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 Communicating With the Dead
The desire to understand more about the spirit world is nearly as old as the human race itself.
This desire probably knows no cultural or geographic boundaries. Think of the different languages spoken throughout the world. Consider that many of these have at least one word that translates to the word ghost
or spirit. A few examples are: .Poltergeist is a German word that means noisy ghost
Fantasma is a Spanish word for ghost Peaa (phonetic spelling) is a Thai word that means ghost or spirit. This would seem to prove that experiences with ghosts and the afterlife are universal experiences.
Ancient man believed that some form of communication between the living and the dead is possible. The Tibetan Book of the Dead appears to bear this out, because it is basically an instruction manual for the dead. Meant to be read to the dead in order to ease their passing, The Tibetan Book of the Dead explains in detail just what the soul might expect once it leaves the physical realm.
Great philosophers the world over have pondered whether or not the dead can return to this earthly plane, and whether or not we, the living, can communicate with them. Greek philosophers, Aristotle and Socrates both spoke at length on their regular conversations with those in the spirit world.
Apparitions and Visions
Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) wrote in a letter that his work was, "The state of souls after death." The final Cantos of his masterpiece The Divine Comedy might never have come to light if his apparition hadn't appeared before his son and told him where it had been hidden.
Eighteenth century Swedish philosopher and theologian, Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) wrote several volumes on his "spiritual" visions and what they meant. One of these documented visions involved a fire some sixty miles from his location. Sixty miles was quite a distance in 1759. Yet, Swedenborg was able to describe in vivid detail a raging fire as it burned. More importantly, he said that a particular friend's home had been reduced to ashes, and went on to stun those around him by declaring the precise hour that the fire would be contained....A few days later a messenger from the faraway town would confirm the accuracy of Swedenborg's vision, even down to the time of the fire being put out. German philosopher, Immanuel Kant
(1724-1804) wrote at length on this in his "Dreams of a Ghost Seer."
In 1777 George Washington was astonished when the ghost of a beautiful woman appeared before him at Valley Forge. Later he referred to the ghost as angel and would say, "I do not know whether it is owing to the anxiety of my mind or what."
George Washington is not the only president said to have communicated with the dead. One of this country's most famous hauntings is that of the Bell Witch in Tennessee. The haunting remains a mystery to this day. In 1817 problems suddenly descended on the Bell household. The Bell family was besieged by unexplained noises, rappings, knockings and disembodied voices. The more the family attempted to make sense of the activity, the worse it became. When he heard of the family's unseen visitor, Andrew Jackson decided to find out for himself it there was any truth to the story. Jackson, it is said, was able to witness examples of the strange activity first hand.
Less than a week before his assassination, Abraham Lincoln had a chilling dream of his own death. He described a walk through the White House in which he noticed that everyone was sobbing and in a state of deep mourning. When he inquired what was the matter a young soldier informed him that the president was dead. Was Lincoln interested in ghostly phenomena? He and his wife Mary Todd met with spiritualists from time to time and séances were often held in the White House during his presidency. This might have been a simple diversion from the cares of the Civil War, or the heartbroken parents' effort to contact their son Willie who died in the White House.
It would not be fair to leave Abraham Lincoln behind without noting that his is one of the most popular ghosts at the White House. His apparition is said to have been seen by Lucy Baines Johnson (daughter of Lyndon Baines Johnson), Queen Wilhelmina, of the Netherlands and Eleanor Roosevelt. A secretary of Franklin D. Roosevelt swore that one afternoon she'd seen the ghost of Lincoln sitting on his bed and calmly pulling his boots on. Apparently, Abe isn't the only Lincoln ghost in the White House. The apparition of his son Willie was seen several times by the family of President Ulysses S. Grant. Grant's family members believed spirits of the dead can and do communicate with the living.
© Copyright Janice Oberding 2002. All rights reserved.
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