Research Paper

Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the study

Many people throughout the world are believed in stories about ghostly encounters. An example is The Amityville Horror(1975) which was based from the writers George and Kathy Lutz. These stories are used by movie producers to create movies about ghosts and exaggerate them to be a great hit in the entertainment industry and because of these, people are believed that ghosts act the same way as the ghosts in movies. This fact makes their fear of ghosts greater. Horror films or movies is a film genre made to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's primal fears.

Jeffrey Goldstein wrote an article called "The Attractions of Violent Entertainment". Some viewers seek the excitement of events that are not happening on a daily basis which explains the attraction of people in horrific scenes. Scenes on which gives people the chills on the spine. Goldstein also quoted "People go to horror films because they want to be frightened or they wouldn't do it twice," (http://pftdcast.com/resources/GoldsteinThe%20attractions%20of%20violent%20entertainment.pdf). 

He explained the success of these movies that is why more and more people are drawn in watching these and with the exaggeration of the movies people are getting more filled by bad ideas about ghosts and horrors which definitely out of the line.

Parents and adults introduce their children in believing ghosts at a very young age. Many parents in this generation use ghostly beliefs as one of their disciplinary actions for children. Making the children believe that they exist can only adding fear to the young minds. A popular thing that parents do is that they introduce ghosts to children to make them obey what they want.

Stephen Wagner wrote an article called "Should you be afraid of ghosts?". Ghosts are not evil. We are just living in an era of ghost fearing people and it is mainly because of movies, books and stories and because of this children are afraid of them. Wagner also added "If you were walking unarmed in a dense tropical jungle that you know is inhabited by tigers and large snakes, you'd undoubtedly be petrified." Children would have the same feeling as that because they don't even know what they are and what they can do."(http://paranormal.about.com/od/ghosthuntinggeninfo/a/aa102405.htm)
         
Ghosts are believed because they are also introduced in games. Games nowadays has a millions of selection to choose from and some of these are the horror games. About 60% of the game fans are mostly children that is why they are exposed to these horrific games. Children are drawn to these games because of the excitement it brings and because of the carelessness of parents children take hold of these games at a very young age eventhough they are not suitable for very young players.
Andrew Groen wrote an article called "What Makes Horror Games Scary?". The emotional stimuli which is found in the brain, affects how we feel in a game. Upon experiencing it, it makes us feel fear and horrified eventhough the  scene did not happen in real life because the brain can often only barely tell the difference between media and reality. Groen also mentioned "The key to the horror experience is that our brains -- amazing though they may be – can often only barely tell the difference between media and reality."(http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-10-29-what-makes-horror-games-scary-article).

The children's imaginations are so wild that it can never really tell what is real and what is fake and to top it all up, games nowadays are created with great graphics that makes it so convincing for the bright minds of children.

A lot of children believe that ghosts exists. Many children believes the existence of ghosts because they are everywhere. Games, movies, books, and even media has them. Another cause of these problem is because children are exposed to them by parents and sometimes ghosts are used for bullying and tormenting little kids. Having these things can easily make a child experience phasmophobia which is really hard to handle when it comes to kids. 
Carrie Shrier wrote an article called "Spooky stuff: Talking with children about ghosts, monsters and other childhood fears". Parent’s support and understanding can help make the things that go bump in the night much less scary for children. Talking to children is the greatest way to help them cope with their fear and having parents to reassure their safety can make them feel more comfortable. She also stated "children under the age of seven had difficulty understanding the difference between fantasy and reality. This makes those ghost decorations, or the potential for the monster under the bed, seem much more scary, even if parents assure the child it is not real."(http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/spooky_stuff_talking_with_children_about_ghosts_monsters_and_other_childhoo).

As parents we need to reassure the kids that we will keep them safe from the ghosts they believe and not to discipline them by using these ghosts to scare them.

Ghosts are believed because they are introduced in games, movies, stories, and news and because of that many and many people believe in their existence. Eventhough this matter is popular and believed, the researcher believes that ghost beliefs are bad for people and especially children.

Understanding the effects of children's exposure to horrors and ghosts would help us know the do's and don'ts in introducing ghosts to children and encouraging people to stop introducing ghosts as a cause of fear to help their children grow without fear of supernatural things.

The purpose of this paper is to make people more knowledgeable about the bad effects of ghost beliefs to people and children.

B. Statement of the problem

          This study aims to answer this question:
     
          1. Why is ghost beliefs bad for people especially children ?

C. Significance of the study

Parents and adults. This research paper would be able to help parents and adults understand the effects of ghostly beliefs to the young minds of children. Moreover, the researchers is encouraging people to lessen the children's exposure to ghost themed movies, games, and stories.

Film Makers. Knowledge of this study would help film makers understand the effects of exaggerated movies to how people think about ghosts and horrors and encouraging them to lessen the exaggeration of films that is too unreal.

Future Researchers. This study is important for future researchers to make similar studies helping them go deeper in this kind of matter because only few people are interested to discuss this matter so the information is only limited. They may use this study as their reference for research and and learn about the effects of ghosts to people.

D. Scope and Delimitation

This study focuses on the effects of ghostly beliefs to people(adults and children). Ghosts has been popular to many people because of the scare they bring and because of that thought adults use them to scare children which is really bad for the young minds.

Due to limited time constraints, this study will only discuss the effects of ghosts to the people. Scientific explanations will no longer be discussed in this study.This is will also give an emphasis to the encouragement to people to stop using ghosts in pranks and for exposing these matters to children at a very young age.

E. Materials and Methods

The information about this research was gathered from various reference materials such as blogs from on-line sources.
   
The data gathered will be presented in a cause and effect manner because the study is mainly about the effects of ghosts to people which has to be explained in cause and effect. This will be observed in the view of the psychology.

F. Definition of Terms

1. Belief- an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.
(https://www.google.com.ph/#q=belief+definition)

2. Encounter- unexpectedly experience or be faced with (something difficult or hostile).
(https://www.google.com.ph/#q=encounter+definition)

3. Exaggeration- a statement that represents something as better or worse than it really is.
(https://www.google.com.ph/#q=exaggeration+definition)

4. Exposure- the state of being exposed to contact with something.
(https://www.google.com.ph/#q=exposure+definition)

5. Hallucinations- an experience involving the apparent perception of something not present.
(https://www.google.com.ph/#q=hallucination+definition)

6. Psychology- the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, esp. those affecting behavior in a given context.
(https://www.google.com.ph/#=psychology+definition)


Chapter 2
DISCUSSION

Why is ghost beliefs bad for people especially children ?

I. Definition of ghostly beliefs
           
 Ghostly beliefs are known by all ages, ghostly beliefs are speculations about supernatural entities like ghosts, demons, and many more. A recent study has been conducted in the UK and reported a steadily increasing trend in paranormal belief from 40 %(2005)  to 60 %(2009) which explains the fast growing trend regarding the matters of ghost beliefs.
"Balete Drive" one of the most popular ghost belief in the Philippines, believers report a woman in white with long black hair and her face either completely blank or obscured by blood standing in the middle of the road on Balete Drive. This belief has been popular to the Filipino's because countless of car crash has been reported happening because of this. 
          "The Flying Dutchman" a popular ghost tale from Cape of good hope on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. The ship and its crew became eternally cursed when its Dutch captain refused to take safe harbor during a storm rage despite pleas from the crew and passengers. It is always viewed as a bad omen to see the ship and it is believed that the sailor who originally sees the vessel will fall to his death.
          "Bloody Mary" is a popular ghost who was said to have murdered her kids long ago. It is said in the folklore if you want to see her go into a bathroom (usually at school), turn the lights off, stand in front of a mirror, and repeat her name three times. Most either stare at their scared reflection in the dark mirror or lose their nerve after saying the second "Bloody Mary" and run screaming from the bathroom in girlish giggles.

II. Why people believe ghostly beliefs
                
A. Ghost stories
Countless of ghost stories has been told from throughout the globe by elders, adults and even children, with all these happening their popularity will soon affect the whole wide world and bring even more fears to the public which is really alarming.
Stories like Bloody Mary, The Flying Dutcman, Ghost of Balete drive and many more are believed because stories about them are becoming more and more popular as time goes by and they are the said root of many accidents or deaths that have happened that is why they are feared and because of that common misconceptions people are forced to believe. we cannot trust or believe all these stories because they are not even proven.

According to the article, "Science, Not Superstition:The Nature of Ghosts" by Paul Lee, Thousands of research has been made to determine whether ghosts are really true or just superstitions. The evidence for the paranormal is very sketchy. It is not too hard to see why this is, and why people remain to be convinced the main reason is a lack of tangible, tabulated evidence like spirit orbs differ than dust orbs.

Lee also added "Ghost stories are almost purely anecdotal, and seem to be very personal experiences. They also mostly seem to focus on trivial, mundane events, which is remarkable when we are often told that ghosts are imprints of behavior  such as violence etc., committed in the past and this somehow becomes imprinted upon the environment." (http://www.paullee.com/ghosts/sns_new.html)

Some stories are only made to bring fear to people and they are not even 100 percent accurate some stories are created more and more exaggerated as time goes by and ghosts are getting more scary because of these made up stories.

B. Media
   
1. Movies        
Ghosts are not only introduced in Stories but also like books, they are now adapted by films because of the demand of people in the entertainment industry. Ghosts and scary movies are popular nowadays, the people's taste in movies has also changed. People nowadays much prefer scary movies, movies that give chills to their spines, movies that challenge their selves into watching these films eventhough scared. Beliefs adapted in movies like the flying dutchman which was recently featured in the movie "Pirates of the Carribean". Another one is Bloody mary which was updated and was made into a horror film series "Candyman." and the ever popular the Amityville horror house by writers George and Kathy Lutz which was made into the movie "Amity horror" these are the examples of movies made creatively and is made to be watched not believed.
           
According to the article called "Paranormal depictions in the media: how do they affect what people believe?" by Glenn G. Sparks, Media depictions of the paranormal do seem to influence the way people think about ghosts because of what they are believing what they see in movies because only few people has the ability to see ghosts. Sparks also mentioned "individuals may tend to rely more on television to suggest what they should believe about this realm. In contrast, those who believe they have had personal paranormal experiences may find media messages to be a far less important source of information about the topic".(http://www.ravenndragon.net/montgomery/sparks.html)

Movies adapted in stories are made exaggerated and made more creatively by directors because of their want to satisfy the viewers adrenaline but this comes with a bad effect, yes we are liking the way they create movies but with these movies we develop great fears of ghosts and because of the fact they manipulate our minds with creating scenes that are so scary in the fantasy our mind pushes ourselves to believe that it can happen to reality.

2. Social Media
Social media is the number one source of information and many people are influenced by it. If someone sees one video that is really interesting and shares it in social media the video will go viral and becomes popular that millions of people will see it. Ghosts has popular in the media for quite sometime now and it has been watched and subscribed maybe because people are curious about these matters.

According to the article by Jenna M. Vallee entitled "Effects of Social Influence and Persuasion
on Paranormal Beliefs". Paranormal beliefs is elevated by social media. People agrees more when paranormal activities are caught on video recordings. Vallee also mentioned "there was a relationship determined by the evidence of increased endorsement from peers and media exposure on the participant’s belief in the paranormal".(http://library.wcsu.edu/dspace/bitstream/0/457/1/vallee.pdf)

Ghosts beliefs spreads fast with the help of social sites and because of the fact that everybody doesn't believe in it, it spreads like a forest fire because people wants to scatter fear and confusion to more people.

C. Disciplinary actions/ Pranking

Ghosts are said to be introduced by parents to children in an early age which ranges to ages two to seven. They are said to be used in disciplining their children by using ghosts to scare the child in favor of doing what they want. A popular example of this is the boogeyman that is said to creep at the bottom of the bed this ideal is used to discipline children in to staying on their beds if ever they wake up in the middle of the night.
     
Accorditing to the artice, "The Boogeyman Called " by Mel C. Montgomery, The boogeyman is an imaginary monster we sometimes frighten small children with. Parents use the boogeyman to scare children to discipline them to doing what we wanted them to do. Montgomery also mentioned that "We tell them, "If you don't behave, the Boogeyman will get you!" Or, "If you don't do well in school, the 
Boogeyman will get you!".(http://www.brothermel.org/sites/default/files/articles/The_Boogey_Man_Called_False_Tongues.pdf)

We scare children with for example, "the boogeyman" to blackmail them to obey us but other adults use them as to scare or playing pranks with children. These reasons for believing ghosts may seem like harmless fun, however psychologists have learned that these beliefs have a number of negative effects on both adults and children.

II. Effects of Ghostly Beliefs in Adults

A. Parents use ghostly beliefs to scare children. Making children think of ghostly beliefs can create a really negative feedback. Yes, your child can be disciplined at some point but this factor is really unnecessary  to do cause it will only affect children in a way of producing nightmares, night fears, and great nervousness in the children's part.

In an article called "How to Talk to Your Children About Ghosts: The Dos and Don'ts" by Llewellyn. Parents and adult should know when to tell their children information about ghosts. They should inform children based on how old are they and how ready they are to understand this information. Llewellyn also mentioned that "If your children are very small, you won’t want to tell them everything"(https://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/2240)

You should consider things before introducing children to ghost beliefs because their minds are so extravagant that they can't even tell the difference between fantasy and reality. Parents should also make sure that they should share stories that would somehow fit to the childs age.

B. Adults use ghosts for pranks. Many adults especially teenagers use ghosts as pranks and practical jokes for fun. People intend to scare them selves with ghosts and horrors because they believe that they can get laughter from it. Teenagers nowadays use ghost beliefs to bully other people and taking advantage of their fears and nervousness 

Based on the article called "Fear of ghosts ?" by Louis Charles, People fear ghosts because of movies and we are taught me that ghosts were devilish entities who hid in the dark to attack the unsuspecting. The truth is we are only scaring our selves but living with the beliefs in ghosts can somehow help us cope with our fear. Charles also mentioned "I have found that fear is man-made, meaning it is something we can control and overcome because we accept and perpetuate our fears".(http://www.angelsghosts.com/fear_of_ghosts.html)

People are only causing fear to them selves in believing ghosts and to top it all up ghosts fears are only man made. Sometimes people create ghosts beliefs for prank and to scare other people which is really idiotic and it can lead to great fear.

The belief in ghosts affect adults negatively in surprising ways. It can affect the way adults do in parenting children because they can use ghosts as a way of making making children do what they want and some adult use ghosts as pranks to scare people. What's worse than this though is the effect these ghostly beliefs have on children. The trauma brought about by fear and horror may have lingering negative effects on the emotional and psychological development of a child. These effects will be discussed in the next section.

IV Effects of Ghostly Beliefs in Children

A. Ghost beliefs can confuse children. Ghosts are a serious matter when it comes to children because our child doesn't know what really a ghosts is. The child's mind is really young to understand ghosts and other complicated stuff. They only know ghosts in movies, stories and games who introduces ghosts in a very wrong way that is why children needs our guidance in understanding this matters.
According to the article called "Fearful Kids Can't Separate Fantasy from Reality" by Tanya Lewis. Children is confused whether mythical creatures are real or not and because of these they undergo nightmares about them. Based on studies children who are having difficulty separating fact from fiction may be more prone to nighttime fears.Lewis also mentioned that "Kids who experienced night time fears had a harder time making fantasy-reality distinctions than the other kids"(http://www.livescience.com/27187-fearful-kids-can-t-separate-fantasy-from-reality.html)

Children doesn't really have an understanding about mythical creatures such as ghost, boogeyman etc. and when they see it on movies or games they sometimes bring that characters inside their dreams and with that happening in their mind  they can never know whether they are fantasy or reality.

B. Ghost beliefs can bring fear to children which can end to Phasmophobia. Children are afraid of ghosts, if you try to scare them with the beliefs of ghosts they'll cry, tremble, and pee their pants its because ghosts nowadays are introduced to children as a really scary beings capable of hurting people, consuming people, and they appear scary in movies games and other media. Children develop fears about ghosts that would somehow end up in great fears of ghosts or Phasmophobia.

Lisa Fritscher wrote an article called "Phasmophobia Fear of Ghosts". Phasmophobia or the fear of ghosts is overwhelming and life-limiting. Some experts feel that a phobia of ghosts may be symptomatic of a more serious disorder. This disorder is commonly related to Thanatophobia (fear of death). This phobia is also affected by magical thinking, religious beliefs, and parapsychology.

Fritscher also mentioned that "Some experts feel that a phobia of ghosts may be symptomatic of a more serious thought disorder, as it may constitute a form of magical thinking. Let’s try to break down the relevant issues".(http://phobias.about.com/od/phobiaslist/a/phasmaphobia.htm)

Phasmophobia is said to be a serious disorder because having this is close to insanity. We should not scare children because they are really prone to phasmophobia because their minds are too young to handle these facts and we cannot afford to have our kids suffer from being Phasmophobic.

Chapter 3

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY
This paper attempted to determine the bad effects of ghost beliefs to people and children.
           
The research design used in this study is the Action and Research method wherein  research design that lends itself to use in work or community situations and solution-driven research rather than testing theories were used to answer the question posed. The research findings are the following:

1. Many people throughout the world are believed in stories about ghostly encounters.

2. Parents and adults introduce their children in believing ghosts at a very young age.
3.  Ghosts are believed because they are also introduced in games.

4. A lot of children believe that ghosts exists.

CONCLUSIONS
             
Based on the findings of this study. The following conclusions are drawn :

1. Parents use ghostly beliefs to scare children.

2. Adults use ghosts for pranks.

3. Ghost beliefs can confuse children.
           
4. Ghost beliefs can bring fear to children which can end to Phasmophobia.

RECOMMENDATIONS
           
After drawing the conclusions of the study, the researchers hereby make the following suggestions/recommendations :

1. Film makers - In adapting a ghost story to a movie one must base the happenings in a more realistic way, stick to the idea the story teller makes and never change their story.
               
2. Parents - We should learn to never talk to kids about ghosts in a very young age and it will be much better if they are not anymore introduced to ghostly beliefs. There are a lot of ways of parenting for kids other than scaring them to obey you, scaring children can have a great effect on their emotional and psychological development of children.
3. Adults - We should never use ghosts as pranks or use them to fear other people because we may never expect people can have phasmophobia and become insane.

References:

A. Electronic Media

Charles, Louis. "Fear of ghosts" retrieved March 11, 2014 from
      http://www.angelsghosts.com/fear_of_ghosts.html


Frater, Jamie(2009)."Top 10 Famous Real Ghosts" Retrieved April 8, 2014 from
      http://listverse.com/2009/12/27/top-10-famous-real-ghosts.html

Fritscher, Lisa(2011). "Phasmophobia: Fear of ghosts" retreived April 11, 2014 from
      http://phobias.about.com/od/phobiaslist/a/phasmaphobia.htm

Goldstein, Jeffrey(1999)."The Attractions of Violent Entertainment " retrieved March 28, 2014 from
      http://pftdcast.com/resources/Goldstein-The%20attractions%20of%20violent%20entertainment.pdf

Groen, Andrew(2010). "What makes horror games scary?" retrieved March 28, 2014 from
      http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-10-29-what-makes-horror-games-scary-article

Lee, Paul(2014). "Science, Not Superstition: The Nature of Ghosts" retrieved March 11, 2014 from
      http://www.paullee.com/ghosts/sns_new.html

Llewellyn(2011). "How to Talk to Your Children About Ghosts: The Dos and Don'ts" retrieved March 11,         2014 from https://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/2240


Lewis, Tanya(2013). "Fearful kids can't separate fantasy from reality" retrieved March 11, 2014 from
      http://www.livescience.com/27187-fearful-kids-can-t-separate-fantasy-from-reality.html

Montgomery, Mel(2006). "The Boogeyman Called "False Tongues" " retrieved March 10, 2014 from
      http://www.brothermel.org/sites/default/files/articles/The_Boogey_Man_Called_False_Tongues.pdf

Radford, Benjamin(2007)."Top 10 Most Famous Ghosts" Retrieved April 8, 2014 from                  
      http://www.livescience.com/11364-top-10-famous-ghosts.html


Sparks, Glenn(2009). "Paranormal depictions in the media: how do they affect what people believe?"  r               retrieved March 11, 2014 from http://www.ravenndragon.net/montgomery/sparks.html

Shrier, Carrie(2013). "Spooky stuff: Talking with children about ghosts, monsters and other childhood fears"       retrieved March 29, 2014 from http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/spooky_stuff_talking_with_children_about_ghosts_monsters_and_other_childhoo


Vallee, Jenna(2008). "Effects of Social Influence and Persuasion on Paranormal Beliefs" retrieved March 10,        2014 from http://library.wcsu.edu/dspace/bitstream/0/457/1/vallee.pdf


Wagner, Stephen(2005). "Should You Be Afraid of Ghosts?" retrieved March 28, 2014 from                               http://paranormal.about.com/od/ghosthuntinggeninfo/a/aa102405.htm

Post 9: Ghosts: Facing the fear

Ghosts are said unseen but they are feared by many. Though there hasn't been any evidence of their existence shown to the public people's fear of them doesn't change. In this generation many people are still afraid of them and to top it all up there is a phobia which we call Phasmophobia or the fear of ghosts.

In my experiences, I was once too afraid of ghosts because of my experiences as a child. I have this ability of seeing ghosts at the age of seven which made my childhood a little scary. I never told anyone my ability because I am afraid of what they would ghosts do to me if I point them out to other people. It has been a long time since I had those fears but getting to understand their mysteries made me overcome my fears of them.

In an article called Spooky stuff: Talking with children about ghosts, monsters and other childhood fears by Carrie Shrier, children under the age of seven had difficulty understanding the difference between fantasy and reality. This makes those ghost decorations, or the potential for the monster under the bed, seem much more scary. That is why parents must be helping their children cope their fears and help them understand the difference between fantasy and reality to help them overcome their fears.

"Another great way to help children work through fears is through children’s literature.  Reading about a character in a book who is facing their fears can give kids strategies to deal with their own." as Shrier mentioned, Children are getting more and more creative nowadays that is why their imaginations are far more advanced. Reading ghost stories, watching horror movies, and playing scary games related to their fears can help them overcome their fears of ghosts.

In another article called Phasmophobia- Fear of ghosts by Lisa Fritscher, Phasmophobia, or the fear of ghosts is a phobia that is pretty much hard to handle because the existence of ghosts are not yet proven by studies. This phobia is somewhat related to Thanatophobia also known as the fear of death . Cognitive talk therapy may be helpful in this type of therapy, the goal is to help the client understand the root of his fear and learn to change the thoughts and beliefs that cause the fear.

Fritscher also mentioned "Teaching coping skills can also be helpful in this situation. Breathing exercises, guided visualization and even biofeedback are methods that the client can learn to use to manage his own fear" helping someone overcome their fear takes time, a lot of effort, and a lot of talking. When it comes to ghosts, people needs much time overcoming fears because ghosts are one of the most feared creatures on earth and making them understand everything
about them is really hard.

Every single person are made with  corresponding fears. Nobody is born without a fear but it is possible to have nothing to fear when you overcome them all. Understanding your fear is the greatest solution into overcoming it. Ghosts can be frightening but we can make us understand that they are not to be afraid of because fear is just an element of curiousness and curiousness is needed to overcome those what you fear.

Post 8: Ghosts: Real life ghosbusters

Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are reported to be haunted by ghosts. Typically a ghost hunting team will attempt to collect evidences of paranormal activities. Ghost hunters often utilize a variety of electronic equipment, such as EMF meter (Electromagnetic field meter), digital thermometer, computers, digital audio recorder, and static digital video cameras (Thermographic or Infared and Night vision ). There are only a few number of ghost hunters in our population because ghost hunting is not popular.

I learned about ghost hunters because of the movie called Ghostbusters, a supernatural comedy film that was released in 1984 by writers Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis which was mainly about three parapsychologists (Peter Venkman, Raymond Stantz, and Egon Spenler) in New York city who started a ghost catching business.They use proton lasers to vanquish ghosts, they drive in a customized ambulance, and they finish a job covered with green goo which is totally unrealistic and funny.

Peter Venkman, Raymond Stantz, and Egon Spenler from ghostbusters

In an article called How Ghost Busters Work by Ed Grabianowski, real life ghost hunters doesn't like the term ghost busters because they dont actually bust a ghost. A ghost hunter's job is to investigate the causes of said ghost hauntings. The ghosts may be considered as busted by the hunters if there is a valid reason for weird sightings or events, for example, when they investigate that a poorly sealed window causing the cold draft or reflected car headlights causing the strange lights moving around a darkened room. When a ghost is proven sensed by the hunter additional investigations like quetioning and background investigation takes place to solve the mystery.


Grabianowski also added. "To actually bust a ghost, you'd need two things an actual, verifiable ghost and a tested, proven method of getting rid of that ghost" the busting of ghosts has never been a job of a Ghost hunters. The term Ghost busters doesn't really exist because a ghost is a hollow form, what can we do to harm them or vanquish them? shoot laser beams? which is kind of the idea we got from watching ghostbusters. There is no such thing as getting rid of ghosts but there is a way in making them dissapear by help them cross the other side.

EMF (electromagnetic field) meter

Related to that article, is an article entitled Local ghost hunters have high tech edge by Erica Rodriguez, modern day ghost hunters are quick to explain that none of their gadgets can really prove whether ghosts exist. Many were adapted from technology meant to detect movement, changes in room temperature or radio frequencies, and some technology they can't fully explain. Ghosts hunters are somewhat unknowable about their fields and they only depend on their gadgets that is why they work voluntary and not payed.

Rodriguez also mentioned that "people would be better off trying to understand supposed ghostly encounters by studying the people who experience such events rather than relying on questionable gadgets touted as being "scientific." I definitely agree that people should be opened up to these kind of matters. Studying them and learning how to communicate with the afterlife is the best solution rather than just basing on gadgets and science because studies are not always 100 percent accurate so its better to know the unknown yourself rather that basing on these said things.

Ghost hunters may not always be accurate, they may not be popular to certain people, they may not come with costumes and or they may not make ghosts vanquish by firing beams, but we have to give them credit for having the courage and interest to do these things. Some of them may not have the ability like a psychic medium would have, but at least they have the dedication and they give their life to help solve these ghostly encounters.

Post 7: Ghosts: Orbs

Ghosts are not only seen by our naked eyes  but they are also seen in cameras and video cameras millions of sightings are posted on the internet but because of the great improvement on our technology we can never trust if any of it is real. Many ghostly videos and pictures are fake or edited in advanced softwares which proves that many pictures or videos are not accurate when it comes to proving ghosts.

In my experiences I see ghosts with my naked eye. I know what they look like and I know how they form or appear to us. I can tell whether a ghost photo or video is fake or real. Spirits often appear as mist like forms with incomplete bodies its somewhat disturbing but it is how they look if seen in personally.

In an article I’ve read called Another orb photo explained by science by Patricia Marin, Orbs (Spirits) which are commonly taken in pictures are said a solid object that serious researchers explain as caused by insects, dust, moisture, reflections, or simply attributes of the way in which cameras function. The light emitted by the orb which is white, blue, green color is explained as a glint from the left edge of the mirror above the strip of pictures is the source of light.

Marin  also added, “a paranormal orb was likely to be a solid object white, blue, or green in color” I don’t believe In spiritual or paranormal orbs because studies shows and scientists says that orbs are somewhat lens flare (the light scattered in the lens systems through unwanted imaged formation mechanisms) and uncertain things caught on the cameras lens. I don’t agree in her  thought because I describe ghosts as misty form and somewhat human shaped.

In relation to that article, is an article called Ghosts orbs or dust and moisture: Paranormal photos explained by Melanie L. Marten,  Ghost orbs are semi-transparent white circles that appear mysteriously in snap shots of family, friends, and even sceneries. Orbs can be explained by photographers as lens flare(The reflection of the camera’s flash), while ghost believers think of orbs as spirits of their deceased family members and finally scientists think that its is mainly caused by dust and other particles that are close to the camera.

Marten mentioned “Not all pictures of ghosts orbs are alike. Some glowing orbs in these pictures are half behind other objects” We can never tell whether what these said orbs really are because for me, I am confused whether these things are related to spirits or do spirits really appear in these forms? I have always seen ghosts as a human misty form and it is what I believe they look when it comes to communicating with people. I will never believe that orbs are somehow related to spirits or ghosts unless I witness them myself.

We should never depend on camera’s regarding the  learning about ghosts because they are not accurate or it can be lies made to scare people but there is a way to see them. Embracing spiritualism and knowing how to control or open your sixth sense or as we call the “Third eye”. We will never believe in them truly unless you see them yourself .

Post 6: Ghosts: Casper, the fiendly ghost

 Ghosts are not only popular to movies and games but was also portrayed in animation or cartoons. One of the most popular cartoon ghost icon was Casper also known as “Casper Mcfadden” a ghost who is quite personable. Casper was introduced to the public on 1939 in a movie called “The Friendly Ghost” and when became popular was then made into a cartoon and introduced in childrens books and comics. Is there really a friendly ghost like Casper?

Stretch(left), Stinkie(right), and fatso(middle)

In my experiences I never see ghosts who are happy or friendly they always look so sad and depressed. Upon watching the movie “Casper” a film released in 1995 starring Christina Ricci and Bill Pullman, I have learned the cause of Casper’s death. According to the film, Casper was a young adolescent who went sledding all day and died of pneumonia. Casper was not alone in this movie he was with three other ghosts uncles who are Stretch, Stinkie, and Fatso who were ghosts who likes to prank and scare people but Casper was different he was kind and he sacrifices for others.

A scene from the movie "Casper, the friendly ghost"

In an article called Casper, more than a friendly ghost by Berit Kjos, Casper is a lonely ghost who befriends a motherless girl in the movie “Casper, the friendly ghost”. He models the ultimate selflessness, the willingness to give his life in the movie. He sacrificed his father’s potion (a potion that can revive the deceased) instead of using it for himself, He resurrected Kat’s father for them to reunite and for her to be happy.

“A supernatural being who is not one of God’s angels . Since the dead have no power to participate in human activities, the bible leaves no option other than to call him a demon and there are no good demons.” Kjos also added. Ghosts that doesn’t go to heaven or be with god are not considered as Demons to me because some ghosts who stays in the human world are not ready to move on to the next place because they are worried about their loved ones and or they have not accepted yet the fact that they are dead.

In relation to that is an article called Is Casper McFadden Really a ghost? By Ken Roberts, Casper is the most famous ghost on earth, he was unlike his spooky brethren, he doesn’t haunt or scare and he was described as a lonely ghost looking for friends that is why he became popular for children in the 1930’s to 1940’s which made children in this era less scared about ghosts.

Roberts also added, “The overall acceptance of ghosts was considerably different than it is today” Nowadays only few people in this generation are familiar with Casper the ghost’s character  because of the disturbing ways of representing ghosts such as ghosts hurting people and exorcism. These factors made them think a lot worst about ghosts. And because of entertainment nowadays doesn’t make movies about ghosts being good and they are only mistaken as trouble makers and petrifying characters.

Ghost can be scary and horrific when it comes to movies and shows but they are only made exaggerated to chills for the viewers. They can be bad, they can be good. Who knows what they really are? But think of it that all ghosts are like Casper it will help you overcome your fear of ghosts. If ghosts can be friendly to us then why can’t we be friendly to them?

Post 5: Ghosts: Breath in, Breath out !

What would you do if it is the first time you see a ghost? typically the answer would be run and scream out loud or run and try to get away from it as far as you could. It is funny how people react when it comes to ghosts some people are scared to death they go crazy. We are trained to be scared at these things that's why we always have that common reaction when it comes to these matters but should we be afraid of ghosts?

I grew up as a child with fear of ghosts just like every other child in my generation. I think fearing of ghosts was one of the disciplinary techniques parents use to discipline children. I remembered that my mom mentioned to me when I was young that I should never stay late outside the house because of the so called "Aswang" would take me away. The first time I saw a ghost I never thought of running away I was so scared that I became frozen for ten minutes unable to move. That experience was pretty scary but I got over it.

I have read an article called Phasmophobia (fear of ghosts) by Lisa Fritscher, Phasmophobia or the fear of ghosts is overwhelming and life-limiting. Some experts feel that a phobia of ghosts may be symptomatic of a more serious disorder. This disorder is commonly related to Thanatophobia (fear of death). This phobia is also affected by magical thinking, religious beliefs, and parapsychology.

Fritscher also added, "Since the existence of the supernatural cannot be proven, phasmophobia can be somewhat difficult to treat under conventional methods." Not everyone see ghosts as I have mentioned from my past blog that is why it is difficult to treat because some doesn't have any knowledge on how to tackle this kind of problem and other people are has not opened up to these things. You will have a hard time finding people that really knows how to do the work which is kind of expensive.

In another article called Should You Be Afraid of Ghosts? by Stephen Wagner, Ghosts are not evil. We are just living in an era of ghost fearing people and it is mainly because of movies, books and stories that people look at ghosts as if they can hurt people. The exaggeration of the entertainment society has made a great change in the way how people think. Ghosts are harmless though they intend to scratch walls, make weird sounds, and they try to be seen. Poltergeists are the ghosts that are capable of harming people.

Wagner also added, "The primitive parts of our brain that respond to instinct when a threat is something unknown that might leap out of the darkness, we'd just as soon flee."  Every person has this instinct because people are easily overwhelmed by the fear of getting hurt or to be in a trouble which cannot be removed in one individuals system.

People have different reactions when comes to seeing because people are born with different natural instincts and to top it all up seeing anything unusual is startling. Some may scream, some may run, some may cry , and some may die from the horror. Ghosts are ghosts they will always represent fear and horror, that is our way of life. They are everywhere, do not run and never hide so when you see a ghost just breathe in and breathe out !

Post 4: Ghosts: Ghosts vs. Science

Many people nowadays believe in ghosts, spirits, and afterlife but still many people don't believe in its mysteries. In this generation technology is getting greater and greater as time goes by that's why many studies about their existence emerged. Science vs. the existence of ghosts, I am fascinated on how science explains hauntings and ghostly encounters.

As a medium (A person who has the ability to contact with the afterlife spirits) and a ghost believer I am against the disbeliefs in Ghosts. Studying the science behind ghostly encounters is just a waste of time because for me they are real and they do exist. I experienced many hauntings and saw ghosts with both of my eyes ever since I was a child. I believe in their existence.

Based on my research in an article called The Creepy Scientific Explanation Behind Ghost Sightings by Jack Mendoza, He explained some theories regarding the discovery of Vladimir Gavreau from late 1950's, a vibrating pipe of the right length and girth can cause a number of unpleasant effects ranging from mild irritation to serious pain. Infrasounds or Low frequency sounds may affect a persons feelings and make them feel weak, dread, fear and panic.

Mendoza also added "we have a phenomenon that occurs in nature, is invisible, is imperceptible on a conscious level, but can spontaneously make you feel irrational fear, even if you're sitting in an empty room. Notice how we've just described one of the first and primary signs of a "haunting" unexplained feelings of fear or dread." Mendoza's explanation is interesting knowing that frequencies of sound affect how people would act or feel is kind of convincing but as explained in the article, an Infrasound is a low frequency sound created by large and dangerous beasts or environmental events such as volcano eruptions, earthquakes, etc. Not all the time there is these things around you so what would be the explanations for these if it wasn't made by sound.

In another article I've read called 4 possible scientific explanations for ghosts by Chris Gayomali, there are a few perfectly logical explanations behind people's sightings and ghostly encounters. There are four scientific explanations, first is Sleep paralysis (It's like dreaming while awake, It can last from a few seconds to a minute or two and is often associated with hypnagogic hallucinations, pain, and uneasy feeling), second is Brain glitches (Seeing things or apparitions in the corner of the eye), third is Carbon monoxide (oxygen deprivation triggers listlessness and hallucinations), and the fourth is Infrasound (low frequency sound that triggers un easy feelings). these four are what he believes the scientific explanations of ghost sightings.

According to Gayomali,"infrasound can mess with people's brains and even trigger madness." which was related to the first article by Mendoza but this article is somehow convincing because of the fact that he has used a supporting information which was the situation where the scientists learned the cause of the sound and turned it off, then the encounters stopped.

Believe it or not it does not matter, Scientific or speculations everything is a mystery and as long as there is mysteries there will always be holes for scientific explanations because curiosity always finds it's way. It only depends on you, What side are you on ?

Post 3: Ghosts: Dare to play?

In this generation video games are popular and many of us are in to gaming, because of the countless consoles that keeps on upgrading time by time. Video games are meant to be played for fun and excitement. If these games are made for fun why is there categories of games such as horrific and scary ?

In my experiences I have played a lot of horror
games eventhough I am not a fan of it. Games like Silent hill, Slenderman, Outlast and many more these games are pretty scary and startling for many of us players, these games feature a lot of surprising events  and horrific conflicts or climax which will definitely knock you out of your seat or make you pee on your pants.These games helped me overcome my fears in ghosts.

In an article called What makes horror games scary by Andrew Groen, The emotional stimuli which is found in the brain, affects how we feel in a game. Upon experiencing it, it makes us feel fear and horrified eventhough the  scene did not happen in real life because the brain can often only barely tell the difference between media and reality.

Groen also added “if we do become immersed in a story, then the empathetic bonds we create with the characters will cause us to feel the fear they experience much the same way we would in real life” We are aware  that we are in a game but somehow we get startled and scared because as a gamer I can say that when we play games, we always feel like we are the characters that are inside the game because of our wild imaginations. We feel everything that a character feels eventhough it has no connection to reality.

In another article called Body of fear: How your body keeps you from playing horror games by Anthony Agnello, Our nervous system is responsible for the fear we feel in playing the horrific video games. The activations of dophamine and endorphine, hormones that are released throughout the brain that affects the heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, and blood sugar. This state also involves adrenaline rush.

Agnello also added “As we get scared, our body stops everything else it’s doing and focuses only on self preservation” We become careless when we are petrified and think about only ourselves, how we escape in a scary situation and we don’t think straight or sometimes because of the fear we become immobile. Just like what happened to me on my first experience in seeing a ghost.

Scary games may not offer fun and happiness like every other games should offer but in this generation scary games are way too popular because of the fact that people are more attracted to horrific excitement which is  different from the norm. Playing scary games is like seeing an actual ghosts because of our wild imaginations. This feeling of fear and excitement is kind of addicting and as the time goes by scary games become more and more realistic and scary. What if scary games were to be too realistic? Would you dare to play?

Post 2: Ghosts: Watch me not?

Horror films or movies is a film genre made to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's primal fears. These films often make scenes  that would somehow startle or knock you out of your seat. Ghosts, murderers, supernatural, aliens, and monsters are the common characters that film creators are usually using in creating these film genres. Horror films often deal with the viewers nightmares, hidden fears, revulsion, and terror of the unknown.

Based on my experiences, I can say that horror movies about ghosts are somehow too exaggerated. I am not always happy or satisfied on how they present ghosts. Horror movies are also not accurate and I understand that because movies are made to entertain, but we must respect the fact that there are people like us who story writers can depend on when it comes to ghosts facts. But the question is why are we drawn to these movies? Why do many of us watch these movies eventhough these movies make you cry and scared?

I've read an article called Horror movies: why people love them by Leslie Fink. There are reasons why people love watching horror movies, one is the so called Desired effect which is explained by researchers as one reason why we watch, it is because the thrill calls up primal behavior, mainly in males, to assess threat levels. the second is the Just plain suspense which is the wanting to watch these movies that give you chills and unwanted feelings of fear and excitement. The third one is the In your brain which explains that the brain has the ability to interpret or horrific situations because the brain has an enormous capacity for thinking, reasoning, and just plain musing, allows us to worry and to exert these feelings when we watch horror movies.

"We watch for different reasons, which include enjoying the adrenaline rush, being distracted from mundane life, vicariously thumbing our noses at social norms, and enjoying a voyeuristic glimpse of the horrific from a safe distance." as Fink mentioned. People are watching these movies because of the adrenaline rush and the excitement. These emotions are what people want because we don't usually have this feelings in our normal lives. These feelings we get from horror movies are weird but its what our minds wants us to experience and feel eventhough we don't want to see these movies.

In another article I've read called Why do we watch horror films? by Anthony Rivas. People are drawn to these kinds of movies because it somehow helps us in our everyday lives and here are three reasons, Understanding archetypal fears through horror explaining that because of the fact that we put ourselves in situations to be scared because we want to understand what our population fears as a whole making us knowledgeable on the fears of the public. Another reason is Horror films give viewers a psychological ride which gives higher levels of arousal thoroughly enjoy the response heightened feelings of awareness their bodies have to intense experiences. These experiences range from watching horror films to skydiving and bungee jumping. And lastly the Overcoming fear of horror films some of us are too scared to watch these movies but when viewed makes us overcome our fear of these movies.

"Some people want to watch something that addresses their archetypal fears, while others just want to go along for the psychological ride." as Rivas Mentioned. People are attracted to these movies because they are sometimes mainstream and having the knowledge in the archetypal fears we somehow overcome our fears knowing that you are not the only one who fears.

Horror movies are made to entertain it does not matter whether it is made too exaggerated or unreal. Watching horror movies can be so scary and terrifying but it is not that bad to try and watch them because you may learn something from it. So the next time you watch scary movies about ghosts do you have the guts to watch ?