Paranormal experiences can happen anywhere and to anyone, and how a narrator interprets them determines how it affects them. Christopher Brown has an experience with shadow beings that has affected how he views cemeteries along with his views on the supernatural. Experiences like the following greatly influence a person's beliefs and emotions. Beliefs change based on experience or experience shapes their beliefs. Even experiences are sometimes difficult to explain, especially when rational explanations are not sufficient. A simple event like Brown's demonstrates how much it takes to interpret and understand these events. It all varies based on how a person relates the experience to their beliefs and how they want to explain it. On March 30, 2014, I sat down with Brown and discussed his experience with the supernatural. He has always been a spiritual person but had difficulty thinking about his experiences with the supernatural. It wasn't until I mentioned cemeteries and ghost experiences that an example came to mind. During the summer of 2011, he and some friends decided to take a drive and took the wrong turn. They ended up in the woods of North Vernon, in a cemetery. As they drove, they could physically feel the temperature drop and could see their breathing in the height of summer. They got out of the car and saw what he described as "shadow people." They were not typical shadows of his imagination; all three people in the group saw the same thing. His voice during the last part of the interview became very soft and shy, showing that he was skeptical that I would believe him and take his story seriously. He wasn't skeptical about what he saw; described it as knowing what was different from most... middle of paper... and a common source of legends, but after so many people do it and take advantage of the opportunity, the spirits get angry and experiences arise like that of Brown. This experience could be interpreted in many other different ways, but Brown took it and understood what happened based on his own beliefs. He tried to explain what happened with rational explanations, but all of them were not enough and he drew his own conclusions about the incident. Further research into his beliefs may lead him to further support the cultural source hypothesis in which he participates. The value a person gets from an experience all depends on how they interpret, understand, and explain it. Each interpretation and explanation comes together to create memories that will further influence other people's beliefs and how they interpret their experiences later in life..
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