Do you believe in ghosts?

According to a Harris poll conducted in January, 2003, over half of the adult population of the United States, including nearly sixty-five percent of adults under the age of twenty-seven, do. Clearly, the belief that the human soul not only survives death but is capable of manifesting itself to the still living not only has held steady for decades, but even seems to be on the upswing.

But why should this be? Why should otherwise level-headed men and women come to imagine there exists something that is neither visible to the naked eye nor discernible to our other senses, yet is as real and solid as any material object? Is the belief in ghosts nothing more than culturally influenced superstition that serves only to reflect our fears about our own mortality, or could their be something more to it?

No doubt ghosts do reflect some of our concerns about what happens to us after we die. After all, if there are ghosts, then it demonstrates that the human personality does survive death, giving all of us the hope of immortality. As such, even while they frequently terrify us, it seems we need ghosts, if only for our own personal sense of cosmic significance. But if the belief in ghosts were nothing more than a byproduct of mankind's fear of death and its ongoing quest for immortality, it would be easy to dismiss the entire subject as so much superstitious nonsense and move on, but even in our supposedly scientific age the subject continues to hold sway over us. It seems we simply cannot seem to shake the notion that the belief in ghosts has more to say to us than that we live on after death. There is more to it than that. Much more.

Which is the reason for this section. After all, we're all curious about what happens after we die and it would be nice to have at least some ideas to consider. This section, then, let's us ask some very basic questions about the paranormal realm, questions we've all thought about from time to time but have never had the opportunity to explore more fully. For example, what, exactly, is a ghost? Are there different types, or just one kind? Does everyone become a ghost when they die, or only some people, and if so, why?

Hopefully, you'll find some of the answers you seek here, answers which will give you hope and understanding, as well as confidence that what lies in store for us once we pass in is in many ways far more remarkable and exciting than anything life holds for us now. As always, I will try to be as objective in presenting this material as possible and leave it to the reader to determine if my efforts at providing a balanced treatment of this subject are successful. The material contained here is taken from my book The Case for Ghosts (Llewellyn International, July, 2006) and is copyrighted. I value your input to this complex issue and welcome all correspondence (just click on the e-mail me button on the left if you want to send me your thoughts and questions. I promise to do my best to return all honest queries and respond to any constructive criticism.)

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UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF GHOSTS
TOOLS OF THE GHOST HUNTING TRADE
UNDERSTANDING THE PSYCHOLOGY of GHOSTS
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