The "Can
You See Ghosts" Test
By
Dr. Dorothy McCoy
There was something awesome in
the thought of the solitary
mortal standing by the open
window and summoning in from the
gloom outside the spirits of the
nether world. - Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle
Do you have a unique
awareness that is completely
unrelated to your five senses?
Do you sometimes know things,
yet you cannot explain how you
know them? It is said that some
individuals are so exceptionally
sensitive to their environment,
they can perceive what most
cannot-- disembodied spirits.
Perhaps, you are one of these
“exceptional” people. All
cultures have legends, told in
hushed voices, as the tellers
look fearfully around. They
speak of spirits who cling
tenaciously to this world. They
are no longer of this earth, yet
they remain among the living;
sadly unaware they are dead. In
the “scare you to death” movie,
the Sixth Sense, this was the
explanation given for ghostly
visitations. According to the
movie, a few “gifted”
individuals are capable of
perceiving these ostensibly
unwelcome spirits.
Unfortunately, since I missed
the first few minutes of the
movie, Bruce’s lack of
respiration came as a heart
stopping revelation to me, just
as it did to poor, wretched,
dead Bruce Willis. Oops, sorry,
I forgot, his heart had already
stopped. Are you a ghost magnet
such as the mendacious,
beleaguered semi-heroine of
Ghost, Whoopi Goldberg?
Are spirits powerless to move
on because of a thirst for
revenge, a desire to protect the
living, or, perhaps, because of
a horribly brutal death? We have
no definitive answers for these
questions. Sane, responsible
individuals have reported
encountering these displaced
spirits. Eleanor Mondale
(daughter of the former
vice-president) insists a ghost
visited her one night at the
vice-president’s house (Evans &
Huyghe, 2000). It is said, that
Presidents Abraham Lincoln and
James Garfield did not “leave
the building” when their terms
expired. They are still there,
alarming unsuspecting guests.
Why do some visitors see the
illustrious former presidents
and others do not? Are you one
of the special people who could
see Honest Abe or feel his
ghostly presence? Let’s take the
test and see. Hush. Wait. Did
you hear that noise?
The “Can You See Ghosts” Test
1. Have you ever known the
phone was going to ring before
it rang?
Yes___ No___
2. Have you ever felt a
sudden chill in a room, when
there was no apparent reason?
Yes___ No___
3. Have you ever seen
anything that could not be
explained by science and logic?
Yes___ No___
4. Have you ever felt you
were being watched when you were
alone?
Yes___ No___
5. Have you ever had a vision
or a dream that came true?
Yes___ No___
6. Have you ever had a
successful session with a Ouija
Board?
Yes___ No___
7. Do you have an open mind
about the supernatural?
Yes___ No___
8. Would you refuse to spend
the night in a “haunted” house?
Yes___ No___
9. Do you meditate?
Yes___ No___
10. Have you retained the
childlike ability, simply to
“accept” new experiences without
distorting preconceptions?
Yes___ No___
11. Are you more likely to
make decisions using your “gut
feeling” than your “thinking
logic?”
Yes___ No___
12. Have you ever been told
that psychic ability runs in
your family?
Yes___ No___
13. Do you wear black 90% (or
more) of the time?
Yes___ No___
Scoring your test:
Give yourself one point for
each “yes” answer. As for
question “13,” I was just
kidding. I wear black much of
the time…but then, now that I
think about it, there was that
time I was alone in my 100
year-old farmhouse, and I heard…
Perhaps, I will share that in
the next book.
Understanding your Score:
Scores 1 – 4
Your psychic ability has not
been fully developed. Perhaps,
your personality is rational and
pragmatic and you prefer to see
“phenomena” that can be
explained by logic. However, if
you are interested in improving
you psychic ability you can
practice meditation and open
yourself up to new experiences.
There are on-line sites that
offer information about and
guidance in the fascinating
world of the supernatural, such
as
http://www.bitesizeinc.net/index.php/ouija.html/
, which has a virtual Ouija
Board. Werner Heisenberg
(Physics and Philosophy: The
Revolution in Modern Science)
wrote, “… many new elementary
particles may be created from
the available energy and the old
particles may have disappeared…”
In other words, something dies
and something new is created
from its residual energy. Makes
sense to me. Is this a possible
explanation for the presence of
ghosts…if, indeed, they exist?
See, logic and reason…
Scores 5 – 8
You are coming along quite
nicely. Your score indicates
that you are open to unique
experiences and you esteem an
open, inquisitive mind. You may
have experienced the
supernatural. Perhaps, you would
like to enhance this area of
your personality by learning
more about spirits. Here are
several fascinating sites:
http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/
http://www.torontoghosts.org/
http://www.sgvpr.org/
Scores 9 – 12
It is certainly possible that
you have psychic ability. Your
score is very encouraging. You,
as well as the last group, may
have experienced the
supernatural. It would be a pity
if you did not learn more about
this enthralling subject and
about your innate ability. Look
at the sites listed and perhaps
take a ghost tour, plan a
vacation to spots that are
rumored to be haunted and read
some scholarly books on the
paranormal. Good ghost hunting!
Our Guest Experts
Dr. David Oester, of the
International Ghost Hunters
Society was kind enough to
provide this information
(personal e-mail) on key
character traits for a ghost
hunter.
“It has been our experience
over the last combined 28 years
of ghost research that the
people who have experiences with
ghosts are those with an open
mind and those with a closed
mind, as in total skeptic, fail
to have any experiences. It is
okay to be skeptical, but a
skeptic's mind is closed to
anything paranormal. An open
mind is the only characteristic
that we have discovered. We had
have over 4 million visitors to
our site and all of them with
experiences if married, and
their spouse is closed minded
will not have any experiences
with the paranormal. This open
mindedness spans race, color,
creed or sexual orientation and
equally so, those that are
closed minded are closed to any
kind of paranormal experiences.”
Wendy Haver, a Spiritual
Counselor, from Rocky Mountain
Paranormal Research Society, was
kind enough to provide more
insight (personal e-mail) into
the personality of ghost
hunters. “Many seem to be more
open to having such experiences
occur. Not that they believe in
ghosts necessarily, but will
admit to it being a possibility.
Education level does not seem
to be a factor, but intelligence
might be. Those of an average or
slightly less than average
intelligence seem not to report
as much activity as those of a
higher intelligence or those of
a significantly altered
intelligence such as mental
retardation (higher functioning
so as to be able to report
events)
Age may not be a factor but
the environment in which they
were raised does seem to factor.
This has changed over time and
so it will skew any age related
reports.
One must take into
consideration those who have had
experiences vs. those who are
willing to report their
experiences. There are many who
will not openly admit to such
things. Therefore, you could say
that being willing to talk about
this sets them apart.”
When you have eliminated all
which is impossible, then
whatever remains, however
improbable, must be the truth.
…Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Last night I stayed up late
playing poker with Tarot cards.
I got a full house and four
people died. - Steven Wright
Dr.McCoy is a
psychotherapist, writer and
police consultant. Her published
books are: From Shyness to
Social Butterfly, The Ultimate
Book of Personality Tests (the
article is from this book), and
The Manipulative Man. She
resides in Boone, North Carolina
with her Great Dane, Sophie.
The "Can
You See Ghosts" Test