Haunting Question

Interesting topic.

I think it may be due to the loss of connection to ancestors when people made the jump to America. The native Americans were aware of ancestor worship and spirit involvement, as well as the Northern peoples, Danes, vikings etc that colonised Britain and must have brought that side with them - accepting it as part of life.
Maybe it was something that was forgotten about when settling in America, not discussed. So when it happens again it is a big surprise as it is not ingrained in the culture.
I agree that people do rely heavily on the Bible for all answers in life, and if something paranormal presents itself then the response can be a determined "Up or Down nothing else" kind of attitude to it - as that is what is basically stated.

In the UK I was brought up with ghost stories as bedtime reading material, and though repetition they became less frightening. I have also stayed in and visited many very old buildings as a kid, nearly all old pubs and castles were known to be haunted, visited sacred wells bedecked in ribbons, Pendle hill, various standing stones - the landscape is full of these places so it is just part of the heritage of the place. So it comes naturally that by adulthood we have at least some knowledge of the paranormal as told in stories throughout childhood, so if something happens - it's less of a shock.

Possibly in America there is an attitude to identify something quickly to determine if it is a threat, and if it is, then likely shoot it. As in the not so distant past this was basic survival. Maybe you still have itchy trigger fingers in this respect. ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: garnetsilver
Debi, could you give an example of the type of descriptions that differ? I guess I have never noticed.
Thanks
 
Debi, could you give an example of the type of descriptions that differ? I guess I have never noticed.
Thanks
Hi Williams. Well, just a few things I've noted, and it's all observation from my own view of things...which may be very wrong. Thus, my question here.

For one, the UK appears to have more Fae or at least more reported. And they also appear to be accepted simply as Fae and not anything else. Almost all elemental activity seems to be attributed to them vs. the US appears to have many versions of elemental/Fae activity.

Hauntings appear to be older...a lot less reports of "modern" ghosts and more of those that appear to date farther back than here in the US. Many of the reports of ghosts or spirits appear to be from more recent passings here in the US or blamed on Indian ground. Although our history doesn't date back as far as the UK, it still tends to lean toward the UK ghosts being reported more as going way back instead of Mr. Jones who died in an apartment coming back to haunt it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: garnetsilver
I think that, even within Europe, it is quite diverse who and how handles these things.
Many people think that spirituality is stronger in Western Europe than in the East. But it's not entirely true. Rather, there is a difference in religious approach.

As I see the Americans, they always approach such problems through Christianity. Using Christian prayers and rituals. The English, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese have the same approach to this issue here in Europe. But Poles, Slovaks, Hungarians, Romanians, Ukrainians go back to pre-Christian times, or they practice one of the branches of esoteric Christianity.

I come from a German family, I was raised in Hungary, I lived in many places in Europe and currently in the UK. For example, the German culture focuses on poltergeist. There are plenty of fairy tales, poems and nursery rhymes about poltergeists and witches, and Germans are strongly Catholic. But in Hungary, for example, many people profess to be Christians, but at the same time it is about going to church at Easter, Christmas and possibly New Year's Eve, nothing else. They have a very strong attachment to certain roots. They turn to shamans and shepherds for spiritual matters, and they live with entities in their home rather expose them. In Romania, especially in Transylvania, in the churches, the Christian priests present rituals, sacrifices and deal with all kinds of witchcraft. They bless and curse. In Italy, I found lots of wiccan churches where there were only priestesses. Usually one temple is dedicated to one element. There are many wiccan memories in the UK as well. And yeah, British nurseries and bedtime stories are creepy sometimes, especially if we know the origin of the stories. However, Christianity is there in everyday life naturally, unlike other countries. When I talked to Tibetan lamas about how they approached this topic, they refused to use the term ghost. They like to call them as entities that fits with us, it's the order of nature. They feel the expression of the ghost gives them human qualities, but they are just energies. They think, if entities have an impact on our lives, they can do physical things, then we have to solve our emotional blocks. Instead of send them away, because we are the root of the problem.
And I only talked about ghosts/spirits and haven't mentioned the question of the not human-like entities. Demons/vampires, angels, occupation, etc. Because this is different as well who thinks what is real or fiction. And so they see the solution in a different way too.

Then different cultural things come together in an interesting way. As I mentioned, many in Central and Eastern Europe follow the branches of esoteric Christianity. For example, they meditate like Buddhists but using wiccan elements to help. Or Our Father is used to purify the chakras. Seven requests - seven chakras.

The way I see it. The message is the same for any approach. We are connected through our energies, to everyone in the physical world and beyond. Because we create a huge energy network, disturbance at any point on the grid also affects other points on the grid. Therefore, it is important to keep our own energy in order first, and if we can't, we can get help this way or that way.
 
Very interesting. Rummaging through my mind I have to agree with your observations. The hauntings do seem to be older. Personally I have seen many “ghosts”, don’t really like that description, and all have been of the more present time. At least that is my observation of the clothing they are wearing. Out of all my experiences only 2 have been what I would consider older, or from a different time. And only one of those I could classify as having Native American influence. Weird.
 
You offer some great insights there, Dan. I was thinking in the same direction on that part of it. What I'm also seeing, however, is a difference in the actual "haunts", or paranormal activity itself. It often seems to present as much less aggressive across the pond. Now, is that due to our own perception of the paranormal here ie. the almost automatic reaction of exorcise everything, or is it the activity itself presents as more benign? And it seems to be much more accepted as almost a natural state of things there. I believe that the past history of Druid/Celtic acceptance of it as normal may be an influence there.
If there's a physical explanation, I'd wonder how the killing fields of the two world wars impacted things?

There's definitely a cultural difference in perception, though, as has been pointed out. Americans do tend to be more excitable overall.
 
I’m really late to this discussion but will throw in my two cents. It seems we have different types of entities living in different places of the world. Leprechauns in Ireland, Djinn in the Arabic countries, Windego in the Indian cultures, Mothman in Indiana, Dogman in Michigan and Wisconsin and the list goes on. Maybe experiences are different because creatures and entities are different and choose to live in certain locations of the world. As for ghosts or spirits of dead people, I think that is the same everywhere. How people react to them depends on their life experiences and beliefs. Just my opinion.
 
  • Like
Reactions: garnetsilver