Ghosts

My husband and I have this thing for this show on the Travel Channel called Ghost Adventures.  We watch every Friday night.  Sometimes Saturday nights too.  We obviously struggle socially.  Oh well.

If you've never watched it, it's about three guys who go into haunted locations throughout the country (and sometimes outside the country) to investigate the spirits that reside there.  They get locked in the building overnight and use a variety of fairly legitimate tools (EVP's, thermal imaging cameras, etc.) to capture spirit activity.

There's a really great history aspect to this show.  Before they do the lock-down they learn as much about the building's history as possible.  They research documented deaths that occurred in the location, as well as any inhumane conditions that have been a part of the location's history.  Pretty much all the locations have some sort of tragic past, which really appeals to the social worker in me.  They've investigated a poor farm that was later turned into a sketchy insane asylum, prisons where famous murderers received the death sentence, mansions where an entire family was murdered by a crazed daughter, and so forth.  Even if you think the investigation itself is bologna, the back-stories are awesome.

They also do a lot of interviews with people who have had weird experiences in the location.  It's like sitting around the campfire listening to ghost stories.  Even if you don't believe, it's entertaining.  One time they were investigating a resort and interviewed a lady who used to work there.  Years ago she had been walking down a hallway when suddenly she got slammed face-first to the ground.  Another worker saw her get pushed down, but also saw that nobody pushed her.  She hit the ground with so much force that her nose bones got pushed up into her head--definitely not a normal injury for someone who simply tripped while walking.  Also they found a bruise in the shape of a hand on her back.  Maybe the story was a cover-up for some sort of domestic assault, but it's still a cool story.

Believer in ghosts or not, the actual lock-down part of the investigation has real entertainment value. It's like reality tv on steroids. Sometimes it's intense, and sometimes it's funny, but it's all pretty candid. Sometimes they get scared, scream, and run away. What more could you possibly desire from a television program?

As for me, I'm a believer in the ghost-related paranormal.  I don't have a lot of personal experience to back my belief, but I still believe.  A few years ago I worked a grave shift once a week at Smith's doing price change.  I'd heard rumors of a ghost that was usually seen along the back wall of the toy and hardware sections, but I didn't take it very seriously.  I mean, it's a store.  Who haunts a store?  But in the wee hours of the morning during one grave shift, I think I saw it.  I was sale-tagging action figures while listening to my iPod, when out of the corner of my eye I saw something.  The something was dark and stood along the infamous back wall.  By the time I turned my head to get a better look (I was wearing my glasses), nothing was there.

I was pretty sure I was the only person on that side of the store, but after I finished my tagging I surveyed all the nearby aisles to confirm that nobody else was around.  I was right; the only other person in the department was working nowhere near me.  Occasionally the grocery guys ventured into my department, but it was always to jump out from behind some display to scare me.  Stealth without startling wasn't their style.  It's possible that I imagined the something--it was late at night and I was tired.  I can never be certain what I saw.  Regardless, I'm still a believer.

I don't do this often, but I kind of want to open up a conversation about this.  What do you think about ghosts?  Have you ever had an experience with a ghost?