Adventure Travel Online

Are you a believer of ghosts?

I for one am becoming less and less convinced every day. There used to be a time when i couldn't go to sleep without fretting about the 'ghost' in the coner, i would go ghost hunting with friends with a real expectation of tonight being 'the big'un' where we finally catch a ghost. But funnily enough i never caught a ghost, or even saw a ghost.

I was convinced even more in November last year when i stayed the night in what has been claimed to be 'the most haunted house in Britian' in Stratford Upon Avon for charity. We did a ouija board, a few seances, and the thing where you put a glass on the table and it moves to yes or no.

Directly after that night i was pretty sure that spirits and ghoulies did exist, but i did some research into the psychology behind a ouija board, and ghost sigtings, and once again i was disapointed .

I really want to believe that there is life after death, and that ghosts are real, but everything i have seen and learnt so far is proving otherwise.

Your views?

I don't believe in ghosts - apart from any time when I watch any vaguely spooky movie and then have to go to bed and am terrified something will leap out of the cupboard.

I'm not sure if I want to believe in life after death either - I kind of thing that when people die they deserve a rest. But I don't know (er, obviously).

What about reincarnation - do you believe in that? Who were you in a past life? I was definitely Boadicea. And Elvis.

I'm a skeptic, I've never seen a ghost but others have!
I do believe that there are things which we, as humans, find difficult to comprehend - I'm sure there's more out there than simply this physical world we live in.
People around the world believe in all manner of things, which we might term as 'Ghosts' according to our perspective and knowledge.

Bruce parry's Tribe is a brilliant programme where Tribes describe things they believe in, some under the influence of drugs, others stone cold sober!

Druids and such people believe in many supernatural things, as do people in the valleys in aprts of Wales.

People in the Hindu Kush and in Hunza believe in fairies, beings that inhabit the mountain sides, and summits and they have some strange tales to tell!!
In one of the videos I posted, the "lost Horizons" one, we have a shaman who manages to 'get in touch' with these "fairies" or spirits, and divines a few things!!!
It's an amazing thing to watch!

Imran, a poster here on this site, also told me a story about an 'experience' he had while at the Tirich Mir base camp, one night.
Imran?? pray tell others here of your close encounter with whatever it was!!

As for life after death, we'll soon find out!!! Ultimately these kind of things are down to experience and faith, I don't believe we can empirically 'prove' such things or scientifically demonstrate them, nor forcefully experience them (Ouija boards etc)

Great post Ibbz

It seems that it is always 'others' who see ghosts and never the person who is asked.

I would love to believe that there is more than our physical world as the idea of simply not existing when we die is not what i want to hear. It's too hard to try and comprehend what happens to our body, our soul, or our energy when we take our last breath.

I believe that the inability to comprehend death, for some people, leads them to tricking themselves into believing in the afterlife, fairies, or ghosts. For alot of people it's fear of what happens after death, there is nothing more scary, or intimidating than not knowing, and believing in ghosts provides a cushion for those fears.

I would love to live in a world where fairies and all things magical and wonderful were real, but sadly fairies etc. have about as much credibility as santa and the grinch.

Saying that, i can't wait to hear imrans story.

Mmmm. Interesting.

In all my travels I've found that there are two things which are common to humans whether they're from a developed western society or recently 'discovered' in a remote part of the Amazon and that's alcohol and a belief in spirits.

In fact I'm currently reading a book called 'The Ravens Gift' which is based on a former western scientist turned explorer and his experience of the spiritual beliefs and experiences of the native Siberians.

I'm also a bit of a sceptic tending to believe and be comfortable with the practical explanation that we're just a composition of carbon and water, just like everything else.

As an aside I once slept out on Jugurtha's Table, a flat topped mountain that rises 1200m out of the surrounding countryside in remote Eastern Tunisia. Local custom has it that it's haunted and anyone who spends the night up on top will never return. Maybe I didn't.

Interesting replies.
The Universe is a HUGE place - some say infinite, I was watching a prog on BBC2 today about dark matter, dark energy and dark flow - names for things science have zero knowledge of.
We can't fathom such things on a cosmic scale, and I believe there are things our mind or rationality cannot fathom on an earthly scale.
So Ghosts, Demons, Spirits, fairies - who knows! - I asked one fella once to explain "Love" and he was unable to - I'm positive there's more to it than simply neurological currents and chemical balances! just like there's more to the Universe than Simple mechanics, or elements or 'normal' physics models!
I remain a skeptic, and open to persuasion - never say never is my motto!

And has anyone had a chance to watch the Shaman in action?? (in the Video)

Salam my friends,

Yes I believe in ghosts and I've some experiences from the past, in the high mountains of Pakistan.

July 2001, I was trekking over Owir pass 4450 m, with a French couple, young people, very fit so we made it to the pass around 1:30 PM, relaxed there for a while, took some snaps of the mountains in the vicinity.

We were total 6 people, my crew included 2 porters , 1 cook, after the pass we started descending to the pastures of Owir valley, we arrived at the campsite around 5:00 PM, pitched the tent, the weather was bad, clouds were there so the clients' stuff was shifted inside their tent, in the meaneawhile tea was ready so we had tea, it was windy and cold, we were camping at almost 3000 m .
There was a small hut under the trees near the campsite, used by the owner of the campsite, so the crew perefered to use it as a kitchen and after the dinner they planned to sleep there.
I mounted my tent a bit far from the other tent and hut so after the dinner I had a little chat about the trek for the next day and then I said good night to them and I went to hut and and discussed the plans for the next day with the crew, it was around 10:00 PM, so I came back to my tent and fell asleep.
It was around mid-night when I woke up abruptly with the feeling that someone touched my toes, I was inside the sleeping bag, I found my torch, I turned it on but I was alone , so I thought the porters or cook might have come to my tent but there was nobody or it was a nightmare?
So I went inside the sleeping bag again, after a while when I was half asleep I had the same feeling and this time someone was trying to pull my sleeping bag , I woke up again and then I felt I was not alone inside my tent, someone was there but invisible, that was a very strange situtation but I did not have any fear.
I closed my eyes again but there was no sleep because of that incident, so I stood up, I wore my jacket, shoes and took the torch and came outside, the night was starlit, very beautiful so I started walking and then I heard some noise from the hut, I went there and I heard the people inside the hut were awake.
I knocked at the door and the cook asked who is there?
I said it is me so he opened the door but they were really scared so I asked them what happened?
They told me, an hour ago someone was knocking at hut's door continuously but when they opened the door nobody was there and I told them my story so they all moved to my tent and then we slept but then it was fine.
Then for a couple of days of the trekking around Terichmir base camp, we had the discussions about that incidents.
Sometimes when I remember that trek, the strange feeling of some creature inside my tent flickers across my mind.
There are a few more stories to tell, but later.
Ciao,

Great story Imran, I'm hiding under the bedcovers as I type...more please.

I wish I had a spooky tale to share with you but none are coming to mind though I do have a few scary human stories which I'll post up in the future. The story about 'dusty' who I met on the Appalachian Trail comes to mind - and that was scary.

I'll tell you what surprised me during my visits to the Himalaya is how the locals truly believe in the existence of yeti's. I remember conversations with a school teacher and village elders in a remote corner of Nepal where all were convinced of their presence in the mountains and all had stories to tell of sightings.

Imran, thanks for the story.
How can anyone explain such things? It gave me the creeps, yet I would love to have experienced this - though it would've frightened me in a big way!

I've met Imran, and he is a rational minded, 'western' person, with a progressive outlook on life - a good mix of east and west, and that makes it all the more real and factual - and he told me this experience briefly when we met
I really love the way you have described the scenario, the times, locations, weather, everything - it put me in the picture and I can only begin to imagine the sensations you experienced.

I would love to hear more, and about other beliefs people on the mountains have - which must be based on something.

I know that not many people actually live in the Owin Pass and maybe such experiences occur where civilisation or a great many people are not to be found - places where beings or things from a different age can exist - like a last final haven for them.

Heard any stories in the Himalayas Alun?