Theory Of A Dead Man

What is a ghost? You would think this was a basic question, right? Wrong!

There are many thoughts on what a "Ghost" is, the dictionary definition is:

Ghost - Noun An apparition of a dead person that is believed to appear or become manifest to the living, typically as a nebulous image.

Synonym  -  phantom - spectre - spirit - apparition - specter - shade

This above is the Joe Bloggs definition of the word. Depending on who you ask you will get varying answers. Religions have one view, Hollywood another and as for atheists they don't believe in them at all because to them you die.. end game. Within the world of Paranormal Research, a "Ghost" is the finite proof of life after death, but even then it's not THAT simple for we have "intelligent" (where interaction is made with the energy) and "residual" (where it can only be described as that of a recording played on a loop) haunting.

The most ambiguous one... HOLLYWOOD:

Over the lifetime of motion pictures, the idea of a ghost has changed and morphed. It has been many things from a fun little friendly spectre "Casper" and the "Learner" plate one that Patrick Swayze portrayed in the originally named "Ghost" to the frightening one just released called Mama, about a deceased mental patient that after the loss of her child many years before roamed the forest until she happens upon two young little girls that she then cares for until they are found (no spoilers I hope). Hollywood of late has evolved the ghost phenomenon with its use of CGI and gory story lines that many of us have never personally witnessed and probably never will.

Organized Religion:

Being too many to list and dissect we will pick one that I am familiar with, Catholicism. Trust me when I say this is not limited to this one, but to many on the broad spectrum of organized religion. Catholicism itself has written about things as “rising from the dead” and such. Whether it realizes or not it embraces the paranormal, from things such as Miracles, visions, prophecy to mysticism. It does not state that spirits do not walk the earth as a matter of fact in one Website dedicated and maintained by devout Catholics states that:

“...Although Church teaching does not rule out the possibility of ghosts, and although it also does not rule out the possibility that God might allow us to see ghosts on occasion, the Church does forbid us from attempting to initiate occult contact with departed souls”

Catholic Forums

We are to accept that there are such things as ghosts but we are to view them when and how God chooses to show them to us. People such as myself (Paranormal Investigators/Researchers) in the eyes of the church are sinning, as the use of equipment such as DVR's and K2's are in fact in their eyes, calling forth the dead to converse with us.

Now the ultimate skeptic, The Atheist:

To believe that ghosts exist you must first believe that when you die your spirit moves on, whether that be to "heaven" or to be grounded here on earth. The Atheist view on life after death is that there is none. When you die, that is it... You're dead, no bright light, no deceased relative there to greet you, just "lights out". There are many types of atheists now, but in general, the Consensus is that there is no life after death until proved otherwise.

Each person's belief within the paranormal field is what drives us... Like the atheist we want Proof, we want to document it, investigate it and show it. Unlike Hollywood, we don't want to dress it up, blow it outta proportion and make it what it isn't. As researchers, we will always endeavour to capture that one piece of evidence that can not be doubted.