Every time I return home to Cleveland, my family usually puts me in charge of our weekly grocery shopping. That chore is fine by me, because I get to pick up my favorite magazine at the register - Weekly World News.
Weekly World News is a tabloid filled with stories of how Bat Boy found Saddam Hussein and a host of paranormal activity sightings. Never does Weekly World News offer any explanation to its claims and should be dismissed as obviously false science, accordingly.
Or should it?
The haunted hills just past most of Ohio University's campus, better known as The Ridges, enticed me ever since my pre-Bobcat years. My sister and I are huge paranormal freaks and spent many moonlit nights on sibs weekends trekking up the steep hills hunting for apparitions.
The buildings' history is very dark. In the late 19th century, the asylum was built to house the mentally ill of the area. The living conditions were beyond horrible, and the facility became known for the extensive usage of lobotomies that took place there.
Supposedly, former patients still haunt the place, seeking retribution against Athens. Of the numerous tales, one struck me as particularly frightening. A female patient was found dead in a closed-off area. Her body's outline was imprinted on to the floor, and she now stalks the building for revenge.
Wherefore art thou, Bill Murray?
It is difficult to say whether ghosts are real. Most phantom sightings occur in areas where others experienced unusual phenomena in past years, thereby perpetuating beliefs and marking these places as haunted.
But is believing in ghosts reasonable?
Thermodynamics provides a logical explanation to ghost theories. Assuming all the energy of the universe is constant, this means energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can only be changed. Our bodies have energy, and we constantly reach a state of lower energy-old age.
If a person dies unexpectedly, or what Whoopi Goldberg would call negative energy
the energy could theoretically be present in some form wherever he or she died.
Based on this plausible explanation, ghost hunters and psychics test for ghosts using a wide array of energy measuring tools. Two of the most reasonable methods (beyond monkey heads and rabbit feet) are EMF and EVP detectors.
An EMF (electromagnetic field) meter measures the amount of radiation or energy present in an area. Normally, everything gives off some charge due to the electrons and protons in the molecules.
If Casper were relaxing in your attic, the EMF would detect his charge by showing an increase in energy in a certain area. However, EMF meters usually tend to pick up your own energy or surges coming from faulty wiring or other natural occurrences.
EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) detectors are essentially recording studios designed to listen to the sweet sound of wailing ghosts. These phantoms use their own energy and vibrate air molecules to produce sound at low frequencies.
Ghost hunters place microphones in suspected high-ghost areas and ask the spirit a few questions, hoping for some contact. Unfortunately, most of the time the only sounds they pick up are radio waves from local stations, which at a low enough frequency might sound like a babbling ghost.
The Ridges will continue to be featured on lists proclaiming the scariest places in the world. Its stories will haunt the minds of believers and roll the eyes of non-believers for years to come.
As for getting rid of ghosts, there are no sure-fire scientific
methods, because technology has not yet proved they even exist. If you need an exorcist, however, I have the number for a qualified priest.
Luis Delgadillo is a sophomore studying chemical engineering and Thursday columnist for The Post. If you spot the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, send him an e-mail at ld199907@ohiou.edu 4
Opinion
Luis Delgadillo
