What is a Ghost?

When most people think of a ghost, they picture the ghoulish demons of Hollywood lore, coming back to terrorize the living, perhaps even to harm them.  Or, they picture the comical spirits of Ghostbusters.  In truth, a ghost is simply a disembodied spirit and usually not frightening at all -- merely misunderstood.

A spirit is, in simplest terms, an energy form, but not all spirits that dwell among us are ghosts, since many spirits have never lived in the human realm but have existed in other forms, such as an angel.

When spirits do inhabit a human body, they become family members and friends, and we learn their personalities. It's what endears each individual to another. Upon the death of our loved ones, these spirits do not cease to exist, as physics teaches us that energy is never truly expended but only transferred to another form. And the personality that our loved one had as a living being is also the personality that our loved one has as a ghost. At her death, a loving, caring mother may remain to watch over her family rather than passing over into the spirit realm.  Whereas Uncle Harry, the family comedian, may remain behind to play just one more prank or two. 

Some spirits don't choose to remain behind but are trapped because they don't realize that death has occurred. This happens in the case of a sudden and/or violent death and frequently explains ghosts in places like accident sites, crime scenes and battlefields.  It can also happen in the death of a child, and that explains hauntings in schools or on playgrounds.

We walk among spirits and ghosts daily, although we usually never realize it, and it's only rarely that we're made aware of their presence. Realizing this, we should be grateful for their brief appearances and contact rather than frightened.