Dreadful apparitions

What is Halloween?

Halloween may be a day that pop culture, movies and consumerism have made mainstream in our household, but it is an old concept. The belief goes that on this day, the souls of the dead returned to their homes.

The story goes back to the ancient times when the Celts believed that the boundary between the world of living and dead becomes blurred on the night before the new year. Therefore, people dress themselves up in costumes, and light up bonfires to ward off spirits.

India has its own version of Halloween, but with a difference:

India is a land of customs and festivals. Narak Chaturdashi is celebrated on the 14th day of Krishna paksha of Kartik month. It is believed that on this day forefathers are called through rituals and prayers, and then warded off. Similarly, in West Bengal, the day before Kali Puja (Diwali in North India) is known as 'Bhoot Chaturdashi' and has a similar background.

Why are we scared of ghosts?

Phasmophobia is known as the fear of ghosts. The word 'Phasma' means apparition and 'Phobos' implies fear. Such fears may be cultural or may develop during childhood — mostly stemming from the idea of the unknown and uncertainty.

Seeing ghosts? What could it mean?

It is possible that if you are 'seeing' ghosts, it can be a neuropsychiatric manifestation of certain underlying conditions. Vivid visual hallucinations comprising of full figures, images, people, ghosts etc. can occur due to:

⁕Tumours of the brain

⁕ Epilepsy; particularly Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE)

⁕ Psychosis

⁕ Drug abuse

⁕ CO poisoning

⁕ Sleep deprivation & extreme fatigue

⁕ Hypnopompic and hypnagogic hallucinations: They occur while waking up and while going to sleep

Possessions by demons in terms of mental health:

Worldwide, possession by demons and ghosts have been the popular basis of many discussions. Trance and possession disorder has been a part of the ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases) which specifies that it is a temporary loss of the sense of personal identity and full awareness of the surrounding. This includes situations that are involuntary or unwanted, occurring outside religious or culturally accepted situations.

Paranormal studies

Parapsychology: It is the pseudoscientific school of thought that studies the alleged psychic phenomenon like extrasensory perception, precognition, telepathy, telekinesis, and other paranormal claims like apparitional experiences etc.

Horror movies: why do we like it?

Despite the fear factor, many continue to enjoy the horror movie genre. The reasons are:

⁕ Stimulation some people get from watching them

⁕ The adrenaline rush

⁕ A flurry of endorphins, dopamine

⁕ Triggering of the fight-or-flight response

Halloween costumes

One can endorse an entirely different personality when it comes to a costume, a sort of alter ego for a night. Many choose to live out their fantasy, while others play it more conservatively.

Halloween watch

Friendly fun watch: Casper the Friendly Ghost

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