Ghost experts, I need your help

Southern_girl29

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My new novel, the one I'm going to be writing for Nano, is going to feature several ghosts. I have a couple of questions. Thanks so much for any help.

1. Can ghosts travel far distances? For instance, my MC's parents died and haunt the family home in Georgia. My MC now lives in Tennessee. Could the ghosts of her parents travel to Tennessee to give her a message?

2. Are there really "good" ghosts and "evil" ghosts?

3. If there are evil ghosts, did the person have to be evil during their lives in order to become an "evil" ghost? Or can the process of dying and become a ghost cause them to become "evil," especially if they died in a horrific way and wanted revenge?

4. Can ghosts possess a person and make them do something really horrific, like murder?

5. If a ghost has never spoken before, can it suddenly speak if needed? My MC needs to find out information from a ghost. Would it be better to have the ghost, who has never spoken, only cried, possess her to let her see the information she needs, or have the ghost tell her what she needs to know?

6. How much creative license do I have in order to make the ghosts do what I want?
 

wyntermoon

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*cracks knuckles*

Let's see if I can help.

1. Can ghosts travel far distances? For instance, my MC's parents died and haunt the family home in Georgia. My MC now lives in Tennessee. Could the ghosts of her parents travel to Tennessee to give her a message?

-Absolutely. There are no limits to where/when a ghost pops up. Often you'll find ghosts haunt a person instead of a place so they'll travel where their hauntee is.

2. Are there really "good" ghosts and "evil" ghosts?

-I don't believe so. I think (and I'm sure there will be other opinions) that ghosts reflect how they were in life so if they were nasty and bitter in life, they won't turn cuddly in death. There is a school of thought that the more wicked ones are really elementals and not ghosts at all.

3. If there are evil ghosts, did the person have to be evil during their lives in order to become an "evil" ghost? Or can the process of dying and become a ghost cause them to become "evil," especially if they died in a horrific way and wanted revenge?

- That said, anything's possible. I think revenge is more of a movie-term instead of a true haunting. See here for the difference between residual and intelligent hauntings.

4. Can ghosts possess a person and make them do something really horrific, like murder?

- I've never seen anything like that outside of the movies and my current WIP. ;)

5. If a ghost has never spoken before, can it suddenly speak if needed? My MC needs to find out information from a ghost. Would it be better to have the ghost, who has never spoken, only cried, possess her to let her see the information she needs, or have the ghost tell her what she needs to know?

- Most information that I've seen on cases has been trasmitted in dreams and not while the ghost is present in front of them. It takes an enormous amount of energy to manifest, speaking takes even more effort. However, you may have your MC hear EVPs (electronic voice phenomena) if you need more chatting.

6. How much creative license do I have in order to make the ghosts do what I want?

- It's your book, go nutty. :D

PM me if you'd like more information or have more questions, I'm happy to help!
 
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Southern_girl29

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Ooh, thanks for all the great info. I am going to have to take some creative license with it to get my ghosts to do what I need them to. If I have anymore questions, I'll PM you. Thanks again.
 

johnnysannie

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My new novel, the one I'm going to be writing for Nano, is going to feature several ghosts. I have a couple of questions. Thanks so much for any help.

1. Can ghosts travel far distances? For instance, my MC's parents died and haunt the family home in Georgia. My MC now lives in Tennessee. Could the ghosts of her parents travel to Tennessee to give her a message?

Yes. There are many documented cases of similar events.

2. Are there really "good" ghosts and "evil" ghosts? There are benevolent presences and darker presences; I feel that in most cases this reflects the personality/soul/whatever of the individual in life

3. If there are evil ghosts, did the person have to be evil during their lives in order to become an "evil" ghost? Or can the process of dying and become a ghost cause them to become "evil," especially if they died in a horrific way and wanted revenge?In short, I would say "no". To clarify, to me there is a major difference between a ghost and a spirit. A ghost is what many paranormal folk call a residual haunting; it is not intelligent and does not communicate but is simply there, often doing the same thing over and over. Another name for this is called an imprint or an impression. A spirit is fully aware of who they were in life, they do and communicate using various means and sometimes have something they want to accomplish - a message for instance

4. Can ghosts possess a person and make them do something really horrific, like murder?There are some who believe that this is very possible; cases where this is said to have happened. I think that in very rare instances that a spirit or ghost might act through someone but not to the point of murder. Do a little research into channeling.

5. If a ghost has never spoken before, can it suddenly speak if needed? My MC needs to find out information from a ghost. Would it be better to have the ghost, who has never spoken, only cried, possess her to let her see the information she needs, or have the ghost tell her what she needs to know? Ghosts - or spirits - seldom speak in audible words. Sensitives or psychics may receive "brain messages" or see or experience things but in the spirit realms, there is not a lot of audible speech....except of course, the previously mentioned EVPs.....

6. How much creative license do I have in order to make the ghosts do what I want?
As much as you want...it is fiction, after all!
 

Southern_girl29

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Thank you, too. I'm going to do some research into channeling and see what I find out.
 

Southern_girl29

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You're welcome. If I had no cigs for two weeks I would be climbing the walls!!!! I admire your willpower.

I've been taking Chantix, and it's really helping. I'll be taking the last of it tomorrow, and I don't think I'm going to be needing the maintenance pack. I haven't even had any cravings the last few days or so. I didn't have any willpower before the meds. The only other time I was able to quit was when I was pregnant, and that was easy to do.
 

theengel

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I'm coming at you from a purely Catholic stance, so keep that in mind:

My new novel, the one I'm going to be writing for Nano, is going to feature several ghosts. I have a couple of questions. Thanks so much for any help.

1. Can ghosts travel far distances? For instance, my MC's parents died and haunt the family home in Georgia. My MC now lives in Tennessee. Could the ghosts of her parents travel to Tennessee to give her a message?
Absolutely...they are not contained by space.

2. Are there really "good" ghosts and "evil" ghosts?
Yes...some people go to hell, some to heaven. And then there are angels and demons.

3. If there are evil ghosts, did the person have to be evil during their lives in order to become an "evil" ghost? Or can the process of dying and become a ghost cause them to become "evil," especially if they died in a horrific way and wanted revenge?
It's all from what they did during their lives. But it's not over till the fat lady stops screaming. So anything they do in the last split second counts. That could be an evil will that would send them to hell, or it could be a sorrowful will that send them to heaven.

4. Can ghosts possess a person and make them do something really horrific, like murder?
As far as I know, they can't make you kill someone. At least, it's not been recorded in any Catholic history that I know of.

5. If a ghost has never spoken before, can it suddenly speak if needed? My MC needs to find out information from a ghost. Would it be better to have the ghost, who has never spoken, only cried, possess her to let her see the information she needs, or have the ghost tell her what she needs to know?
Either way will work.

6. How much creative license do I have in order to make the ghosts do what I want?
If you're writing from a Catholic standpoint, good ghosts rarely visit and do not interact much. The only reason they would, is if it somehow glorifies God. Evil ghosts have only one objective - to get more souls into hell. So anything they do should revolve around that. They cannot do something of their own accord that would work against their nature.
 

underthecity

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At its heart, my novel is a ghost story. And I have to agree with the other posts about your questions, but I wanted to throw just one thing in: my book theorizes why ghosts can travel long distances and proposes scientific reasons for their existence.

PM me if you'd like to find out!

allen
 

Southern_girl29

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At its heart, my novel is a ghost story. And I have to agree with the other posts about your questions, but I wanted to throw just one thing in: my book theorizes why ghosts can travel long distances and proposes scientific reasons for their existence.

PM me if you'd like to find out!

allen


Allen,
I'll PM you tonight when I get home from work. I appreciate the offer.

Tamara
 

kristie911

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Wyntermoon answered pretty much everything the same as I would have with one exception.

I believe there are evil "ghosts", except they're not truly ghosts but demons. It's believed that demons were never human, so they wouldn't actually be ghosts. Wow...could I be more confusing? :)

But if a person wasn't very nice in life, chances are they wouldn't be all that happy in death either, but I'm not sure I believe they would be evil...just unhappy and out to make others unhappy. I'm guessing they'd just be more of a pain in the ass than the ghost of a person that was good in life. :D
 

mscelina

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My two cents' worth.

My new novel, the one I'm going to be writing for Nano, is going to feature several ghosts. I have a couple of questions. Thanks so much for any help.

1. Can ghosts travel far distances? For instance, my MC's parents died and haunt the family home in Georgia. My MC now lives in Tennessee. Could the ghosts of her parents travel to Tennessee to give her a message?

yep. you might want to check into a doppelganger--a ghost that visits a living human at and/or near the moment of death to 'announce' their demise.

2. Are there really "good" ghosts and "evil" ghosts?

Not if you listen to Sylvia Browne. I'm of two minds on this one. Read on.

3. If there are evil ghosts, did the person have to be evil during their lives in order to become an "evil" ghost? Or can the process of dying and become a ghost cause them to become "evil," especially if they died in a horrific way and wanted revenge?

Wyntermoon's answer is the same as mine would have been.

4. Can ghosts possess a person and make them do something really horrific, like murder?

No. Demons possess people. Ghosts don't. However, for information on a 'ghost' that allegedly did murder someone, you might want to check out the history/legend of the Bell Witch. I grew up near Adams, and all of the contemporary material of the times seem to indicate that the spirit replaced medicine with poison, thus killing John Bell. Ignore the movie (American Haunting or something like that--it's bunk.) I have a copy of the 19th century books (written by members of the family) relating to the story. Fascinating stuff.

5. If a ghost has never spoken before, can it suddenly speak if needed? My MC needs to find out information from a ghost. Would it be better to have the ghost, who has never spoken, only cried, possess her to let her see the information she needs, or have the ghost tell her what she needs to know?

Here again, the "Bell Witch" was known to speak. It was actually witnessed by President Andrew Jackson and mentioned by him in his memoirs. So...yes.

6. How much creative license do I have in order to make the ghosts do what I want?

It's fiction. Take as much as you want. :)
 

Soccer Mom

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Okay, how many of us are going to NaNo a ghost story? :raises hand:
 

Southern_girl29

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Oh cool. I'm going to have to visit over there as soon as I finish watching Ghost Hunters. LOL.
 

montanagal

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IMHO

Southern Girl -

All your commentors have great ideas and backgrounds for them. One thing to keep in mind - this is your story. It's fiction, right? As M Night Shamylan (I can't pronounce his name, let alone spell it!) said after writing "6th Sense", you have to make up the rules for your ghosts. If you want them to be able to travel, then let them travel. If you want them to be able to affect the physical world, then so be it. In my story I wrote down the rules for my ghosts so I wouldn't mix it up in the middle. That made it a lot easier to keep it consistent.

One thought,tho', I would personally keep a non-talking ghost non-talking, unless there was a compelling reason to have him talk after all. Good example (albeit a mortal one) was in the film "Patriot" with Mel Gibson. The little girl could speak but refused to for a long, long time. When she finally was moved to words it was heart wrenching. One of the best scenes in the movie. If you change a character's decision or ability about something, have a good reason to make that change and make it memorable.

Good luck!
 

DonnaDuck

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I am mediumistic so I have some experience with ghosts so here's what I know and have learned--

1. Can ghosts travel far distances? For instance, my MC's parents died and haunt the family home in Georgia. My MC now lives in Tennessee. Could the ghosts of her parents travel to Tennessee to give her a message?

They're ghosts. They can appear in dreams, they can appear in person, they can do pretty much anything. They can't walk through walls for nothing! Ghosts that tend to be "stuck" somewhere have more residue there or actually don't want to leave, or just can't until they're banished (not exorcised as that does nothing except piss them off).

2. Are there really "good" ghosts and "evil" ghosts?

There are benign and malignant and/or michevious spirits who want nothing more than to screw with you. They work off of fear more than anything else because they can't actually hurt you. They can make noise, they might be able to move something but you're not going to get stabbed by a ghost. They know that you fear them and the nastier ones will utilize that. The benign ones are just kind of there, not meaning to scare you but any kind of ethereal manifestation can freak someone out.

3. If there are evil ghosts, did the person have to be evil during their lives in order to become an "evil" ghost? Or can the process of dying and become a ghost cause them to become "evil," especially if they died in a horrific way and wanted revenge?

If you're grumpy in life, you're going to be so in death. A vindictive man taking claim over his property in life is probably going do to the same thing in death. It's the imprint they leave behind that mimic's their life.

4. Can ghosts possess a person and make them do something really horrific, like murder?

I don't believe so. I'm not a huge proponent of possession although I do believe the more devout you are, the closer you are to your own demons but that doesn't mean they're going to harvest your body or anything. I think it's an excuse people like to use in order to justify an action, much like the insanity plea. I'm still trying to figure out how Linda Blair there survived the exorcist twist the demon did with the girl's body. She should have been dead after that but god bless Hollywood. If someone's hearing voices in their head telling them to kill, chances are they're mentally ill, not possessed.

5. If a ghost has never spoken before, can it suddenly speak if needed? My MC needs to find out information from a ghost. Would it be better to have the ghost, who has never spoken, only cried, possess her to let her see the information she needs, or have the ghost tell her what she needs to know?

Like what has been said before, ghosts more often than not communicate in dreams or in a state of partial sleep. They might try to get your attention in the waking (for instance making an appearance or moving something, I've had a shoe thrown across my lap, not cool when you're 8) or give you signs and hope that you come to the conclusion yourself. My cousin appeared to me when she died. Her "soul" departed about 15 minutes prior to her body's actual death and I didn't need to hear that she was dead; I already knew. She then came to me in a dream and told me to tell her son to stop being an asshole, exact words. At first I thought she was trying to contact him and he was being a stubborn ass but it turned out he's a money-grubbing whore (she was rich) that's shat upon his entire family for the sake of a few remaining dollars. Ghost's never speak in coherent sentences that make sense when you first hear them. They're always puzzles or, in my case, it'll take a while to figure out what they're saying. But if you have a ghost that's trying to get a hold of you, they'll be very persistent. When I was about 14 or 15, I heard my name being called. I was half asleep and just brushed it off but it started to get louder and then it was a scream. I knew it wasn't in my head but at the same time it wasn't physical either but it certainly could have been with how loud I heard it. If a ghost has something to say, they'll be persistent with the message until you get it. They can get antsy, sometimes pushy but if they have to make a point, they'll make sure it's made.

6. How much creative license do I have in order to make the ghosts do what I want?

The wonders of fiction, you write what you want. Hell, look what people have done to the vampire...