Nearly 140 students filed into Edwards Auditorium last night for the Student Entertainment Committee's Ghost Whisperer, looking forward to a thrilling show. However, many left looking behind them, fearing being followed by a ghost.

"I'm telling you right now there are five spirits here tonight," Mary Ann Winkowski, the star of last night's show, said.

After this chilling statement, students began to squirm and shift around uncomfortably, taking serious interest in what Winkowski was saying.

Winkowski started the night off by alluding to the "bright white light" that some people see before death or in near-death experiences. According to her, the spirit stays throughout the funeral service and burial ceremony.

"The spirit walks into the bright white light after their funeral," Winkowski said. "They are not pulled or anything. They have 72 to 80 hours after their burial before the white light disappears."

Nearly 140 students filed into Edwards Auditorium last night for the Student Entertainment Committee's Ghost Whisperer, looking forward to a thrilling show. However, many left looking behind them, fearing being followed by a ghost.

"I'm telling you right now there are five spirits here tonight," Mary Ann Winkowski, the star of last night's show, said.

After this chilling statement, students began to squirm and shift around uncomfortably, taking serious interest in what Winkowski was saying.

Winkowski started the night off by alluding to the "bright white light" that some people see before death or in near-death experiences. According to her, the spirit stays throughout the funeral service and burial ceremony.

"The spirit walks into the bright white light after their funeral," Winkowski said. "They are not pulled or anything. They have 72 to 80 hours after their burial before the white light disappears."

Those who go into the white light, according to Winkowski, have "crossed over." These crossovers typically leave this world content, with no unfinished business, and are usually the ghosts that psychic medium John Edwards deals with on his show "Crossing Over."

However, these aren't the ghosts that Winkowski deals with. Those who choose not to go into the white light are referred to as "earthbound spirits" who sometimes won't leave because of unfinished business.

"Those are the spirits I see and talk to," Winkowski said. "I see them just like I see you. They usually wear the same clothes they are buried in. They do not age or do not grow any wiser. You stay identically the same as the day you died."

Called by people who are haunted by these spirits, Winkowski recreates the bright white light for the spirits to cross over into. She has helped humans, dogs and even a boa constrictor cross over.

Winkowski also gave some hints to the audience on how to detect whether your home or dorm room is haunted. Some signs include static on TV, animals acting differently, children with upper respiratory problems, adults with unexplained headaches and children with imaginary friends.

"Those kids who have imaginary friends, their parents just said that they have a great imagination," Winkowski said. "Oh baloney, you were talking to someone in there."

Winkowski also cited that these spirits thrive off of energy, hence the reason why the five spirits were at Edwards during a show.

"They hang out at movie theaters a lot since there are so many people," Winkowski said.

She added that they are also present in emergency rooms, nursing homes and planes. "People are scared and there's a lot of energy [in those places]."

One connection that Winkowski made that got the audience squirming even more was her assertion that these spirits reside dorm halls.

"Dorms are full of them," Winkowski said. "There are at least three or four in every dorm."

After explaining the nature of these spirits, Winkowski went on to a slide show of photos sent in by people for analysis. All the photos, according to Winkowski, had been sent to the FBI, with whom Winkowski has worked with closely and were cleared as authentic. The pictures contained mists, orbs and figures that disfigured the pictures.

"Those pictures definitely convinced me," freshman Monica Dellisanti said.

One picture showed a car accident with a ghostly figure on the side. According to Winkowski, the ghost belonged to the victim who had died in the accident and whose body was still in the car.

During the question and answer segment of the show, Winkowski also addressed Hollywood's misperception of ghosts.

"Spirits are always whole," Winkowski said. "I've never seen a ghost hold its head. They don't throw up on the floor like in The Sixth Sense."

Winkowski also pointed the problems with the CBS show The Ghost Whisperer, for which she is a consultant, but praised the movie Ghost for its accuracy.

At the end of the show, Winkowski suggested that those who want to see if there is a ghost in their home should "pick up a business card and call [her] office and leave a one minute long message."

Many students made their way to Winkowski table, where she was selling her books, and took her up on the offer. With a business card in hand, many students walked out of the show with quickened pace, eager to make the phone call but fearful for the results.

The article above was found on Google and was published originally on The Good 5c Cigar