Haunted Dwellings. Fact or Fiction?

Discuss the October 2016 Book of the Month, Unspeakable Acts by Janet Leigh Green.
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batkinson6490
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Haunted Dwellings. Fact or Fiction?

Post by batkinson6490 »

So I am curious about opinions on haunted homes, buildings, etc. My hubby and I purchased a home last year that was built in 1904. We have done some remodeling which proves our house is VERY old. What we were interested in, was the little room hidden under/behind our stairs. We tore into a wall that blocked off under our stairs and found things carved into the walls, old candy wrappers, some little old toys, and a little deck of cards make from cardboard! It was very interesting but I really dislike going under there as I feel "creeped out". Not sure if my mind is playing tricks or perhaps a child lived under my stairs once upon a time!

Anyone else have these feelings or believe in these things? This story really brought it to the front of my mind again due to it being in an older home with remodels happening and finding hidden rooms/areas.
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Post by gali »

I don't believe in Haunted Dwellings and think it is a fiction. It may have an atmosphere though, and our imagination does the rest.
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Post by LivreAmour217 »

I think that places can be haunted, but whether by actual spirits or just the impressions left by previous occupants I don't know. I recently moved from a community with a high amount of paranormal activity, and I had some scary experiences within my own home. No one could explain the strange happenings, but everyone agreed that something was indeed going on!
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Post by Sarah_Khan »

gali wrote:I don't believe in Haunted Dwellings and think it is a fiction. It may have an atmosphere though, and our imagination does the rest.
I agree with you, I think the majority of it is our imagination. After hearing about scary stuff whether it's in a movie or a book our minds make up a bunch of things.
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Post by Scott »

The house I live in is over 100 years old. I haven't seen any ghosts yet. I'll let you know if I do. ;) :)
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Post by ashley_claire »

I lived in Charleston for eight years and went on plenty of ghost tours around the city at night. I even felt brave enough to go on a tour of the old city jail late at night one October. I think the only thing that made any of it creepy was my expectations going in, and knowing that it was supposed to scare me. But I don't really think buildings can actually be haunted.
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Post by CaitlinE »

I imagine your mind is probably playing tricks on you. I don't see why ghosts would bother haunting a house!
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Post by Wasif Ahmed »

Well, your house is over a hundred years old. Perhaps once it was a lively room for a child until the owner decided to build a wall (the child grew up, maybe?).

Even I fell freaked out when I come across something's similar. :)
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Post by lane_vespertine »

It always struck me as a bit arbitrary why a dead dude has to be limited to the house in which they lived? Why not the town? Or the country? My point is from the perspective of a non-substantive entity, why choose a house?
So, no, they don't exist.
I did once tear into the walls of a place I was living that was well over two hundred years old and found... some really interesting 1970s porn. Kids always find a way to hide the most interesting things in the wall. Also, mice do as well.
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Post by Heidi M Simone »

gali wrote:I don't believe in Haunted Dwellings and think it is a fiction. It may have an atmosphere though, and our imagination does the rest.
I agree with gali's comment. Haunted dwellings may have creaky floors, loose windows, etc. which helps our imagination get the best of us, sometimes.
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Post by MerryLove »

Personally I think the imagination, superstition, and the will/subconscious are amazingly powerful things. While I personally believe that haunted dwellings are fiction and not based in fact, I do believe that many people who experience things like this really are experiencing what they think they are, through the power of their mind.
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Post by MrsCatInTheHat »

I think that overactive imagination's lead us to listen for creepy sounds and look for scary images in places that we might expect them but that is all it is: imagination.
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Post by bookowlie »

I am on the fence about this. When I lived in Connecticut, there were well-known stories about one of the restaurants in town being haunted. After hearing the stories, I was too scared to ever go there to eat!
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Post by MorganTaylor »

While of course it is impossible to rule out the supernatural, I'm really not convinced that ghosts and such exist. The human mind has a way of wanting to explain difficult things with unscientific phenomenon, so that we at least have some kind of explanation, in my opinion at least! Of course, I'm no expert on the field or in psychology really haha!
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Post by t-michelle »

I don't really have 'creeped out' feelings, however, there are many times that I have felt that there is a presence near me or watching me. I usually am not bothered by it - unless it is creating violent or threatening disturbances. Mostly, I feel that they are just curious.
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