a fly or some other bug. I couldn't get a visual what he was tracking so I decided to just watch his head and eyes instead - I stood very still as I watched. Within a just few seconds his eyes were looking at me as his head continued to twist in the same arc as when I first stopped to watch. Then his gaze appeared to look past me and to my left. I turned my head a little to the left to see where the "bug" might have landed and I was staring at the upper cupboard...then the cupboard door swung open.

I grabbed the dog by his collar and ran out the front door. I sat on the street curb with the dog for about an hour until my friend got home from work.

Of course he quizzed me on why i was hugging his dog on the street corner. I told him my story, and his reaction was, "Dah! Didn't my family tell you our house is haunted."

I'm kind of thinking I never got that little piece of news or I probably would not have agreed to stay the entire summer.

It was only another two weeks or so before his family returned but that house never felt the same for me.”

I don’t automatically jump to the paranormal as the cause or explanation for every event. But based upon the facts shared here, I didn’t have a mundane idea.
Did you happen to read this one? Cats, Dogs, and Ghosts

OK, that particular one would seem to be a sentient spirit or ghost. Not enough history to tell which it was, but with the dog following it, the energy was there and visible to him at a level that was "readable" and active.

A ghost is one I would say is "trapped" or chooses to live in the home. A spirit would be one who has crossed over and just comes and goes to visit and is not present at all times.
 
I'm new here, and this is an old thread, but might I offer a third option? What about souls?

I personally relate to (non-denominational) Christianity. My mum is a devout Catholic. And while there is no firm canon on the matter, it has been suggested that 'ghosts' are the souls of those trapped in Purgatory. It has also been suggested that the souls of those who have gone to Heaven can visit the people they love who are still living.

I'm just throwing this out there. Spirits vs ghosts vs souls. It's a possibility... 8 )
 
I'm new here, and this is an old thread, but might I offer a third option? What about souls?

I personally relate to (non-denominational) Christianity. My mum is a devout Catholic. And while there is no firm canon on the matter, it has been suggested that 'ghosts' are the souls of those trapped in Purgatory. It has also been suggested that the souls of those who have gone to Heaven can visit the people they love who are still living.

I'm just throwing this out there. Spirits vs ghosts vs souls. It's a possibility... 8 )
No thread is ever "old" here...lol We revisit all the time.

The Purgatory ghost is one I've heard of before. I believe that in the Catholic faith, Purgatory is an actual "place" or level within the realms of Heaven. I will have to ask our Catholic expert on this one for sure. From a non-Catholic viewpoint, this is a likely explanation for those still hanging around that are not residual.
 
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On Reaiduals how about this idea... what if a tragic or a repeated event creates a week point in time. Perhaps they cause time bleed throughs. A tragedy may cause a ripple effect forward and backward in time. A repeated event may do the same.
 
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I agree with debi that a ghost can be a spirit that chooses to stay earthbound and that they can get energy from their surroundings to interact with the environment. Spirits are souls that have gone on but come back to visit. As for Purgatory perhaps you could use that name for earthbounds.
 
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Coffey like the drank only not spelded the same.