One of my favorite books as a kid was Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Maybe that was odd as a kid, but it makes a great deal of sense now. Being a medium and all. Likewise, my daughter has been fascinated with Halloween and Monster High since she first experienced them. And scary movies rate high at the box office. I think it just goes to show some people like to be spooked, and then there are those that are just fascinated with the afterlife in general.
However, ghosts tend to get a bad wrap. Words like ghost and haunted seem scary and full of malice. The words just have a negative connotation all their own.
Luckily, I get the privilege of working with ghosts day in and day out. Even I use the word spirit instead of ghost because there just seems to be something off about the word ghost. Technically according to Webster’s Dictionary a ghost is, “an apparition of a dead person that is believed to appear or become manifest to the living, typically as a nebulous image.” See even the word nebulous is used in the definition and that doesn’t sound positive. Does it?
In fact, I don’t even like the word dead. So let’s take a look at the 13 most common misconceptions about ghosts and see if we can’t debunk those ideas.
Ghosts are dead
First things first, ghosts do NOT like to be referred to as dead. I have first-hand experience with this so you will just have to take my word for it, but they do not like it when I or anyone else says they are dead. They understand of course but would prefer to be referred to as transitioned or in another life. They are alive and well. They have things to do in Heaven and are thriving there. They feel fantastic, and if they have lived a good life here; meaning they have treated other people well, spirits have the perks of being able to look however they would like. Ghosts are not dead; they are just without a physical body.
Ghosts are earthbound
Some people feel that if you see or sense a spirit, you are supposed to tell them to go into the light. Not true. It is said that if a ghost is here, they are earthbound or stuck. However, ghosts have to cross over or go to the light. There isn’t much choice about that. They all describe being pulled into the light. They all go home, to Heaven. The one option they do have is if they want to make amends with the wrongs they may have committed here. If they do they can grow and develop more in Heaven, and they are able to have more and more perks if you will. But they all cross over right from the start.
Ghosts are serious
Not even close. While a ghost tends to keep the same personality traits they had here in a body; there isn’t much weighing us down on the other side to keep us somber. In other words, they don’t take themselves or events too seriously. Almost every session I have there is laughter and joking. Some sessions I am in awe because I can’t believe how much all of our cheeks hurt from laughing so hard. God has a sense of humor, and so do ghosts.
Ghosts are scary
Almost all ghosts are anything but scary. In fact, it is just like here. Most people are good. There are some undeveloped spirits, but only positive energy can cross over from Heaven to Earth. So, most of the time ghosts are trying not to scare you. They prefer not to be spooky. We just get freaked out because it is an unexpected and unexplainable phenomenon.
Ghosts can do whatever they want
Spirits do have some abilities in communication and for the most part can do many, many things. However, they are bound by rules. They can only communicate the way they are allowed, and they can’t do anything to over the top. Or so I have been told. So no winning lottery numbers can be shared via a medium. Apparently that is a deal breaker. Often you won’t be able to capture their communication in a photo or on a device. They prefer to leave no proof behind. We are supposed to believe in them and have faith they are real without evidence. That is part of the deal.
Ghosts have control of the situation
This is an essential piece of the equation, we have the power to make spirits go away. They may come back and we may have to ask them to leave over and over, but we hold power in our space to say who is welcome and who is not.
Midnight is the witching hour
Midnight has been thought to be when the veil drops, and it is easier to communicate with those on the other side. But the activity is highest between 3 and 4 AM. I don’t have a solid explanation for why this happens; I just know from experience that this is when the most activity occurs.
Talking to ghosts opens up a window for negative energy to travel through
So many people think that if you decide to speak to spirit, you are inviting all kinds of negative energy into your life. I have news for you; you only invite negative energy into your life if you think negative thoughts or if you worry too much, get angry, get stressed, or if you do mean things. Ghosts aren’t harmful in nature. The majority of the ones around you are deceased family and friends. The ghosts that love you and that you miss are the ones that visit most. And acknowledging communication from them just keeps them around and helps them continue to share signs with you.
Ghosts are not real
Just not true. Almost everyone I have ever met has some unexplained feeling or event that they can tie to a loved one that has crossed over. That isn’t just our wishful thinking. Ghosts are real.
We only see ghosts when they have unfinished business
Many spirits who cross over that come to visit the living are really satisfied with their lives and their transitions. They don’t have any unfinished business; they just want to be near the people that they love and miss. So they are here visiting.
Ghosts are in torment
I have also heard that some believe if you are in a ghost state that you are being punished for something you did here on Earth. Much like, Jacob Marly in A Christmas Carol who comes to visit Ebenezer Scrooge so that he can change his ways. Ghosts are in Heaven. They are happy. They are at peace. They feel amazing. No torment. No pain. All is good.
Ghost phenomenon is rare
So, I don’t know if you really want to hear this part, but I have news for you. Ghosts are everywhere. There is not a single place on the planet that I have ever seen that is free of ghosts. They are at Target, the grocery store, the bank, the parks, your houses, your cars, every single place. Cemeteries tend to be least inhabited by paranormal beings, but other than that they are everywhere.
You have to have special abilities to see a ghost
Not one ounce of talent or unique ability is needed to see a ghost. Anyone anywhere can see one. If ghosts want you to see them, then you will. It takes a great deal of energy for spirits to materialize, but they can and will if they feel the need to do so. Often ghosts are able to materialize in places where their physical energy would be connected. For example, the house they lived or died in. Or for instance, a place they were married or gave birth. All in all, any place where they spent a great deal of time can still have their physical energy connected to it, and this can help ghosts to materialize in a way we can clearly see them, but it also isn’t necessary.
So, I know you have to take my word on a few of these things, and I get it if it is hard to believe. I have had a great deal of practice and personal experience, and some days I have a hard time believing what happens to and around me as well. But, this is what I have come to learn from ghosts themselves; take it or leave it. These are their truths.
Until next time,
