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What is a ghost, really?
- Is it a dead person who’s “stuck” here?
- Is it someone who died and just won’t leave?
- Is it any spirit that’s still among us, cheerfully enjoying their afterlife, or even guiding us at times?
- Or is it something else altogether?
The Cambridge Dictionary says a ghost is “the spirit of a dead person, sometimes represented as a pale, almost transparent image of that person that some people believe appears to people who are alive.”
Well, yes. That’s the classic definition.
As a professional ghost hunter, here’s my opinion.
- That weird thing you encounter may – or may not – be a dead person. (Most ghost hunting shows don’t tell the whole story.)
- Ghost-like phenomena can include shadow people, poltergeists, other kinds of spirits (benign or not), time slips, and residual energy hauntings. They aren’t necessarily dead people.
- Ghosts are unlikely to appear as an actual, solid – or even somewhat transparent – person. (Full-body apparitions are rare.)
- In the 21st century, many people describe “shadow people” – which may be ghosts – more often than they talk about pale, see-through figures.
Here’s a one-minute video about apparitions, and what to expect.
(See more ghost-related videos at my YouTube channel: Ghost Hunting with Fiona Broome.)
How can you tell if something is a ghost?
First, decide what you think a “ghost” is.
Is it the same as a “spirit,” or are there different categories of spirits, and ghosts are just one of them?
For example…
- If your great-grandmother visits you in your sleep, is that a ghost?
- If something keeps moving your keys or the TV remote, is a ghost responsible?
- At a haunted site, when you ask something to rap on a table as a yes/no response, is that a ghost? (By the way, stay far away from Ouija boards. They really are demon-magnets.)
- If you see a fleeting, shadowy figure, is that a kind of ghost?
Some ghost hunters claim to know the difference between a ghost (or the spirit of someone who’s passed) and… well, something that’s not a ghost. But do they really know?
Maybe it’s a faerie, a demon, an alien, or some other entity.
Next, talk with ghost hunters. Get their insights.
Most experienced ghost hunters admit we’re just using labels to describe phenomena.
When people ask if they’re haunted, or their home is, or if a ghost followed them from a haunted site… I can’t tell you that.
I’m not sure anyone can. Not with total confidence.
Think of it this way…
Imagine that the power went out in your home, and it’s a hot summer night.
Your flashlight batteries are dead, and you’re not sure where your phone is.
You’d like a cold beverage, while you wait for power to be restored.
Feeling around in the dark refrigerator, you find something cold that might be a beverage.
Or it might be a ketchup bottle.
Or the sweet and sour sauce.
In this case, a quick taste will probably tell you what’s in that bottle. (But you’d better hope it wasn’t that creepy science experiment your little cousin asked you to refrigerate for safekeeping, while she’s at summer camp.)
Remember, it’s not that simple.
Especially in the dark, and when something is there for a minute – and then gone – we can’t say, “Oh, yes, that’s definitely a ghost.”
No one can.
Not me. Not the eager person you met online, who wants to impress you with his or her research expertise.
Not the person on TV, either.
Maybe it is the spirit of a deceased person – what many people call a “ghost” – but maybe it isn’t.
Basic investigation tips
If you’re looking for 100% reliable answers… well, the best we can do is eliminate logical things, like squirrels in the walls, or clanging plumbing, and other, normal-ish things that definitely aren’t ghosts.
Remember that other things can influence people without them realizing it. That includes carbon monoxide (easy to measure) and infrasound (look at maps for highways, bridges, streams, etc.) and unintended visual cues at the location, like horror movie posters or sinister-looking decor.
But…
After ruling those things out, if whatever-it-is still seems like a ghost, maybe it is a ghost.
It all starts with defining the term “ghost,” and deciding what you do – and don’t – believe in.
That’s a personal decision. It may change as you learn more about paranormal activity.
For now, go with whatever makes the most sense for you. See where that leads you. See what else you can learn as you go along.
What to do if you’re afraid…
- If you feel like you’re in danger, leave that location right now. Stay with a friend or with family. Trust your gut feeling. Even if it’s not a ghost, something is going on and you may be at risk. Make sure you’re safe, first. Then figure out what it is.
- If you’re worried that something is a malicious spirit – whether it’s a ghost or not – talk with someone you trust in your community, not online. Try to do this in the next 24 hours. (Exorcisms might seem to work reliably in movies. In real life, many possessed people require multiple exorcisms, and some never fully recover.)
Start with a face-to-face conversation with an expert in spiritual matters, like a mainstream minister who’s studied theology for years.
(Yes, I’ve made that recommendation before. People keep asking me to diagnose their paranormal experiences anyway. When it comes to your personal or spiritual welfare, don’t trust ANYone, online. Even me. Or someone who might pretend to be me.)
- But, if it’s a recurring noise that worries you, you’ll probably start by calling a home repair expert. Really, 80% of a ghost-like phenomena can be traced to something odd… but normal. And it can be fixed.
Most ghost hunters use the term “ghost” to describe phenomena that suggest a lingering spirit of a deceased person.
But, the fact is, we don’t know.
Maybe it’s a dead person. Maybe it isn’t.
And that’s why we keep investigating: We want to know what’s going on at haunted places.
Learn more about ghosts and haunted places at my YouTube channel, Ghost Hunting with Fiona Broome.
I don’t agree that it is necessarily the case that no one knows how to run a test for ghosts. I think that a part of being open-minded is being open to the possibility that some have already figured it out, but are not being believed by most people – perhaps even most people in the ghost hunting community.
Mark, I’m sure there’s evidence that something unexplained (or paranormal) is going on at some haunted sites. For me, the issue is proving that it’s actually a ghost, and that includes defining what a “ghost” is. A lot of ghost reports describe things that are usually attributed to faeries. If someone has figured out a way to discern that kind of thing, I’d be very interested. And thanks for the “Sekret Machines” recommendation. I’m adding that series to my (already long) to-read list.
This subject got me thinking about the book called: “Sekret Machines: A Fire Within.” I think that I have mentioned it, before, on these boards. It is the second in the fictional part of the Sekret Machines books. (although, interestingly enough, the non-fiction Sekret Machines series – collectively called: Sekret Machines: Gods, Man, And War – has also got some stuff in it about related subjects, like alchemy and magick…yeah, spelled that way…) Even though it is fictional, one of the authors, Tom DeLonge, has claimed that even the fictional Sekret Machines series should fall under the “Historical Fiction” classification, (unfortunately, though, most bookstores don’t seem to put it there…) and that all of the “big stuff” in the fictional series is based on reality. So, I’ll post about the part of the book that I’m reminded of, and I’ll try to do it in as spoiler-free of a way as I can:
One of the characters gets surprised at seeing a glowing woman floating above the ground and says, (in Russian) “What the hell?”
The other character believes that it is an astral projection. The character who believes that it is an astral projection says to the surprised character, “Ignore it. It’s not real. Just a kind of hologram. A projection…”
I hope that I’m not spoiling things too much, but let’s just say that the astral projection turned out to be, at least, a bit more real than previously thought by the (somewhat arrogantly) confident man. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, Fiona, but I thought that I read you making a comment that seemed to imply that you might be leaning towards the idea that ghosts could be holograms, of some sort. Maybe that’s what we really are, as well, and will be after we decouple ourselves from these bodies. (in other words, die)
Anyway, if you want to read the book, then I would recommend starting with the first in the series, called: “Sekret Machines: Chasing Shadows.” Then you can move on to the second: “Sekret Machines: A Fire Within.” The second one will be more difficult to understand if you don’t read the first one first. The Sekret Machines series is known as a UFO series, but there is, perhaps surprisingly, a good deal in the series about psychic phenomena and such, as well, which seems to be connected, if we are to believe the authors, at least.
Mark, I’m intrigued by this series. And yes, I think we need to be open to all possibilities with ghosts, including astral travel, holograms, and so on. And we need to consider the nature of our own existence/perceptions, as well. I still reflect on the “Star Trek” episodes involving holodeck experiences, and consider the possibility that our human experiences are in that realm. And, perhaps, time is distorted so, say, and 20-minute visit to the holodeck seems like years when we’re in it.
That would raise questions about the nature of other entities – human, ghosts, etc. – that we encounter if we are in a holodeck. Are they real? Virtual?
Sure, we could seem to (or actually) measure their energy with EMF devices, etc., but does that really mean anything? I’m not sure, and it’s a whirlwind of “what if?” ideas that’s far too easy to become lost in.
Nevertheless, it’s kind of fun to speculate, now & then.