Revisiting old ghosts

Last week I wrote a story about a presentation at the Washburn Public Library called Wisconsin Ghosts and the Afterlife by Terry Fisk, a paranormal investigator. While I was working on the story, I visited Fisk’s website and saw that his company was sponsoring the Unexplained Conference in Eau Claire the next weekend.
I love a good ghost story as much as anyone and, with Halloween coming up, it seemed like a good adventure to attend the conference. I called my sister, who lives in Iowa, and suggested we meet there and have a Sister’s Halloween Adventure.
Both my sister and I are familiar with spirits, having grown up in a house that featured a resident ghost. Our family has favorite stories about this spectre, like the time he tapped me on the back in the middle of the night, and the many times my mother would awaken in the night and see him staring at her from the foot of her bed.
When my sister mentioned to her partner that she was going to attend the conference with me, he said, “Oh, maybe you can find out about the ghost who likes to watch us sleep everynight.”
So my sister and I got a room at the Plaza Hotel and eagerly joined the crowd for an evening’s entertainment.
The first presenter had written several books about werewolves. Her talk included stories she has collected from people who say they have had encounters with werewolves. She showed sketches of these creatures and pictures of the places where the sightings occurred. However, there were no actual photos of werewolves.
Here’s the thing. I would think that in this age, with people carrying cell phones everywhere, and hand-held digital devices, someone would have the opportunity to snap a photo of a werewolf, or even post a YouTube of their encounter with one. As my sister pointed out, “Anyone can draw a picture of a werewolf and they all look alike. That’s because everyone knows what a werewolf is supposed to look like.” Good point.
It was a fun presentation, but I’m not convinced about the validity of actual living werewolves.
The next presentor talked about re-incarnation. The speaker’s evidence stemmed from studies done with small children who tell stories of their past lives. Some children can describe where they lived, who their parents were, etc. Researchers have recorded these stories, gone to the locations described by the child, and found physical evidence to conclude what the child says is true. The theory is that when we are children, we still remember these past lives. As we get older and more conditioned, we begin to lose those memories.
Here was physical evidence suggesting that re-incarnation is possible. Did the presentor prove that re-incarnation exists? Not really, but he gave a fairly convincing presentation.
The other presentations were about various hauntings, Big Foot sightings, UFOs, and other unexplained occurrences. Are there big foot creatures in the Chequamegon Forest? There are multiple stories of sightings. Again, no photos other than vague shadows or something hairy from a distance. One photo depicting a close-up view of a Big Foot on someone’s critter-camera looked like a neighbor in a gorilla suit.
The next day we went to a Healing and Psychic Fair. There were presentors on past life experiences, spiritual healing and accessing different dimensions of reality. Vendors featured everything from aromatherapy and healing crystals to dowsing and quantum jumping.
Where any of them able to provide absolute proof of the validity of their craft? No.
But, here’s the interesting question. Can I, or anyone else, provide absolute proof that there is no validity to these occurrences? No.
We are left with a conundrum of polarities. No one can prove they exist and no one can prove they do not. There are heated debates on each side. Religious beliefs come into play. It all boils down to what you choose to believe. If one of these therapies helps someone feel better or live a better life, is that a bad thing? I don’t think so.
We know the mind is a powerful thing. We also know that we don’t know everything about the universe we live in, how it works, and all of the different elements that live in it with us.
There is one thing I know for certain after having this experience. Going on a road trip, spending time with my sister and having fun is something I can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt. I don’t need pictures, or scientific evidence. We had a went shopping, experienced new things, and got to spend some quality time together reminiscing about our own paranormal childhood. We met some interesting people, had some laughs, and maybe even expanded our concept of reality a little.
A weekend well spent.