For some reason this political season got me to thinking about ghosts. Politicians may not be ghosts, but there is certainly something “haunting” about them and little of reality, but rather appearing to be apparitions. However, if there are such things as ghosts perhaps there is something better to be said about them than their merely haunting places and people.

One of the things I hold against the devout believers in evolution and a mindless cosmos is these wet blankets would deprive us of things like ghosts. They would rob us of our Ouija Boards, crystal balls, fairies and magic charms. As to ghosts, these are a part of all cultures and without them life would not be much fun. “The Time of Their Lives” remains one of my very favorite Abbott and Costello movies, I very much enjoy the “Topper” films and what would Shakespeare and so many other great writers like Poe be without ghosts. We wouldn’t want to be without stories like “The Canterville Ghost,” and though I have never seen a ghost I defy all the naysayers proving to me they do not exist.
I strongly suspect many of those claiming not to believe in ghosts still whistle through graveyards, and like Sam Clemens entertain the thought; “I don’t believe in ghosts, but I’m afraid of them.”

But there is still the matter of not knowing how I would react to a ghost; would I totally freak out like the Witch of Endor at the appearance of the prophet Samuel or would I welcome the experience? There is no way of knowing. So I asked myself the question; if I were a ghost what would I be interested in? It’s pure fantasy to speculate about such a thing, nevertheless I thought it would be fun to entertain the notion; and to my surprise it has turned out to be rather interesting. This thing of not knowing what lies behind or beyond the veil, if anything, has had our species tied in knots for as long as human beings have been around. Studies about the many attempts to reach the departed are fascinating; equally fascinating are the many claims about ghosts throughout human history.

In the New Testament the Apostles seem to have believed in ghosts, but there is some confusion between the use of the words ghost and spirit; the Holy Ghost is more properly rendered Holy Spirit for example. God is not referred to as a ghost, but rather as a spirit; though how God distinct from his Holy Spirit is to be distinguished is not clear at all. And the use of the word spirit should not be confused with the word ghost; and while many people believe in angels and demons these are quite distinct from ghosts.

However, how would you have a ghost without a spirit? If ghosts manifest themselves we might assume they are spirit beings, and the form of a ghost might be made visible or known by their spirit. While the spirit quickens, gives life; that same spirit may be quickening the departed who have taken on a different form of life. There are different accounts of ghosts as apparitions, opaque or transparent, while others assume a bodily form. Exorcisms are performed to cast out unclean spirits, but not ghosts. Somehow through history ghosts and spirits have become different things. But confusion often reigns when attempting to describe ghosts without spirits being involved.

I’ve asked myself whether in some cases our own minds may project an “apparition,” and then having had the experience unable to deny it. Many forms of hysteria project just this kind of thing, including the hearing of voices of the departed. But what of those cases where such things are reported to happen unawares and unbidden without taking thought of such a thing?

Ghost Hunters and other programs having to do with Psi, the paranormal and supernatural are quite popular; and if I make the assumption there are such things as ghosts I may as well assume that just because people have passed on may not mean they have lost interest in the affairs of the living, and may continue to enjoy mixing with people. In other words, ghosts may still enjoy the society of the living. For example, I like to believe my departed loved ones and friends continue to be interested in me, how I am and what I’m doing in my everyday life just as they were while here in their mortal bodies.

Unlike “The Invisible Man,” ghosts would not be in need of anything so they wouldn’t be robbing banks or attempting to gain anything this world has to offer; though there are stories about ghosts protecting treasure. To what end is usually unclear since I presume there is nothing to be gained by doing so.

I just got off the phone with my good friend Byron, the Episcopal Priest, and I asked him what he would want to do if he were a ghost? He was nonplussed, professing to have never entertained the question; not surprising since I assume the great majority of people have never thought about such a thing. Still, the stories about ghosts are legion, more than legion, but as with all speculations concerning the supernatural open to many and diverse opinions, just as are the stories about angels. The topics are subjects of books, films, TV programs without let and will continue to proliferate ad infinitum; but why?

Yet I am left with the somewhat puzzling question as I am sure many of you will be: What would I want to do if I were a ghost? Maybe you would want to go about clanking chains and scaring people with Boo! And that might be a clue as to who would be the good ghosts and who the bad? Perhaps this would depend on what kind of person you were while inhabiting your mortal body.

This I know; not everyone claiming to believe in ghosts, not everyone claiming to have seen a ghost is nuts. So I accept there are ghosts, and I’ll continue to believe in them as I do of angels and demons though I may never see any of them. As with that 96% of the universe unseen, unknown and perhaps unknowable, the things unseen may yet prove to be the most real. But if any of the ghosts of my departed loved ones choose to appear for whatever reason, I hope I won’t freak out. I doubt I would, since having thought about it I now think I know what I would want to do if I were a ghost. Like Casper I think I would be a friendly ghost, though I won’t discount the possibility of saying Boo! to some I leave behind.