2008 Woodie Awards
Ghost World
Rebecca Bauman, Collegio Reporter
Issue date: 10/19/06 Section: After Hours
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Donovan Reidel is looking for a reason to believe. "I've been interested in ghosts ever since I could read," said Reidel, senior in communication. "And it's just gotten to the point now where I really want to see one for myself." It's Reidel's eagerness to "make contact" that he feels will leave him empty-handed. He says "it seems like the only people who see ghosts are the people who need to see them, the people who need to be shown." And for all his nights spent ghost-hunting with flashlights, wandering around old houses and "creepy buildings," open fields where spook lights have been spotted, Reidel says he hasn't come much closer to finding what he seeks. "I used to think I just wanted to be scared," he said. "But now I think it's something more. Now it's like I'm looking for answers." Familiar stories Ghosts have often been noted as part of the human experience. Some believe ghostly apparitions have long stemmed from a very human need to understand large, otherwise incomprehensible ideas, like death. Donald Viney, professor of social sciences, says it's the human mind's need to make sense of what is inexplicable that has likely fed a cross-cultural, cross-generational belief in ghosts. "The human experience of loss is universal," Viney said. "The idea of human grief, of mourning, is universal. And when someone who is cared about is lost, the feeling that that person's presence remains after they're gone is something very common. The emotional ties, that longing and missing of a loved one does remain." That need to come to terms with loss, Viney says, might yield "mild hallucinations or wishful thinking" that manifest as ghosts. Different perspectives Ren Basuki, graduate student in graphics technology, says he has had many experiences with ghosts. His first came at the age of 4 or 5 when a little girl that only he could see became his go-to playmate. If that had been Basuki's only unexplained visitation, he says he might have chalked it up to childhood fantasy. But instead, Basuki has had a number of experiences, at least two of which have occurred in Pittsburg. (He says he met with the spirit of an old, talkative man at Lakeside Park. On another occasion, he spotted a "cute-looking girl" whom he believes might be the ghost reputed to haunt McCray Hall.) Basuki recalls that all the ghosts he has met have been "very human." If it had not been for their sudden disappearances or a lack of other witnesses, Basuki says he would have assumed these spirits to be "regular people." "For so long, I thought maybe I'm schizophrenic," he said. "I couldn't control what I was seeing, I couldn't make it go away. But now I don't question it ... Now I believe that there is a spirit world, and what I saw was part of it." Basuki grew up in Indonesia where he says people are more accepting of spirits and ghosts. After coming to America, Basuki observed that most people have not had the experiences he has had, nor do they always believe such things are real. As such, he assumed there might be something wrong with him. "But the more I learn about Americans, the more I realize they do not always have an open mind. They rely on what is scientific, what can be proven. But in Asia, we don't always see things the same way." What is real? Stephen Hoyer, psychology lecturer and researcher of near-death experiences, says Westerners commonly dismiss the idea of ghosts because they are taught that reality pertains "only to the physical world," only to that which can be confirmed by all five senses. "They say, 'It's all in your head,' with the obvious implication that it is therefore not part of physical reality and therefore not important," Hoyer said. "But the belief that physical reality is the only reality is also just in your head." Hoyer says "ghostly experiences" are often subtle. Because of this, many are taught to ignore them, to believe that they're not real. "But they are real," he said. "They're just difficult to perceive ... (It can be something as subtle as) a feeling or a wisp of something you see out of the corner of your eye." While the traditional idea of spirits (think Hollywood horror flicks) might not necessarily be accurate, Hoyer says that the experiences people have when they encounter a ghost are, in fact, real. He refers not to the mythical deities from the netherworld who come to haunt the living, but instead makes note of what he calls a "thought form." "Many people believe that when highly emotional behaviors take place ... it has an effect on the physical space in which it occurs. If someone is murdered in a house for instance, the energy in that house is affected by the fear and hostility that occurred there." Hoyer says that under certain conditions, a receptive individual might be able to sense some of those changes and relive part of what was a dramatic experience. Seeing is believing Daniel Fitzpatrick, senior in recreation administration, says he experienced this "shared drama" when he saw a ghost during his freshman year of high school. "I was sleeping at a friend's house," he said, "And before going to bed, my friend mentioned that if I had to get up in the middle of the night ... I might want to be on the look-out for 'Pete.'" "Pete" was his friend's great uncle. The house they were sleeping in once belonged to him. In fact, Fitzpatrick was told that Pete had died in there, and that his friend had seen his uncle's ghost on more than one occasion. "I tried to play it off, but really I was thinking, 'Man, whatever you do, just don't get up to go to the bathroom.'" Fitzpatrick says he did not necessarily believe in ghosts, but he "didn't want to be proven wrong that night." Things did not go as he had hoped. "I woke up around 3 o'clock that morning and I noticed a man in the hallway, kinda looking at me. He had a grayish sheen to him ... and what was even weirder was that he was holding a chain. I just buried my face into my pillow as fast as I could and I didn't move a muscle until I fell asleep." When Fitzpatrick awoke later that morning, he asked his friend to describe "Pete." The description matched what Fitzpatrick had seen exactly, down to the chain. (Apparently, it was a dog leash; Pete had a thing about walking his dog through the halls.) "Ever since then I haven't really been frightened of ghosts. If anything, I've become really fascinated by the possibilities." A spiritual need Viney says stories like Fitzpatrick's help to illustrate the human need to reconcile the unexplainable. He says it seems to be human nature that people cannot find solace in "mundane explanations" for things they find unfathomable. Therefore they seek out more spectacular ones. "Irrational beliefs are incredibly adaptive," he said. "A seemingly illogical explanation can provide answers to any number of questions. The belief does not have to conform to the rules of what is rational, of what is sound, and so the explanation for what we can't understand comes with more ease and is more accessible in times of need." Reidel, who says he once sought ghosts simply for the fright value, now has a significant reason to hope for contact with those who have been lost: His girlfriend, who suffered from cystic fibrosis, died two years ago. "Sometimes I wish there was a way I could talk to her," Reidel said. "And sometimes I do talk to her. Sometimes there are moments when I wonder if she's there, if she's with me." Reidel says he continues to study ghosts. He reads fanatically on the subject and hopes to find a solid other-worldly experience of his own. "I don't really know exactly what I'm looking for," he said. "I can't even say for sure what a ghost is. But it might not really matter. In the end, I want to believe in something bigger than all of this." |
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