Last year I wrote a top ten list of reasons why ghosts don’t exist. In my opinion, all of the logic I used in that post is sound. But this year I decided to dig into the opposing viewpoint. Let’s assume it was even remotely possible to have real evidence of something that doesn’t exist. And let’s further assume that we live in a world where there’s an overwhelming amount of that sort of evidence. Specifically, video evidence that ghosts do exist. If we lived in that world, what would the best examples be? Here are ten of them.
10. The Foul-Mouthed Patient of Danvers
The first one on the list should set the tone of this post. It’s not for kids, and it happens to be the only “audio only” ghost on the list. I include it here because it’s clear and obvious. The setting for this clip is a film shoot inside the now-demolished Danvers State Hospital, a former mental health facility outside of Boston, MA. The individual that posted the clip has added a useful set of links to jump to the sounds in question, along with a short description of what happened that night. There’s no fancy CGI or camera tricks needed here. Only a really foul-mouthed ghost.
9. The White Figure of Someplace
I’ve included this next video at the nine-spot because it’s representative of a great deal of the videos of ghosts I’ve found thus far, in that it’s missing any sort of detail about its context or origin. In this case, the lack of information somehow just adds to the mystique. It’s amateurish and doesn’t have ten minutes of self-promotion with cheesy titles and scary music. And while most alleged ghost videos drone on for five minutes just so you can see a fake computer-generated grey smudge wiggle around, this is the shortest video of anything I’ve ever seen on YouTube.
8. The Red Wraith of Vatican City
With as many hours of footage being filmed of historic events every year, it’s amazing you don’t see more snippets like this one. We’re constantly surrounded by paranormal activity. Ghosts, spirits, demons. You name it. (Right? That’s our premise here isn’t it?) So why don’t have hundreds of hours of footage of floating robed phantoms like this? I think it’s because people need to pay more attention. Video number eight isn’t exactly “spooky” but it is odd because it’s filmed in a very public place, with nobody paying attention to what’s floating around in the back of the room.
7. The Robed Tenant of Hampton Court
The U.K. Is older than dirt. Even the ghosts are dusty. Every building there, even the new ones, are old. I’m not sure how that’s possible but it’s true. I asked a man with a watch. And as such, those buildings are extremely haunted. All of them. Hampton Court Palace, built in 1514, has had an extra long time to marinate in human mortality and all of the spiritual residue it leaves behind. Number seven is a video of some of that “residue” opening and closing some fire doors of the palace. Note: The featured image for this post is of the palace and was taken by Steve Cadman.
6. The Phantom Car of The “Peach State” Highway
Number six is here for the wow factor you get in the initial viewing. In the video, Garden City Police chase an uncooperative driver for miles. Just when the bad guy seems like he’s finally cornered he does a bit of fancy off-roading and somehow manages to put his phantom car through a chain link fence…without knocking it down. Could the fence simply have sprung back into place after being driven over? If this were a world were evidence of the paranormal actually existed, the answer to that question would be “no”.
UPDATE: There’s even a song about this event. While researching it, I kept coming across references to the Pacific Coast Highway. I would imagine that the artist Kavinsky has something to do with that.
5. Chaplin’s Time Traveler
Not everything ghostly is explainable as being the spirit of a deceased human being. Some things could be considered to be a “ghost” simply for being so out place that it seems impossible. Such is the case with this fascinating video clip at number five. To this day it absolutely baffles me. Could this person simply be holding a hearing aid, as claimed by many? Let’s not forget skeptics aren’t welcome in the world this article is written in. In all honesty, there’s something so strange about the individual in this video that the hearing aid explanation just doesn’t do it for me.
4. Lincoln County Courthouse Apparition
The Lincoln County Courthouse in Lincolnton, North Carolina isn’t a place I would spend the night. Not after seeing this bizarre…thing…in entry number four. It’s just standing in the corner perfectly still through what looks like several hours. My only question is, why don’t we get to see the part of the footage before, after, or during the time when this thing appears? In a world of the paranormal being the normal, the answer would be that the footage was mysteriously filled with static. Or perhaps the only copy was destroyed in a fire. Whatever the reason, I’m sure it’s strange and unusual.
3. The Disneyland Ghost
Video number three is truly quite strange. Could it be faked? Anything can, and if anyone knows that it’s Disney. But again, under the assumption that this is genuine evidence of an actual ghost, it’s quite compelling. In the footage a strange luminous form that can only be described as vaguely human, walks a great distance through the park, past what looks like a dozen cameras, and then vanishes. It’s spooky. Trust me.
2. Eastern State Penitentiary Cloaked Criminal
I know that some people hate the show Ghost Hunters, the ScyFy channel show about…well…hunting for ghosts. There’s a great deal of controversy over their methods and the validity of their work. But I think people are missing the point of the fact that this show is for entertainment purposes. Despite that, there have been some fairly convincing pieces of evidence of the paranormal gathered on the show over its many seasons on the air. My personal favorite is this one, which makes its way onto the list at number two. It was filmed at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for episodes 105 and 210 of the show. Could this be a person in a cape? In all seriousness, I don’t think so. I don’t know what it is. Do you?
1. The Grey Ghosts of Gettysburg
Number one comes to us, supposedly, from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, most notable for hosting the Battle of Gettysburg which resulted in the deaths of 50,000 Civil War soldiers. While many ghost stories revolve around the tragedy of someone taking their own life, or perhaps an unfortunate chain events that lead to an accidental death, this video is an unsettling glimpse into hundreds of ghost stories that all begin at the same time, in the same place. I can’t help but feel as though the apparitions captured here look like the shades of medics rushing to attend to the wounded in a purposeful, but frantic fashion. Ghost doctors, or light playing off of the trees?
Conclusion
So are any of these videos really evidence that ghosts exist? In a world where ghosts could exist…perhaps. But this isn’t that world. So what’s been captured here if not ghosts? Through the unrelenting power of science, we’ll someday have that answer.
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