My Fascination with Ghosts

I was trying to come up with an idea for a blog post when I saw my local news channel posted on Facebook about a recent survey. The survey showed 1/3 of people believe in ghosts. That's pretty impressive. Especially since it seems the majority of people you talk to deny any such belief.  So, the combination of that survey, my earlier brainstorming for short horror stories and the fact that it's getting close to Halloween, I decided to blog about ghosts.

Do I believe in them?  I'm on the fence.  I have a fascination with the idea of ghosts' existence, but I've never had a true experience myself.  I've recently tried to have my own experience, by visiting haunted locations, just to test my own limits. I don't think I'll ever truly believe unless an apparition appears in front of me and there are other people around who see it too.  So, not likely.

I still find entertainment in listening to people's personal ghost stories, watching shows like Ghost Hunters occasionally, and finding a good horror movie dealing with the paranormal. This last summer my sister and I went on a ghost hunt at the Stanley Hotel, the hotel famed for inspiring Stephen King's The Shining.  We also went on a ghost tour there a year ago, December, and stayed on the haunted 4th floor.  All these visits did was prove to us that imagination can run away with you.  People on the tour would turn the tiniest thing into a full blown paranormal experience.  Oh, I felt a chill!  Couldn't be because it's the middle of winter and there's snow on the ground.  That voice box just said the word muffin, and muffin was the name of my dog when I was 4 and I also ate a muffin this morning, it's obviously having a connection with me.  Then that enthusiasm catches on and other people start to get jumpy, feeling like they had experiences too.

The Stanley Hotel, December 2012

Even though the Stanley did not provide us with the proof we wanted, I'm still searching and I want to visit more haunted locations to investigate the unknown.  My sister called me asking me to look up haunted places here in Washington for when she visits this December.  So, our new hobby of amateur ghost hunting will continue.  I don't know how I would feel if something happened that I could not disprove, but I'd like to one day find out.

Do you believe in ghosts?  Have you had a paranormal experience you're willing to share?