Paranormal Activity

 
       Halloween, the time of year when scary, horror movies come out. Okay, I was one of those people who helped the movie Paranormal Activity, earn 200 million last year! Last weekend, my friend Garrett and I went to Paranormal Activity 2. This movie picked up from where the first one left off. It’s about a couple from California whose house is haunted by a demon. The boyfriend of one of the characters video tapes everything for fun and also wants some proof that the house is haunted. In the movie, the maid is the only one that feels there is a presence or restless spirits in the house, but then Ali, one of the main characters, starts to agree. She too thinks that the house might be haunted by something more than a ghost; more like a demon of some type terrorizing the family. Do you believe in ghosts? Do you think when people say they have had a paranormal experience that it’s for real?
      First of all, what does paranormal mean? I looked it up, and it says it is a term that describes an experience that lie outside “the range of normal experiences or scientific explanation”. I don’t think telling my parents that someone came to me in the middle of the night and told me that I should have a new 2010 Mustang is a paranormal experience; more like wishful thinking. Honestly, I can’t say that I’ve had an experience that could be considered “outside the range of normal”.
       When I am at my Aunt Kim’s house in West Salem, whose house is over 50 years old, and her front door mysteriously opens, she always says, “There ‘s Grandma Schimidt”. Grandma Schmidt has been dead for 27 years, so what she means is that it is the “spirit” of Grandma Schmidt and she’s making herself known to a place she use to come. Are spirits the same as ghosts?
     I asked 10 people I know what they thought a ghost was. I got answers like this: something white that floats in the air; a spirit; the person within the person; an apparition; something that pops in and out. While 32% of Americans believe in ghosts, depending on who you ask, ghosts are all different.
       Parapsychologists study ghosts for a living. They try to understand the paranormal phenomena. People who don’t believe in this at all say there are perfectly good explanations for “ghost sightings”. For example, scientists say that sound waves having frequencies less than 20 hertz are inaudible, but they still can cause someone to feel a presence of a shift in their mood. Also, carbon monoxide poisoning has said to be the cause of haunted houses because it can cause hallucinations, sick feelings, and a sense of dread. Pareidolia is a condition that causes someone to recognize human faces or forms in patterns. Maybe people who say they see a person really WANT or HOPE to see something, so they think they do.
       All over the world people have claimed that there have been unexplainable situations. In China, there is supposedly a road where, “ghosts pop up in the middle of it”. Hundreds of car accidents have taken place on this road each year. There is a ghost on Mt. Everest that climber’s say they see; supposedly a man who disappeared on his way up. In Kentucky, there is a building that once was used for very sick patients. They say more than 60,000 deaths have occurred on this property.
       Even though there is paranormal research and now even a show called “Ghost Hunters”, it’s hard for believers to prove all of this is true because they don’t have any physical evidence. So, most researchers study the beliefs, rather than try to prove the spirits or ghosts are actually real. A man by the name of Charles Fort is considered the “father of paranormalism”. He has over 40,000 notes on unexplained paranormal experiences and has written 7 books. He has information on poltergeists, crop circles, levitation, fires, and alien abduction.
       There are still parapsychologists today, but not a lot because without evidence, people just don’t buy into what they are saying. Most people believe its all tricks. My mom goes to a town called Wonewok Wi, every summer and has a psychic reading. I asked her why she goes, and she tells me that maybe she’ll get in touch with her deceased grandparents or find out what is going to happen to her in the future. I don’t know if she really believes what they say is true, or if she is wanting or hoping to hear something that will change her life. When I told her it was nice of these people to take the hour to talk to her, she hesitated, and said, “Well, I have to pay them 40.00”. Hmm?
      The movie, Paranormal Activity 2 tries to get people to jump out of their seats, bite their nails, and shout every time a door slams. I knew what to expect when I went to it, and thought it was fun. This time of year I am all for that! As far as being a believer in paranormal and ghosts; I do like E.T and Casper, but that is as far as I will go.