Ghosts in Gilford, NH

Ghosts in Gilford, NH?  The possibility has drawn the attention of major media including ABC News, the New York Daily News, and the popular British tabloid the Daily Mail.

What happened in Gilford to cause this stir? Security video from the Ellacoya Country Store shows employee Heidi Boyd standing near a covered glass display dish which contains peanut butter squares. She leaves the room and goes off camera. Almost immediately, the top of the covered dish flies off, skids across the counter, falls to the floor with a bang, and breaks into pieces. Boyd quickly returns to the room to find the floor covered by broken glass.

Not unexpectedly, ideas abound as to the cause of this bizarre event. Some people simply accept it as evidence of the paranormal. Store employee Susan Rice said, "Sorry disbelievers, I have seen things come straight off shelves and fall to the floor. I just accept it now and go about my business." (examiner.com, 3/22/14)

Store manager Lisa Ferraro-Giles supports that view. "It's little things. You'll turn the lights on, and they'll go off. Or turn them off, and they go on. People say they've felt somebody tapping them on the shoulder, when there's no one there." (abc  NEWS, 3/26/14)

Another entertaining possibility is that the ghost is just angry because it wants those delicious peanut butter squares inside the display case. Wouldn't you be? :-)

People like to believe in the paranormal - it's exciting; it arouses their curiosity; it raises the possibility of life beyond what we know. And then, much to their dismay, some old Grinch like me comes along to ruin all the fun. Boo! Hiss!

Why has the Ghost of Gilford caught the attention of major media? They like to sell newspapers and attract television viewers. Paranormal events do just that - so the media is happy to feature them.

When trying to explain some strange event, don't start with the least likely explanation (ghosts). Begin with the most likely, natural (not supernatural) accounts. When these fail, start considering less likely reasons, ending (not beginning) with supernatural ones.

What are some natural explanations? It's a hoax by the store owner and employees. Think of all the free publicity (and increase in sales) experienced by the Ellacoya Country Store.

An earthquake caused the glass dish to move. It is not generally known that New Hampshire experiences many tremors, almost all of them so slight that they are not felt. The New England Seismic Network recorded 121 tremors in New Hampshire and Vermont greater than 1.0 on the Richter scale between 1990 and 2014. Although these slight vibrations might not be felt by a human being, they still could have effects - rattling glasses or causing a glass plate to shift.

A puff of wind through an open door or window could have caused the display case to move, but not other nearby objects, because the plate's size offered greater resistance to the wind.

Also, in science, if a person offers a radically different explanation (think ghosts) for an event, then it is up to that person to offer overwhelming, objective evidence in support of that idea. Casual comments made by employees and a few customers don't constitute overwhelming objective evidence.

Who have I convinced? Probably very few people. People believe what they want to believe. But there's a downside to belief in supernatural events. Become too gullible, naive, and easy to fool and something like the Salem Witch Trials will happen.

If you would like to read more about the spooky events and just generally unusual people who live in New Hampshire, may I suggest you read my new book Outtastatahs: Newcomers Adventures in New Hampshire.

Outtastatahs (as in out-of-staters) can be purchased for $13.99 at River Run Books in Portsmouth; at the Galley Hatch Restaurant gift shop in Hampton; at the Water Street Bookstore in Exeter; at Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord; or on-line at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. A Kindle version of Outtastatahs is also available at amazon.com.