ABOUT FACTS NET Paranormal

OK, so you don't believe in ghosts or spirits. When you see an article about that subject you laugh inside and think, "how could these people believe in this nonsense?" But this doesn't explain one thing, why are some very reputable people reporting seeing spirits or what they believe are spirits, or ghosts? We can eliminate some of the sightings as mistaken identity, that is something that was seen and thought to be paranormal but was actually explainable, but there is always at least 10% of sightings that just don't seem to have any explanation other than the spirit world. There are hoaxers out there that love to spread the word that ghosts exist for monetary reasons. They hope that people will flock to some exhibit to see these non existent beings.There are others, while sincere, are seeing things that just don't exist, but then there are those that state they are seeing things that others have seen, that just can't be explained.

I don't have a very high opinion of most spiritualists and ghost hunters, some might call me a skeptic. I am really not, I believe that there is much in this world that can't be explained. I believe that a huge chunk of the history of man is missing from the very early days and I believe that there may be something going on that seems like a paranormal activity and may or may not be. I have discussed the fact that there is a theory that some images from the past were retained somehow, in some unknown way, and played back, much as a projector plays back a movie. But this seems to be a silent movie. How many times have you ever heard of seeing a ghost who talked? All the instances of this that I remember have been debunked. Oh sure people claim to be able to make electronic recordings of the voices of ghosts but have you ever seen a video of a ghost talking? So could this theory be correct, are we merely looking at images from the past? It seems that in some instances, such as the catacombs under Rome where visions of marching Roman soldiers are often seen, this could be the case.

Oh come on, admit it, haven't you sometimes, even rarely, seen movement out of the side of your eye? The type of movement that made you think someone had walked past you and you only got a fleeting glance of them with your preferial vision, yet you were in an area where you were either alone or this was impossible for one reason or another. I think that most of us have had this experience. Could there be more to life than we know?

USS Hornet

One of the most haunted places in this country is not a home or even a building, it is a ship, not just any ship, but a World War II aircraft carrier. I have mentioned this ship before, it is the USS Hornet. The first USS Hornet was sunk in World War II and a second was built. Over a hundred and thirty of the crew met their watery deaths in the first Hornet. So why am I mentioning the Hornet again? The reason for this is that it is the only place that I know of that has an ever increasing ghostly population. If more ghosts keep coming to this ship, someday there will be no room for the tourists. Usually when you hear of ghosts you hear about mostly one but sometimes there are several. In this case there might be hundreds by now. The USS Hornet is a museum and has tour guides, caretakers and such onboard. Most of them have reported seeing ghostly sailors. One followed a ghost below decks and then it disappeared. He described it as an officer in a khaki uniform. He said that he called to the figure and was following it down the stairs, it turned and looked at him, then continued on its way.

This gives us something we usually don't have, recognition. Whatever this was, it recognized the fact that either someone was following it or that it was being called, because of this recorded images have to be ruled out. Another strange thing is that some people have reported seeing ghosts that they state served on the first USS Hornet. This means that they don't even come from this ship but have decided, for some reason, to make the second Hornet their home. Could the old crew be moving to the second Hornet as they die? This is a strange thought indeed. Will the Hornet eventually contain a full crew of spirits, what a thought? Maybe it might even have a double crew, those from the old Hornet and those from the second one. So why would this ship be so attractive to ghosts? It is hard to answer a question like this because you can't even prove ghosts exist. They are sort of like ufos in that while you might even get a photo or two, there is no way to prove that it is legitimate.

Let's assume for the sake of this article that ghosts do exist so that I can postulate on this question. Maybe there was something about serving together with other men in war time and even dying with them that drew them close together, so close in fact that they decided to spend eternity with their buddies. Of course another theory might be that they think that they are still fighting the war and don't realize what is going on around them. Just because we got a report of one apparition turning around when it was called doesn't mean it truly knows what is going on.

Reports are now flying around about the huge number of specters on the Hornet. It is even said that the Admiral who commanded the carrier is back on board. Don't think that this is the only heavily haunted warship around. There is an old sailing ship in Baltimore harbor named the USS Constellation. It was built in 1797 and commissioned into the U.S. Navy. The ship got off to a bloody start when it got into a battle with the French Frigate L'Insurgent. The captain found out that the sailor on watch fell asleep. He order an officer to run him through with a sword. When the battle was over he then had the body tied to a cannon and blown to pieces. The ship fought many battles, including fighting the Barbary pirates and the British in the War of 1812. Much of this ship was rebuilt in 1845. The ship was relaunched in 1855 and was the last all sail vessel built. The Constellation stayed in service until 1914, an incredible amount of time. She was a training ship at the end of her days. But her days weren't finished yet. In 1940 President Franklin Delano roosevelt had the ship recommissioned as the flagship of the Atlantic Fleet. In 1953 a committee in Maryland had the ship brought from Boston where it was wasting away since the money had long run out to refit her. Now she sat at anchor and people began to see apparitions on the ship. Constant reports came from the submarine Pike that was moored next to her of ghosts walking on her decks.

Photos were taken by a hidden camera and it is said that in 1955 images of ghosts were captured by the ship's wheel. The ghost was dressed in a 19th century uniform. This image was believed to be that of Captain Thomas Truxton the ship's first commander. Seamen have also been seen running along the decks as if readying the ship for action. The crew has been joined by the ghost of Carl Hansen who was the night watchman on the ship in the 1950s. and early 1960s. He has been spotted playing cards below deck. In 1999 a watchman reported that he was inspecting the storage deck at night with a flashlight when a sailor appeared and headed toward him. He stood still, frozen with fear and the ghost walked right through him. You can't tell this guy that ghosts don't exist. So here is a ship with members of the crew scurrying around the ship in ghostly form, who have been joined by the ghost of a modern day watchman. It is not as haunted as the USS Hornet, but in all fairness it didn't have a crew near the size of the Hornet's either.

So can I prove that ghosts exist? No, but for the people who claimed to have seen them, they are as real as you and me!