Ghosts

Print Send a summary of this page to someone via email.
Everyone loves a good ghost story. But what are they? Spirits, earthbound souls, hallucinations, "recordings" of past events, an electromagnetic phenomenon or just wishful thinking?

  Sea serpents and synchronicity
Jul 13, 2011
Sea serpentUPDATED WITH VIDEO (21 July) If a poll were conducted into the public's beliefs in a range of phenomena or fables, including ghosts and sea monsters, my guess is that apparitions would get a far higher rating than the Loch Ness Monster or other maritime mysteries. In a satisfying piece of synchronicity, it was encouraging to learn that last night, while I was dealing with the fall-out from Prof Brian Cox's insistence that ghosts do not exist and people who believe in them are mistaken, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) was holding a meeting at which the existence of sea monsters was not only discussed but actually supported by at least one of the speakers. Before the sceptics take to their keyboards and bombard me with comments about the difference between ghosts and sea monsters (apart from the fact that, as sceptics, they probably don't entertain the possibility of either), I want to point out that... more
  Brian Cox is a nobber
Jul 9, 2011
Brian CoxParticle physicist Brian Cox has angered many by mocking people who believe in ghosts and the afterlife. He did so on Twitter after learning that the BBC had received complaints that Infinite Monkey Cage, the Radio 4 show he hosts with comedian Robin Ince, was unbalanced in an episode dealing with the paranormal. Prof Cox – a former keyboard player in 1990s pop groups before focusing on cosmology and becoming a star presenter on television (a sort of supernova) – responded to the criticism by Twittering:... more
  Psychic's grave undertaking
Apr 1, 2011
Roy Stemman and Ian LawtonUPDATED, 9 April: No tears were shed when Ian Lawman, a British TV psychic and exorcist, was laid to rest on a windswept hill in the West Midlands today. I was among those who attended his interment, which turned out to be a fun event for all involved, including Ian. In fact, he happily posed for photographs before his burial (right). As you will have guessed by now, Ian - whose TV appearances have included Most Haunted, I'm Famous and Frightened, and Fit and Fearless - was not dead when they buried him. And he doesn't plan to be dead when they dig him up again in seven days' time. So why has the self-styled "bad boy of the psychic world" decided to subject himself to the ordeal of being entombed in a coffin six feet underground, beneath two tonnes of soil? To raise £10,000 for The Blue Lamp Foundation, which was set up by PC David Rathband for injured emergency service workers after he was blinded when gunman Raoul Moat went on a rampage last year. The buried-alive event took place ... more
  Bottled ghosts in auction sale
Mar 7, 2010
bottled ghosts for saleIt never ceases to amaze me how gullible some people are. Here's the proof: two ghosts are being auctioned online in New Zealand and a bidding war has broken out.  So far, 150 bids have been placed on eBay-style auction site TradeMe, with the current top bidder prepared to pay NZ$1,840 (about £850) ... and there's still 20 hours left before the sale ends. The seller, who says he has been troubled by two spirits, claims to be deadly serious. One is believed to be... more