What are Ghosts?

What are ghosts? No other question in the paranormal field has sparked as much speculation and controversy as the question, what are ghosts. You could ask 10 different people that question and get just as many different answers. In this article we’ll discuss, ponder, and speculate the age old question; what are ghosts?

Many believe that ghosts are the lost souls of those who have come before us. They believe that when a person dies their consciousness is left to wander the world til the end of time. While I try to keep an open mind in all things, the point that bothers me the most about this line of thinking is the fact that their have been billions of people who have lived and died in this world. If the human spirit carries on and wanders the earth after death then why do we not see more evidence of the paranormal in our everyday lives all around us. By using this line of thought, ghosts would seem to be involved in an overly crowded afterlife with much more evidence to their existence then we have at this current juncture in time.

Others would speculate that ghosts, are in effect, inter-dimensional beings who have harnessed the ability to travel across and within the very planes of reality. While, I myself tend to lean toward this belief system more so then the aforementioned ideology. I still hold my own doubts with this line of thinking. If the idea that ghosts really do stem from the actions of inter-dimensional beings is right then why have they not tried to make contact with us. Do they lack the ability? Surely not. Have they already interacted with us and continue to do so in a subtle manner? No one that I know of can really answer that in an educated manner backed up by solid evidence. So, while an interesting and completely plausible theory, there is no evidence at this moment to support this ideology.

Some believe that spiritual activity is nothing more than environmentally harnessed energy playing itself out on repeat til the source of that energy runs out. A common term associated with this ideology is the term, residual haunting; where the same paranormal activity is experienced over and over; usually occurring at the same time of day or year. The problem with this idea is that it does not account for the intelligence we often experience when dealing with the paranormal. Too often to discredit, investigators will ask a question and get an intelligent response. How could that be evidence of a residual type haunting? Could it be a coincidence? Possibly, but, I personally believe it happens far too often to be completely attributed to sheer happenstance. So while this may exist and account for some claims of paranormal activity, I find it hard to believe that this is the only cause for the paranormal things that go bump in the night.

While there are many other schools of thought when regarding the idea of ghosts, I am currently running out of time and will touch on more ideologies at a later time. I, as always, approach the paranormal field with the mind of a skeptic. I look for solid evidence, and do not believe feelings or sensations to be valid proof of the unknown. If you have any thoughts or ideas on the afterlife or the paranormal I am always open to new discussions and ideas. Until the next time,

– Maxwell Alexander    (Founder/SCSI)