Things about yourself you cannot rationally explian

[Guest thebadlady]

I have some sort of similar inclination when I'm riding a bus. Or a car. Or a train. Or a plane. I must be on the window seat.

I have to be in the aisle seat so I don't feel trapped. :P

What is it about being dead that's so frightening?

I liken being dead to being under full anesthesia - you have no sense of anything. It's quite peaceful, actually. When you awaken, it's kinda tough to reenter the world.

Makes me sort of understand Michael Jackson - :leaving:

inorite? If you are afraid of death, you should watch Six Feet Under. Has a really interesting take on death and its quite moving. One of the best series finales I have ever watched.

aside: I wonder if MJ had such a hard time sleeping and had the desire to be put out because of guilt.

Are you afraid you'll be locked in your body as it rots or something?

Yes, and thats why everyone who knows me knows I want to be cremated.

I saw a movie, The Gate, when I was about seven years old that scared the beejeezus out of me. There was a part where a demon hand reached out from under the bed and grabbed someone's ankle. I'm not really a believer in demons now, but I still get a little jittery when walking around the bed at night. Some nights when I get up to use the bathroom I practically jump away from the bed so no demons can reach out and grab my ankle.

Ha! I wonder if I saw that too. My sister and I had a bunk bed (see where this is going?) and I was terrified that something would get me as I jumped into the top bunk. I foolishly told my sister that and of course she grabbed my foot midway up. I screamed so loudly that I woke the neighbors.

I used to be scared to death of sharks in normal waters (swimming pools, lakes) after I saw Jaws and a show about bull sharks swimming up rivers. Yeah, its shark week so even the commercials are scaring me. :P

[Sis Who Swears]

If you are afraid of death, you should watch Six Feet Under. Has a really interesting take on death and its quite moving. One of the best series finales I have ever watched.

Interesting... I always avoided that show because of my 'issue'.

[Guest thebadlady]

Six Feet Under is an American television drama series created and produced by Alan Ball. It premiered on the premium cable network HBO in the United States on June 3, 2001 and ended on August 21, 2005, spanning five seasons and 63 episodes. The show was produced by Actual Size Films and The Greenblatt/Janollari Studio and was shot on location in Los Angeles and in Hollywood studios. Six Feet Under revolves around the Fisher family, who run a funeral home in Los Angeles, and their friends and lovers. The series traces these characters' lives over the course of five years. The ensemble drama stars Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose, Freddy Rodriguez, Mathew St. Patrick and Rachel Griffiths as the show's seven central characters.

Six Feet Under received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for its writing and acting, and consistently drew high ratings for the HBO network. The series is noted for its exploration of mortality and death in western society. It won numerous awards, including three Golden Globes and nine Emmys. It also generated controversy for its graphical depiction of sexuality and some of the themes it addressed.

I hate to be sappy, but I don't think I cried more often in my life. The dead are always treated with the deepest respect as are the families. And the family is insanely interesting - I esp liked the first season - the son starts to learn the hidden parts of his father's life and it turns out his dad was one cool cat.

[S John]

SJohn and his freaking ghost stories :P

I do actually have one. One night I woke up and could have sworn there was something in my room. The far corner was much darker than it usually was. Then I swear I heard a croaky voice say my name.

I was half asleep though, so it was almost certainly some residual dream or some shit like that.

I like how you followed this with a ghost story of your own. :P I decided it was a good time to bother the board at large with my ghost stories instead of just chat.

But yea, real or not, it fascinates me. Party becuase I think the concept of another realm of existence paralell to our own, that most of us cannot sense or understand, is a really interesting concept. The idea that there is more to a person than thier body, or that people and emotions can make an imprint on time and space... maybe its all nonsense, but it is interesting nonsense. The other reason why it interests me is that ghost stories evolve and become folklore and a fun part of the regional culture of a place. For example, one of my favorite ghost stories is from the Shenandoah Valley and is about an accomplished fiddle player who died in the 1800's but who likes to sit on his tombstone and play on autumn nights. I mean, who doesnt think there is something a little bit awesome about that, even if it isnt real?

That said, I only like the type of supernatural stories that are somehow tied to first hand accounts. I like the real human element of them. I'm not a big fan of the horror genre, I don't like slasher flicks, and I don't particularly care for movies about ghosts or demons. But I do really love most of the ghost shows on sci-fi and discovery that involve real people and places. I like books that contain ghost stories from different places, and I like them even more if they are very specific about the location. The stories may be as bullshit as the hollywood movies, but I need the real people/real place connection to enjoy them. Its especially cool when the source of the story is an otherwise credible person like a doctor, a judge, or a noted skeptic and not just the local nutjob.

And, finally, I've never had any real desire to see or experience the paranormal first hand. I think its an interesting subject and I like hearing about it, but you probably arent going to catch me hanging out with the Ghost Hunters or playing with an Ouija board. As much as I love the stories I think I can do without the experiences. I would rather concentrate on the living while I'm alive, theres plenty of time to be dead.

[Lord of Oop North]

You gotta lay off the dope, dude.

[S John]

Dude, Lime, have you ever really looked at your hand? Like, really looked at it?

Its fucking crazy, man.

[delete this account pls]

They call them fingers, but I've never seen them fing.

Oh wait. There they go.

[Lord of Oop North]

Dude, Lime, have you ever really looked at your hand? Like, really looked at it?

Oh, yeah. And I cannot rationally explain it. It's wild.

They call them fingers, but I've never seen them fing. I don't get it, man.

ETA:

:lol:

[S John]

Jesus, perfect example of the supernatural right there.

Both Lime and Brady chanelling Otto the bus driver at the exact same moment from continents on opposite sides of the world.

OOOooOOOooOOOOO!

[delete this account pls]

Dude, it's not supernatural. It just means there's a glitch in the Matrix.

[S John]

Dude, it's not supernatural. It just means there's a glitch in the Matrix.

To-may-to, To-mah-to

(Does anyone really say To-mah-to? Seriously, its a fucking To-may-to, dude)

[Lord of Oop North]

Dude, it's not supernatural. It just means there's a glitch in the Matrix.

I was actually about to say the exact same thing. I'm scared, poncho.

[delete this account pls]

Hmmm. This might explain why Hugo Weaving is currently knocking at my front door.

[Nichole]

S John :love: Its funny, sometimes I think you are the male me.

Really, everything you said about ghosts I agree with. I don't believe in demons or Ouija boards, the stories are fascinating though. Whenever I go to a Southern city my first priority is to book a ghost tour. They are great and you get so much local history from them. Thanks for sharing.

And if you are interested, Castle of Spirits is one of my favorite ghost websites. You are not allowed to get all religiousy with your stories and just telling about your dreams is frowned upon. My own story is in Sept. 2006 if you are interested. I won story of the month.

[Nichole]

That would be fun in Savannah, if you've read "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". Awesome book.

Hoping to make it to Savannah next time I visit my mother in law.

[S John]

S John :love: Its funny, sometimes I think you are the male me.

Heh, yea I've noticed that. Well, not that I'm the male you, but that we seem to have similar personalities. :P

I'll definitely be checking out the website, thanks for the heads up.

[litechick]

I hear where you're coming from on the ghost stories. I like them even though I don't believe in ghosts. That's why I was so deeply disgusted when I took a ghost tour in Gettysburg and got 3 actual stories in 2 hours. The rest was all loitering in places where supposedly ghosts have been sighted--including a 'haunted' Days Inn. Woohoo.

We were encouraged to take pictures of the trees since 'orbs' often appear in them. I wish there was some way to distinguish which tours are for people who sincerely believe and hope to have an encounter and those who just like the stories.

[VarysTheSpider]

Lys, Tobin,

What is it about being dead that's so frightening?

Are you afraid you'll be locked in your body as it rots or something?

Quite the opposite, Tobin. It's the eternal nothingness of it that I can't get over, it's like the greatest act of theft in the world. Every memory lost, every relationship over, all opinions removed and the possibility of any future experience snuffed out. And you won't even know it's happened to you because you aren't you anymore; you're nothing.

But look on the bright side I guess, maybe I'll win the lottery and freeze myself until humanity has played around with biogenics enough to keep us going for as long as we want.

Someone mentioned watching Six Feet Under. Thanks, will check it out when I'm done with Dexter.

Anyways, I.... don't wanna talk about it. Just wanted to let you know you're not the only one.

That's cool, thanks.

[fitheach]

Never "accused" you of being nuts or making it up. Just warned you that you should be on the lookout for possible signs of schizophrenia, as schizophrenia manifests more often in females, runs in families, and one of the first signs is synthesasia. It's also correlated with the autism spectrum disorders.

Just sayin' it's rare to have it and be perfectly normal. While it's possible to have it and be perfectly normal, it's rare, and I would hate for anyone to be going from seeing colors to "hearing demons" when that's preventable. I say this with a "weird normal" of my own, because it bugs the shit out of me when I'm as healthy as a horse, eat like a horse, and some people state that I must be anorexic because I'm a certain BMI. That bugs the living shit out of me, so I stated that carefully. Some people are a "rare normal". But it is also true that many of the people who are a certain way, be it weight or seeing sound, are not normal.

I hope that everyone who has synth here on this thread is one of the rare normal possibilities, with an interesting brain chemistry side effect that some people pay money to experience. But it never hurts to be aware.

No, there is no connection between Schizophrenia and Synesthesia.

Also, Schizophrenia happens slightly more often in males. It's a disease that typically begins in early adulthood; between the ages of 15 and 25. Men tend to develop schizophrenia earlier than women; whereas most males become ill between 16 and 25 years old, most females develop symptoms several years later, and the incidence in women is noticably higher after age 30. The average age of onset is 18 in men and 25 in women. Schizophrenia onset is very rare for people under 10 years of age, or over 40 years of age.

There is a connection between Synesthesia, Autism and Epilepsy. In short: Autism and Schizophrenia represent opposite ends of a spectrum that includes most, if not all, psychiatric and developmental brain disorders. So if Synesthesia is connected to Autism... And Autism is on the other end of the spectrum of Schizophrenia... Well you get it.

You must have confused the Autism connection with Schizophrenia. And since I'm past the worrisome age for getting Schizophrenia, I can assume I don't have it.

BTW, how you connected reading color with hearing demons I don't know... But please, know your facts before you state them. :)

[Ser Thomas]

whenever I enter my bathroom, I always have to throw open the shower curtain. is anything ever there? no, but I'll be damned if that stops me.

...I also have an extremely intense fear of the infamous Zuni fetish doll

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MuKcuU562Jc/SNCQ.../s1600/zuni.bmp

It took a shit lot of courage for me to look that up..