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Ghosts and poltergeists have always fascinated researchers and paranormal enthusiasts. Everyone, at one time or another, has questioned the existence of ghosts and other paranormal activity, but few take the time to do the research and delve into the supernatural. In fact, many people do not know the difference between a ghost or poltergeist, which is not unheard of since films and literature tend to meld the two into one spiritual existence of the after life. However, this is not an entirely accurate way to explain a ghost or a poltergeist. The two are quite separate.
A ghost is the spiritual existence of a person after they have left the world of mortals but have refused to leave the realm of the living. Simply put, the person has died but for some personal reasons, cannot let go of the world they once lived in. A ghost is not necessarily mean spirited, it depends on how that person was in life and what is keeping them trapped between the worlds. If a person was mean and nasty in life, they tend to keep those qualities in the afterlife. That does not mean that as a ghost they will cause havoc and destruction, but it can not be ruled out either.
A poltergeist is a nasty spirit. In German, poltern means to knock and geist means spirit. To some, the poltergeist is a noisy ghost, but it can be far more than that. The typical poltergeist disturbance usually revolves around one individual, often a young girl entering puberty or with an emotional or psychological stress. In many cases, this agent doesn’t even realize that they are causing the disturbance. The poltergeist uses this person to transmit and transform their paranormal energy to move objects and oftentimes cause damage or harm to people and items around them. It is not a possession of a human, but merely the human being used like a transmitter for the psychic energy.
In a possession, a spirit will literally enter the body of a person and take over their mental and physical actions. It requires a special ceremonial exorcism to remove the spirit permanently from the person and much of the harm caused by a possession is to the individual and all those who bear witness to the event. It has been reported of cases in which a possessed individual has committed violent crimes, but less than often the possession is localized and the individual is not able to be held for long by the spirit.
An angry ghost can cause objects to move and present itself as an apparition to onlookers. A poltergeist is naturally an angry spirit that uses a living individual to transmit a lot of paranormal energy. Combined with the natural energy that exists in a body, this can cause more damage than any other haunting. Though poltergeist activity can be relatively short in existence, the destruction can be catastrophic.
Ghosts can be removed from a haunting in a variety of ways. Religious ceremonies can summon a ghost and send it off to the next realm. This usually is successful when a ghost is the spirit of a wandering or lost soul. When the ghost is haunting for a specific reason or connected to a particular house or person, the easiest way to send the ghost away is to ask it to leave. Many times, unless the ghost has an urgent message, this method proves successful.
A poltergeist is more difficult to send away or end. The first step is to recognize the events as a poltergeist as opposed to a spiritual haunting. Once it is established that a poltergeist is to blame, it is necessary to identify the correct agent. Everyone involved with this one person are then examined and interviewed and the dynamics, emotionally and physically, must be examined to determine the nature of the initial cause of the poltergeist happening. This would involve a therapist to work through the issues that are faced by the agent, whether it be puberty itself, incest, abuse or another traumatic issue that invited the spirit to create its poltergeist occurrence.
Ghosts and poltergeists are just two small facets of the spiritual and paranormal existences that can occur. These events can be quite unsettling, whether you are a true believer, a one time reader or have an occasional thirst for the paranormal. Yet, they are fascinating enough to create their own research centers and have a myriad of books written year after year on the subject. Arguments and debates occur on the subject of the existence of ghosts, and courses are now available in prestigious colleges that focus on the paranormal. It is something that we will never escape, and something we may never truly understand.
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