Ghost-Hunting: Is it immoral?

[K_C]

Reply to last two posts:

Anyone who has NO fear of any apparition has an inhuman reaction. It is natural to have some fear of the supernatural and for good reason: that fear makes us aware that there may be danger. If you will recall, the New Testament is full of statements from heaven saying “Fear not…” because even when an angel appears, it is natural for humans to react with fear, if only initially.

If you imply that those who oppose “ghost-hunting” are cowards and, therefore, targets for demonic attack, you are ignoring the warnings that accompany that healthy fear. Of course we should always keep in mind that God will not allow us to be troubled beyond our ability to withstand, but it is wise not to suppose that we can match any supernatural entity in strength or ability without recourse to God’s help.

As for visions of the BVM or St. Faustina, there is no comparison between visitations from heaven or purgatory to a SAINT and SEEKING OUT APPARITIONS for mere excitement or curiosity.

Bottom line: If any supernatural force manifests itself TO YOU, it is natural to have a healthy fear and one should respect that fear by dealing with any such entity with the help of God - prayer and, if necessary, agents of His Church (house blessing, etc.)
If someone we know is bothered by such an entity, we should offer our supportive prayers and advise them to ask the help of their local pastor. (St. Benedict medals and holy water are a good start along with prayer for release of any suffering souls and for God’s protection.) However, to SEEK OUT such experiences merely for the sake of curiosity or excitement, to prove our superior courage, etc. is very foolish and most likely a sin of pride.

 

[JCnMe]

All the more reason for you not to speak of it or think of it- because what I’m speaking of appears to go right over your head…cowards???.. by your own words the Angels say “Fear not”…they are saying exactly what I am saying-do not fear such things-do not even think of such things if you do-your focus needs to be on the Love of God-it is a shield.

 

[K_C]

All the more reason for you not to speak of it or think of it- because what I’m speaking of appears to go right over your head…cowards???.. by your own words the Angels say “Fear not”…they are saying exactly what I am saying-do not fear such things-do not even think of such things if you do-your focus needs to be on the Love of God-it is a shield.

The angels’ “fear not” (and Christ’s) told observers not to fear messengers of GOD - not unknown spiritual entities which may likely be demonic.

I was taking exception to what you posted:
“mreckers is a good example of what a prime target for negative and lower energies looks like and sounds like- that fear feeds them and they feed that fear.”

I believe that mreckers’ post contained some very good advice and that your post was unjustified. It implied a charge of cowardice. It may be true that evil feeds on fear. However, we would be foolish, indeed, to have no fear which amounts to a healthy respect for supernatural forces that are obviously superior to our own or even to our understanding.

Our love of God is truly a shield to us in times of peril. However, to provoke what is quite possibly evil, relying on God’s “shield” to protect us, would be an act of presumption. God expects us to avoid evil at all costs and would be entirely just in witholding His protection should we behave foolishly.

 

[JCnMe]

Go back and read the tone of mreckers post- it was not instructive nor informative-and if you still don’t understand what I am saying after all of this- but prefer to believe something so ridiculous as insinuating “cowardice”…I can only surmise that you just prefer to feel you are “right” instead of informed or cautioned…

 

[ccmalex]

i’ve kinda been wanting to go to places that are reputed to be haunted and just hang out. Is it immoral?

Let me note, i’m not interested in seances or stupid rubbish like that. I’m a practising catholic and i know that seances and psychics and whatever are wrong.

But, like, i’m staying in the philippines right now and there is a film centre that imelda marcos had built. As the story goes, she wanted it built in a hurry, so when there was a big acccident there, she didn’t wanna bother saving the people who were buried in the rubble and just built over them. The place is supposed to be haunted; wikipedia says that it may just be an urban legend, but i’ve gotten confirmation from a professor at a top school in this country who was a journalist and saw the blood and mess and everything. I wanted to sleep over at that film centre, though i changed my mind when i drove by there once and saw that homeless people live there (yes, i’m crazy; ghosts don’t scare me but homeless people do).

Also my nephew/best friend is a dormer at a university here and i plan to go there to spend time with him. There’s supposed to be a room there where nobody will stay because it’s haunted. I heard people claim they hear noises from there.

Anyway, is it a sin if i just want to go there and, say, sleep or just stay there? I’m not going to summon a ghost but i’d like to see if anything happens. Stupid to do, maybe, but is it sinful?

bring a rosary and if u have some holy water. I asked a priest about it he said its not a sin but its playing with fire and ur in the devils playground.

 

[ccmalex]

You’re getting into a dangerous area. Curiosity isn’t necessarily a bad thing in itself, but it’s possible to be too curious about spirits/demons.

As fish90 pointed out, souls are immediately judged and go to one of three “places” upon death. There are no “ghosts” haunting anywhere; spirits that infest areas are demons. There are multiple reasons why they might want to infest, or “haunt”, a place; one reason might be to tempt people’s curiosity so that it will lead them into the demon-infested area and thus danger. This may be why they seem to enjoy appearing as “ghosts”, and by doing so they definitely draw many people to them. Those without grace (probably the majority of those interested in ghosts) basically have no defenses.

It isn’t uncommon for demons to be able to infest an area where great evil has happened, since by the act or acts that occurred the evil was invited. Visiting such an area can only be dangerous. To go to such a place may even be on a similar level as to take part in some occult practice such as tarot card reading, since going there out of curiosity is almost as close as one can get to an invitation to the demons present. If it is comparable, it would pose a similar risk of inviting demonic activity into one’s own life as do occult practices. I don’t think it would be quite as dangerous as taking part in a seance out of curiosity, for instance, but it may be close, and I wouldn’t suggest taking the risk.

As an example, one might bring a cursed item out of curiosity into their home. This can lead to demonic infestation of the home, and no amount of prayer will cause it to leave due to the presence of the cursed item (and this is the least dangerous aspect of having the item there). Similarly, one probably can’t much expect to go to an area infested by demons and be able to pray and toss holy water around for protection. What is needed is for a priest to bless or exorcise the area and get rid of anything that might have caused the infestation in the first place if such a thing exists. Grace protects Catholics to an extent, but God will sometimes allow one who has invited evil into their lives (whether through curiosity, sin, etc.) to be affected by it (he respects our free will, after all).

It’s probably best to simply stay away. I know that I have been tempted to do similar things in the past, but I stamped that out after thinking about it a bit more.

I AM INTERESTED IN GHOST HUNTING I WENT TO BUNNY MAN BRIDGE. HERES HOW I SEE IT PLEASE CORRECT ME IF IM WRONG.
ANY STUPID THING U DO LIKE SEANCES, PSYCHICS, OOIJA BOARDS ETC ETC. IS A GRAVE SIN. I talked to a priest about it but GHOST HUNTING FOR THE HECK OF IT FOR FUN IS OK BUT ITS SPIRITUALLY DANGEROUS AND SHOULD BE DONE IN A GROUP. Basically if u do it BE SMART. ANY ATTEMPT TO COMMUNICATE IS SINFUL from what i understand

 

[surritter]

This is actually a more complex topic than we think. To conjure up spirits in order to gain information is indeed sinful. But some orthodox theologians say it is not objectively sinful to attend a seance or visit a haunted house. They say it can be justified if it is for investigative purposes.

Here’s an extract from This Rock magazine (March 1995), written in the 1920s by noted Jesuit Fr. Herbert Thurston SJ:​

"But though many Catholics incline to the belief that all the genuine phenomena of Spiritualism are the work of demons, it cannot be maintained that this is a part of the Church’s official teaching…

"Although a…decree in 1917 condemned any participation in Spiritualistic seances, even though such participation was limited to mere presence as an onlooker, still it would be too much to say that the Church had set her face against all such investigations of phenomena as are commonly included under the term psychic research.

"To genuine students who are well grounded in theological principles and sufficiently versed in psychology to deal with these manifestations in a scientific spirit, permission may be accorded to experiment with a medium and attend seances. The attitude of Catholic authority in the matter is based upon the matured conviction that for the ill-instructed, the idly curious, and the emotional, who are for the most part the very people upon whom the occult exercises the strongest attraction, any contact with the intelligences which purport to communicate from the other world can only be disquieting and morally, if not physically, dangerous…

“It being admitted that the lowest types of spirits are the most eager to make contact with the earth and that the idle people who are particularly curious about the occult are also the most credulous and uncritical, the Church is thoroughly justified in forbidding her own subjects to put themselves needlessly in harm’s way. Her sweeping prohibition may entail some hardship upon genuine students, but the good of the greater number of the faithful has the first title to her consideration.”​

I guess he’s saying that there’s difference between something that is intrinsically evil and something which is objectively neutral but forbidden for other good reasons. What do y’all think about the third paragraph in the above extract?

 

[Cetil]

That’s an interesting post. The drift I’m getting is that this is something that it is unwise for the vulnerable and the credulous to mess with. Those however, who are simply trying to learn something and are at less risk of being carried away by what they find or experience are reasonably safe. I suppose it’s OK if you can maintain some sense of detachment. I met a lady who said she saw a ghost once. She was Catholic and it did not seem to affect her faith in any way. I think the bottom line is if you do see a ghost, you will never really be sure just what it is.

C.

 

[Bookcat]

depending on the exorcist or theologian one reads – some hold that ghosts are demons.

Some others hold that they can be …

in any case – I would call Jimmy Akin on thurs or speak with an exorcist on this one.

contact fr. Euteneuer. he is an exorcist. hli.org/index.php

One does not want to ‘open’ oneself up to such…

now of course if one is just taking a tour of some place and the person says …by the way they say it is haunted …one does not have to run out necessarily …but remain in a state of grace and pray …

 

[Sir_Knight]

This is actually a more complex topic than we think. To conjure up spirits in order to gain information is indeed sinful. But some orthodox theologians say it is not objectively sinful to attend a seance or visit a haunted house. They say it can be justified if it is for investigative purposes.

" … some orthodox theologians say it is not objectively sinful to visit a haunted house if it is for investigative purposes …"
My point exactly.