what would you consider to becredible proof of ghosts/spirit activity?

Question

What would you really consider to be credible proof of a haunting? Remember, keep it real. No far out answers where there would be no way proof could ever be obtained. I am looking for serious, thoughtful answers from those who do not believe.Have you even given any thought as to what would be enough to convince you?

TR, there may be hope for you, have you ever considered trying to look for yourself? you seem to be level headed and open to possibilities. Think about doing some investigeting for yourself.

Zach, are you saying that even if there was credible proof, you would still need to see and feel for yourself? Fair enough, but maybe you too should go out and do some investigating for yourself.

Answer 1

That's a really good question. Personally, I don't think proof can be had in this kind of situation, but if there really is spirit activity happening, then it should be possible to collect at least some compelling evidence. The most compelling evidence would be an extension of our own senses -- a video camera to record what is seen, an audio recorder to record what is heard, etc. I don't think anybody is going to be impressed by an EMF reading, since EMF detectors can only be shown to detect EMF and nothing more.

But having a video/audio recording isn't enough. Whatever is recorded has to be very clear and obvious. A video of what may be nothing more than reflection, as in a recent question here, isn't going to be compelling evidence for anything. If there is indeed a spirit, it needs to be wholly visible. The video also had to be collected in a way that it can be verified that the video is legit and was not altered in any way. For example, it's awfully easy to fake poltergeist activity on a video.

Another form of evidence is eyewitness testimony, although eyewitness testimony may not be very reliable in panic situations. But if you have 3 or 4 people both testifying to the same thing who were not panicking, then they would have a compelling story.

Finally, whatever evidence there is, the possible explanations based on science and the natural world need to be examined and eliminated before you can finally come to the conclusion that something unexplained happened. However, it's important to point out that evidence of the unexplained is not necessarily evidence of spirit activity. That's a logical jump that is impossible to make when there really is no solid theory on what spirits or are how they behave.

Would any of this convince me? I can't say hypothetically. I'd have to see the actual evidence to say, but evidence gathered using the guidelines described above would get my attention and I'd want to look into it further. Unfortunately, I have not found this quality of evidence so far, perhaps for a couple reasons. One, if spirits exist and only "pop" into this world on their own accord, it would be pretty difficult to gather real good evidence. Secondly, perhaps the lack of evidence is an indication of the lack of the existence of spirits.

Answer 2

There is no proof possible.What you are asking about are abstract beings.
You are trying to convince another's belief system and belief is so ingrained that it cannot be shaken.
Belief in the abstract is in the same group with racial prejudice, believing in God, being Democrat or Republican and religious choice. It cannot be changed by proof or evidence.

The reality is that you either believe or you don't. Evidence or proof is just an argument people use to try to persuade another to think as they do. When something is abstract it has no universal face. It is thought and discussion, not material.


Now as far as Bigfoot and things like that, evidence could be produced because there would be possible material evidence left behind, but for abstract subjects such as ghosts or demons, it isn't going to ever happen. Most of our abstract thoughts and beliefs come from our parents and culture.
Things like Bigfoot and flying saucers come from the media and we make a choice whether to believe depending on our scientific background.
A Jimmy Carter or Al Gore is going to see a chupacabra and a Freidrich Miescher or a Sydney Brenner is not going to.

Answer 3

If someone with the credentials of Joe Nickell or Martin Gardner.Said they now knew ghosts existed.I'd probably start considering it.Still to be completely honest,I'm pretty sure I'd still have to see it for myself.
EDIT.What's credible proof?I can't say exactly what it would be.But I'll know it when I see it.I have done a little investigating.I've visited many "haunted places"Many years ago in California I had friends who had seances and spirit summonings.I observed them often.One night they were calling a spirit,Merriwether I think her name was,.It involved burning some herbs and a silver bowl with some liquid in it.They were convinced something happened and I was convinced they were fooling themselves.It all seemed silly to me.I'll admit I don't often go paranormal investigating.If there was something interesting I'd check it out.The fact is I've looked many times and never found anything except nonsense. I know you're serious about your investigating.I genuinely wish you luck.

Answer 4

the following would probably convince me:
1) a really convincing person telling me: IM NOT CRAZY I SAW A GHOST! I SAW SOMETHING!
2) a stay overnight, or for a while at that house.
3) put a tape recorder near the area where the ghost seems to appear. Record it when no one is in the house for a few hours. I would want to hear what it picked up.
4) seeing physical evidence, like maybe scratches or things the ghost made.
5) If you think a ghost is near you should snap a picture of it. like where you think it would be. Usually something will show up. THen i would totally be convinced!

If theres a ghost in ur house... maybe an exorcism? Hope this helps! :)

Answer 5

Repeatability would be my first requirement. If a place is haunted it has to be haunted over a period of time. The second would be independent verifiability. If you can see it then I should be able to see it as well. Ideally I would like to see something that could be measured or tested. If it's a phenomenon then something is causing it.

Answer 6

This does sound paranormal, yet what i'm censured with is that it somewhat is finding you so thrilling. maximum beings that locate human beings thrilling are not that solid they want to attach them self to you. I even have had a being connect it is self to me and that i left it in the back of in a house and to on the present time i'm able to sense her now and lower back. What i'll assert is to have your mom and dad purchase you a crystal and supply it to you as a latest and likewise get some sage. And merely salt would not help it must be purified salt and maximum of it somewhat is sea salt. yet you ought to purchase it from those that air purifier it. then you certainly can scatter it around your room and say a prayer to god and Ark Angel Micheal to guard you. And deliver the angels to guard you and to eliminate this being around your place. And to maintain you risk-free. merely speaking from journey and from studying this. Oh don't be shocked this being would not want to bypass away. it will make a fuse if it extremely likes you.

Answer 7

I had a friend that passed over that was concerned about his son. He asked me to phone his family which I found ridiculous. I ignored his requests but he would not let it go, so I finally said I need more proof. How do I know that I am not just making these dialogues up in my head?
The next night I had a dream of a co-worker, someone that I hardly knew. It dealt with a very very square bus like nothing that I had ever seen before, a guy coming off the bus telling me to tell my co=worker that "it" was not his fault and then another guy telling me to tell my co-worker to "do the frog face" for the little girl in the pink dress that also came of the bus. It took me a full two weeks to approach my co-worker but after much haranguing from my friend I finally did approach him and gave the above message, disjointed as it was. He verified every single point of the dream... including the square bus and the Frog face....and we became friends there after as we knew that we had a common bond of being intuitive. This is enough proof for me.

Answer 8

Well, I think even if you had all the legitimate proof in the world, still there will be skeptics.
Me personally tho, I like EV-P's & Video. I frequently study these & at times find them very interesting & educational.
I have found that a Thermal camera would be an even better way of locating something.

However, the best proof would be to "Experience" one personally. It is hard to tear that appart, even for the skeptics. If you have taken a skeptic on a venture with you & they experience a paranormal event, even the excuses they use to write it off is hard to swallow for them!!! Try it some time

Answer 9

Ok you may not want to hear mine, I already believe.
But when my best friend was killed by his wife, his sister and I had a bunch of stories to tell each other. She had objects (all related to him in some way) either fall over- his photo, come on - an alarm clock he gave her, that kind of thing. One night she said "ok I got it you're here now knock it off - it's really starting to get to me" and it stopped, by the way she had custody of his kids. One of my stories was that my brother had been in a serious, life threatening motorcycle accident, he came to me in a dream, and talked to me about what happened and what I could expect, and about what happened to him. I also had some object issues as well.
Now like I said I always believed to begin with but that let me know for sure that people can communicate ... and I don't feel it always has to be "images" but I'm sure like everything some ghosts are better at what they do than others are !
And of course some could "justify" what happened but you'd have to experience it to truly understand why it felt real.

Answer 10

I think the key to any proof is repeatable and predictable behavior.
Random photos of dust and blurry shapes is not proof. If you could predict where and when a ghost or spirit arrived and get predictable EVPs or photos of cooperative spirits, then you could turn the field of science toward ghosts.
So far, nothing has ever surfaced in the way of scientific research or evidence that could easily be faked.