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Due to the high volumn of spam posting that gets done on the site, I check once a day for new comments (every now and then I’ll check more frequently if I’m doing work on the site from home). Rest assured that if you’ve posted and it’s not to advertise something, it will get approved  within 24 hours.

Some of your stories are told in the first person. Did they all happen to you?

No. Anything written by me will be preceeded by [ OPTIK'S NOTE ], or it will be a news post. Everything else is told by the particular author of the work.

What is a Ghost ?

A ghost – or spirit or apparition – is the energy, soul or personality of a person who has died and has somehow gotten stuck between this plane of existence and the next. Most researchers believe that these spirits do not know they are dead. Very often they have died under traumatic, unusual or highly emotional circumstances. Ghosts can be perceived by the living in a number of ways: through sight (apparitions), sound (voices), smell (frangrances and odors), touch – and sometimes they can just be sensed.

What is a Haunting ?

A haunting is a kind of “recording” of a past event on an environment, such as a house, building or a battlefield. These recordings play back, over and over in a kind of loop – always the same, like a film or video. It is thought that the presence of certain people can trigger these recordings to play back. They are not ghosts capable of interacting with the living. It is not known how these recordings are made, but they are often associated with a traumatic or strongly emotional event.

What is a Poltergeist ?

“Poltergeist” is a German word meaning “noisy spirit.” Current research indicates, however, that poltergeist activity may have nothing to do with ghosts or spirits. Since the activity seems to center around an individual, it is believed that it is caused by the subconscious mind of that individual. It is, in effect, psychokinetic activity. The individual is often under emotional, psychological or physical stress (even going through puberty). Effects can include rappings on walls and floors, the physical movement of objects, effects on lights and other electric appliances – even the manifestation of physical phenomena.

What is the difference between the three ?

Despite popular belief, there are distinct differences among ghosts, hauntings and poltergeists:

  • Ghosts are spirits of people that have been caught between this plane of existence and the next. They are intelligent beings, often capable of interacting with the living.
  • Hauntings are recordings of an event on an event on an environment. They do not interact with the living.
  • Poltergeists are neither ghosts nor hauntings, but are caused by the unconscious mind of a living person, usually under some kind of stress.

It is worth noting that a combination of these phenomena can occur in one place. One can effect or even trigger another, which is why a variety of such phenomena can be found in a “haunting.”

What is EVP ?

EVP – or Electronic Voice Phenomena – is a mysterious event in which human-sounding voices from an unknown source are heard on recording tape, in radio station noise and other electronic media. Most often, EVPs have been captured on audiotape. The mysterious voices are not heard at the time of recording; it is only when the tape is played back that the voices are heard. Sometimes amplification and noise filtering is required to hear the voices. Some EVP is more easily heard and understood than others. And they vary in gender (men and women), age (women and children), tone and emotion. They usually speak in single-words, phrases and short sentences. Sometimes they are just grunts, groans, growling and other vocal noises. EVP has been recorded speaking in various languages.

What is DOP ?

DOP – Disappearing Object Phenomenon – is a relatively common phenomenon in which an object disappears from view and later inexplicably returns. For example, a person puts their car keys on a kitchen counter, where they are always kept. When the person goes to get them, they are gone. A thorough search turns up nothing. Later, the keys are found on the counter where they were originally put (or some other obvious place. It’s difficult to document a genuine DOP occurrence because people can be careless, simply misplace things or be forgetful. But there are many compelling stories from people who are certain they looked for the object in the place that it later appears. In some cases, people audibly call out for the object to be returned – and it is. In some rare cases, the missing object has actually been seen materializing out of thin air. It is also known as the “borrower” phenomenon. It may be related to Poltergeist phenomena.