Ghosts
Do you believe in them? Do they even exist? The subject of ghosts and ghostly goings on has fascinated generations of enthusiasts of spectral tales from beyond the grave.
What is your opinion on this subject? I like to keep an open mind and generally keep my personal opinions to myself, but since I'm now writing on the topic of the spirit world and its phantom inhabitants, I suppose I need to open that particular door a crack.
Ghosts Exist!
Well, that may not be everyone's opinion, but for what it's worth, it is mine. And just so we can have a real foundation to that belief, I'll tell you why.
Up until I was an adult I had always fantasised that ghosts really did exist, inhabiting that spectral plane between heaven and earth. That fantasy was of course fed by reading lots of spooky books and watching scary movies or at least those that I was allowed to watch when I was younger.
And back then, trust me that those movies were positively tame compared to what we see now!
But I never actually saw what I believed to be a ghost until I was in my mid twenties.
Was That a Ghost?
My wife's mother had just passed away after a long illness and the night after we returned home from the hospital after going to bed my wife fell asleep quite quickly after a traumatic day. I was still awake and happened to look toward the door of our room which we always left half open.
There was some low light coming from a plug-in nightlight in the hall so I could see the door clearly. Right then, a woman looked around the door right at me. I could see her head and upper torso and a hand that was holding onto the door.
Because the light was from behind her, I couldn't see her facial features very well as they were in shadow. But I already knew it was my mother-in-law checking in on us one last time.
She stayed there for several seconds before withdrawing behind the door. My wife didn't wake until the moment after the experience was over, although she told me she was just dreaming her mum had come to make sure we were OK.
How strange was that!
Believe What You Wish
We decided not to tell anyone at the time as it would have only upset other members of the family. My wife often anguished over the fact that it was me and not her that consciously saw her mother that night.
As with all anecdotal evidence of paranormal activity, there will be some that believe it and others that won't. That's fine actually because it's just part of the human experience to agree or disagree with what you hear, see or experience in some way.
If you go looking for evidence based on scientific research, you are going to be rather disappointed at the glaring lack of it. But just because there is no official acceptance of the existence of specters doesn't mean they're not there (or here, depending on how you look at it).
What Are Ghosts?
Since there is no official scientific recognition of these apparitions, there is likewise no official explanation of just exactly what they are. But most people are pretty well aware that they are believed to be the spirits of people who have passed on that have yet to complete their journey to the plane of existence that they are supposed to be destined for and remain earthbound for whatever reason.
Of course no one can know for sure, since there is no one living that has first hand experience!
However, that explanation is probably as good as any when you're dealing with a subject that so far has not been defined scientifically or proven beyond any doubt. So there you have it: For those of us that believe in their existence, there is a wealth of true life experiences that are told by the people that had them, while there are also plenty of books written about them in one guise or another.
So in this section of the site, I want to deal with our ghostly co-habitants on this mortal plane of existence for anyone who wants to believe they're really out there.
Articles in this Category on Ghosts
Take a look below to find a complete listing of article titles published under this category on ghosts and all things ghostly related:
Or check out this useful external resource: Revealing the Presence of Ghosts