So, who here actually...

[Planogirl]

There's definitely something there. But most of it is to make money hand over fist; which they do quite handily!

Just to spoil the magic for everyone: The Chloe story? Never happened. Two children did die, but it was of Yellow Jack, I believe; definitely some epidemic or other. Not poisoning. The owner of the house did not own a Chloe. If you do geneaology, you know that there were slave censuses; some these censuses listed first names. There's no Chloe on any census. In addition, there was no legend of this until it turned up as a good haunting.

One person was murdered in the house. Yes, a judge was called out onto the side porch and shot and they never caught the person responsible. But he didn't crawl halfway up the stairs and die.

Also, the mirror. My mom has a mirror that is just about that old, it's some sort of family heirloom. The silvering has turned, as it does on these mirrors, and you just live with it. If you look at outside of direct light, it can make things look v. v. funny at times, like there are shadows where there shouldn't be, that sort of thing. It's just a trick of the silvering. You can see the same thing on any antique mirror with silvering that has turned black in places.

I think there's something out near the pond; so far, I guess since it isn't right inside the house, I don't think there's much of a told-as-true story about that entity. I also, just my feeling, not based on anything else, think there's something in the house, something that was there from the home's earliest days or something the first owners brought with them. (I have no idea if this is even possible, but it just seems likely.) But I don't think it's a slave ghost with an ear chopped off.

Still, I advise everyone to go to the Myrtles and have a good time.

There might just be a woman that wears a green turban or scarf that haunts the place though. It seems that the legend of Chloe grew out of that. Plus the ghost children could make sense since so many children died of disease.

It would be interesting to find out who these purported ghosts actually are.

 

[Planogirl]

I have lots of friends (most of 'em, in fact) that believe in God. They know I "doubt" 'em. It doesn't matter if they tell me they believe in a higher being or that they saw their dead grandma walking down the hall. Without intending to ruffle anyone's feathers, I'll say that "doubt" doesn't even begin to capture the level of skepticism I hold in regards to the existence of other-worldly beings.

I don't want my friends to (nor do I need them to) "expect" me to support their stories, in the exact manner that they shouldn't "expect" me to actually believe their long-dead grandfather rattles chains at night. Yet somehow, we're still friends.

I know people who don't believe as I do and that's fine with me. I only ask that they not scoff at me or try to get me to change my mind. I won't bother them either.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Supporting someone doesn't necessarily require giving up your own belief system.

My closest friends can expect support from me whatever happens whether it's something I believe in or not. If they came to me to tell me something I surely wouldn't doubt what they're telling me. (Maybe with some people I would, but not my closest friends.) And vice versa.

But this is way OT. My friends question was to the OP anyway since she was the one who made the doubting comments about several of her closest friends, and I'd still like to hear her reply.

 

[ebtbmom]

Of course I believe.

So your closest friends have had experiences, shared them with you (probably despite some hesitation and embarrassment, though ultimately had trust in your understanding), and you doubted what they told you? Wow. What kind of close friends are you keeping? Why do you suppose they would say these things?

I feel like I have been really non confrontational or judgemental in my posts. I do not judge others for what they believe, just as I do not like to be judged for being an atheist because believe me, I know what it feels like! I just really enjoy discussing these things, I think it is interesting and helps you get to know people.

Let me clarify my point about doubting what they say. Perhaps I didn't word it correctly, I do not doubt that my friends have had these strange, mysterious, scary experiences. I doubt that ghosts were the cause of it. When my friends tell me about their experiences, I don't scoff and laugh and make them feel crazy. I just nod my head, acknowledge that that would be pretty creepy, and acknowledge that I can't explain it. They know of my skepticism, and because they are secure in their own beliefs and I don't mock them for it they don't mind having an honest discussion with me about it.

Supporting someone doesn't necessarily require giving up your own belief system.

My closest friends can expect support from me whatever happens whether it's something I believe in or not. If they came to me to tell me something I surely wouldn't doubt what they're telling me. (Maybe with some people I would, but not my closest friends.) And vice versa.

But this is way OT. My friends question was to the OP anyway since she was the one who made the doubting comments about several of her closest friends, and I'd still like to hear her reply.

I have no problem responding to people who ask me a question, seriously, you didn't post your question all that long ago, and I do have other things I'm doing this morning.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Well I see my "friends" question ruffled some feathers just as the doubting closest friends comment ruffled mine.

OP, besides that, I hope what I said earlier answered some of your questions. I replied here despite risk of ridicule because you genuinely seemed to want to know.

It's interesting on threads like these. While maybe not blatant, at least from the OP, there certainly have been some judgemental comments here.

And I was certainly in no rush from a reply, just at some point was curious to hear from the OP.

Whatever. If people want to believe, great. If they don't, that's fine, too. But it is more fun to discuss these things with like minded people. I bet there'd be lots more replies if people weren't afraid to speak up.

 

[Goofyluver]

Supporting someone doesn't necessarily require giving up your own belief system.

My closest friends can expect support from me whatever happens whether it's something I believe in or not. If they came to me to tell me something I surely wouldn't doubt what they're telling me. (Maybe with some people I would, but not my closest friends.) And vice versa.

But this is way OT. My friends question was to the OP anyway since she was the one who made the doubting comments about several of her closest friends, and I'd still like to hear her reply.

Again, sounds like you expect your friends to believe what you believe.

If you were my friend and you came to me and said that your dead family member climbed into bed with you during the night and whispered to you, my job isn't to believe that it happened. It's to listen to your story.

Most folks seem to believe in one thing or another, whether that be God, ghosts or both. The question on this thread was, "Do you?" No, I don't. I don't draw any distinction between a belief in a god or a belief in ghosts or spirits. My friends know that. Just as I know that they believe. And again, we still co-exist.

Who wants to surround themselves with like-minded people? Sounds boring.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Who wants to surround themselves with like-minded people? Sounds boring.

You do have a way of interpreting what you want to interpret.

Did I say surround myself with like minded people? I thought I said discuss with like minded people.

 

[ebtbmom]

Whatever. If people want to believe, great. If they don't, that's fine, too. But it is more fun to discuss these things with like minded people. I bet there'd be lots more replies if people weren't afraid to speak up.

I think we just have a difference of opinion, . I like discussing things with people who think differently than me because it sometimes actually makes you challenge what you think you know. I love knowing what makes people tick and why people interpret things the way they do. Kind of like our mutual love of WDW, why do we love it and some people hate it. Why do some people think it's only for kids, I don't know, but I do like asking these questions of people and then thinking about my own opinions to see if I've been influenced by something.

This is also why I wish we could talk politics on here, I know it's against the rules so we can't, but I do love a good, rousing political debate between respectful people!

I'll have to let you guys know how my ghost hunting trip to Savannah goes, who knows, I may come back converted!

 

[epcot.girl]

Basically, some PP have said that we are all either lying or psychotic. That's not okay to me. You can say you don't believe but don't have any explanation for what happened, but that you think one exists, and that's okay. But you shouldn't resort to calling a lot of otherwise reputable folks liars or insane just to hold onto your belief system. Sorry to be so blunt.

I haven't seen anyone say that.

What was said (by me anyway) is that people's senses are easily fooled (optical illusions, for example), people play pranks on each other, people move things and forget about doing it, people can do things while not being fully conscious (moving things around when sleepwalking) - that kind of thing.

That said, psychosis is the experience of hallucinating and not knowing that it's an hallucination. If people really are seeing ghosts/spirits/angels/poltergeists then who's to say that paranoid schizophrenics aren't actually hearing the voice of God or being pursued by Satan?

Years ago I read something about teenage girls being at a higher risk of experiencing paranormal activity - they're also going through a pretty stressful (hormonally, emotionally, socially) time of their life. Stress (along with other such conditions as depression) can cause temporary psychosis. I'd be interested to know how many people other than teenage girls experience such paranormal activity and what percentage of them are going through stressful experiences (new job, lost job, new house, death of friend/relative) which could induce some kind of temporary psychosis.

I want to clarify that I'm not calling anyone here psychotic or saying anyone here has experienced psychosis, because the other explanations (sensory disconnect, people playing pranks, etc.) are all reasonable too. I'm also not calling anyone here a liar. I'm not disputing the experience, only the explanation.

 

[Rayvn]

I believe that ghosts and spirits are real.

Leslie

 

[kgreen]

.

 

[Uncle Remus]

I know I shoulda taken a picture of my toast this mornin'.

Just teasin' ya, kgreen, if you believe it, then it's true to you.

 

[kgreen]

.

 

[hambirg]

I do understand a lot of the ways these experiences can be explained away. I know a lot of the photo ones usually have a reasonable explanation. And of course it can be mental perception. . .mind tricks. But for those who think it is, I wonder how that can be explained when more than one person has the same experience. For example, I know the "smell" thing might be explained by some kind of olfactory memory, but when both me and my Mom smelled my Dad (and it wasn't suggestion, as Mom didn't tell me she smelled him.) how do you explain those things?

I guess my personal philosophy is that maybe we just haven't gotten the science down yet, not that it doesn't exist. Kind of like people used to think the world was flat. The world was not flat, but because that is how most people perceived it, it was their "truth." There are scientific theories showing that time is relative. . .but most of us have a hard time believing that from what we experience. There are also scientific theories (string theory) that show that it is possible to have dimensions in time. So who's to say that our "ghosts" aren't within another dimension? Idk. . .all interesting to ponder.

If you really want to get into the philosophy of reality. Who's to say anything is real? Everything you are experiencing could just be a figment of your imagination. What your mind is experiencing may just be an illusion. I think if you want to use the argument that these types of experiences are just illusion of the mind. . .then it stands to reason that other experiences are also. . .including everything. We define reality by what we can experience through our own senses. . .hence why "reality" sometimes is obviously relative. Where lies the truth? For people that claim they only believe in what they can experience, who's to say everything you are experiencing isn't an illusion and the truth lies somewhere else?

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

deleted.

 

[Arielle22]

Everyone has different beliefs. But once you experience things happening that's when you start to believe! lol

I agree. DH and I had our house built and the first few years nothng happened. However after my mom died things began to happen. I had a disembodied voice call my name, as did my sister who lived here and our niece. Both my daughters saw things when they were younger (one saw a woman on our stairs and the other saw a hand on the end of our couch when we were sitting on it).

Other things have happened as well so both DH and I believe.

 

[Pigeon]

So your closest friends have had experiences, shared them with you (probably despite some hesitation and embarrassment, though ultimately had trust in your understanding), and you doubted what they told you? Wow. What kind of close friends are you keeping? Why do you suppose they would say these things?

I absolutely have different interpretations than my friends have for these experiences. I don't call them liars, but neither do I say, yes, you are right, it must be ghosts.

My step mother went through some mumbo jumbo with some religious folks at her hospital the last time she had a hip replacement. It involved chanting and waving around some sort of "healing" pendant. and somebody giving her "healing touch." It made her feel better, and she desperately wants me to believe in her religion, so she keeps trotting this out as "proof." I'm not a believer. I do believe she felt better, but I think that's a psychological thing.

It is awkward. I absolutely don't believe any magic occurred, but it's nice she made herself feel better. I don't call her a liar, but neither do I tell her that I believe in her explanation, nor am I going to pretend to.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

kgreen, I'm sorry you felt the need to delete your post. I, for one, enjoyed your story and your pictures.

I have a pic I was going to share with you also. I took this at Niagara Falls. Other pics I took from the same spot at the same time are different.

Take from it what you will.

 

[becpee]

I do believe.
I *think* I had an experience at a friends place when I was about 16.
There I was sitting on a couch watching tv, my friends sister sitting beside me and I felt this tap tap on my shoulder.
My friends sister had a really annoying habit of doing this and my immediate reaction was to tell her to leave me alone to which she replied "what do you mean?"
The thing was that I got tapped on the opposite shoulder to where she was sitting and she couldn't reach around me without me noticing.
I just thought well, weird but I don't know.
Then my friend told me later something had happened to her mum, she had been laying in bed asleep but had woken up because she had gotten cold.
She tried to rearrange herself in bed but couldn't move and was laying there feeling paralysed, tried to call out but no sound.
She noticed a dark spot on the ceiling and it would move, she still couldn't move though and then she felt what felt like something going right through her body front to back and the spot had gone.
She later had a medium come through the house who told her that there was a man stuck there who had overdosed in the house and died, this story was later backed up by neighbours.
My mum also told me a story where her and her friend had been having a few wines one night and thought they'd try out a ouija board (yeah, great idea )
They ended up communicating with somebody who was related to my mums friend (by marriage) who the friend didn't know about.
He told them to ask the friends husband about something that they used to get up to as children (trouble LOL) that nobody knew about, which they did.
It freaked both my mum and her friend out and they didn't use the ouija board again.

 

[becpee]

kgreen, I'm sorry you felt the need to delete your post. I, for one, enjoyed your story and your pictures.

I have a pic I was going to share with you also. I took this at Niagara Falls. Other pics I took from the same spot at the same time are different.

Take from it what you will.

Have you got any of the different pics to show?