Ever sit quietly and suddenly the hairs on the back of your neck rise? Ever feel a cold shiver run down your back for no apparent reason? Have you ever walked in a dark room, trying your best to find a light switch and you swear that you see what looks like a person? If any of these situations have ever happened to you, there is a good chance that you have come in contact with a spiritual entity or as they are commonly called “ghosts.” Are ghosts real or simply uncontrolled fragments of our imagination?
Believe In
GHOSTS
Over the next few weeks, we will explore ghostly lore and all things that go bump in the night. What I am about to share might give you pause so I will take it slow and try not to frighten you. Let's start with a simple question, "Why should you consider believing in ghosts?"
The fear of death has always haunted us, ever since we became conscious of our own species and existence. Life after death is a recurring topic in many aspects of our lives. If we die and become ghosts, that basically means immortality in a certain way. And being immortal sounds like something supernatural, a scene from a sci-fi movie. Turning into a ghost after death would be similar to uncovering the much-desired fountain of youth. But is there a truth behind this so-called supernatural phenomenon?
Before we move on, please understand that when I use the word ‘consider,’ it isn’t me trying to turn you into a ghost-believer, because that would be pretentious if said out loud. I'm simply trying to point you towards that direction by showing you some unexplained real-life examples.
Let’s dig in.
Near-death experiences
Although scientific explanation for this also exists, namely that these are just short circuits in your brain playing tricks with you (or at least with what’s left of you), there are some other bizarre things going on here that haven’t been exactly explained.
Namely, in a staggering number of cases, people who had near-death experiences on an operating table were able to detach themselves from their body and look around. After they had woken up, they were able to recount every single detail about the people in the waiting room, what they were doing, etc. They even knew what the doctors had been talking about while performing the surgery. Since the brain is clinically dead at that point, it is kind of odd that it can memorize things so well, and even odder – that it can travel around. That’s more than just brain playing tricks with you, right?
Haunted places
Although this one seems worn out, but instances of weird things happening in houses are real, with numerous eye-witnesses of poltergeists and objects moving. Surely, not all of the people are crazy?.
This is a phenomenon occurring independently all across the globe, so it’s not something one could attribute to a Hollywood trend. These sightings are usually connected to some gruesome deaths and troubled souls who have been molested or mistreated during life. For example, the Boone Hall Plantation in Charleston is said to be inhabited by former slaves.
Still more to learn Scientific evidence for ghosts are unclear. In order not to spread panic, scientists and medical experts tend to disprove the existence of something ‘supernatural’. But it’s only recently that we’ve started studying these phenomena. There’s a lot more to learn, and who knows what we’ll uncover. Check in next week. Believe in Ghosts
Part 2 -Ghosts in Movies
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Life during the medieval era was unpredictably harsh and cruel but many think only of knights and dragons when castles are mentioned. Explore the real history of these stone giants and learn the secrets of those who once lived in their castles
On The Hill
Through the four previous installments of my reflections of a theater seat involving my immersion in the movie experience, none compared to the one I’m about to describe. Back in 1999, my family took a trip to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida in search of a relaxing and thrilling vacation. This is where I found my favorite attraction, which I will never forget. It was called Back To The Future – The Ride.
Back To My Future
As we strolled through the entrance, an entertaining video introduction of a plot based on the Back To The Future theme, played out. My wife, the two girls and I finally walked into a room containing a usually wide vehicle. We were then instructed to sit in the front row of a stainless steel, eight seater DeLorean. As the safety bar closed across our laps, I noticed that a few feet from the front of the car was what appeared to be a garage door. I laughed to myself at how simplistic and corny this would be. The garage door was going to rise and a movie screen would be revealed. But as the lights dimmed, something entirely different occurred.
Suddenly, the entire vehicle rose high into the air until it moved into a position where we were swallowed up by a huge wrap around movie screen. There seemed to be other DeLoreans around us but because of the way the side windows were positioned, other cars were difficult to see. For the next 4-½ minutes the vehicle bobbed and weaved through time and space in perfect unison with the adventure that was being played out in front of us. This is how Wikipedia described what was really going on:
The ride was a motion simulator with the DeLoreans located under a 70-foot (21.3–m) OMNIMAX Dome screen. Each of the 24 vehicles (12 per dome) was mounted on three pistons, allowing it to rise, fall and tilt, following the motion on the screen. The vehicles were arranged on three tiers and are staggered to prevent guest riders from seeing the other vehicles in the theater. The front section of the cars rose eight feet (2.4 m) out of the "garage" when "flying". The actual range of motion from the simulator base was about two feet (0.6 m) in any direction. The motion and the visual input from the screens images, as well as physical effects like wind, water and smoke, combined to make the guest riders feel as if they were in a high-speed pursuit.
The ride was actually composed of two OMNIMAX Dome screens with vehicles arranged around them. The experience of both was identical, but the ride enjoyed a very reliable in-service record as a result.*
Through my travels, I’d never been more impressed than when I sat in this flight simulator (I mean movie chair). Unfortunately, my favorite attraction, Back To The Future – The Ride, no longer exists. It opened at the Orlando theme park on May 2, 1991 but sadly closed to the public on May 31, 2007. The ride is still available at the Disney theme park in Japan, if you’d like to take the trip. Hopefully, sometime in the future, a theater near me will have a similar remarkable experience. Promo for Back To The Future - The Ride The entire experience:
Wikipedia credit:
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_the_Future:_The_Ride |