Hertfordshire-based psychic medium ANDY CHAPLIN explains why doesn’t think we’ll ever be able to prove the existence of ghosts or spirits…
Ghosthunts. Most people’s mental image of this rather obscure, yet typically British pastime is of rather camp, hyped-up ‘Mediums’ running around in the dark with a camera crew shouting “Mary loves Dick!“. No names mentioned. But how long has this rapidly popularised trend been going on and where is this all leading ?
Interest in all things paranormal has of course been going on since humans began to communicate and philosophise the greater conundrums. Mankind has been forced to confront such as: Who are we? Where did this crazy thing called life come from? Is there more to all this than just the physical plane? Is there a soul? And if so, where does this soul go when our physical bodies become deceased?
The quest for answers to the above either subsided or went deep underground during the Middle Ages for fear of being accused as a witch, a heretic or working with the Devil – and the inevitable consequences that came with all of that lunacy. People at that time were smacked briskly round the head with a big thick leather-bound Bible and told to shut up. Of course, the Bible had all the answers, no need to think further, right?
With the age of enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution and more reasoned lines of thinking, the Victorian Era of course picked up the baton and ran with it, and boy did they sprint! And not without a fair degree of controversy, fakery and all manner of shenanigans. Yet despite this, interest never wavered, increasing with such incidents over time as the Amityville House, Enfield Poltergeist and more recently the ever popular Most Haunted and similar TV shows.
In a nutshell, it is the quest to see if there is a life after death which most likely drives the sheer nature of Ghosthunting amongst those who delve into the darkness. Some may go merely for the fright factor, the thrills and the chills. But even those people are probably deep down wondering – is there really something beyond this realm ? What’s it like ?
Proof of the paranormal is subjective
The problem we face is that this will never be answered. It can’t be answered, for the entire topic of the paranormal is almost entirely subjective. Proof to one person may not be proof to another. Therefore, I, as a Medium, can only really give my thoughts on these things from my own perspective. I’m not really out to prove anything here or change minds – just to give food for thought, take it or leave it. The very nature of the paranormal happens in its own terms in its own way and somewhat rarely at that.
By its nature it’s extremely hard to replicate in a sterile, scientific laboratory consistently and repeatedly. Ghost instances are fleeting, coming and going by their own accord on their own terms. It may be possible to replicate the movement of an object and say “See, we did it! Therefore poltergeists don’t exist!” Replication does not equate to explanation. It may explain some degree of the paranormal, but by no means does it cover the whole spectrum.
The subjective nature of seeking proof about the existence of the paranormal is just as prevalent in the ‘scientific instruments’ side of it, as it is the Mediumistic side. We’ve all seen the TV shows often with shivering presenters, probably shaking more because they’re in the cold deep dank dungeon of any random castle in the UK than actually seeing any ghosts – holding out their EMF readers and thermal imaging cameras in the desperate hope that at the very least they might just pick up a discarnate moan or something similar. But what can such devices prove?
OK, so an EMF meter might spike, but does this prove the existence of a ghost? Not really. An electromagnetic anomaly perhaps, but how can this equate to the soul of a deceased spirit? If Spirits do exist, which in my opinion as a Medium they do, how do we even know what they are made up of, what their actual physical makeup really is in scientific terms ? I say physical, because even electromagnetism carries with it some degree of physics and with things like thermoimaging cameras, they would be picking up some manner of manipulation of physical matter for them to register a heat signature. The logical assumption of using such instruments is that ghosts must have some kind of physicality, for if they didn’t, there would be nothing to pick up and therefore no use for said instruments.
But without fully knowing the true ‘physical’ nature of ghosts (if they exist), how can we possibly rely on any readings from scientific instruments to accurately tell us where these ghosts are hiding ? Unfortunately we can’t. We can see anomalies and use such things as indicators of the presence of the paranormal – but that’s all they are : indicators. Perhaps they do show us valid scientific proof, but it’s so subjective we’ll never know. Here we drift into the limbo zone of belief, the belief by some that these instruments indicate paranormal occurrences.
Having said all of that, in my opinion some of the best ‘scientific’ evidence for detecting ghosts, or perhaps distant memories etched into stone so to speak, or even something else (let’s not go there) is via EVP recorders. Again, often controversial, as much of these are distorted random incomprehensible static noises – occasionally you really do get very clear, very audible and very relevant answers to questions being asked. Even to the extent of recognising accents, whether the Spirit voice is young, old, male or female. One of the most common accusations by sceptics is that it’s merely random radio stations, handheld radio signals or the like, but this has to be immediately discounted when the voices are answering direct questions put to them correctly and consistently.
I’ve witnessed this personally on a number of occasions and even as a Medium it’s pretty freaky. And yet to some, even this is never enough proof as their next fallback position is usually “Well, it’s obviously faked”. Some may be, many are not. It’s all down to subjective belief.
I’m not knocking the use of these instruments at all, and indeed encourage their use because even if they don’t distinctly prove the exists of Ghosts, they may or may not at least help the detection of them for those who seek to study the nature of the paranormal. Conversely, spiritually inclined people and scientifically minded people actually have the same purpose in life, just very different approaches. The purpose is to find out more about life, the ins and outs, to study it and to gain knowledge about it – which is the same principle guiding spiritual people, for we too wish to find out what there is, how it works and to gain more knowledge about it. A fair degree of this involves belief, from both sides. There are just as many scientific ‘theories’, nothing more than beliefs, as there are spiritual beliefs like Karma and and the Law of Attraction etc.
Each to their own I say !
I hope that the scientific community can mutually cooperate with the spiritual community, as I really hope this may help us all find more answers to the varying questions about this strange concept called Reality. Please keep your screams to a minimum and wrap up warm!
Andy Chaplin is a natural psychic intuitive since birth. Throughout his life, his encounters with the paranormal led him into greater awareness, development and spiritual knowledge. Numerous stage performances, psychic fayres, clairvoyant nights, Spiritualist meetings and live audience haunted events are all activities he has been involved with over the years. He is available for private and group bookings, Spiritualist churches, corporate events, workshops, demonstrations and evenings of clairvoyance – contact via the Tuned In Events Group page on Facebook.
It’s very hard to prove or disprove something when you can’t agree how to measure something. It’s more like no one is ever going to agree on what the afterlife is!
I know ghosts spirits exist as they appear unexpectedly of myself always have Just walking thats the way it should be . never summon any spirits if you do unexpected various gatecrashers can enter and once they appear they don’t go back easily….So be careful and Be careful what you wish for!