Classifieds C-3
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Obsessed with the undead
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2013 THE NEW MEXICAN SECTION C
Experts explore the reasons behind why so many people believe in ghosts By Raina Wellman
believe based on his own encounters dating back to a 1985 case where all the members of one o ghosts exist, or are they family saw the spirit of a woman just figments of our imagi- who was the previous owner of nation? According to a their house. “Their son claimed CBS News poll, “Nearly he was talking to her every day, he half of Americans say they believe was able to provide us with family in ghosts or that the dead can stories, with information on how return in certain places and situto contact her only living relative, ations.” Generation Next spoke which I did,” he recalled. “They with several ghost experts, authors not only knew the stories but he and storytellers — Mary Roach, was able to finish each story as I Larry Dossey, Joe Hayes, Peter started it. It’s the kind of evidence Sinclaire and Loyd Auerbach — to that makes you stop and say, determine why so many believe in ‘Whoa, what’s going on here?’ ” ghosts. For Santa Fe ghost-tour guide Roach’s 2005 book, Spook: SciPeter Sinclaire, personal experience Tackles the Afterlife, scienence makes all the difference. tifically examines the issue of life “I was house sitting for friends, after death. Her initial interest and the one thing I saw that I felt in the topic stemmed from the creepy about was that one of the number of people “trying to physi- handles on the dressers would ologically locate a soul.” Her book, move,” he said. He said ghosts she said, attempted to “pin down stick around Earth for several a question that is usually associreasons: “It could be an emotional ated with religion — is there an or traumatic experience that they afterlife? Is there a spirit? It was an seem to be stuck on. … Some aren’t exploration of how people over the aware they’re dead.” years have used scientific method Yet for believers, separating the to try to answer this very ethereal, supernatural from the scientific mystical question.” may be difficult. Physician and That doesn’t mean that Roach writer Larry Dossey, who is an herself believes. She said such advocate of merging spirituality belief is up to each individual. and medicine, has had experiences “There’s belief and there’s with precognitive dreams regardknowledge,” she said. “I don’t ing future events that later played have any knowledge as to whether out as predicted. “It’s not just me,” or not [ghosts] exist. My feeling he said. “My patients, nurses and about belief is it’s something you physicians have also had similar more or less choose to do, whether experiences. … These events are it’s God or ghosts. … While I don’t very common.” But he said, these think there’s very solid evidence events should not be considered for ghosts … if I had to put my supernatural: “If they happen in money on it, I’d say no. … But I do nature, they are part of nature, not enjoy keeping that door open a outside of nature or supernatural.” little bit.” As to why some people never have Santa Fe storyteller Joe Hayes seen a ghost, Dossey said, “Some said he doesn’t believe in believpeople are so opposed to the very ing because “it causes too much idea of ghosts that, even if they trouble in the world today. I saw one, they would convince believe in experience. If someone themselves they did not see it. My has an experience with a ghost, advice: Keep an open mind and they can honor and accept it. … examine all the evidence.” Almost every ghost story you hear, Yet Dossey acknowledges that people will swear it is true. Our “Not all the ghosts that people experience is somewhat shaped by claim to see are real. Hallucinawhat we accept and believe. If you tions and fantasies are quite combelieve in something, that’s what mon. Sometimes we see what we you will encounter.” want to see, what we expect to Noted parapsychologist and see.” Fatigue, imagination, howling field investigator of psychic phewinds and even lightning flashes nomena Loyd Auerbach does can lead people to believe they Generation Next
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for and by teens
BOOKS
‘Doctor Sleep’ offers good story, little scare By Austin Trya
Generation Next
Devin Horne portrays La Llorona (‘The Weeping Woman’), the subject of a popular spooky legend in North and South America.
RAINA WELLMAN/GENERATION NEXT
are seeing a phantom. Hayes said the reason people enjoy telling ghost stories at night is because “that’s when our minds are open to strange inexplicable things. I think from far back we have inherited a fear of the dark because we rely so much on our eyes.” Whether they believe or not, most people enjoy a good ghost story — especially around Halloween. According to Hayes, “In part there’s the scariness of it. … It gives people the creeps. The appeal of ghost stories is sort of a combo of mysteriousness that leaves you wondering, ‘Could that be true?’ and also the sense of wonder.” Even though ghost stories can scare you, Hayes noted that “they also provide reassurance that there
What was your best Halloween costume?
Alex Farnlof, Santa Fe Community College “The Joker, because I made my costume from scratch. I even dyed my hair green for a month.”
Anthony Bernal, St. Michael’s High School “An Indian.”
Delilah Hirry, New Mexico School for the Arts “Gandalf.”
Esteban Alcaraz, St. Michael’s High School “Probably Thor or Iron Man.”
is something beyond the life we are having now.” Of course, while a lot of people believe in ghosts, only about 22 percent, according to CBS News, actually reported feeling or seeing a ghost. Sinclaire said he intentionally shields himself from spirits that he has “no interest in meeting.” But Auerbach points out that not all ghosts are malicious: “The intent of each ghost is dependent on the person. People don’t change their personality after they die. When you die, you don’t become evil or bad or anything else.” Raina Wellman is a junior at New Mexico School for the Arts. Contact her at rainawellman@gmail.com.
SPEAK OUT
Miranda Robicheau, Ortiz Middle School “Something scary like a serial killer.”
Natasha Farmer, homeschooled “Sherlock Holmes.”
Weston Tice, St. Michael’s High School “A cowboy.”
COMPILED BY NANA PARK/GENERATION NEXT
MY VIEW
Ghosts: Spooky fakes or the real deal? I do believe in spooks! By Blanca Ortiz Generation Next
Ghosts — some people believe in them. Some do not. Some believe that ghosts are just figments of our imaginations, some type of hallucination created in our complicated minds. Others see ghosts as fictional characters in books and movies or perhaps figures in stories that our parents use to scare kids when we are misbehaving (like the legend of La Llorona). There are many interpretations of what a ghost really is. I am one of those firm believers. I believe that after a person dies, the energy he/she possessed when they were alive can reproduce and enter another cycle of life. If a person dies with negative energy, or with something of great sentimental value attached to them, that may still have the power to tie that energy to Earth. It may not be able to reproduce itself in an appropriate manner and so it rotates repeatedly around the same place — which is why, when people have supernatural encounters, the usual description is of a distorted transparent figure — or ghost — that seems to be floating around a particular site. It’s just energy, but it’s strong enough to express itself via a manifestation.
Many people will try to offer explanations why this kind of manifestation isn’t possible. To me, ghosts aren’t anything out of the ordinary — just a form of energy that continues to roam the world, trying to find a place, or just a sense of peace. Perhaps nothing scientific proves ghost exist. But I believe they do. Blanca Ortiz is junior at Capital High School. You can contact her at blancao9@live.com.
I ain’t afraid of no ghosts! By Marco White
Generation Next
I just don’t believe in ghosts. As I grew up, I heard all sorts of ghost tales, from lighthearted campfire stories to folk legends including the saga of La Llorona, but I could never believe that something that mysterious could really happen. Santa Fe is supposedly crowded with ghosts, with the most common sightings reportedly occurring at historical sites — along the Santa Fe River — or at local hotels like La Posada of Santa Fe Resort and Spa. Some of these hotels may use their reportedly haunted rooms as an added attraction for guests, and other groups charge people to take ghost tours around Santa Fe. As a kid, I never realized how
supposedly haunted this town was until some tourists informed me about all of our haunted sites. It seems to me that there is a lack of consensus of what happens during an encounter with a ghost. In my experience, any number of strange occurrences — sudden bursts of cold air, odd noises or inexplicable smells of sulfur (or worse) — can be chalked up to ghosts. I certainly have not experienced anything that would prove these events are tied to ghostly activity. The majority of people I know who do believe in ghosts base their beliefs on stories that usually center around a strange or unnerving experience they had while they were alone. Video footage of “supposed” ghosts that I have viewed usually consist of a stray flash of light or an unfocused object passing through the shot. In fact, you can still find a YouTube video of the ghost walking in the parking lot of the downtown Santa Fe courthouse in 2007. Experts determined it was probably an insect passing by the security cameras, but thousands tuned in to see a genuine ghost. As long as I do not directly observe any strange events that I feel can not be explained away by anything other than the presence of a ghost, I can’t believe that they exist — except in our imagination.
Stephen King — the literary master of the macabre — released his latest novel, Doctor Sleep, just in time for Halloween. I was exceptionally excited about reading Doctor Sleep because the story is a continuation of one of my favorite King stories, The Shining (published in 1977). Yes, the Stephen King classic that kept so many of us awake at night, deeply disturbing our dreams, has received a well-deserved sequel. Doctor Sleep revolves around the adult Danny Torrance — the child protagonist of The Shining — and his personal struggles following his troubled childhood, including the traumatic events that took place at the spooky Overlook Hotel and the impact of Danny’s psychic abilities called “The Shining.” In order to numb the effects of The Shining, Dan gets lost in the loving embrace of alcohol, which impairs the psychic gift that causes him so much turmoil. Dan lives a hard, sometimes menacing life as a drifter, finding work as a hospital orderly. When Dan once again decides it’s time to relocate to another town, he seeks refuge in the small hamlet of Frazier, N.H. Little does Dan know, as he disembarks from the Greyhound bus that brought him to Frazier, that he’s taken the first step toward another series of events that will change his life yet again. There he meets a girl named Abra Stone who has the most powerful Shining Dan has ever experienced. Soon he realizes that she is being hunted by a paranormal group called The True Knot that wants to consume her Shining — which will in turn lead to her demise. Overall, Doctor Sleep is a fantastic read, but I have some complaints. While Doctor Sleep offers a very good story, it’s not really a scary one. I was disappointed that I found nothing in this novel that had me peeking around doors at night or being afraid to turn out the lights. After all, fright is part of the fun in reading any Stephen King novel. In fact, the scary parts of Doctor Sleep are actually handme-downs from The Shining as Danny recalls the painful memories behind that experience. And though Doctor Sleep sets up a very stressful build-up to its finale, the climax is disappointingly abrupt. This being said, King still delivers a great novel with an intriguing storyline. It just jutted me somewhat to discover that I was perhaps reading a thriller rather than a horror story. However, King’s characters are incredibly detailed and easy to relate to, the story remains menacing, and it is the kind of book that will keep readers glued. The overall emotional payoff is more than enough to make up for the condensed climax. The book ends with King explaining that the question, “What happened to Danny Torrance?” drove him to provide an answer. And he notes that the author of Doctor Sleep is a very different person from the alcoholic who wrote The Shining — quite a statement considering The Shining’s main character is an alcoholic writer and Doctor Sleep focuses on a new man confronting his struggles and seeking help for his addiction. The fuel of adventure that powers Doctor Sleep will keep the reader desperately trying to figure out what will happen next. However, if you are looking for a scary story to read in the spirit of Halloween, I suggest you first turn to The Shining to be jolted by the real spooks. Austin Trya is a senior at the Academy at Larragoite. You can contact him at wannabewriter20@yahoo.com.
Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep is the sequel to his 1977 classic The Shining.
Marco White is a senior at Santa Fe Prep. You can contact him at marcowhitesfnm@gmail.com.
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