Does your house ever make unexplained noises? I'm not talking about the usual creaks or moans, but rather commercial jingles, and loud buzzing noises? I, of course, don't believe in anything as ridiculous as ghosts, but every now and then strange things happen at home that make me reconsider that disbelief.
For example, the other night, Laura and I had just turned off the light to go to bed when we hear what sounds like a commercial jingle playing in the adjacent room. After listening to the whole thing and getting suitably freaked out, I managed to get up the nerve to explore the house, and of course found nothing. It was the strangest thing. It was a new commercial for Jello Jigglers. The one with all the weird dancers. The only thing I can think is that it was our upstairs neighbors, but Laura and I both heard it coming from the room next door. The only other explanation that I could come up with was a computer played the ad when a webpage automatically reloaded.
Okay, as if that wasn't weird enough, the night before we went on vacation last October there was this really loud buzzing noise at like 3 AM. This time it sounded like it could've been the smoke detector that's right outside the bedroom door. Of course, why on earth did the smoke detector freak out like that?! All I know is it scared the bejeebus out of both of us.
Maybe advertisers, having been shafted by TiVo and such, figured out a way to put product placement/commercials INSIDE our homes. spoooooky.
I think ghosts exist. I didn't for most of my life, but I've reconsidered my position. And no, I don't think that "faith" in ghosts makes them real "for me." Either they're real or they're not, whether I believe in them or not.
So how could they be real? If we humans have an animating principle that gives life to the body--and which can subsist "somehow" when separated from the body--then ghosts can be real. Such an animating principle I would call the soul, and a ghost would be a soul that has separated from its body, but which still "somehow" makes its presence felt here on earth.
Actually, I was just pondering this morning the concept of "presence," and whether it is something spatio-temporal, or something spiritual.
But I digress. As a Catholic I believe that souls "receive judgment" at the moment of death, and enter into heaven, hell, or purgatory. But what if, for some reason, God allows a soul to remain on earth? I could only imagine that it would be because of his mercy. . .or perhaps out of a kind of justice, if the soul had freely given itself over to evil and now "belonged" to the devil. In any case, such a soul would be a ghost. Or, perhaps, ghosts are in a special "stage" of purgatory? Who knows!
Anyway, my final point is that I don't think there's any need to be afraid of ghosts. After all, Legolas has no fear of the "shades of men"--so why should we?
I used to think that all ghostly manifestations were the result of evil spirits, but now I'm now sure anymore.
Anyway, there are a lot of presuppositions in this comment, but I'm OK with that. The question is, do you believe in ghosts?!?!