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I must mention that this blog entry was inspired by my man in the know, Jim from ISP. He has brought my attention to an important fact and in doing so reminded me that even the paranormal is in abundance of technical terms. As what could be described as a ‘newbie’ to the field I have no problem learning as I go, after all that is why I am investigating, ‘to know more’.
As some of you may have read, Jim commented as follows;
‘Hi Ash its Jim. Nice little post there but I thought I would just raise a small issue. Obviously Andrew was referring to "Ghosts". As a paranormal investigator I know two terms within the field that people seem to think are the same. Ghost and Spirit. A ghost is a recording if you like, layed down by stone tape theory as Andrew has described in that passage. The term spirit is used to explain an occurrence which shows intelligence rather than just replaying something. Hope this gives you a little more insight.’
Jim’s comment immediately grabbed me. It encouraged me to want to know more. I have, probably like many people heard individuals refer to ‘ghosts’ and ‘spirits’ as if they were two different things, but dismissed it and assumed they were sort of the same thing. Thinking about it though it makes perfect sense that they are not. Jim’s comment has been the catalyst for a brief knowledge search on the two. After all I cannot investigate the paranormal if I don’t know the technical terms.
First up, let me attempt to explain the ‘Stone Tape Theory’. The term itself is originally believed to be from the 1970’s BBC drama called ‘The Stone Tape’. Then it was used by Parapsychologists to describe the theory that materials found in stone and brick may have certain properties suitable for recording images and/or sound of events which occur in their vicinity. It is believed that the stoned, ground, etc are able to absorb the energy from living beings. Under certain conditions the absorbed energy can be replayed, just like a recording.
As most hauntings can usually be related to an emotionally charged scene, such as a murder, horrific accident or time of distress on the part of the person or persons involved. Somehow that scene becomes imprinted in the localised environment, such as a building.
For the scene to be replayed it has been suggested that it needs to be triggered by the correct catalyst, or person who sends out the right signal. This could be a highly emotional or distressed person. The replayed scene can be visual or audible, but not always interactive. This is often referred to as a residual or imprinted haunting.
That’s the ‘Stone Tape Theory’ in brief, but I think I will be heading back to this as a future blog subject, as it is quite interesting and could pose quite a good discussion point.
As for the difference between ghosts and spirits, this subject is slightly complicated. From a brief search of the web, you return a few conflicting views. However, I think I will side with Jim in distinguishing between the two.
From what I have read briefly and I am by no means an expert. Ghosts are as Jim describes them, ‘a recording’. If you agree with what is written, then they are stuck in replay (sometimes interactive and sometimes not) after failing to pass completely over to the afterlife. This means they are stuck in between the physical world and the afterlife in a kind of nether world. There are additional angles which state that they can be assisted to pass on to the afterlife with the correct assistance. For example, if someone was murdered, but the killer was never found then solving the murder helps the victim to move on. Personally this view is a touch ‘drama’ for me. I tend to think the ‘stone tape theory’ makes more sense and that the catalyst is no longer present which is why the ghost fails to appear.
Then we have spirits, which as Jim states ‘shows intelligence rather than just replaying something’. This is entirely possible, as some of the descriptions I have discovered describe spirits as having passed over to the afterlife, but are able to return to our physical world to assist or watch over us. All very well, but this leaves me the question, why? Which is fine with me, the whole subject of the paranormal poses the question why, hence my continued interest!
Obviously, my descriptions have been brief, but again I will return to these subjects again in more detail. After all, there’s plenty to discuss, plenty to understand in the paranormal world!
As ever your comments or suggestions are welcome.
As some of you may have read, Jim commented as follows;
‘Hi Ash its Jim. Nice little post there but I thought I would just raise a small issue. Obviously Andrew was referring to "Ghosts". As a paranormal investigator I know two terms within the field that people seem to think are the same. Ghost and Spirit. A ghost is a recording if you like, layed down by stone tape theory as Andrew has described in that passage. The term spirit is used to explain an occurrence which shows intelligence rather than just replaying something. Hope this gives you a little more insight.’
Jim’s comment immediately grabbed me. It encouraged me to want to know more. I have, probably like many people heard individuals refer to ‘ghosts’ and ‘spirits’ as if they were two different things, but dismissed it and assumed they were sort of the same thing. Thinking about it though it makes perfect sense that they are not. Jim’s comment has been the catalyst for a brief knowledge search on the two. After all I cannot investigate the paranormal if I don’t know the technical terms.
First up, let me attempt to explain the ‘Stone Tape Theory’. The term itself is originally believed to be from the 1970’s BBC drama called ‘The Stone Tape’. Then it was used by Parapsychologists to describe the theory that materials found in stone and brick may have certain properties suitable for recording images and/or sound of events which occur in their vicinity. It is believed that the stoned, ground, etc are able to absorb the energy from living beings. Under certain conditions the absorbed energy can be replayed, just like a recording.
As most hauntings can usually be related to an emotionally charged scene, such as a murder, horrific accident or time of distress on the part of the person or persons involved. Somehow that scene becomes imprinted in the localised environment, such as a building.
For the scene to be replayed it has been suggested that it needs to be triggered by the correct catalyst, or person who sends out the right signal. This could be a highly emotional or distressed person. The replayed scene can be visual or audible, but not always interactive. This is often referred to as a residual or imprinted haunting.
That’s the ‘Stone Tape Theory’ in brief, but I think I will be heading back to this as a future blog subject, as it is quite interesting and could pose quite a good discussion point.
As for the difference between ghosts and spirits, this subject is slightly complicated. From a brief search of the web, you return a few conflicting views. However, I think I will side with Jim in distinguishing between the two.
From what I have read briefly and I am by no means an expert. Ghosts are as Jim describes them, ‘a recording’. If you agree with what is written, then they are stuck in replay (sometimes interactive and sometimes not) after failing to pass completely over to the afterlife. This means they are stuck in between the physical world and the afterlife in a kind of nether world. There are additional angles which state that they can be assisted to pass on to the afterlife with the correct assistance. For example, if someone was murdered, but the killer was never found then solving the murder helps the victim to move on. Personally this view is a touch ‘drama’ for me. I tend to think the ‘stone tape theory’ makes more sense and that the catalyst is no longer present which is why the ghost fails to appear.Then we have spirits, which as Jim states ‘shows intelligence rather than just replaying something’. This is entirely possible, as some of the descriptions I have discovered describe spirits as having passed over to the afterlife, but are able to return to our physical world to assist or watch over us. All very well, but this leaves me the question, why? Which is fine with me, the whole subject of the paranormal poses the question why, hence my continued interest!
Obviously, my descriptions have been brief, but again I will return to these subjects again in more detail. After all, there’s plenty to discuss, plenty to understand in the paranormal world!
As ever your comments or suggestions are welcome.
Cool blog! But what catergory do Poltageists come under... Do they show a sign of inteligence? Or are the noises and movement they make, them stuck in replay??
ReplyDeleteAlso, isn't a ghost basically an image that is left from someone in physical form, so techincally they could still be alive, hence what your theorist was stating??
Hehe thinking about doesn't the film The Ring (Original) show this concept?
Ah Poltergeists! For me there are many possible explainations of which one I cant decide on.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all an angry spirit whos main intention is to cause unrest and generally be in the way. In some cases this makes most sense.
Secondly a totally different classification all together under demon. This to me all depends on what you think of as a demon as depending on creed etc this can change.
The third explanation throws a total curve ball to the idea for ghosts and spirits and puts the blame on the humans occupying the building using psychokenesis to move things unknowingly. This to me seems very likely as many cases happen around teenagers or pregnant women. This to me suggest that maybe an unbalenced hormone level could cause the human body to show what it is capable of.