Stone Tape Theory - Logical?

I am a firm believer in the paranormal, particularly spirits. There is often a lot of criticism given to the believers of spirits, however I continue to believe despite this. One Explanation for the existence of spirits is the "Stone Tape" Theory.

"Stone Tape" theory assumes that spirits are not spirits of the deceased, but rather, "non-interactive recordings", which replay emotional or traumatic events within one's life, over and over again. These "recordings" are said to be stored in objects or places of significance, for example, if a murder were to take place in a room, that room would be the signifance of that traumatic event, and would hold that "recording".

I find the approach does make sense to a certain extent, such as why spirits are often found in places they were associated with within their life. Despite this, I can also see some loop-holes.

What are your opinions on this?

a reply to: Imrann

I'm pretty sure spirits are real and of the deceased, however there is also room for the recording theory as well, makes sense.

a reply to: Imrann

I know that they are real, but the jury is still out on who they are. I have my own strong feelings, but nobody has any real proof.

a reply to: wtbengineer

I agree, the thing about spirits is, nobody can prove or disprove the theory. Obviously there's videos and images of them, but finding ones which are legitimate can be a hard task

a reply to: Imrann

Yes, they somehow seem to have the knack of escaping detection methods.

Im sure mediums have real proof (albeit only to themselves) that they exist

a reply to: wtbengineer

a reply to: veracity

That's the thing... I have proof myself, just not proof that I can show someone else to persuade them. Whenever you try to catch something that might be proof it always seems to be fleeting and grainy.

You could gather info that only the deceased and person in the room would know, even still, a skeptic could find fault.

a reply to: wtbengineer

Recently there were experiments performed that showed, for some reason in vacum photons gathered around a strand of DNA. Basically forming a model of the Strand. Once the DNA was removed the photons persisted in the model form of the Strand for about 30 minutes. They sprayed it with nitrogen and it reassembled into the model form.

The Sun is constantly blasting us with all sorts of energetic particles. I believe that by some interaction a recording could be made. It could be replayed every time that particular frequency or interaction occurs in the same area. We know crystals can store information. We also know that we know almost nothing in the real scope of things, so... Why not?

I would agree that some paranormal encounters would be a type of recording of a past traumatic event specially tied to a location, but in my opinion some hauntings are intelligent spirits of the deceased or even elemental spirits or demonic entities.

They say there is the possibility of having more than just 4 dimensions so who knows whether the beings we think are spirits are actually spirits, or whether they are a dimension connecting us to the future or past...

a reply to: CreepyLittleBook

Very interesting view, I definitely agree buddy!

a reply to: Imrann

I agree that one type of 'phantom' seems to be a repetition of a past scene, like a recording being played back, but not all 'apparitions' fit this.

a reply to: chr0naut

Certainly agree, the theory does have it's loopholes

originally posted by: chr0naut
a reply to: Imrann

I agree that one type of 'phantom' seems to be a repetition of a past scene, like a recording being played back, but not all 'apparitions' fit this.

There have been ghost stories since the time of the Greeks. The earliest documented one was an apparition of slave in chains who kept pointing to a particular place in the ground of an abandoned house. They dug up that part of the ground and found a skeleton of a man in chains and burnt the remains. Then there was peace in the building.

Other stories have the apparition of an elderly woman tending to a fire. When the fireplace was dismantled, the apparition disappeared.

So there seems to be a conscious element combined with the removal of objects. Human bones are made of calcium crystals, and stone is made of quartz or other crystal grains.

In one of the Scottish grand houses there was a legend about how the image of the gatekeeper was caught by one of the lead windows during a thunderstorm, and would appear during lightning flashes. Interestingly, this is the way holograms are created. A laser beam is shone directly at the recording material, while a split beam is aimed at the target object. The combination of reflected and direct light creates a hologram.

So there seems to be a conscious element combined with the removal of objects.

Other stories have the apparition of an elderly woman tending to a fire. When the fireplace was dismantled, the apparition disappeared. So there seems to be a conscious element combined with the removal of objects

I see what you mean, and the fact that apparitions seem to disappear after their building of significance is dismantled sort of supports the stone tape theory.

i was of the understanding (and opinion), that both are true .... We seem to have the ability to leave an imprint of certain experiences ... usually heightened emotional experiences like death, war, but often even just something as mundane as climbing a set of stairs .. In that example, the stairs had long since been removed, and the observer would see the recording of a woman climb the non existant stairs .. like clockwork ...

The ones that dont interact with you in any way .. act as tho you are not there .. likely recordings ....


Obviously the ones that can interact .. or dont adhere to a continual set pattern ... likely real spirits ... obv then , you have to work out .. are they earth bound (stuck here for a bit) .. or just here to do something .. i have experienced that .. not seen them .. but certainly seen the effects of their invisible hands interact with my surroundings with precise timings for other events to unfold and interact with and be affected by them ...

I was once parked with my friend & sis, in in a lay by, as i smoked a cig ...
It was pitch b lack all around ... i felt apprehensive about a vary fast car approaching us from round a bend in the road, i could see the lights flickering through the trees in my mirrors, and gauged he was going exceedingly fast, and worried he would not see us parked in the lay by the time he came careering round his bend at that speed, anything could happen ... it appears an invisible hand took action at exact point, and did something to my car, that casued the other driver to slam his brakes on .. swerve around a bit while trying to maintain control of his car .. and just as he appeared to gain contyrol of his car, he swerved again, down a completely different road as tho he just realised he had to take that road .. and .. at that speed, i very much doubt he would have managed to taken the fork in the roadsafely if he hadnt slowed down in response to this invisible hand doing what it did....likely saved possibly the lives of the 3 ppl in my car, or who ever was in his car .. or both ..... those are clearly not recordings ...
I have several of those experiences in my life .. someone was definitely around me for a while ... thats another story .. but a mum loves her wee son .. maybe it takes more than death to stop her being tehre for him and taking care of him and loving him and watching him grow up ... someone was there looking out for me.. possibly her .. and one of the experiences strongly suggests it was

a reply to: Imrann

Hello Imrann. I'm not sure about spirits, but I think we can record impressions onto stone in the same way that buildings can store emotions. Driving through Glencoe always makes me feel deep sorrow and I can't wait to get out of it, despite it being beautiful. The glen is surrounded by towering volcanic rock, and provides a brooding atmosphere. Similarly churches 'feel' different than other buildings - they have an air of peace about them.

Do you ever notice how little children love stones, they're drawn to them and like to take them home or play with them. If we can 'feel' the residue of past trauma or significant emotion, then it would make sense that we can see it too under certain conditions.

originally posted by: stormcell

originally posted by: chr0naut
a reply to: Imrann

I agree that one type of 'phantom' seems to be a repetition of a past scene, like a recording being played back, but not all 'apparitions' fit this.

There have been ghost stories since the time of the Greeks. The earliest documented one was an apparition of slave in chains who kept pointing to a particular place in the ground of an abandoned house. They dug up that part of the ground and found a skeleton of a man in chains and burnt the remains. Then there was peace in the building.

Other stories have the apparition of an elderly woman tending to a fire. When the fireplace was dismantled, the apparition disappeared.

So there seems to be a conscious element combined with the removal of objects. Human bones are made of calcium crystals, and stone is made of quartz or other crystal grains.

In one of the Scottish grand houses there was a legend about how the image of the gatekeeper was caught by one of the lead windows during a thunderstorm, and would appear during lightning flashes. Interestingly, this is the way holograms are created. A laser beam is shone directly at the recording material, while a split beam is aimed at the target object. The combination of reflected and direct light creates a hologram.

One might argue that the removal of the object simply broke the playback mechanism and the appearance of a conscious element was only subjective, based upon the psychology of the viewers.

That being said, there are spiritual forces that seem to show conscious (and often malignant) intent.