It's Halloween, so why not?
Michael Medved tells the story of camping on a Civil War battlefield as a young man, and hearing the sound of soldiers marching in the night - weapons clanging, boots hitting the ground...is he a fruitcake? Have you ever witnessed something you thought was paranormal? Or perhaps just something you could not explain? It could be something good, or something bad...something that happened to you, or someone else. Tell us about it here! Creepy, scary, or just strange stories of any kind will do. We won't even ask you if you're making them up or not. ; )
I'll even start. I've had some good stuff happen that I couldn't explain, and one notable bad thing (appropriate for Halloween). Be right back with that.
ReplyDeleteUntil then, FIRST! : )
Once, late at night, I got on an elevator at work after I pressed the UP arrow. It went DOWN strait to the basement. The doors opened and across the hall was the morgue!
ReplyDeleteI am short, and thus have a short memory! ;)
ReplyDeleteThird?
I'm more scared of psycho humans than anything "from beyond the grave".
ReplyDeleteHmmm, nothing scary paranormal has happened to me. In fact some of my believing friends call me a damper.
ReplyDeleteJames Segdwick sums it up my view nicely:
ReplyDeleteRight, Wrong, and Meaningless
* "Why do I keep dropping things?"
* "It's the shoons."
* "What are shoons?"
* "Invisible beings that pull things out of your hands and throw them on the floor."
* "Why would I believe that?"
* "Well, if you can't disprove it, you have to believe it."
* "But you didn't prove it."
* "I can feel them. You can feel them too. You're just in denial."
* "Well I don't believe it."
* "So you are an ashoonist."
* "What's an ashoonist?"
* "One who arbitrarily refuses to believe in shoons. You wonder why you drop things, but you arbitrarily reject the explanation."
* "Okay then, I'm an ashoonist."
* "But ashoonists are all cynics and killjoys! Is that the kind of company you want to keep?"
What a silly way to argue! Or is it? If you separate the method of argument from the content, then you might notice that it is the most common of all methods of argument: the arbitrary declaration. They say that something is so, and you have to either disprove it or agree with it. Refusing to do either is joining the Meanies.
It's a paradox. You cannot reject an assertion without reason, but you could waste the whole day finding reasons to reject arbitrary assertions. An epistemology of reason solves the paradox by taking away permission to make assertions in the first place without reasons.
Come to think of it, where did that permission come from? If an assertion does not come with an observable connection to reality, why would anybody pay attention to it? Well, if it has to be either right or wrong, then you have to decide which, and you have to be reasonable. So you can't reject anything without disproving it.
But what if a statement could be something else besides right or wrong? What if it could also be simply meaningless?
Right and wrong are relationships to reality - correspondence and non-correspondence. To judge a statement as right or wrong, you compare it to reality, by finding what part of reality it compares to. If a statement does not say what part of reality it compares to, then it is presented without connection to reality. It could mean all sorts of things, depending on where it fits in reality. Since that is not specified, it means nothing. It conveys words, but not meaning. Since you cannot call it right, and you cannot call it wrong, you call it arbitrary. Arbitrary means lacking any evidence of a relationship to reality.
To treat arbitrary assertions as right is to be a self-made sucker. To treat them as wrong is to try judging without evidence. The objective way is to realize that assertions without evidence are meaningless. No matter how much emotion they contain, nothing has been said.
Here's a completion of the original argument:
* "Wait! Before you told me about the shoons, was I a shoonist, or an ashoonist?"
* "Well, neither. That word just meant nothing to you."
* "And it still means nothing to me. Try me again when you've got evidence."
------------------------
Another effective way to think about the paranormal is summed up in Carl Sagan's The Dragon In My Garage.
My daughter has 3 friends visiting to go trick or treating with. They are all some kind of zombie. Zombie cheerleader, zombie doctor, zombie basketball player and generic zombie girl. lol They are practicing shuffling and saying braaains! Middle school girls are funny, they are worrying about the makeup looking the same.
ReplyDeleteThe bathroom off of my bedroom has a solid wood sliding pocket door. It slides shut - hard - and locks itself in the middle of the night on occasion. BANG!
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, I sleep soundly otherwise. :-)
OH NOEZ! TEH POLTERGEISTZZZ!
PP: ...some of my believing friends call me a damper.
ReplyDeleteMeaning ghosts find you no fun?
snowcrash said...
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has 3 friends visiting to go trick or treating with. They are all some kind of zombie. Zombie cheerleader, zombie doctor, zombie basketball player and generic zombie girl. lol They are practicing shuffling and saying braaains! Middle school girls are funny, they are worrying about the makeup looking the same.
That reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Zombies are closing in on Homer (The Homega Man?) saying, "Braaaains! Braaaaains!". They finally catch up with Homer, feel his head, turn away to look elsewhere for Brains.
P.P. Czar, time to call Ghostbusters. Your house isn't built ontop of ancient Indian burial grounds, is it? lol
ReplyDeleteI once did pottery and had sex with a hot Demi Moore-looking ghost while a Righteous Brothers song was playing on the radio. It was quite hot.
ReplyDeletesnowcrash said...
ReplyDeleteOnce, late at night, I got on an elevator at work after I pressed the UP arrow. It went DOWN strait to the basement. The doors opened and across the hall was the morgue!
Room for one more, honey!
Bare Pumpkin, you killed the thread because no one can top that story. Bragger. lol
ReplyDeleteP.P. Czar, time to call Ghostbusters. Your house isn't built ontop of ancient Indian burial grounds, is it? lol
ReplyDeleteSnow, believe me, the first time it happened I FREAKED OUT. Come to find out, the original owner of the house died right there in that bedroom. She was a very kind elderly lady from what I am told.
Several nights a month I go to sleep to the muted sounds of a dinner party in the front dining room. Glasses tinkling, silverware, muted conversations and laughter. Again - oddly - it's kinda comforting. I just don't feel a threat. :-)
I once did pottery and had sex with a hot Demi Moore-looking ghost while a Righteous Brothers song was playing on the radio. It was quite hot.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good story line for a movie, RPBAss. ;-)
San Francisco Bay Bridge Remains Closed for Repairs After Beams Fell Onto Highway
ReplyDeleteSAN FRANCISCO — Commuters face a third morning of heavy congestion as officials keep the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge closed to finish emergency repairs.
The state Transportation Department had hinted that the span might reopen for the Friday morning commute, then backed off that estimate.
Spokesman Bart Ney says he still can't give an exact time for when repairs and inspections will be complete.
Crews are furiously working to fix a section of the bridge where two rods and a crossbar broke and fell onto westbound lanes Tuesday.
The pieces were part of major repairs done over Labor Day weekend.
Meanwhile, some drivers have clogged nearby bridges for their commute, while others have helped push Bay Area Rapid Transit ridership to record levels this week.
Sounds like a good story line for a movie, RPBAss. ;-)
ReplyDeleteWell, see, what happened was, after we made The Ghost With Two Backs, it turned out that she tried to warn me about how my best friend and business partner was planning to have me killed over some book-keeping issues and criminal cover-ups, but not only did she warn me, but she saved my life and the bad guy died. Then I watched as she finally found the light and went to Heaven. I cried.
The whole thing creeped me out. I sold my story to Hollywood, and made a bundle of money. They change dit a lot though, and added some stupid Psychic in it. I mean, come on, psychics are the devil. Everyone knows THAT. Stupid Hollywood.
I'll start with a wonderful (albeit kind of long) story.
ReplyDeleteTwo years ago, my mother passed away, alone in her home. Though she believed in G-d (spelled this way out of consideration for all our readers), she was a bit, ummmmmm...morally challenged : ), and her spiritual state at the time of her death was unknown to me.
The weather was bad in Wisconsin and it was just a few days before Christmas, so I did not make arrangements to attend the funeral because travel was nearly impossible for me.
In my family, we celebrated Christmas primarily on Christmas Eve....and that Christmas Eve, I sat alone in Seattle, remembering home, remembering her, praying - and listening to a song she had recorded (she was a singer too) and wondering where she was, wondering if G-d would answer my question about her whereabouts if I asked.
The song was "I'll Be Home For Christmas".
And then it hit me - this was my answer. I had forgotten all about that recording until someone reminded me of it that night. As I sat there listening to my mother's voice, I realized she was 'home', with my father, and with the Lord.
But then I thought I needed a more specific sign : ), and I was going through the lyrics in my mind..."Please have snow..."
Well, it RARELY snows here on Christmas Day. I mean R-A-R-E-L-Y. So I prayed one more request, and asked G-d to show me she was with Him by making it snow (something I hadn't heard a thing about in any kind of forecast, which would also be very unusual here - if it's going to snow, they BLARE it on the news) - and almost as soon as I prayed this, I knew I was being ridiculous and setting myself up for disappointment (G-d, after all, doesn't give people everything they want).
It was about 4:00 or 4:30AM. I turned on the radio as I do when I go to bed; it's usually tuned to a talk station - this time there was a song playing. "I'll Be Home For Christmas". It made me smile. I went to bed.
I woke at noon, and checked my phone. There was a text message from Bare.
It said, "It's snowing!" (I'm sorta choking up right now as I write this story out.)
I ran to my window - nothing - but he lives a few miles north of me, so I put boots on with my pajamas and by the time I got outside, the biggest snowflakes I had ever seen were raining down all around me.
I stretched out my arms and received my answer.
You might think I sound a little kooky, but I really believe it was an answer to my prayer. We hadn't had a white Christmas in Seattle in seventeen years (I looked it up).
And one last thing: Bare's text message was an accident. It wasn't intended for me. It was intended for someone else, someone in New Hampshire.
Okay - who's next? Anyone?
LOL - I see you guys have already jumped right in! YAY!!!!!!!!!! (In the time it took me to tell that story, bunches of posts - and I was afraid no one would want to talk about this! [HITS SELF IN HEAD.])
ReplyDeleteYay! More! More!
I will vouch, of course, for everything in CC's comment.
ReplyDeleteOkay here's a story I was told by a friend of mine. In the basement of his house lives a spirit. He's not really seen more often felt. The impression that my friend as gotten is of a male wearing a dark trench coat and a dark fedora. No face seen, but precieved to be bearded with piercing eyes. One time when a group of friends were over they were playing a game in the basement. One guy went up stairs to get some pop from the fridge. On the way back down the stairs he seemed to stumble and swear. Coming into the game room the first words out of his mouth were, "Who pushed me?"
ReplyDeleteLooking around he saw that everyone was there. He swore up and down that some one pushed him, and pushed him hard. He lifted up his shirt and showed his back. In the middle of his back were two hand prints.
The reason why I am called a damper is that since I have been gaming with the group in the basement, nothing has ever happened.
I am probably pissing off 'Ezekiel' to no end about that.
/what my friend calls the ghost
I will vouch, of course, for everything in CC's comment.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bare. I loves ya. : )
The reason why I am called a damper is that since I have been gaming with the group in the basement, nothing has ever happened.
ReplyDeleteIt's obviously askeered of you, P2. : )
It's obviously askeered of you, P2. : )
ReplyDeleteMust be all that army training I got. :D
Okay here's a story I was told by a friend of mine. In the basement of his house lives a spirit. He's not really seen more often felt. The impression that my friend as gotten is of a male wearing a dark trench coat and a dark fedora. No face seen, but precieved to be bearded with piercing eyes. One time when a group of friends were over they were playing a game in the basement. One guy went up stairs to get some pop from the fridge. On the way back down the stairs he seemed to stumble and swear. Coming into the game room the first words out of his mouth were, "Who pushed me?"
ReplyDeleteTrue story - I had a friend who got pushed - I mean seriously pushed - down the stairs leading from his attic once. We were all hanging out at his place, and we heard scratching coming from the door to the attic. Figuring it was an animal, he went to check it out. He went up this really steep narrow staircase, and as soon as he grabbed the handle to check open the door, the door (which was locked) burst open, and sent him flying down the stairs. He didn't even touch a single stair on his way down. Broke his arm pretty bad, and freaked the rest of us out. Never could explain what the hell happened.
I once did pottery and had sex with a hot Demi Moore-looking ghost while a Righteous Brothers song was playing on the radio. It was quite hot.
ReplyDeleteLMAO - you are so bad!
Broke his arm pretty bad, and freaked the rest of us out. Never could explain what the hell happened.
ReplyDeleteYou're from New England! It's Ghost City. ; )
It's a funny thing - I like Michael Medved quite a lot (though I disagree with him on a handful of things); I never thought of him as at all irrational, so when I heard him talk about camping overnight and what he heard and/or saw (I heard him tell the story last year, not this year...can't quite recall if he saw anything but I vividly remember him talking about what he heard), it was actually pretty creepy.
ReplyDeleteDid I commit thread-o-cide with my Christmas story? Maybe I should have saved that one for December.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I oughta delete it.
Growing up in a small town, we always used to like to find places to party that were secluded, out of the way, etc. Sugar Shacks were a common favorite, for example, especially in the winter.
ReplyDeleteOne fall night, however, we decided to go to an old "mansion" - just a really big old house that had been owned by some rich dude way back when, that had been abandoned, fallen into disrepair, etc... So, it was night time and about 8 of us went to go there, where we could be out of the cold kinda and drink, and maybe get lucky.
So, we go up to the place, and it looked kinda spooky in moonlight, leafless trees, darkness all around etc... and one of the girls wanted to go home. So, we turn to leave, we notice that she is frozen in place staring up at a window on the top floor of the place. We look up, and there was someone looking down at us.
So, I go into ass-kicking mode. Whomever it was trying to scare the girls was gonna get a beatdown, so leading the way, we go charging into the place, up the stairs, to the room where the person was...
The door was locked, we jimmy it open. The room hadn't been opened in God knows how long - there was at least an inch thickness of dust on the floor. No footprints, nothing disturbed. No person.
We figured that maybe discretion was the better part of valor, decided maybe we could let it slide, and went to go have fun elsewhere.
Maybe I oughta delete it.
ReplyDeleteNo.
The door was locked, we jimmy it open.
ReplyDeleteRaaaaacist! /Skip Gates
Raaaaacist! /Skip Gates
ReplyDeleteIt can't be raaaaacist (five a's) - we was hinting a ghost. ;)
Keep it up CPC, not all ghost stories have to be bad ones.
ReplyDeleteCorre∫pondence Pumpkin Committee said...
ReplyDeleteDid I commit thread-o-cide with my Christmas story? Maybe I should have saved that one for December.
Maybe I oughta delete it.
You better not!
It's such a wonderful story!
Keep it up CPC, not all ghost stories have to be bad ones.
ReplyDelete'zactly.
The thing about CC's story - I wasn't expecting any snow, either, and was having a text conversation with my oldest back in Na Hampsha, when I look out side and it was snowing. I couldn't believe it. Shocked the hell out of me, because I had just been telling my kid that it so rarely snows here on Christmas, I wasn't going to get my hopes up, and just expected the typical gray drizzling cold Christmas day...
ReplyDeleteSo, I go to text her to tell her that it was snowing, and accidentally sent the text to CC... LOL
You guys are awesome.
ReplyDelete(Disclaimer: No drugs were involved in the following story.)
ReplyDeleteIn my 20's I lived in an apartment with a loft in the bedroom. It had little steps leading up to it with an iron railing running across the front from wall to wall; I'd never been up there, it stayed empty.
I never did like the feel of that apartment from the beginning. One night, after I'd been there for a few months, I woke up in the middle of the night to see five or six short figures - a little taller than the railing - all with red eyes, looking down at me. I grabbed some things and left, fast ...stayed with a friend for a few days.
After I'd convinced myself that I really hadn't seen what I thought I'd seen, I went back with said friend in tow ...we would spend the night there together. Nothing happened, we went to sleep in that room. She shook me awake in the middle of the night, pointing to the loft, and there they were. Silent and staring. Red eyes.
I think it took me two days to find and move to another place. I broke the lease and fled.
And now, a favorite Halloween poem:
ReplyDeleteIt was late one fall in Halloweenland,
and the air had quite a chill.
Against the moon a skeleton sat,
alone upon a hill....
/Click text for the rest of the poem
(Disclaimer: No drugs were involved in the following story.)
ReplyDeleteLOL
You know, about the only place as spooky as New England is where YOU are!
Boo!
ReplyDeletePrivate Pumpkin said...
ReplyDeleteBoo!
Private bin Pumpkin? Welcome!
Private Pumpkin said...
ReplyDeleteBoo!
Well, I suppose that's a better name than Pumpkin Privates.
LOL Pumpkin BJ didn't quite seem right.
ReplyDeleteWell how about a different take on this poem?
ReplyDeleteLOL Pumpkin BJ didn't quite seem right.
ReplyDeleteThat gives me an idea. Be back in about 30 seconds.
Hi Vegas. I think I'm going to change it to Pvt Bin Pumpkin.
ReplyDeletePaladinPhil said...
ReplyDeleteWell how about a different take on this poem?
Here's my favorite presentation of that poem.
Private Pumpkin said...
ReplyDeleteHi Vegas. I think I'm going to change it to Pvt Bin Pumpkin.
Glad I could help!
LOL Pumpkin BJ didn't quite seem right.
ReplyDeleteLMAO
That gives me an idea. Be back in about 30 seconds.
ReplyDeleteLMAO!!! BARE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Private Pumpkin said...
ReplyDeleteLOL Pumpkin BJ didn't quite seem right.
Seems perfect to me!
/izzat you, Pumpkin Monica?
You're most welcome Pumpkin Pi Guy!
ReplyDeleteWish all of you could come to our party tonight.
Bare, do you have any of that candy left? : )
ReplyDeleteLOL,Pumkin Billy Jeff, no Monicas here just Pumpkin Shrillary.
ReplyDeleteBare, do you have any of that candy left? : )
ReplyDeleteYes. And I'm depressed, so I'm going to start eating it all.
I'll be back in a little bit. Just want to do a couple more chores. I'm going to be wiped out even before our party starts, darn.
ReplyDeleteLOL,Pumkin Billy Jeff, no Monicas here just Pumpkin Shrillary
ReplyDeleteACK! PUMPKIN SHRINKAGE!
I'm depressed too, Bare! But I have two giant bags and I need 'em for the rugrats.
ReplyDeleteWell time for me to piece together the rest of my costume and head out. Have a good night one and all.
ReplyDeleteG'Night, PP!
ReplyDeleteHave fun, Phil! See you later. :-)
ReplyDeleteHere's an excellent version of the Raven!
ReplyDeleteAnyone seen The Great Pumpkin roaming around tonight?
ReplyDeleteMy it's orange in here.
Have a great time PP.
ReplyDeletepumpkingak said...
ReplyDeleteAnyone seen The Great Pumpkin roaming around tonight?
My it's orange in here.
Plenty of pumpkins in here, but here's the only Great Pumpkin I've seen on here.
PumpkinGak! Howdy! :-)
ReplyDeletePink Populator Pumpkin said...
ReplyDeletePumpkinGak! Howdy! :-)
Hi PPP. How do you like my costume? Yours is "Fabulous."
Love it, Gak!
ReplyDelete/flicks seed off of Gak's nose.
You stopping by the pub later?
Pink Populator Pumpkin said...
ReplyDeleteLove it, Gak!
/flicks seed off of Gak's nose.
You stopping by the pub later?
heh. I thought I had cleaned off all my inerds. It's a premonition. Looks like I'll be a sloppy drinker in the Pub tonight.
urrrrp . . .
ReplyDelete/excuse me
Woooooooooooow.... spooky Halloween in my neighborhood. The power went off during dinner &we had to break out the candles. The kids got into their costumes and headed out into the dark, flashlights in hand. The only lights on the street were the jack-o-lanterns.
ReplyDeleteThe power only just came back a few minutes ago
Time for Monster Chiller Horror Theatre...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m_2fQ5LC70&feature=related
Pumpkin Carving Is Murder! said...
ReplyDeleteurrrrp . . .
/excuse me
um, you are excused. Thanks for not messing up the dance floor. See, I know you are already at the Pub and have been since noon.
pumpkingak said...
ReplyDeleteum, you are excused. Thanks for not messing up the dance floor. See, I know you are already at the Pub and have been since noon.
"It's 9 a.m. on a Saturday, the regular crowd shuffles in...."
I'M baaack. Good story CC, don't delete! The really little kids are starting to show up and its barely dusk. They are very cute. Lot of princesses and angels.
ReplyDeleteOh now, look at my avatar for crying out loud. Who did that to my eye?
ReplyDeleteGak, you have a B eye. lol
ReplyDeleteIts getting awfully quiet in here.
ReplyDeletesnowcrash said...
ReplyDeleteGak, you have a B eye. lol
Now everyone will think I came here dressed up as a pirate. But I didn't!
Pink has seen my costume. Anyone want to guess what I came as?
A zombie?
ReplyDeletepumpkingak said...
ReplyDeleteNow everyone will think I came here dressed up as a pirate. But I didn't!
Pink has seen my costume. Anyone want to guess what I came as?
B movie?
Gak, a picture of a deserted beach?
ReplyDelete"If the world is seeking a leader,
ReplyDeleteWise, courageous and true,
Remember: Any man who can say he is boss in his home,
Will lie about other things, too."
-Nipsey Russell
Gak, hurry up, the next wave of trick or treaters is heading towaed my house!
ReplyDeleteI'M baaack. Good story CC, don't delete! The really little kids are starting to show up and its barely dusk. They are very cute. Lot of princesses and angels.
ReplyDelete(((snow))) (I think Bare and Pinkie shared stories just so I wouldn't have to feel stupid. : )
Anyone? Damn, no one comes to my door asking for candy either. I've never figured out
ReplyDeletewhy.
Cousin Ercle is always out front greeting visitors.
CC, I don't think they did. It was a good.
ReplyDeleteGak, WHAT are you dressing up as? Or was that a trick question?
ReplyDeletesnowcrash - Pi Guy. Nice guess. But Noooooo.
ReplyDeleteAll the boys seem to be ninjas or the grim reaper. I think they just want to carry plastic weapons. lol
ReplyDeleteThe kids carrying pillow cases for the candy crack me up. They are expecting a pretty big haul.
ReplyDeleteGak, are you a Disney Princess?
ReplyDeleteGak, heading up for new thread.
ReplyDeletesnowcrash said...
ReplyDeleteGak, WHAT are you dressing up as? Or was that a trick question?
It will be revealed in time and you will understand when the time is right.
-- a paraphrase from Jackie Aprile, Jr. Sopranos.