Ghosts/Spirits
Many cultures believe in the soul or spiritual essence that survives after death. However, in some cases, the soul does not journey to the afterlife but instead becomes a ghost that can be seen, heard, or sense by the living.
In ancient Mesopotamia, they believed that ghosts who were hostile would pursue, bind, or seize their victims. In some cases, they physically harmed the victims and did not confine to physical harm, but also internal. It was believed that harmful spirits could enter a victim through their ears to cause further harm.
"Among the Basques in Spain, there is a belief that the soul has physical properties. In order to let the soul leave, a family member will open a window or remove a roof tile at the time of death so that the soul can be free to leave. At times, the soul may continue to frequent the household or neighborhood before leaving" (Ojibwa, 2019).
In Ireland, they believe that ghosts referred to as Thevshi or Tash are held in a state between this life and the next because of unfinished business. The soul could also remain in this state because of anger against the living or from a longing. Individuals who die suddenly are more likely to become ghosts. Haunted houses typically have spirits that move furniture or cause other interactions to cause attention.
The Nyoro in Africa believes that ghosts are evil and are disembodied spirits of the deceased. "Ghosts are never seen, though they may manifest themselves in dreams; they are thought of rather as immaterial forces diffused through space. They are associated with the underworld, and with the color black. If ghostly activity is diagnosed as the cause of misfortune, the agent is most likely to be the ghost of somebody who has been wronged or neglected by the ‘victim’ and who has died with a grudge against him" (Ojibwa, 2019).
A spirit medium is consulted to find out why the ghost has a grudge. The spirit medium is an individual that has been initiated into a spirit possession group. The medium allows themselves to be possessed to aid the victim. A goat is typically sacrificed because the spirit has been neglected of food and require meat. A small hut or shrine is also needed to be built for the spirit.
In the Yoruba religion, it is believed that people have two souls. If a person dies sooner than old age, the souls will continue to live as a ghostly form in a different community. The ghostly form lingers until the person's allotted life span has ended. Once this occurs the spirit journeys to the afterlife.
"In protohistoric Japan, the spirit of the dead person might be unwilling or unable to leave this world and might be vindictive toward those who still retained the gift of life. The malevolent spirit, ikiryō, is capable of doing great harm to rivals and enemies. This spirit can cause illness and can be driven out with an exorcism ceremony. In traditional Japan, there are also wandering spirits (meun-botoke and gaki) who have several origins. If a person dies while in a state of jealousy, rage, resentment, or melancholy, then the spirit will be condemned to wander the earth unless a living person intervenes" (Ojibwa, 2019).
Wandering spirits are believed to be the souls who are not remembered by their descendants so they wander the earth in search of food and comfort. It is also believed that wandering spirits have the ability to enter the bodies of newly deceased people. A bladed object is placed on the pillow or on the chest of the corpse to prevent the soul from entering the newly deceased.
In New Guinea, it is believed that ghosts live in their own houses to continue living as they once were when they were alive. However, these spirits know the deepest secrets of the living.
In Tai villages, ghosts are symbolic of problems that people have trouble confronting, such as gambling losses or trouble gaining food, they blame it on spirits. Some villages believe that ghosts can whisper things to specific men without being possessed by the spirit. However, no one else can hear these whispers but the affected.
"The Nahuatl-speaking Indians are the largest indigenous group in Mexico. With regard to ghosts among the Nahua, William Madsen, in his chapter in the Handbook of Middle American Indians, reports: Individuals who die by violence in a fight or an accident become ghosts doomed to roam the earth at night and frighten the living. The souls of those who die leaving unfilled vows, unpaid debts, or undistributed property become earthbound until their affairs are settled by their relatives" (Ojibwa, 2019).
The Difficulty in Scientific Proof of Ghosts:
The difficulty with investigating ghosts is that there is no one agreed-upon definition of what a ghost is or what constitutes a spirit or something natural. There is a vast variety of phenomena attributed to ghosts. However, when people are interviewed about their experiences, most people are not sure they encountered a ghost. The reason behind this idea is people have not recognized something close to the classic ghost phenomenon. People also have many ideas revolving around ghosts, some believe they are spirits of the dead while others believe ghosts are really telepathic individuals.
"There are many contradictions inherent in ideas about ghosts. For example, are ghosts material or not? Either they can move through solid objects without disturbing them, or they can slam doors shut and throw objects across the room. According to logic and the laws of physics, it's one or the other. If ghosts are human souls, why do they appear clothed and with (presumably soulless) inanimate objects like hats, canes, and dresses — not to mention the many reports of ghost trains, cars, and carriages? If ghosts are the spirits of those whose deaths were unavenged, why are there unsolved murders, since ghosts are said to communicate with psychic mediums, and should be able to identify their killers for the police? And so on — just about any claim about ghosts raises logical reasons to doubt it. Ghost hunters use many creative (and dubious) methods to detect the spirits' presences, often including psychics. Virtually all ghost hunters claim to be scientific, and most give that appearance because they use high-tech scientific equipment such as Geiger counters, Electromagnetic Field (EMF) detectors, ion detectors, infrared cameras, and sensitive microphones. Yet none of this equipment has ever been shown to actually detect ghosts. For centuries, people believed that flames turned blue in the presence of ghosts. Today, few people accept that bit of lore, but it's likely that many of the signs taken as evidence by today's ghost hunters will be seen as just as wrong and antiquated centuries from now" (Radford, 2017).
My Personal "Ghost" Story:
I have had my own unexplained instances, now I don't know if it was a ghost or what but it was strange. During my Freshman and part of my Sophomore year of high school, I was a Christian. I wore a Celtic cross around my neck and I never took it off. The chain was a metal ball one which made it difficult to get the cross on and off the chain. I don't have a history of sleepwalking and my door showed no sign that someone unlocked my bedroom door. However, somehow my necklace was gone when I awoke for school. I looked everywhere, asked my parents if they knew where it was thinking maybe I took it off before a shower. They had no idea what I was talking about, my mother told me to check my room again. I went into my closet to grab my hoodie when I stepped on the ball chain on the floor. It was laid out perfectly, but the cross was missing. Curiously I looked at the chain searching for any break to indicate the cross might have fallen off somehow. But the chain was perfect, just how it had been. Curiously I searched my whole closet but found nothing. Something told me to check my hamper of dirty clothes, upon inspection, I found the cross buried in the bottom of the dirty clothes. I haven't worn that necklace since. I haven't even put the cross back on the chain. The event was unsettling and freaked me out. I can't explain it to this day, I have no idea how it happened. My mother thought it was my grandmother, but I don't know why she would have done that.
I'd love to hear your spooky ghost stories, let me know about them in the comments or you can DM them to me on Twitter or Instagram.
Ghost/Spirit Resources:
Gamber, H. (2019). Ghosts and Grief: Supernatural Beliefs Around the World
Genito, A., Sandri, D., Yasmina & Sophie. (2020). Ghosts These Mysterious Presences.
Hulick, K. (2019). The Science of Ghosts.
Objiwa (2019). Religion 101: Ghosts in Different Cultures
Radford, B. (2017). Are Ghosts Real? Evidence Has Not Materialized
Thompson, T. (2018). Telling Tales of Ghouls and Spectres Can Have a Surprising Benefit by Encouraging People to Change the Way They Behave.
Through my research of possession, I have found that it is a controversial topic. Some authors claim possession is not real and only a mental illness, while others state that it does exist. I'm going to leave the articles here for you to be the judge. These articles do not share my beliefs, they only reflect what I found. If you have any information on possession or would like to share your own thoughts on the subject, feel free to leave them in the comments. I'd be happy to see what you have found or what your thoughts are on possession.
Possession Resources:
Religious/Spiritual/Cultural Beliefs on Possession:
Scientific viewpoint on possession:
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