English 1 research paper
29 March 2013
Why people believe in ghosts.
Lying in bed in the middle of the night while sleep eludes me, a noise breaks through the silence. Oh my God! What was that!? Maybe it was just my imagination, or maybe it was just the house settling. There it is again! I must be hearing things. I get cold and my body starts to shiver uncontrollably. I peek to where the sound comes from and I could swear I see something through the dark room; it appears even darker than the surrounding area. Oh my! I think it just moved. My breathing becomes labored and I pull the covers over my head, trying to calm myself down while making my brain work through what just happened. Was I dreaming? Or did I just see a ghost?
Many of
It is said that if you hear the women screeching or crying, she is warning your family of a death that is soon to come (Guiley 53). “Ireland's age old rituals permeate the lives of country and city people alike… the rituals of a pagan culture steeped in antiquity, are very much evident in the country people, their beliefs and practices.” (Barrett par 13). Ireland and Scotland is steeped in the belief of the paranormal. This has led to each generation holding a belief in ghosts and the supernatural. These beliefs have even crossed an ocean into the United States. The Celt’s immigrated into America and brought these beliefs with them, which were passed down to each subsequent generation. When a person grows up hearing about ghosts and celebrates them as well, they are more apt to believe in the existence of ghosts or other things paranormal. It then becomes a part of their belief system.
Having a personal experience that has no logical explanation can cause a person to believe in the existence of ghosts. When someone hears or sees something they cannot explain it is sometimes attributed to a ghostly encounter. Sometimes it is a shadow in the dark, or flash of movement out of the corner of their eyes. We could be alone in the house and hear a door open, or what sounds like children’s laughter, when there is no child in the home. Some people believe these experiences to be ghosts. Many people have claimed to have had a ghost