From the continent of Africa to America, Europe to Asia, the phenomenon of folklore as well as cultures containing elements of ghostly and other mysterious creatures of fear can be found.
In Thailand there is a very famous ghost legend named Mae Nak, a beautiful woman who was pregnant benama Nak and her husband who live on the banks of the river Phra Khanong. She was told to have died with her baby while she was serving on the battlefield against the Shan tribe.
The ghostly narrative of the Nak or Mae Nak ghost appears when the husband comes home and finds his wife and the born child waiting at home. A neighbor told him that he was at home with a ghost.
Mae Nak figure more or less can be equated with Kuntilanak legend in Indonesia, ghost of women dressed in white. It is unclear where the Kuntilanak figure originated. Some stories from mouth to mouth mention that Kuntilanak figure has something to do with the local ghost story in Pontianak.
Ghost story Mae Nak and Kuntilanak finally stop at the cinema.
Since 1959, dozens of horror-themed films with ghostly character Mae Nak was released, last year 2014 under the title Make Me Shudder 2. While Kuntilanak has been appointed to the film titled Kuntilanak (2006) besutan Rizal Mantovani, which was then continued by Kuntilanak 2 (2007 ) and Kuntilanak 3 (2008).
Tirto.id
read normally 3 minutes
Home Humanities
How Does Science Describe Ghost Appearances?
Reporter: Tony Firman
September 23, 2017
How Does Science Describe Ghost Appearances?
A series of research and scientific experiments have explained the causes of various supernatural phenomena
tirto.id - From the continent of Africa to America, Europe to Asia, the phenomenon of folklore and culture containing elements of ghostly figures and other mysterious creatures of fear can be found.
In Thailand there is a very famous ghost legend named Mae Nak, a beautiful woman who was pregnant benama Nak and her husband who live on the banks of the river Phra Khanong. She was told to have died with her baby while she was serving on the battlefield against the Shan tribe.
The ghostly narrative of the Nak or Mae Nak ghost appears when the husband comes home and finds his wife and the born child waiting at home. A neighbor told him that he was at home with a ghost.
Also read: Religious Leaders of Vs. Devil in Indonesian Horror Movie
Mae Nak figure more or less can be equated with Kuntilanak legend in Indonesia, ghost of women dressed in white. It is unclear where the Kuntilanak figure originated. Some stories from mouth to mouth mention that Kuntilanak figure has something to do with the local ghost story in Pontianak.
Ghost story Mae Nak and Kuntilanak finally stop at the cinema.
Since 1959, there have been dozens of horror-themed films with ghost characters Mae Nak released, last year 2014 under the title Make Me Shudder 2. While Kuntilanak has been appointed to the film titled Kuntilanak (2006) besutan Rizal Mantovani, which was then followed by Kuntilanak 2 (2007 ) and Kuntilanak 3 (2008).
Also read: Parade of the Woman Ghosts in the Archipelago
Then how much do people believe in ghosts in their lives? In Britain in 2014, YouGov poll reported that as many as 39 percent of Britons believe his home is haunted by some supernatural creature. According to the same poll, 34 percent think the ghost exists.
The number of beliefs on ghosts is also large in the United States. In a poll conducted by Huffington Post with YouGov in 2012, as many as 45 percent of Americans believe in ghosts, and that the spirits of the dead can rise again under certain conditions.
When traced backwards, the ghostly imagination has at least been recorded in ancient Egyptian artefacts. Ghosts appear as evidence of life after death. This belief in ghosts or spirits continues to be passed down through generations and is legitimized by the narratives of the world's great religions.
Brad Steiger, author of Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits and Haunted Places tells of one of his closest encounters with ghosts after 60 years of ghost hunting. In the 1960s, Steiger along with skeptical policemen of mystical things came to a big house in Iowa. Suddenly there appeared a vision across the garden yard and into the house.
"What's that?" A policeman said at once. "I do not see anything," Steiger said.
Instantly the policeman grabs a gun and prepares to shoot the mysterious sighting. But not yet fired a shot, Steiger said "No, that's what we're investigating. These things are real. "Steiger also remembers the strange figure of a man 5 feet tall.
The story of a meeting with a mysterious creature is also spoken by Henry Bailey, an aerospace engineer. Bailey investigated ghosts and other supernatural things for 50 years. One of his encounters with supernatural beings took place in Germany in the early 1970s when he lived in an apartment located above a tavern.
Bailey said at the time the room was very cold. He awoke and looked toward the door in the room that was originally open but now closed. A figure dressed in an old-fashioned German was leaning against the door.
"I just shook my head and said, 'No, that's not possible', and I turned around, until three times I looked toward the new door he left," Bailey said.
After Bailey finds out about the apartment he occupied, he discovers that one of the previous tenants was found dead by leaning against the bedroom door. "That's what I see," he added.
There are so many stories of encounter experiences with mysterious figures linked to ghosts, or strange events that serve as an excuse to believe in ghosts.
Ghosts According to Science
There are a series of research or scientific experiments that can explain various mysterious phenomena, including ghost sightings.
Canadian neurologist Michael Persinger studies the effect of electromagnetic fields with human perception of ghosts. His research produced the hypothesis that a pulsating magnetic field is subtle under human consciousness can make one feel as if there is a "presence" of another creature nearby.
It also deals with unusual patterns of activity in the temporal lobe of the brain. Laboratory-based research Persinger uses a helmet mounted on the heads of the participants. He found some weak magnetic field patterns over a person's head for 15 to 30 minutes.
Infrasonic frequency vibrations also cause physiological discomfort. Psychologists have studied wind voices and nearby traffic noise with disorientation, panic, changes in heart rate and blood pressure to other psychic effects such as the feeling of being visited by ghosts.
In a 1998 paper, Vic Tandy explained that workers at medical equipment manufacturers are reported to often see ghost sightings and hear strange noises. After investigation, the room occupied by the workers turned out to have a 19 Hz wave that comes from the fan.