Americans don't lieve in reality. They beleive in ghosts and all that crap. When I moved here one guy asked me I had ever seen vampires in Romania.

Sent by linda | 11:26 AM ET | 10-31-2007

Ghostly happenings in a home can be a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide can cause a victim to feel chilled or cold, to have a strong feeling of dread, strange physical sensations (like tingling or feeling as if someone is touching you) and hallucinations. Although I think that it's possible that houses could truly be haunted, I would recommend first ruling out carbon monoxide by having the home checked by a professional, epsecially if the resdents are also experiencing frequent headaches, shortness of breath and listlessness in addition to the "haunting".

Sent by Anne | 11:33 AM ET | 10-31-2007

I have had the dubious fun of living in an *active house. Its easy to mock people for "believing in ghosts" but when it happens to you, suddenly you find yourself afraid of turning to others for help, advice or even validation because you were so mean to those who were big enough to give voice to the unspeakable.

It doesnt matter if you believe that this unusual phenomena is due to wandering spirits of the dead, What matters is that when someone relays their story to you, that you treat them with compassion, and acknowledge the fact that they are trusting you with their secret.

People talk a lot smack about this, as if, if anything did happen to them or in front of them, they wouldnt be scared {not even a little bit}.

Yea whatever you have to tell yourself to get you through the night.

When reality breaks down like that and things get weird, fear of what is happening in that moment isn't the only burden one deals with. It's the suggestion that reality is not as stable, and solid as our cultures would have us believe. That the world doesnt always follow the rules we have constructed for it.

I have seen/dealt with what are commonly referred to as ghosts. Its unfortunate that there are some who infer I or others like me should be ashamed of that.

What is there to be ashamed of? Telling the truth or having an unusual experience that defies social conventions regarding consensual reality?

And I also believe in vampires--in America we call them politicians.

Happy Halloween.

It opens up a whole can of worms

Sent by Sundog | 11:54 AM ET | 10-31-2007

my boyfriend lives in Roxbury MA and lives in a VERY old house. At night you can see a guy in a top hat and a trench coat walking around... my boyfriend had never told me about it and when i slept over his house i saw it...when i asked about it he told me that he saw it sometimes too but he thought it was just him...apparently not...about americans believing strongly in the supernatural... i believe it also has something to do with religion and cultural background

Sent by Stephanie | 11:55 AM ET | 10-31-2007

Kucinich I'm sure knew that this would not help him in the polls: In a recent debate Tim Russert asked him(laughter from the audience) "Now, did you see a UFO?" He aswered: "I did. ??? It was (an) unidentified flying object, OK. It's like ??? it's unidentified. I saw something," - it may as well have been a ghost. Bless him for his honesty. And he's right about impeachment.

Sent by Steve Valliere | 12:30 PM ET | 10-31-2007

I have seen, ghosts, ghouls, phantoms, demons, spirits, spirims, and spectrims (also a haint or two).

Of course, I recognize that what I saw was a visual hallucination, and not so much a lost soul.

If there is something out there haunting houses, something preternatural (I stress preternatural, rather than supernatural) cool lets study it.

Also that comment about Americans being superstitious is completely out of order.

Sent by Jody Sol | 12:49 PM ET | 10-31-2007

I believe its also important to stress that the term Ghost and Supernatural cover a lot of concepts.

Paranormal investigators are smart enough to try and create a kind of taxonomy for different kinds of encounters.

Life after death is a controversial subject in and of itself, that bleeds into subjects like religion, philosophy, metaphysics, psychology, and physics.

Some people see something. Its an anomalous fluke. Perhaps completely explainable with a little bit of delving into subjects like physics, and meteorology.

Other people interact with phenomena that seems to be sentient,or conscious. That is an encounter of a whole other order, in which attempts are made at two way communication of some kind by something or someone noncorporeal.

The idea that a soul is the consciousness of a once living human being, and that this soul might hang around, and communicate or pester the living, after the death of the body is as controversial in its own way as the argument about when life begins in the womb.

Its easy to mock it. This is one of the most subjective sorts of experiences you can have. Its difficult to prove, even if you have credible witnesses. There are some people who will cling to denial as if it were a religious edict, and others who are so gullible that every bump or scratch could be a ghost.

It doesnt leave much room in the middle for those who are either undecided whether this stuff exists, or who have not yet found a way to classify their experiences.

I did not hallucinate. I know others who did not hallucinate. Its a direct attack on an adult's credibility, to simply suggest that all unusual experiences might be the product of a malfunctioning brain or even a congential neurological defect.

It contributes to the stigmas of mental illness {a whole other discussion} but it is also simply a means to minimize the experiences of others by impugning their capacity to act as credible observers/reporters of their own experiences.

While hallucinations might be a possibility in some cases. It is not a good catch-all explanation for this phenomenon, no more than the statement that all Americans are Superstitious.

If it were, then it would be like saying, "All people who have seen a ghost are mentally defective or deficient."

That is not a fair assessment, especially in the absence of a scientific investigation or a full medical examination of the person making the claim.

Most of these encounters are harmless, short-lived, and episodic.
Really, all in all, no harm no foul.

Sent by Sundog | 2:52 PM ET | 10-31-2007

If Americans believe in ghosts, they certainly aren't the only nationality that do: 100% of Japanese students I asked in the 8 years I lived there reported having encountered a ghost at some time. And for what it's worth, about 25% of a random sample of Germans at a party last week said they'd seen a ghost at some point, while none of the Americans there had.

Sent by Zephyr | 3:04 PM ET | 10-31-2007

I've seen and heard too many not to believe anymore. Staring right at them, not a glance out the corner of your eye.

Sent by Deborah | 3:14 PM ET | 10-31-2007

SunDog- you are great!
THe real vampires are the politicians and especially Republicans... who are draining this country of it's money so they can still other countries oil.
Very well said.

Sent by KORITSA | 5:26 PM ET | 10-31-2007

I'm not sure if it's a trick of the imagination or some form of mental illness but I have to admit having experienced various paranormal experiences and so have many members of my Father's family.
I'm reasonable and skeptical enough to be willing to write most of it off but not all, and not completely.

Sent by ChrisS | 7:49 AM ET | 11-01-2007

the rich ghosts are getting richer.

Sent by tomson | 5:20 PM ET | 11-01-2007

According to Einstien's theory of relativity, when matter reaches or surpasses the speed of light, it ceases to be matter and becomes energy. Consequently, because it is no longer matter, time becomes irrelevant, since matter can no longer be affected by time if it is no longer matter. So, although I personally have never seen a ghost, it seems plausible to me that there is an afterlife and a spirit level of existence, operating at or faster than the speed of light and therefore unaffected by what we call time. Thus, heaven and God are infinite in what could be described as another dimension. Perhaps some of these 'spirits' don't want to leave this earthly dimension when their time is up but attaining a material form in it is difficult for them, since their bodies decayed long ago. Thus, we have appartitions or 'ghosts.' And of course, it is natural to be afraid of that which we don't really understand.

Sent by John R. Otten | 4:13 PM ET | 11-02-2007

Faulty boilers and other conditions cause carbon monoxide poisoning, the first symptoms of which are listlessness, nausea, paranoia, brathlessness, chills, panic and hallucination. Carbon monoxide poisoning can be fatal. If you feel dread or panic or see something in the night, shut off gas appliances immediately and open doors and windows. Have your gas appliances checked and install a carbon monoxide detector. Carbon monoxide from faulty furnaces and boilers kill around 50% of all poison victims. Be safe, install a detector.

Sent by Riccy | 7:22 AM ET | 01-02-2008

I find it sad that so many people are so willing to call what they saw (or didn't see) a ghost. The human brain is preprogrammed to "try and make sense" out of everything it experiences. Thats how we got to be where we are.
As an amateur astronomer, I've spent (uncountable) amounts of time outside, at night, in dark places (sometimes near graveyards), often alone. I have NEVER seen a ghost, UFO or any other "paranormal" thing. Why is it that the UFOs only visit the isolated, socially inept, less educated (and give THEM Chicklets)?

Because (a UFO) is the only thing that makes sense to THEIR brain. And it gets attention.
Have faith in religion, but trust the (good) science, it's repeatable!

Sent by Harold | 12:19 PM ET | 01-02-2008