Do you think most alleged ghost-apparitions are only percieved hallucinations of brief psychotics episodes?

Question

Maybe all the ghosts are just fruits of schizophrenia? What do the sceptics and the enthusiasts have to say about this?

Answer 1

yeah maybe...

you write funny.

Answer 2

It's only a psychotic episode if you go after the spook with a plasma canon!

Most sightings are nerves, reflections and shadows. Odd noises, the cat spitting at thin air and a several people seeing the same 'thing' that takes a little more explaining, or acceptance. The human body is one vast electric generator, maybe some individuals leave a footprint of themselves behind.

*Fires up the plasma gun anyway*

Answer 3

It depends, some can be and some may not be. I've thought I've seen one, and I'm not mentally ill. It was also the middle of the day, so I was not dreaming either. My uncle is a schizophrenic, and he does not "see ghosts," so please don't insult people like this. There are too many sightings to just saw it is a mental illness. There was a poll on a show today asking if Americans believe in ghosts, and sixty-five percent do. I think that would be a lot of people who have a mental illness.

Answer 4

I just test to see, ghosts show up as moving electrostatic fields.

no movement on my really sensitive meeter, then they are crazy,

movement on the meeter, then its real.

usually if they are on hard drugs (like crack or antidepressants ) its not real, but not always.

most cases that are reported to me are real.

Answer 5

Could be. Nobody really has discovered much about schizophrenia and its roots and causes are still a great mystery. Yeah, I could see where you are coming from, on that one. But my doubts tip the scale as well. I'd like to believe that there is something beyond the source of science, although I keep a open minded and non-personal perspective on these things.

Answer 6

I am not schizo nor am I psychotic. I believe I saw something for which there is no other explaination

Answer 7

No. If that were true, how could they sometimes show up in photographs and videos?

Answer 8

Perhaps, but that doesn't explain the Paranormal Phenomenon that is usually accompanied by the reports of ghosts or apparitions. One can perhaps see something and dismiss it as imagination but there are more and more reports about things that are moving on their own that can't be dismissed as schizophrenia.

Answer 9

Ghosts are as real as we believe them to be.  Some say that ghosts and spirits aren't the same and believe in one but not the other.  I happen to believe they are real.

I have never seen one, but felt the presence of one a few times.

Answer 10

Some years ago i read 'Phantoms of the Brain' In it there is a chapter called God and the limbic system iirc.  Makes an interesting read.  http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Abstracts/Ramacha...

But to answer your question ... no, i don't.

Answer 11

some but i cant believe all are.i have never seen one but i still believe  well ok ill get real i hope there is something to it

Answer 12

I think that most alleged ghost-apparitions are hoaxes or the wrong interpretation of real phenomena.

Answer 13

Some are... some arent

Answer 14

No.

Answer 15

No, most ghost-apparitions are the result of imagination, brought on by suggestion and fear. A large majority of them are sleep paralysis episodes and an even smaller group is dreams. There might be a few schizophrenic hallucinations, but I like to think schizophrenia is not so wide spread.

There are however a very small amount left which are unexplained. These are the ones I and any serious ghost investigator are interested in.

It doesnt mean they are anything supernatural or paranormal, nessessarily, but they are a mystery.

Answer 16

no. i see them all the time. and have for most of my life. im not crazy.

Answer 17

could be but casper keeps saying he's real

Answer 18

How many of these experiences are hallucinations and how many are based on real perceptions of physical events?  That's not something that can easily be established.  I do know that there are some people who report ghost sightings that are obviously seeing some sort of natural phenomenon that they are misinterpreting.  There are other people who are obviously a bit off balanced.  But, there are other people who have experienced things that can truly not be explained away, and they seem like reasonable and thoughtful people.

The episodes that interest me the most is when multiple people have the same experience.  It's unlikely that all of the people are schozophrenic and are having the same hallucination.  Those cases are the hardest to explain and point to a phenomenon worth examining.

If those types of sightings cannot be dismissed as the result of mass hallucinations, it is very possible that there are individuals who have experiences that are not hallucinations.  Could you say that most sightings are the result of hallucinations?  You could theorize just about anything if you want to.  Maybe these people are actually seeing the Flying Spaghetti Monster.  Or maybe, we need to consider that there is a physical event that they are seeing, and investigate the situation with an open mind as to the cause.  Thanks for the question.

Answer 19

Many may see things especially when they're half asleep or sleep deprived. It's usually easier to classify these as delusional episodes or a misinterpretation of a shadow etc. Since most alleged ghostly activities manifest themselves by moving objects, these spirits still aren't usually seen either. Most who believe they've seen something don't really care about the skeptics views. Also, look into remote viewing for a different  point of view. I really don't care to research skeptics when logic seems good enough.

http://www.victorzammit.com/book/4thedit...

Answer 20

Ghosts ?  never saw one and don't believe in them.

Answer 21

Most ghost reports?  No, I don't think most can be attributed to mental illness. Perhaps in limited cases it applies, but certainly not in general. Apparitions, or what looks like an apparition, can have many other causes -- an optical illusion, tricks of light, visual problems, power of suggestion, a hoax, a false report, a dream, sleep paralysis, hallucination brought on by fatigue or lack of sleep, hallucination brought on by physical illness, etc. They are many probable explanations that need to be addressed and eliminated before you can start considering the improbable.

Answer 22

I am neither enthusiast  or skeptic.  I have never 'seen' a ghost, but I have experienced times of great uneasiness (when I shouldn't have).  There is too many documented accounts of ghost sightings going back centuries to simply write it off as a symptom of some psychological disorder.

True, several thousands suffer from hallucinations and some of these ghost sightings could be attributed

But...All of them?  Where there is smoke, something is burning somewhere.

Answer 23

Merlin:

Everyone is entitled to their opinion even when they are wrong.

Schizophrenia explains a few of the reported encounters, but there are thousands and thousands of other encounters where the person reporting them has 0 episodes of schizophrenia.