Ghosts
By Nick Kyle
The idea of ghosts is prevalent across cultures and
millennia. A ghost is assumed to be the disembodied soul or spirit or life
force of a dead person, which can appear to the living in partial or full
bodily likeness, though it is described traditionally as a pale shadowy
apparition. Ghosts can also manifest as small orbs or rods or dark shapes, as
well as being perceived through our other senses. Invisible hands might touch
us or move objects, discarnate footsteps or voices might be heard, we might
experience an unexpected chill, or we might smell an unexpected aroma that is
linked to the deceased.
Many ghosts are thought to appear intentionally to
interact with us. It may be that the deceased has become an earthbound spirit,
perhaps someone who died unexpectedly with ‘unfinished business' or with strong
feelings about those still alive (e.g. love, fear, anger or remorse), or the
ghost may not realise that he or she has deceased. Some people claim to be able
to see ghosts that others cannot and even converse with them, so it may be that
certain psychic or mediumistic ability facilitates ghostly experiences.
Other ghosts seem to be non-reactive, apparently
ignoring us or their changed environment, for example, passing through the
living to ascend stairs that are no longer there.
The word ‘ghost' implies that the spirit or soul is
separable from the body and that it survives the death of the body, but some
types of ghost may have non-spirit explanations:
• Noisy or mischievous ghosts (poltergeists)
are increasingly associated with the unconscious mind of the living, especially
adolescents
• Infra-sound and electro-magnetic fields have
been shown to trigger apparitional experiences
• More fanciful explanations involve time
slips, including precognitive experiences, or residual energies of past events
being ‘replayed'
• ‘Doppelgangers' (doubles) or ghosts of the
living have also been seen, often at a time of crisis or as a warning of death
• The
• Clothes, transport, surroundings and animals
can all manifest, with or without a ghostly figure.
To avoid confusion, some people prefer to restrict
the term ‘ghost' to humans and to use the broader term ‘apparition' to refer to
other objects and animals and elemental or nature spirits that appear.
Do ghosts exist? Yes.
What exactly are they? That, I'm not so sure…