COLUMBUS, Georgia, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- The family of a Georgia fifth-grader found bones of a child under the floor of their home and the child believes the bones belong to her imaginary friend.
Stephanie Ogden said a friendly black girl in a white dress began visiting her room about five years ago.
"She told me that somebody put her in the floor," Ogden said. "She said he had a mask on, and that he chopped her up. She didn't know who the person was, because he had a mask on."
Marion Stewart, Ogden's great-grandmother, said her great-granddaughter used to tell her family about the friend, but the adults always dismissed the stories as being the product of a child's imagination.
Last weekend, while the family was remodeling, they discovered the bones of a child under the floor of the trailer covered with insulation and duct tape, the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer reported Tuesday.
"I'm not a psychic, and I don't believe in some of that stuff," Stewart said. "But I believe this is a soul who has not been put to rest."
That is the whole text of the article, to avoid pop-ups, etc.
I tried looking in Snopes to debunk it but couldn't find anything.
Posts: 1664 | Registered: Apr 2004
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Not included in the story was speculation as to why the child had a tail, a snout, and was living in a raccoon nest.
Posts: 5264 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Katarin, have you made cyrush's aquaintence? He's not around much anymore, but he has a belief system that sounds similar to yours. I'm curious--if you don't mind sharing, how would you categorize what you believe? Are your beliefs something that you've come to on your own, or are they something that you have come to through a church?
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I'm pretty skeptical. I mean, what are the chances that Stephanie's imaginary friend is the restless soul of the murdered girl? Just because she said a masked man murdered her doesn't mean she was telling the truth. For all we know she could have been lying to Stephanie. We just can't discount the possibility that Stephanie's imaginary friend was a prankster who saw those remains under the trailer and tried passing herself off as the murdered girl just for kicks. Frankly it upsets me how many imaginary friends exploit young children in this way.
Posts: 236 | Registered: Sep 2004
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That is interesting. It does make you wonder about unexplained phenomena.
Did any of you catch that new show on SciFi called Ghosthunters? I watched some of it. It was on at 9 pm EST tonight. There is a repeat at 12 midnight. (There was another show before hand having to do with paranormal phenomena, but I had enough trouble flipping between Smallville and Lost to watch it. Actually, the repeat is on as I post. I think I might try to catch that one, too.)
Anyways, the ghosthunter show is about these two guys who are plumbers by day and hunt ghosts at night. They call their team "TAPS" or The Atlantic Paranormal Society. They've had crazier concepts than this on SciFi. Can anyone say Scare Tactics?
Posts: 822 | Registered: Jul 2001
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I thought Katarain was making fun if the Jack Chick thread. Ooops.
Which is not say that I wasn't raised to believe that same rigid view of the universe. I just don't think that making either God or demons responsible for everything really explains everything that happens in the world.
I've said it before. If there are demons, wouldn't they have better stuff to do than, say, impersonate Uncle Ned?
Posts: 1664 | Registered: Apr 2004
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I glanced at the Jack Chick thread, but since I had NO idea what it was talking about, I moved on... How might I have been making fun of it?
I came to my beliefs through a church, Seventh-day Adventist. I've never met or heard of cyrush. I don't typically mention my beliefs... this really has to do with my belief regarding the state of the dead. I believe that when we die, the state we're in can be compared to a dreamless sleep. We simply cease to be. Closely related, is my belief that when Jesus comes back, we'll all be resurrected and either go to heaven or burn until gone in hell fire. (That's REALLY a simplification... I don't think it happens "just like that.") So, I don't believe in an eternal hell... but I do believe in an eternal heaven. Hmm... and since we're asleep in the ground, and the Bible says we don't know anything, we can't appear to anyone after death. That's a really simple summary... I've TRIED to keep it short....
I have no problem with people disagreeing with me... but if you get REALLY argumentative, I'll probably feel obligated to share Bible texts, and I really don't want to do that. (Although I also will if you just wanna know.) It also means I'd have to go to the trouble of looking them up..
posted
If impersonating Uncle Ned causes you to in some way turn away from God or truth, then no, they've got nothing better to do. I believe demons want to take as many down with them as they can.
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Seventh-Day Adventist, huh? I was going to guess Jehovah's Witness. I didn't realize the two had that particular belief in common.
Posts: 1652 | Registered: Aug 2003
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Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Genesis 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Job 14:10 But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? 11 As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: 12 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
Psalm 146:3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. 4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
Ecclesiastes 3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. 20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
John 11:11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. 12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. 13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. 14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. [emphasis added]
I can go on to include resurrection texts if you'd like...
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Jack Chick does these tracts that people hand out, basically ascribing everything supernatural to deamons. He also attacks Catholics, Muslims, Mormons, Harry Potter, D&D... Jehovah's Witnesses... Oh, he probably gets onto the Seventh Day Adventists, too, but I dunno.
We make fun of his stuff at Hatrack a lot, mostly because it's so hateful. And everyone who disagrees with him is drawn real ugly.
When I went to Christian School, one of my classmates was SDA. She was really cool. I think her dad was a coroner, which I thought was so cool. I never asked her a lot about her beliefs, though I think they were pretty much the same as mine at the time, except for the Saturday thing and the dietary restrictions.
My niece and her fiance are SDA. I didn't mean anything personal. On some level I'm probably jealous of those who still believe in a system of religion that provides a feeling of structure and safety. I miss that. So If I'm snarky or over the line when I disagree with you, please forgive me.
I have never seen a ghost or been influenced by anybody dead. At least, not influenced AFTER they were dead. However, I don't agree with the idea that people cease to exist in some way when they die. I just don't think the spirit is capable of becoming inert. I think the nature of spirit precludes it. Like a dry glass of water-- if it's a glass of water, it isn't dry.
But again, that's what I believe, and I believe it on a level that I don't think discussion can change. Since I'm sure you're probably as firm in your belief, I'm willing to drop it and say, "Let's hang out" and forget about it.
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Olivetta, I can definitely agree to that. I am VERY much against beating someone over the head with what I believe. I'm not afraid to say I believe it--but I'll wait until someone asks to tell them more. And even then, I don't believe it is my job to convert ANYBODY--that's the Holy Spirit's job and He's MUCH better at it than I am. If he can use me, awesome, but I think most of the time he's worried about fixing me up when it comes to me...
It causes a bit of a conflict in me, though, when someone mentions that if I believe it and I don't share it, then I could be responsible for their not being saved. I don't like that one bit. But I generally console myself with the fact that if I'm pushy, I might push them away forever--and that's not good at all.
I can't say my belief structure is completely solid. I get exposed to differing beliefs all the time--even from other members of my church that I respect a lot and what they say makes sense. I think sometimes the watered down version that we learn as kids glosses over some of the finer points we get to as adults... I'm 26 and just learning this. Go figure.
Oh, about people who are clinically dead and then are revived, basically---I don't know. I do doubt that the breath of life (spirit) ever leaves the body, but maybe it does. That part is a little beyond me. I can say that I would have a lot of difficulty with this if I believed that we went to heaven when we die.. it seems awfully cruel to show up to heaven (YAY!) and then be sucked back to your body by some electrical jolt (Dangit! Hey! Let me back in!). Like Lazurus...if he was in heaven for 3 days when Jesus called him back I can see him saying... uh.... no thanks! I'm good here!
posted
Katarin -- thanks for sharing those Bible verses. While I don't share your interpretation, I can certainly see how your interpretation could be taken from some of them.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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oh! I checked the Jack Chick site and didn't find anything about SDA. Though he is one of those who believe it's heaven or hell when you die (The people in heaven shine and look happy, but the people in hell scream and write bad poetry).
And here I thought the was an equal opportunity offender. Posts: 1664 | Registered: Apr 2004
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Katarain, your list really did help explain the source of your beliefs. Like mph, I don't share the beliefs, but I wanted to say thanks for clarifying them. Posts: 2919 | Registered: Aug 2004
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mph-- I don't think so, since he seems to believe people go immediately to heaven or hell when they die (which is why ghosts are really demons) but Katarain believes that they are basically in a dreamless sleep until the resurrection (which is why ghosts are really demons).
Similar conclusion, different belief systems.
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I don't think anyone here would have assumed that, but I could be wrong.
I don't think most people would want to be too strongly identified with either side of that particular horror.
Posts: 1664 | Registered: Apr 2004
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I know Olivetta doesn't mind, since she keeps posting, but the complete derialment of this thread has kept me laughing all day.
(Not that there's anything particularly funny about Waco, or religions in general, just the derailment)
Posts: 995 | Registered: May 2003
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