It looks like a human, but it shouldn't be there...

... and the answer that immediately seems to spring to mind is: what is a GHOST!*

I am somewhat reluctant to include these musings here, since this blog is not supposed to be about »ghosts« - and there are many, many genuine time/space displacement stories waiting for their turn to be told here.
And since "ghost" stories transcend the usual perceived boundaries of every single time/space continuum – AKA the present – it is somewhat tricky to discuss them here, in this space dedicated to perceived time/space anomalies. Because once the floodgates are open, this space could soon outgrow its carefully trimmed hedges and burst into the anarchy of (yet another!) generically »paranormal« blog. (The fact that the blog mistress is para-normal should be more than enough, for the time being...)

But it occurs to me that we don't really know what so-called »ghosts« really are. And I don't think they can even be lumped together into a single category, however broad.

I love a good – let me emphasise that: GOOD – ghost story. Who doesn't?

But there really aren't all that many around – good ones, I mean.
(On the other hand, there are quite a few very good ones that aren't »around«, because the world has simply not heard of them yet.)

I don't know about you, but I've always found it somewhat irritating that so many people – even documentary film-makers and such – jump to conclusions regarding the nature and origins of apparitions and other para-physical phenomena indicating a sort of human presence.
Whenever the presence of such a phenomenon is established, it is followed – and, usually, preceded – by stories of somebody living and/or dying in the place that is »haunted«, often without any evidence that the apparition is in fact linked with the specific person(s) who supposedly lived and/or died in the house.

In short, among those who give any credence to the phenomenon at all, ghosts seem to be widely identified with »wandering souls«; they are thought to be ex-people, if you'll excuse the pythonesque allusion, who for some reason couldn't »rest in peace«.

And what irritates me the most is precisely the absence of questions – of questioning - regarding the actual origins of such apparitions.

And yet, some apparitions are clearly not the result of »tormented« spirits. Such is the famous case of the Roman regiment – complete with a mule or horse – that is said to have been seen (in 1953, by one Harry Martindale) marching through a cellar of the Treasurer's House in York (England).

The soldiers were said to have a haggard, disheveled – tired? – appearance, which would be in no way unusual, considering their occupation. (The appearance of the mule is not described in detail.)

More unusually, however, the lowest part of their bodies, from the knees down, seemed to have vanished.

Were they victims of a shin-worshiping tribe or something? Maybe the local women craved their footwear and the soldiers wouldn't part with it?

Hardly: as I said, they appeared to be marching – in perfect silence - through the cellar, only the lower part of their legs was unseen. And we do know there was a Roman road leading through that future cellar – and that the street level was a feet or two lower than the level of the ground today.

Here is a good (if short) account of the story (from The Independent):

(And here is an entry about Roman structures in non-haunted cellars from a wonderful history blog, with some humourous comments, one of which includes an allusion to this story: WHAT YOU CAN FIND IN CELLARS.)

But even the most pedestrian programmes about "haunted" places can yield surprisingly productive thoughts.

I was (semi)watching a programme about »ghosts« on the TV the other day.

Semi-watching TV is they key word here; with the »corner« of your eye you can sometimes catch more than you would normally. And with the »corner« of your mind, you can sometimes catch thoughts that might not occur to you normally. (Of course, being sleep-deprived helps, too...)

There was talk of a certain room in a certain hotel that is supposedly »haunted« (and there are many such hotel rooms across the world). Purportedly, people often see "shadows" or "grey" apparitions of people wandering through the room before disappearing as suddenly as they appeared.

So far, so good... but wouldn't you know: immediately the team proceeded to investigate whether somebody died in that room.

Why?

What IF some of the localised, i.e. space-specific, »apparitions« and other, non-visual manifestations of a human »presence« are really the effect of that person's (the ghost-to-be) mental revisiting (remembering, if you will, only with more intensity than usually) the spaces that were important to them – from within their own timeline? Or, perhaps more accurately, across time.

(Or maybe the place wasn't even all that important to them; maybe their thought - or their "astral body", as many like to call it - simply wandered into their room because of some random mental association?)

Could this explain appearances such as the one Ingmar Bergman reportedly witnessed in a theatre?

I for one have the distinct impression that all times really DO exist all at once.
(But more on that some other time. Besides, there is a wonderful collection of books listed at the bottom of this page that discuss just that. You don't have to buy them - borrow them, and I am sure at least one or two of them will be worth your while.)

I hear you: it is rather thankless to offer a theory that cannot be supported by evidence and is, furthermore, based on another unsupported theory...

But thinking is fun. ;)

So... what do you think?

* For those who are not familiar with American pop culture, this unusual form of expressing an answer refers to a very popular quiz show called "Jeopardy".

Beyond Normandy Road

(This account should have been published on October 8, 2008.
It wasn't Saturn, the ruler of Time, who prevented it: it was Mercury, the ruler of communication - and spammers...
Not that it matters very much - after all, time will be time... ;-)



The following personal account comes from Darlene Kaiser, in the USA.
We find it fascinating. It not often that people glimpse into what seems to be the future.

Here is how it happened...

"It was a hot clear sunny day in the summer (July) of 1968 on Normandy Road, Fitchburg (MA) in my neighborhood, where I grew up. I was 6 years old at the time.

In my neighborhood there are three rows of houses lined up all the way down the road.
I lived on the first row. It was followed by a road, and after that by a grass lawn (uphill); then followed a second row of houses, then another road and then another grass lawn (also uphill). The third road of houses was followed by the last road; after that, the grass hill, which is located on top of Normandy Road, extended into the woods. (The road goes uphill to the third row of houses.)

It was 11:15 am. I remember I was wearing a top shirt and shorts.
I was playing by myself in the back of one of the third row of houses on top of Normandy Road and I decided to take a walk into the woods on top of the up hill.

The wood was very thick and shady. I could hardly see the sky above me - just trees and leaves. I was pulling off branches and leaves away from my body, face and hair. It was a 10 minute walk.
I don't remember everything what I was feeling at the time... just a little bit cold, being all scratched up on my legs and arms by the branches, sticks , twigs; and I remember picking up colorful leaves.

As I came out on the other side of the woods, I felt shocked and stunned by what I saw. I could describe it as a futuristic looking neighborhood. All I did was stare with my mouth open - like Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz, just coming out of her tornado dropped house looking at Munchkinland for the first time in her life, with her mouth wide opened staring in shock. That's how I felt.

The roads and houses looked well advanced and beautiful. The roads were not made of black tar but of white/silvery metallic cement reflecting the sunlight. It looked smooth, extremely clean, shiny and modern. This is what caught my eye first.
The houses had many huge big windows, with colorful rooftops; they looked very advanced. The streetlights were different-looking, straight clear poles with ice cream cone shaped lights on top, with an upside down bowl (that's how I can best describe it). I had never seen this before. It did not look like the late 1960's - it looked more like the year 2025.

There were no people around: just me and the futuristic scene. I could also hear a deep humming sound coming from the background; to me, it sounded like (I am not sure) like a "live" power line.

I walked up a few paces to the edge of the road and leaned over to see what was in the distance around the corner. All I could see was lined up houses going down the road on my left side. On my right side I could see the same road coming uphill, then straighten, then curved back downhill on the other side.

I started feeling lost, so I decided to go back into the woods and go home to tell my mother.
This whole event lasted about 6 minutes.

When I told my mother about it, she said, " Stay out of the woods!!"

The next day I sneaked back up into the woods to see that "futuristic" place again.
I could not find it. I looked and looked... NOTHING. There was nothing but regular old 1960's houses.

That was the last time I saw it; never again.
This experience haunts me till this day every now and then; it will remain with me for the rest of my life. I am now 46 years old and the memories of it does come back once in awhile.
So yes: it does happen to some people."

The lady vanishes

Well, no - I don't mean myself, although anyone who has been reading this blog would be excused for thinking that... ;)

Just like you, I do have a life - or two - beyond this spot of a blog.
Which is why all the amazing stories I've been itching to tell you will have to wait some more. Today, I am going to share just a very short story from a wonderfully entertaining and informative website that is among our favourites.

It was contributed by a man who calls himself "Dave".

Here's what Dave said:


"A few days ago, I was behind a girl, walking down the stairs, in the subway. Reaching the bottom, she turned right, around the corner, into a dead-end subway waiting area. I did the same and she was not there. I was about two seconds behind her, and there is no way she could have gone from view. ..."


The rest you can read here.

There are a few instances of such disappearances in previous posts, here in this blog. (See some of the March entries.)
Be sure to read them, if you haven't already.

Better yet, if anything like this has happened to you, make sure you don't disappear back into the ether of your off-line life without letting me know. ;)