What defines an apparition and how do you know when you've seen one?
SALISBURY -- Ghosts are people without physical bodies.
They have characteristics just like the living, said Dave Oester, founder of the Las Vegas-based International Ghost Hunters Society. Some are noisy and let people know they are there, others choose to just be quiet.
"Most people have ghosts in their homes, some just chose to ignore them," he said.
Ghosts, he said, often ignore the living and can co-exist with them.
"There are no demons or devils involved," Oester said. "The living have no power over the dead and the dead have no power over the living."
Ghosts, he said, aren't out to hurt the living.
Some have died in the place they now exist, others chose their surroundings like the living chooses a home. It could be the energy flow or the location, Oester said.
There are many reasons why apparitions remain after they die.
Some like the coziness of the known. Some hold unresolved issues that anchor them to earth.
"Until they can let go, they're trapped here," Oester said.
Through the research of Oester and his partner, Sharon Gill, they say they've discovered the religious angels that guide a person to the gates of heaven don't exist.
Instead, the dead are left to find their way through the afterlife.
Children are more prone to haunting, Oester said, for this reason.
"No one is there to show them where to go," he said. "They are confused and wander off."
Vince Wilson is working on several theories to explain the phenomena that fall under a variety of different hauntings.
All cultures have beliefs in ghosts, said Wilson, president and founder of Maryland Paranormal Investigators Coalition.
Most people think it's a soul that is "trapped" on earth. Wilson, however, isn't sure that's necessarily true.
Instead, he believes they are visual copies of the deceased memory.
"The environment can copy the memory of what people used to be," Wilson said, comparing it to a theory of doctors that organ recipients can pick up donors' memories and habits.
When someone walks down the steps and feels a hand on their shoulder, Wilson said they could be in a memory suspended in the environment. Memories, he said, can eventually dissipate.
When it comes to phenomena of moving objects, Wilson said the memory theory just wouldn't work.
It's possible, he said, ghosts used to manipulating objects when living, still have the ability to do so without a body.
"It might think it's still alive," he said.
At times when Wilson has recorded ghosts' voices, he said they also react as if they are still alive.
Ghosts can remember their experiences, but it ends at their death. They can't form new memories or react to the living. The ghost remains stuck at that time.
Oester and Gill moved into an Oregon coast cottage but found they weren't alone.
The lights would turn on and off. Oester's keys would suddenly disappear and reappear in the freezer. They'd hear boxes overturn and things being moved, but when investigated everything would be normal.
"We knew someone was there," Oester said. "When you see things moving around with no one there, it doesn't take a genius to figure it's a ghost."
The source was "Dana," a little girl who died of small pox at the home in the 1920s.
Once they decided it was a ghost, the two started researching and reading books on ghosts. They needed to learn more to understand what was happening.
Now, they teach others and are among the leaders of ghost hunters nationwide.
Their Web site, www.ghostweb.com, receives 2,700 hits on a slow day and since its origins in 1996, more than 5 million people have visited.
People can use the information -- which includes 60 articles -- to hunt ghosts, including taking pictures and recording voices.
People first need to understand the difference between an urban legend and a ghost.
"An urban legend is not going to repeat itself," Oester said. "A ghost is real."
Ghosts are usually more active during full and new moons. Because ghosts don't have bodies that need rejuvenation, they don't sleep. So encounters can be at any time.
When trying to take a picture, Oester said use a spotlight. About 95 percent of pictures people believe are ghosts are actually dust particles. Spotlights help reduce this problem.
Wilson is searching for proof that ghosts exist but taking a scientific approach.
Eventually, he hopes to find evidence that can prove 100 percent to a skeptical person of ghosts' existence.
"Ghosts exist," he said. "They fit into the realm of science."
Anything that exists has an affect on the environment, Wilson said. The presence of a ghost can alter the environment. That basis is how Wilson searches for the specters.
Wilson and his team use electromagnetic field detectors, thermometers to find temperature variations and motion detectors to prevent possible hoaxes.
If attempting to record a voice from beyond the grave, Oester said it doesn't require hours on end. If the ghost is present and interested in speaking it will within the first 15 minutes, usually by the end of the first minute.
A positive disposition is always needed.
"Negativity breeds negativity," he said. "Ghosts can read your intentions, so stay positive."
Source: http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 90307/1002
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