belief in ghosts essay

A Belief in Ghosts: Poetry and the Shared Imagination

An essay from poet Dorothea Lasky on poetry, ghosts, and the shared imagination.

Baby hair with a woman’s eyes I can feel you watching in the night All alone with me and we’re waiting for the sunlight When I feel cold, you warm me And when I feel I can’t go on, you come and hold me It’s you… And me forever —Hall & Oates

I. The Materiality of the Imagination

Let’s start first with a question: What do you think about the imagination? Is it a place that you go in your mind to create new ideas freely? Is it a place you fear? Is it both?

People often talk of the imagination as if it is one thing for everyone, a place without context, a specific, singular landscape that we all go to, on our own. This kind of talk sometimes makes people feel that if they don’t have immediate access to this single place, they can’t engage in imaginative thinking, which disempowers infinite possible new ways of seeing the world. Everyone has their own imaginative landscapes, populated with very particular experiences, and when people open the door and let us into those places—through poetry, other forms of art, and other new invention—it helps each of us connect with our own imaginations. It also helps us see the doors that connect all of our imaginations together. Because the shared imagination is both specific and universal, real and unreal, profane and holy, a place of both rest and unrest, that we all can go to and share with others when we make new things.

The shared imagination engages fully with the material world. That’s the other trick to it. The imagination is a physical space that one shares with other people in and through poetry. In a poem we make a haunted land to mimic this haunted one, and that we populate this land with physical reality to connect this world to the next (to other ones).

When we read poems, what is important about reading them, is what we create within the brains of others. This is what makes the possibility of a world past this one possible.

A belief in a material, shared imagination is important to me as a poet, because I want not just to recreate this one through poetry. I want a neverending, generative universe that poetry can help create.

One of my favorite poems by Alice Notley goes like this:

All my life, Since I was ten, I’ve been waiting to be in this hell here with you; All I’ve ever wanted, and still do.

When I first heard the poem it was because my friend Laura Solomon had put it on a mix CD she made for me from Paris when I was living in Boston in 2005. She put it right before a song by Amadou & Mariam called “Sénégal Fast Food,” so that when I listened to the whole CD, the Notley poem was like an introduction to the song, which not knowing French, seemed to me to be about a late night eating fast food in Senegal. But upon reading the translation of the lyrics to the song, I later learned was about falling in love and getting married in a rush, asking the question over and over, “What time is it in Paradise?” Rushing into the question of timelessness.

In my mind, when I heard Notley reading the poem in the 1987 recording, I saw her at the St. Marks Poetry Project, reading it to a roomful of people, telling them all, “I have waited to be here with you, this chamber of poets and seers, this hell, that now I am a part of forever, and by the way, it is hell after all—all this gossip and dark living.” I think I saw her in this place because in a recording of my favorite poem by her late husband, Ted Berrigan, called “Red Shift,” he is reading this poem in the Poetry Project. In my mind, the two conflate timelessly, almost at the same reading. But later, I learned, too, that Notley was reading her poem “All My Life” in a real city called Buffalo , a place very charged for me with emotions, but that is, for many people, its own kind of hell.

Much of my belief in a shared, material imagination has to do with my belief in ghosts and a hope and horror that they really do exist.

Even though I know that Notley speaks her poem, wherever she does, to a room full of poets, telling them that she has waited to be with them, and now she is, reading her poem, at a real poetry reading. I think she is also telling them, “Here I am in the space of the imagination, where you are, too.”

Poems are special because they make a space, a real space, where we can call go. This place is a city called The Imagination. It is whatever you want it to be, half-hell, half-dreamworld, half-Paradise, half-light and ashes, but poems are the special things that make it real forever.

Let me ask you another question: Have you ever been there?

II. A Belief in Ghosts

My whole life, I had an inkling that there were things like ghosts and that maybe some people were able to actually see them. But up until a few summers ago, I had never actually seen a ghost.

For two summers, I slept in a haunted house, while teaching poetry there through a writing program. The teachers and I had all sorts of encounters with the spirits in the house, but for me, seeing the ghost during my first summer there was the most important event. Nothing other than seeing a ghost has been as instrumental in my thinking about the materiality of the shared imagination and its importance in poetry.

The house has a long history of ghosts. Legend has it that a girl’s shoe was found in the wall. A guard had quit years ago after so many sightings of a tiny girl screaming for help that he could no longer bear it. While I stayed in the house with other teachers and friends, we all heard children running through the ceiling of the abandoned rooms upstairs, screams and voices, computers charged for no reason, locked windows that blew open, hidden pills, broken cabinets, and misplaced plastic necklaces. One teacher channeled an angry spirit in her writing, who simply stated, “I am stuck here.”

All of these experiences are things that could be explained away, but with several people experiencing them, we started to talk about them freely. When some visiting artists came to stay at the house for a few days one summer, we shared the stories with them, too.

Most people I choose to tell about my belief in ghosts are believers or at the very least susceptible to the idea. I am careful not to tell people who are going to laugh it off or call me crazy. As a poet, I have learned to be OK with what my imagination might bring to me.

When people call other people crazy I don’t get mad, I get bored. When people tell me ghosts don’t exist, I just get bored.

Laura Kelly Leuter, a famed devil-hunter, who has devoted her life to looking for the physical evidence of a being lovingly called, the Jersey Devil , has written of non-believers in her plight:

Until someone proves that there isn’t something out there, I will continue to believe that there is, and I will also continue my efforts to find proof that the Jersey Devil does in fact exist. So there.

When these visitors were at the house, a few of us told them about the ghosts. It felt natural enough. I didn’t think so much to censor myself, because the ghosts just seemed real. I have long believed (and longed to believe) what Pablo Picasso told me: “Everything you can imagine is real.”

One night a teacher and I arrived home late from dinner. We heard someone (or something) calling to us from the fruit garden right outside the house. I thought I had heard, “Dottie, come here.” We got very scared and ran in the house, clutching our fashion-forward neon leather purses to our chests.

We talked each other into going back out and seeing who was there. “Who is there? Who is there?” my friend shrieked. We heard “It is Adeline.”

Adeline was an old owner of the house. We walked into the garden with shaky knees only to find not the apparition of Adeline, but the visiting artists laughing at us. I didn’t find it funny.

One of the visitors (let’s call him Demon from now on) proceeded to tell me I needed to see a psychiatrist. After about two minutes, I realized I wasn’t going to be able to control my anger in any sort of good way, so I went inside, happy to be in the arms of the real ghosts in my room, not among the placid thoughts of living demons.

Samuel Johnson has said of ghosts:

It is wonderful that five thousand years have now elapsed since the creation of the world, and still it is undecided whether or not there has ever been an instance of the spirit of any person appearing after death. All argument is against it; but all belief is for it.

All arguments, logical and steeped in what we know of science, can easily refute any belief in ghosts. The most salient argument that ghost-believers have is that they have “seen one.” And the imaginative space of a being having seen something—let alone a dead spirit—is not something that we ever fully believe in. But why not?

As a poet, I think a lot about belief and in the belief of what my mind will bring to me. There are a lot of things that enter my mind that I choose to translate into language. All poems contain images and these images have been in the poet’s brain and hang in the balance always, to be given to the reader upon reading. And in a poem images have weight so that you cannot help but believe in them.

Emily Dickinson has said of belief:

On the subjects of which we know nothing … we both believe, and disbelieve a hundred times an Hour, which keeps believing nimble.

The thing about ghosts is that once they have entered your imaginative space, there is no way not to believe in them. As I mentioned, I once actually saw a ghost.

III. The Sighting of the Ghost

The poet, John Weiners wrote, “I can only say real happiness yields from the world of poems. And its practitioners are secret, sacred vessels to an ancient divinity.”

As I mentioned before, I think poetry is special because it connects us to the imagination, another world, or perhaps the other world, which is a physical space, that poems interact with and encounter.

In his book, The Imaginary , Sartre writes that when a writer creates something, he or she has “visions” and that these visions are made into a very real space in the brain.

Sartre’s idea seems to me very much in line with what Dickinson writes of in her poem about death, that “after great pain, a formal feeling comes.” She writes:

After great pain, a formal feeling comes – The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs – The stiff Heart questions ‘was it He, that bore,’ And ‘Yesterday, or Centuries before’?

The Feet, mechanical, go round – A Wooden way Of Ground, or Air, or Ought – Regardless grown, A Quartz contentment, like a stone –

This is the Hour of Lead – Remembered, if outlived, As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow – First – Chill – then Stupor – then the letting go –

As Dickinson writes, when a person dies, after pain, comes the formal feeling of cold, to let go of the person as a being, into a space where all voices commingle, as “Freezing persons, recollect the Snow.” To have a vision of a feeling is a type of formality. Perhaps poets are the beings on this earth that can go into the freezing place and bring out the pieces of snow. Something that Bernadette Mayer appropriated for her translation of Catullus #48, which she describes as a formal field of kissing of being in love, a place where one kiss is never enough, where one kiss is just never enough snow.

I think the formal field is the land of light and ashes, a place of visions, a place where as Jack Spicer wrote about in his lecture, “Dictation and ‘A Textbook of Poetry,’” the dead speak from, where a poet receives radio messages from, a place which, as he writes, might be an “outside,…an id down in the cortex which you can’t reach anyway…galaxies which seem to be sending radio messages to us with the whole of the galaxy blowing up just to say something to us.”

In comparing himself rather snarkily to Byron, Keats wrote, “He describes what he sees – I describe what I imagine – Mine is the hardest task.”

I tend to agree with him.

When I first got to the house the first year, I couldn’t sleep for about two weeks. Maybe I slept an hour or two here and there. I couldn’t sleep, because I felt certain something was in the room with me.

It sounds crazy to say all of this to you, I know, but after a while I started talking to the presence in my room. In words, in my imaginative space, she spoke back.

We communicated.

She conveyed whom she was and that she liked my jewelry and just wanted to hang out sometimes. This made sense, I mean, have you seen my jewelry? Also, because I would often see my jewelry in odd places, after being locked away in a drawer or cabinet. She told me she had lived in the 16th century. In my mind, I had the vision of her as a teenager with long blond hair. I was absolutely certain that this is what she looked like.

For fear of seeming crazy, I didn’t tell anyone about our communication. But once it happened, I felt free and slept like a baby.

A few days after, my student told me that she had something important to tell me. She said that when she was in the workout room the night before a sort of creepy-looking blond teenager tried to turn off her treadmill. But that when she went to touch the girl’s hand and implore her to stop, the hand and the girl disappeared into the air.

I told my student about my encounter with what was likely this same entity. We both felt better. We both shared a belief in another dimension of being. And we had both interacted with the same ghost. There was a comfort in this shared reality, this shared imagination.

This is probably the opposite of how one should feel in that situation. Were we both going insane? Did we both have heatstroke? Did we prove that ghosts exist? Still, it was something very special that our brains connected in this way, with this same image.

Up until this point, I hadn’t actually seen the ghost. Despite my wanting to believe, I’ve always kind of not believed in ghosts too and never having seen one made me feel slightly disconnected from them.

The morning after my student shared her story with me, I came back to the house from a trip to town. As I walked to my room in the early morning heat, I saw a teenager, about 100 feet from me in a woodsy grove. The girl had on periwinkle shorts, a particular shade my mother had gotten into in the 80’s. (I can see a stack of cable knit sweaters piled on her bed in my mind now.) The girl was not so much wearing shorts, as skorts. She was looking at the leaves of a tree, as if she was looking for something—curious, but partially with the manner of a scientist. I thought it was one of my students, so I looked down. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone. A few seconds later, feeling guilty (aren’t teachers supposed to always be ready to talk to students?), I looked up. The girl was gone. I blinked my eyes. There was no way a person could have gotten away so fast. “That’s odd,” I said aloud to myself.

It was only later that day when I revisited the memory again did I remember she had gleaming blond hair.

Only months later did I think of one of my favorite moments of Stanley Kubrick’s (1980) The Shining , where Scatman Crothers’s character, Dick Hallorann, explains to Danny, the psychic boy, that the images in the haunted hotel are like pictures in a book, and that they aren’t real, which the boy repeats to himself for comfort when he sees the ghosts of the hotel, “Remember what Mr. Hallorann said. It’s just like pictures in a book, Danny. They aren’t real.”

It is not important to me to try and figure out if what I saw was “real” or an apparition. What I had sensed through my eyes had been processed into my brain as material space. In that what may have been a real image of my ghost had weight in my brain. It took up space in my brain.

Sometimes we see things in life very fast, so fast that we doubt ourselves, but we still know they are there. For example, oftentimes when we have mice in our kitchen (or is it just me?), they flash by us, with a splitsecond to register what they are. How often we can doubt what we saw, but still we have evidence to know it is there.

In the case of mice, there are droppings, broken bread crumbs, bananas with bite marks. With ghosts, there are often residues that are imperceptible, existing wholly within the imagination. With love, isn’t it love that we have felt, even when the physical reality has passed. Still, love is felt so clearly and neverending without sometimes so much as a sight of the beloved. We don’t need to see or touch a person to love them until the day we die. Just ask someone who has lost a person they have loved to refute this.

IV. Poetry Needs a Belief in a Shared, Material Imagination

You can’t always see what you hold in your imagination, but imagination is deeply felt.

Poetry has the ability to have us interact with the imaginary, because words together in the space of a poem make new realities—they make all the illusions of the imaginary real through language.

In his book, The Double Flame , in an essay called “The Kingdoms of Pan,” Octavio Paz explains that poetry is always about an embodied imagination, of making the unreal, the almost real, actually real:

When we dream and when we couple, we embrace phantoms. Each of the two who constitute the couple possesses a body, a face, and a name, but their real reality, precisely at the most intense moment of the embrace, disperses in a cascade of sensation which disperses in turn. There is a question that all lovers ask each other, and in it the erotic mystery is epitomized: Who are you? A question without an answer…The senses are and are not of this world. By means of them, poetry traces a bridge between seeing and believing. By that bridge, imagination is embodied and bodies turn into images.

And while any kind of thinking makes the imagination embodied, it is the holy space of a poet’s projected imagination, a space where new language can create new words that does so so poignantly.

Many years ago, as my father was suffering from Alzheimer’s, which he later died from, he would often go into a trance and say that he had been talking to his brother and father, who had both died decades earlier. Everyone around us, all the doctors and nurses said it was a psychotic break of the disease, that what he thought he saw was the residue of his long-term memory, breaking down and making him think the past was the present. They would give him something like the drug Abilify and he would quiet down. But who is to say that he didn’t see his brother again? Who is to say that his long-term memory wasn’t a thing being eroded away by the disease, but a space he was visiting, which he could visit again, one day soon, for an eternity?

In the same 1965 lecture I mentioned above, Spicer wrote of Yeats’ wife Georgie’s encounter with the spirits, how one particular occasion she got possessed by spirits and Yeats was able to speak directly to them. When Yeats asked them “What are you here for?” they spoke to him through her and said “We’re here to give metaphors for your poetry.” A generous set of ghosts that knew Yeats. But I think that all spirits in the spiritworld are generous, when you met them in the space of the Imagination within a poem.

V. Does a Material Imagination Make a Visionary Poetry

I am not the only poet to have ever actually seen an apparition.

Many many years ago, I remember reading an anthology of sorts on visionary poets. In the book, there was a story of Blake and how he saw angels in the trees, as a kind of physical reality of angels. When we see we perceive that the thing we see has weight, especially if it is a person-like thing, like an angel. To have a vision of something, to perceive in a visionary way, is to in some way assume that what we see is real, or weighty, is affected by gravity, is material. Blake saw the angel, believed that he saw it, and it changed him. It created a space in his mind for the angel to go. He wrote poems about it, with new words and new language and new angels from this imaginative space. We read those poems still.

My favorite scene from the movie The Shining has always been when Jack Torrance, the murderous father, goes to visit room 237, the most haunted room in the whole hotel. For many reasons—most of them lifted from the recent documentary called Room 237 , in which theorist Jay Weidner asserts that the movie is Kubrick’s confession of how he helped to fake the moon landing films—this room is always what I think of now as The Moon Room.

When Jack goes in the room, there are very slow shots as he travels up the space the room. The camera focuses on the loud and beautiful purple and green carpet, with its radiating phalluses, the neon lilac couches, black and white bedspread and very mundane hotel wallpaper. Although slightly stylized, the room feels very real and deeply felt.

Next he finds himself in the mint green and gold bathroom, where he encounters the ghost of a murdered woman. She is in the bath, and slowly pulls back the slightly opaque clear shower curtain, to reveal her body, naked and statuesque and she gets out of the tub and moves towards him. She sees him.

I was recently on a tour of a collection of art objects in a very old museum, and the art historian who gave the tour was talking about some of the portraits, about how now we might have a portrait on the wall today, but in the past people kept cloaks or cloth over their portraits. It was thought that a portrait or art object was not something that you looked upon daily, because the act of seeing, of vision, was bidirectional. So, that when you looked at something, it looked back at you, and changed you.

I think in this way that a vision has viscera. That the bidirectionality of the seeing one to the thing being seen means that all vision and imaginative space created between the two things has weight.

When the ghost in room 237 looks at Jack, she starts to charm and mesmerize him. He becomes transfixed by the eroticism of the scene and forgets the possibility that she isn’t a living being, that her image isn’t real. (He never heard Mr. Hallorann say her image was just like pictures in a book.) She uses the bidirectionality of their interaction to get him to move towards her. It is more than mere seduction, between ghost and living being. It is the magnetic pull of faith that he has in his imagination through either his erotic feelings, her supernatural allure, or her intent. It is a mix of this magic spell.

Everyone knows how this scene ends. As he kisses her, she reveals herself to be an old crone, then a corpse, and laughs in his face at his faith in his own stupidity. Still, even in her decay, she is deeply felt in our imaginative spaces. She exists as some force and we see her and hear her, as she chases him out. There is a materiality to her presence, whether only in Jack’s mind or our minds now. I mean this, even though she is just a projected image on a screen. She exists, in some dimension, in some version of real space and time.

My reading of Soren Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling is that the book is really about three levels of perception of the realms of being: aesthetic/sensual, moral, and spiritual. Most people go the three-step path—an aesthetic or sensual experience leads to a moral understanding, which leads to an interaction with the spiritual world. But I think he is really saying in that book that the aesthetic/spiritual, when done right, takes a person right up to the spiritual realm. That when we make a truly beautiful piece of art we make a fast train into the land of specters.

When a poem happens, meaning and a shared imagination happen between a poet and a reader. The poem is the testimony. The poet and reader are in mental and aesthetic—and then spiritual—communion.

VI. What About Reality That is Not Real, What About Poetry

I have always loved the poem “Song of a Man Who Has Come Through” by D.H. Lawrence:

Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me! A fine wind is blowing the new direction of Time. If only I let it bear me, carry me, if only it carry me! If only I am sensitive, subtle, oh, delicate, a winged gift! If only, most lovely of all, I yield myself and am borrowed By the fine, fine wind that takes its course through the chaos of the world Like a fine, an exquisite chisel, a wedge-blade inserted; If only I am keen and hard like the sheer tip of a wedge Driven by invisible blows, The rock will split, we shall come at the wonder, we shall find the Hesperides. Oh, for the wonder that bubbles into my soul, I would be a good fountain, a good well-head, Would blur no whisper, spoil no expression. What is the knocking? What is the knocking at the door in the night? It is somebody wants to do us harm. No, no, it is the three strange angels. Admit them, admit them

There is a lot to say about it, but, of course, what I have always loved the most about the poem are the “three strange angels.” Who are they?

The word “strange” doesn’t really tell us much about who these angels are. But it gives us enough to know that they aren’t of this world, that they are part of the imagination.

Sometimes I think (and it isn’t exactly an original thought!) that when we write poetry, we always engage with ghosts. Maybe what we perceive quickly is what poetry collects for us, a space of half-impressions, of sensual residues. And maybe the things we only see or feel for an instant are the spaces of non-reality—superreality—coming into this world.

Is this maybe what Alice Notley meant when she wrote that all her life, since she was 10, she had been waiting to be in this hell here with us?

Is the living within the real, but a radio connection to a peaceful world of specters, what for Blake was the hell of reality in his “Book of Thel,” where he had to ask “Why a little curtain of flesh on the bed of our desire?” His question has haunted me all my life. Snow snow.

Surely the ghost in room 237 is part of the imagination, part of Jack’s and now part of ours. Or was her presence a weighted thing always? Is there a space somewhere, where Room 237 exists and she does, too? And does she touch Jack over and over again and make him run away, on a loop? And will we meet her too, in another time or place, because she has been born within our brains and will live there forever, a constant loop of imaginative memory?

Did the blond ghost bless me with the knowledge that the unseen is real, an openness to a door where other ghosts can pass through? Or did the blond ghost make a crack in my sanity that may never been re-glued? Did she make it impossible for me to ever see reality as wholly palpable again?

What seems most important about the event is how my student and I both shared her image. How much did our tellings and retellings of our encounters change her and change our memories of her and make her alive? Alive at once or alive again—isn’t it all the same thing?

V. To Conclude

To conclude, I bring to you an image of William Blake’s “The Mathematician,” an image of a person bent over his studies, his eyes focused on his theorem and not on the world around him. To me, he has always looked so much like a poet. Sitting with his back bent, the burden of gravity and language and light, and the night, upon him.

Perhaps an interpretation of this image is that the mathematician is so obsessed with the abstraction of reality that he can’t see the beauty of the world around him. That maybe he sees only with, not through, the eye, because he thinks and does not experience, the world.

Still, I can’t help but think that this image is about the materiality of a shared imagination. That Blake’s Mathematician or Poet makes a space with his paper where other thinkers can go, a space where we all can dare to go.

In a show a few years ago at the Whitney museum, I watched a movie of Ken Jacobs’ “Apparition Theater,” which required 3-D glasses. Among other images, one part of the theater was a group of shadows playing with balloons, and at one point, a sign goes up that reads: “Balloons go into the audience and you can’t tell what’s real.” Even though I knew they were not real balloons, I held my hands out to catch them as they bounded towards me. It was the magic of wanting to see the boundary between the real and unreal dissolved. To see the curtain of flesh on the bed of my desire lifted once more.

The imagination is a space where things can go. Where we make things up and share them with others. But the imagination is not a vortex to suck the world up, like the annihilation of death. The imagination is a holy space where things can live forever.

Maxine Greene, in her Releasing the Imagination , writes of the imagination:

The way things are for our life and body allows us only a partial view of things, not the kind of total view we might gain if we were godlike, looking down from the sky. But we can only know as situated beings. We see aspects of objects and people around us; we all live in [a] kind of incompleteness…and there is always more for us to see.

Once again, this is where the imagination enters in, as the felt possibility of looking beyond the boundary where the backyard ends or the road narrows, diminishing out of sight.

I once had a dream—I don’t remember the details—but I remember I woke up and I shot up in bed and said, “Maybe they give you the flowers in a different way. That’s poetry.”

There is a shared consciousness among humans––and likely all animals, maybe all living things, but most definitely humans––that we can share. We share the material imagination through poetry.

Alice Notley wrote in a poem, “Last night I saw that when I flowed out and became all else I was nothing./ I was everything. We are the electricity.”

Carl Sagan has said, “We are all made of star-stuff.”

We are the star-stuff. We are the electricity, the hope of the balloons bounding towards us, the holy holograms. This reality may be a violent one, but isn’t it the case that we will all be glad to know each other forever through poetry. To always choose one root of the pink sort over a million blue-violets. To be in the hell and the heaven of the space of imagination. To take a chance that this space is there and make this life the immortal one.

If you love someone and they die, make them come alive again in a poem.

Read a poem again and the dead don’t have to be gone. I promise you this much.

Think of it another way. Read a poem. Then you won’t have to be gone one day, too.

To hell and back again, I send you.

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This I Believe

Saying thanks to my ghosts.

Amy Tan was born in the United States to immigrant Chinese parents. She wrote The Joy Luck Club, The Bonesetter's Daughter and other best-selling books. Tan is literary editor for West magazine and plays in the band the Rock Bottom Remainders. Pat Boyd Photography hide caption

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I didn't used to believe in ghosts, but I was trained to talk to them. My mother reminded me many times that I had the gift. It all stemmed from a lie I told when I was 4. The way my mother remembered it, I refused to get ready for bed one night, claiming there was a ghost in the bathroom. She was delighted to learn I was a spirit medium.

Thereafter, she questioned anything unusual — a sudden gust of wind, a vase that fell and shattered. She would ask me, "She here?" She meant my grandmother.

When I was a child, my mother told me that my grandmother died in great agony after she accidentally ate too much opium. My mother was 9 years old when she watched this happen.

When I was 14, my older brother was stricken with a brain tumor. My mother begged me to ask my grandmother to save him. When he died, she asked me to talk to him as well. "I don't know how," I protested. When my father died of a brain tumor six months after my brother, she made me use a Ouija board. She wanted to know if they still loved her. I spelled out the answer I knew she wanted to hear: Yes. Always.

When I became a fiction writer in my 30s, I wrote a story about a woman who killed herself eating too much opium. After my mother read a draft of that story, she had tears in her eyes. Now she had proof: My grandmother had talked to me and told me her true story. How else could I have known my grandmother had not died by accident but with the fury of suicide? She asked me, "She here now?" I answered honestly, "I don't know."

Over the years, I have included other details in my writing I could not possibly have known on my own: a place, a character, a song. I have come to feel differently about my ghostwriters. Sometimes their clues have come so plentifully, they've made me laugh like a child who can't open birthday presents fast enough. I must say thanks, not to blind luck but to my ghosts.

Ten years ago, I clearly saw a ghost, and she talked to me. It was my mother. She had died just 24 hours before. Her face was 10 times larger than life, in the form of a moving, pulsing hologram of sparkling lights. My mother was laughing at my surprise. She drew closer, and when she reached me, I felt as if I had been physically punched in the chest. It took my breath away and filled me with something absolute: love, but also joy and peace — and with that, understanding that love and joy and peace are all the same thing. Joy comes from love. Peace comes from love. "Now you know," my mother said.

I believe in ghosts. Whenever I want, they will always be there: my mother, my grandmother, my ghosts.

Independently produced for Weekend Edition Sunday by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman with John Gregory and Viki Merrick.

More This I Believe Essays

Isabel allende: in giving i connect with others, cynthia sommer: learning to trust my intuition, thanksgiving 2006, emily smith: baking by senses and memories.

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Millions of Americans Believe in Ghosts. An Expert Reveals Why.

Certainly, lots of people believe in ghosts – a spirit left behind after someone who was alive has died.

In a 2021 poll of 1,000 American adults , 41% said they believe in ghosts, and 20% said they had personally experienced them. If they're right, that's more than 50 million spirit encounters in the U.S. alone.

That includes the owner of a retail shop near my home who believes his place is haunted. When I asked what most convinced him of this, he sent me dozens of eerie security camera video clips. He also brought in ghost hunters who reinforced his suspicions.

Some of the videos show small orbs of light gliding around the room. In others, you can hear faint voices and loud bumping sounds when nobody's there. Others show a book flying off a desk and products jumping off a shelf.

It's not uncommon for me to hear stories like this. As a sociologist , some of my work looks at beliefs in things like ghosts , aliens , pyramid power and superstitions .

Along with others who practice scientific skepticism, I keep an open mind while maintaining that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Tell me you had a burger for lunch, and I'll take your word for it. Tell me you shared your fries with Abraham Lincoln's ghost, and I'll want more evidence.

In the "spirit" of critical thinking, consider the following three questions:

Are ghosts possible?

People may think they're experiencing ghosts when they hear strange voices, see moving objects, witness balls or wisps of light or even translucent people.

Yet no one describes ghosts as aging, eating, breathing or using bathrooms – despite plumbers receiving many calls about toilets " ghost-flushing ."

So could ghosts be made of a special kind of energy that hovers and flies without dissipating?

If that's the case, that means when ghosts glow, move objects and make sounds, they are acting like matter – something that takes up space and has mass, like wood, water, plants and people. Conversely, when passing through walls or vanishing, they must not act like matter.

But centuries of physics research have found nothing like this exists, which is why physicists say ghosts can't exist .

And so far, there is no proof that any part of a person can continue on after death.

What's the evidence?

Never before in history have people recorded so many ghost encounters, thanks in part to mobile phone cameras and microphones. It seems there would be great evidence by now. But scientists don't have it .

Instead, there are lots of ambiguous recordings sabotaged by bad lighting and faulty equipment. But popular television shows on ghost hunting convince many viewers that blurry images and emotional reactions are proof enough.

As for all the devices ghost hunters use to capture sounds, electrical fields and infrared radiation – they may look scientific, but they're not . Measurements are worthless without some knowledge of the thing you're measuring.

When ghost hunters descend on an allegedly haunted location for a night of meandering and measurement, they usually find something they later deem paranormal. It may be a moving door (breeze?), a chill (gap in the floorboards?), a glow (light entering from outside?), electrical fluctuations (old wiring?), or bumps and faint voices (crew in other rooms?).

Whatever happens, ghost hunters will draw a bull's-eye around it, interpret that as "evidence" and investigate no further .

Are there alternative explanations?

Personal experiences with ghosts can be misleading due to the limitations of human senses. That's why anecdotes can't substitute for objective research. Alleged hauntings usually have plenty of non-ghostly explanations.

One example is that retail establishment in my neighborhood. I reviewed the security camera clips and gathered information about the store's location and layout, and the exact equipment used in the recordings.

First, the "orbs": Videos captured many small globes of light seemingly moving around the room.

In reality, the orbs are tiny particles of dust wafting close to the camera lens, made to "bloom" by the camera's infrared lights. That they appear to float around the room is an optical illusion. Watch any orb video closely and you'll see they never go behind objects in the room. That's exactly what you'd expect with dust particles close to the camera lens.

Next, voices and bumps: The shop is in a busy corner mini-mall. Three walls abut sidewalks, loading zones and parking areas; an adjacent store shares the fourth. The security camera mics probably recorded sounds from outdoors, other rooms and the adjacent unit. The owner never checked for these possibilities.

Then, the flying objects: The video shows objects falling off the showroom wall. The shelf rests on adjustable brackets, one of which wasn't fully seated in its slot. The weight of the shelf caused the bracket to settle into place with a visible jerk. This movement sent some items tumbling off the shelf.

Then, the flying book: I used a simple trick to recreate the event at home: a hidden string taped inside a book's cover, wrapped around the kitchen island, and tugged by my right hand out of camera range.

Now I can't prove there wasn't a ghost in the original video. The point is to provide a more plausible explanation than "it must have been a ghost."

One final consideration: Virtually all ghostly experiences involve impediments to making accurate perceptions and judgments – bad lighting , emotional arousal , sleep phenomena , social influences , culture , a misunderstanding of how recording devices work , and the prior beliefs and personality traits of those who claim to see ghosts. All of these hold the potential to induce unforgettable ghostly encounters.

Barry Markovsky , Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of South Carolina

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article .

A blurry ghostly figure stands at the top of a darkened stairway.

Are ghosts real? A social psychologist examines the evidence

Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of South Carolina

Disclosure statement

Barry Markovsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

University of South Carolina provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.

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Is it possible for there to be ghosts? – Madelyn, age 11, Fort Lupton, Colorado

Certainly, lots of people believe in ghosts – a spirit left behind after someone who was alive has died.

In a 2021 poll of 1,000 American adults , 41% said they believe in ghosts, and 20% said they had personally experienced them. If they’re right, that’s more than 50 million spirit encounters in the U.S. alone.

Some of the videos show small orbs of light gliding around the room. In others, you can hear faint voices and loud bumping sounds when nobody’s there. Others show a book flying off a desk and products jumping off a shelf.

It’s not uncommon for me to hear stories like this. As a sociologist , some of my work looks at beliefs in things like ghosts , aliens , pyramid power and superstitions .

Along with others who practice scientific skepticism, I keep an open mind while maintaining that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Tell me you had a burger for lunch, and I’ll take your word for it. Tell me you shared your fries with Abraham Lincoln’s ghost, and I’ll want more evidence.

In the “spirit” of critical thinking, consider the following three questions:

Are ghosts possible?

People may think they’re experiencing ghosts when they hear strange voices, see moving objects, witness balls or wisps of light or even translucent people.

Yet no one describes ghosts as aging, eating, breathing or using bathrooms – despite plumbers receiving many calls about toilets “ ghost-flushing .”

So could ghosts be made of a special kind of energy that hovers and flies without dissipating?

If that’s the case, that means when ghosts glow, move objects and make sounds, they are acting like matter – something that takes up space and has mass, like wood, water, plants and people. Conversely, when passing through walls or vanishing, they must not act like matter.

But centuries of physics research have found nothing like this exists, which is why physicists say ghosts can’t exist .

And so far, there is no proof that any part of a person can continue on after death.

What’s the evidence?

As for all the devices ghost hunters use to capture sounds, electrical fields and infrared radiation – they may look scientific, but they’re not . Measurements are worthless without some knowledge of the thing you’re measuring.

Whatever happens, ghost hunters will draw a bull’s-eye around it, interpret that as “evidence” and investigate no further .

Are there alternative explanations?

Personal experiences with ghosts can be misleading due to the limitations of human senses. That’s why anecdotes can’t substitute for objective research. Alleged hauntings usually have plenty of non-ghostly explanations.

One example is that retail establishment in my neighborhood. I reviewed the security camera clips and gathered information about the store’s location and layout, and the exact equipment used in the recordings.

First, the “orbs”: Videos captured many small globes of light seemingly moving around the room.

In reality, the orbs are tiny particles of dust wafting close to the camera lens, made to “bloom” by the camera’s infrared lights. That they appear to float around the room is an optical illusion. Watch any orb video closely and you’ll see they never go behind objects in the room. That’s exactly what you’d expect with dust particles close to the camera lens.

Then, the flying objects: The video shows objects falling off the showroom wall. The shelf rests on adjustable brackets, one of which wasn’t fully seated in its slot. The weight of the shelf caused the bracket to settle into place with a visible jerk. This movement sent some items tumbling off the shelf.

Then, the flying book: I used a simple trick to recreate the event at home: a hidden string taped inside a book’s cover, wrapped around the kitchen island, and tugged by my right hand out of camera range.

Now I can’t prove there wasn’t a ghost in the original video. The point is to provide a more plausible explanation than “it must have been a ghost.”

But all can be explained without ghosts being real.

Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to [email protected] . Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.

And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.

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Do you believe in ghosts here's what spirituality experts have to say about them.

The idea that ghosts could be among us has fascinated, perplexed, and of course, spooked people for generations. We asked around to get the history of ghosts, whether there's any evidence they actually exist, and more—here's what to know.

What does the term "ghost" really mean?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a ghost is defined as an "apparition of a dead person which is believed to appear or become manifest to the living, typically as a nebulous image." Across different cultures, there are also more nuanced explanations for what ghosts really are.

One of the most generally accepted ideas about ghosts, though, is that they're spirits that used to be in a body, and for whatever reason, feel tied to being Earthbound, explains intuitive Natasha Levinger . "This could be due to anything from feeling unresolved about a relationship or even a location to dying before they felt ready to leave ," she says.

And it's important to note that ghosts are not always believed to be inherently bad—despite common misconceptions.

"When I've worked with these spirits, it is usually resolved fairly quickly and has nothing to do with them trying to invoke pain or upset," Levinger says.

Feng shui expert Anjie Cho adds, "From a feng shui perspective , we have this perspective of nonduality , so something is not necessarily good or bad."

The history of the term.

People have been having ghostly experiences (or at least, perceived ghostly experiences) for literally thousands of years. In fact, one tablet from ancient Babylon around 1,500 BCE is believed by some to be the first known depiction of a ghost in human history.

And the ghost stories don't stop there, with cultures around the world believing in, and even embracing, the idea of ghosts. For many Asian cultures, a deep connection with ancestors can explain perceived ghostly experiences, with Cho telling mbg that ghosts or "entities" are often thought of as loved ones passed on, or even the energy of their memory.

The felt presence of a lingering energy has been recorded everywhere from the U.S. to Ghana to China, Thailand, and more. (It's worth noting here that we're talking about people reporting ghostly experiences, not actual evidence of such.)

Why some people believe in ghosts:

It's a cultural belief..

As aforementioned, some cultures embrace the idea of ghosts, particularly if there is a connection with ancestors within the culture, as seen in Chinese and other Asian cultures. Cho tells mbg many believe ghosts to be the energy of ancestors, or even predecessors of the space in question.

They want to believe.

For others, the idea that loved ones could still be with them is comforting. We've all seen clips of shows where mediums claim to communicate with the dead, offering relief to family members, or heard someone say they saw a cardinal and believed it was their grandma saying "Hi," for example.

Though many believe ghosts are inherently bad, for the people who believe their loved ones might be showing up in a ghostly way, it can bring comfort and connection.

They've had a paranormal experience.

Of course, if someone has had an inexplicable paranormal experience, they may believe in ghosts even if logic tells them not to. Some experiences just can't be explained, and for better or worse, will forever change the way people think about ghosts and the afterlife .

They're open to mystical ideas.

And lastly, some people are simply more open to the idea that there are other realms , or forces we can't explain in general, making them more likely to be open to the idea of ghosts.

Why some people don't believe in ghosts:

They don't believe in an afterlife (or anything mystical)..

Whether they identify as an atheist, don't believe in the afterlife , or don't believe in the idea of a soul, some people are not open to mystical ideas. To believe in ghosts is to believe that a spirit, soul, entity, etc., can exist without a physical body in some unseen realm, and for nonbelievers, that just doesn't sound possible.

They've never experienced anything paranormal.

Just as feeling or seeing a ghost can make someone a believer, never experiencing anything paranormal isn't going to help convince a skeptic that ghosts could be real. "It's often dismissed in some cultures as imagination," Levinger adds.

There's no "real" proof.

Along similar lines to the points above, tangible proof of ghosts is ultimately lacking. For people who aren't necessarily open to ideas that can't be explained by science , the burden of proof is subsequently too heavy for them to believe in ghosts.

So, are ghosts real?

Cho, Levinger, and professional intuitive and author of Angel Intuition Tanya Carroll Richardson are all open to the idea of ghosts. Levinger and Richardson, in fact, both say they've experienced ghostly energy firsthand.

However, Richardson caveats, "When discussing topics like ghosts, I think it's important to note that no one has all the answers, and I encourage people to make up their own minds. I have seen ghosts a few times with my physical eyes, but they can also be sensed with your feeling or clairsentient psychic pathway ."

Levinger concurs, noting that after working as a medium and intuitive for years, she's received enough validation through her readings to believe the information that comes through to her. "If this isn't your line of work or if you aren't used to trusting your intuition, it can be hard to believe that ghosts, which live in a realm where the only way to be aware of them is to trust that intuition exists."

She adds that, again, some people just don't believe that there is an afterlife. "There are so many religious and belief systems that don't include ghosts—and I personally respect that, even if that's not what I believe."

Ultimately, though, the experts in the fields of mysticism, the occult, and the paranormal are (more than likely) going to believe, or at least be open to, the idea of ghosts. Those who are more concerned with the physical realm, and prefer to base belief on science (as well as proof), are going to have a hard time warming up to the idea—unless, of course, they were to experience something ghostly themselves.

The takeaway.

No one can say for sure whether ghosts are real, but those who claim to have experienced them will stand by that belief. While science hasn't been able to pin down any concrete proof of the existence of ghosts, their reported presence has been recorded for years upon years and will likely continue to be reported for years to come.

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Ghosts: Fact or Fiction?

The notion of ghosts has been long debated, whether it’s the existence of Casper, Anne Boleyn’s lost spirit lurking, or your neighbor’s grandma visiting from the afterlife. Ghosts are remnants of the bodies of people that have died and are commonly discussed in folklore. Apparitions can range from a simple strange presence to the aura of a living being. Roughly half of all Americans believe in ghosts or life after death according to a website called Ghosts and Gravestones. Many within the population of believers have shared perceived experiences of the phenomenon, or share a strong belief life after death. In addition, many believers are also religious: numerous religions discuss life after death in one form or another. Hinduism and Buddhism believe in reincarnation, and Christianity, Islam, and Judaism believe that the soul is eternal and will continue to exist after death.

People believe in this idea because no one knows what happens after death and wants to believe that there is some form of life, and that maybe humans are able to visit their loved ones after passing on. According to the previously mentioned website, Ghosts and Gravestones,

“We seek explanations for what’s happening around us. It’s just the way the human brain is wired; we need to know why things occur or what’s causing something. And when it comes to inexplicable, mysterious happenings, the only logical explanation is often the presence of something supernatural.”

Information regarding ghosts can be found all over the Internet and on television. There are websites substantiating this belief, but most are reiterating that the idea is false.

The notion of ghosts has been around for thousands of years. One of the only websites I found on the origination of ghosts is Wikipedia, which says that stories of ghosts originated in early Mesopotamia and ancient Greece. Furthermore, ghosts were written into Homer’s the Odyssey and Iliad. In the Bible, Jesus was at first believed to be a ghost before convincing his followers that he rose from the dead. Furthermore, ghost stories circulated during the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, all throughout history until today. More people believe in ghosts in the modern day than they did in the past, with more and more people believing each year, along with the amount of evidence against ghosts increasing over time.

Ghosts are considered extraordinary because the idea of them is unable to be authenticated by science. There is no replicable experiment known that can validate a ghost’s presence; people coming back after death as spirits defies all scientific laws of nature. Besides hope, the belief of ghosts continues to live on through oral stories that are passed on from person to person. Those in favor of the existence of ghost are mostly believers because they cannot attribute their experiences to normal circumstances. The belief is solely built on personal experience with the help of religious beliefs (life after death, reincarnation, etc.) to explain what happens in the afterlife. According to HowStuffWorks, “the evidence for ghosts is all around us, but only living beings with a certain sensitivity can feel their presence.” In addition, the website states that technology is not yet advanced enough to create physical proof. According to some quantum physicists, “we still do not fully understand the interaction of the human mind and external matter at the quantum level” (HowStuffWorks). Moreover, ghosts may not be dead humans but merely humans from other points in time.

On the other hand, those against the premise of ghosts are more backed by science than those in favor. Benjamin Radford, Live Science Contributor, claims that the stories of ghosts switch between being able to walk through walls but still be able to move them, and that these contradicting ideas go against the laws of physics. Furthermore, he claims that if these spirits were truly lost and had unfinished business, then mediums would be able to help them in a multitude of ways (solve their murders, identify killers). Those who claim to have evidence like ghost hunters use pseudoscience to demonstrate their claims: electromagnetic field meters, cameras, thermometers, and other equipment are used to detect any changes in energy. The change in energy is automatically assumed to be the presence of a supernatural being. Jumping to the conclusion that any change in the atmosphere is due to paranormal causes is logically incorrect; people misinterpret the results due to confirmation bias, only looking for evidence that strengthens their beliefs in ghosts.

All in all, the notion of ghosts is one that has originated and survived over a long period of time. A large percentage of the world’s population believes in ghosts in one form or another, whether it’s life after death or the eternal existence of human energy. Many of these believers claim to have personal experiences with ghosts, while others only believe because of their religion or hope. There is conflicting evidence to whether ghosts exist, as the premises backing them is controversial and up for debate. Perhaps advances in technology over time will give us a final answer or ghosts will make contact with the public themselves.

Ghost. (2019, February 07). Retrieved February 10, 2019 from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost#History

Ghosts & Gravestones. (2018). Why Do People Believe in Ghosts? Retrieved February 5, 2019, from https://www.ghostsandgravestones.com/believe-in-ghosts

Radford, B. (2017, May 17). Are Ghosts Real? – Evidence Has Not Materialized. Retrieved February 9, 2019, from https://www.livescience.com/26697-are-ghosts-real.html

Stuff Media. (2019). Stuff They Don’t Want You To Know: Ghosts: The Evidence. Retrieved February 11, 2019, from https://www.stufftheydontwantyoutoknow.com/videos/ghosts- part-3-evidence-video.htm

26 thoughts on “ Ghosts: Fact or Fiction? ”

When I was young I was always told that ghosts are bad souls, and spirits and good souls. Ghosts attach themselves to bad people and people who have week souls, whereas spirits are good and their presence makes situations better and positive. Spirit it’s try to protect people that they love from ghost. Is there anyone else who believes this or is it just me?

I was never told that there was a difference in title of good or bad ghosts but it was always discussed within my family that some ghosts are nicer and some are not. I don’t know how much I still believe in ghosts but I think there are spirits and representations of human souls somehow. I’m not religious and never have been but I find it hard to believe that people die and then disappear without leaving a trace of themselves behind. It could just be me, but it makes sense that ghosts could exist especially when something notable like a murder or traumatic experience occurs.

Your comment made me wonder, that is it just our copping mechanism when we are not ready to accept that people who die just leave this dimension. I think it a way people accept their lose so that they can continue to live. If people consider souls of their relatives to be around them, it would be easier for them to move on. Do you think I am right or do you really believe in life after death?

I like how you took a very neutral stance for this post! It leaves us to look at the information you gave and make our own decisions. As someone who believes in ghosts and the supernatural I found it interesting that you found so much information stating believers are those who are looking for a way to explain weird phenomena in their lives. I have never actually had any “weird” experiences, but yet I still find myself believing. Perhaps I just want to believe there is more for us after this life because I am not religious enough to be certain one way or the other.

Hey, I read your comment and started wondering why you still believed in these supernatural phenomena’s even after reading convincing arguments about how it is untrue. I was just curious to know how your belief functions. I mean I have experienced weird things, but I still keep thinking that there have to be alternate explanations to why it might have happened.

My friends and I love watching the show Ghost Adventures with Zak Bagans. On one of the episodes of the show they used an Xbox Kinect to look at the locations of ghosts. The episode I watched had them catch on the connect figures “dancing on the stage.” While I don’t necessarily believe in all of these television ghost hunting techniques, I was just wondering if you came across anything on using the Xbox kinect to hunt ghosts?

When I first read your post I could not believe that this was actually a thing. I mean hunting ghosts with Xbox kinect, sounds like a made up story. That’s why I decided to do some digging. When I first looked this up on the net it took like milliseconds for the internet to come up with a ton of posts regarding this. As I started reading the articles one by one I realized hat this is really considered true. I was really shocked to see claims that harmless Xbox’s were used to hunt ghosts.

I have seen this episode too and at first thought it was a total joke that they were using an xbox. But i think that is some of the appeal of shows like that. they use so many different tools to try and communicate with spirits and sometimes it is really convincing. I know I have always wondered about if they are ever faking anything. On one hand I find it very hard to believe that spirits are capable of moving and throwing objects but on the other hand the amount of work they would have to do to stage things and make it look convincing is staggering and to keep it up for 14 seasons…. leaves me kinda torn on my beliefs.

I was curious reading your response. I was wondering if you continued till the 14th season, because it was really convinction or because you wanted to know how far they could stretch this belief? Just asking out of curiousity.

The belief in ghosts or some form of sentient life-after-death version of our loved ones has always seemed like a comfort mechanism to me. Much like beliefs in magic allow people to assert power over natural but frightening processes, I wonder if it is so easy for us to believe in ghosts because it allows us to feel less scared of death and the loss of the people we care about.

This is so interesting. I never really think of ghosts as an extraordinary belief, and I’m not really sure why. I definitely think that there is some version of truth to it, its hard to sign on to the belief that nothing at all happens after your loved ones pass away,and that they’ll never see you again. I own a ouija board and it does feel nice to even think you’re communicating with someone that you miss so much. However, i dont think i put much stock into the whole possession, scary ghost thing. It’s a slightly larger reach from “a loved one visiting” for me to start thinking “its a strangers ghost and its mad and trying to get me!”. I feel like I’m in a pretty average spot with that belief but let me know what you think @anyone else!

So this spring break, my boyfriend and I decided to take a little ghost tour around Ohio (in order to save money), and in doing so, we came across some wild tales surrounding “haunted” cemeteries and bridges that all seemed to vary among individual retellings. I find that this one aspect lends itself to dispelling supernatural belief because without a concrete story of the history of a supposedly haunted place, the account’s credibility is severely limited. While we did take multiple photos of different locations in order to try and get a glimpse of anything wild, we were left with nothing but plain photos, devoid of any orbs, shadows, blurs, etc. Like you mentioned, until I see some concrete evidence and have an experience of my own, I think I will stand as a nonbeliever.

Oh my god, that would have been so much fun though. I have always wanted to visit haunted places. But I always end up thinking that if the tales are really true, it would confirm a belief that I don’t want to confirm. I would rather think that these thinks don’t exist compared to being proved wrong and being scared for the rest of my life.

So, this is a super random question, but if there was one person in history or the present who you think would be most likely to come back as a ghost, who do you think it would be? For me, I TOTALLY think it would be Nicholas Cage – I mean, if he can’t steal the Declaration of Independence in life, he must do it in death! Or, if he does die (I’m still not convinced he will), I would expect it to be Morgan Freeman!

I just wanted to say I legitimately laughed out loud at this comment. Nicholas Cage would definitely be the one to come back as a ghost, if anything to continue his reign as a meme for our generation. I could also see someone like Shia LaBeouf coming back to encourage us to “DO IT”.

I would say Hitler, I know this might sound a bit random. But according to where I come from, souls come back as ghosts because they could not achieve what they were supposed to. Hitler took his own life (suicide), which means it wasn’t his time to die yet and he challenged the normal order of things. He was not successful with his motives, therefore his ghost would come back to do the needful.

I think one interesting fact about the ghost (or devil) is that many people claimed they have seen a ghost (or devil), it is never the same when they depicting the appearance, but when they were asked to describe the look of the god, they all agree what was him looked like…

I think the ghost is a version of the dead people. Nobody knows where we will go after death, so they try to believe that the ghost exist and they can still company with their family even after they died. I also always think if my ancestors become the ghost and they are watching their grandson. Some people believe after death, the good people will go to heaven, and they punish these evil people to let them stay on the earth. Whatever what happens after death, I believe there must be some places can let these spirit stay.

The idea of ghosts is one that speaks to the human desire to know what can’t necessarily be fully known. According to Terror Management Theory, the ultimate fate everyone will have to face one day is death, and the human psyche tries to manage this terror. And in accordance to this theory, the belief in ghosts is an excellent way to lessen the fear of an eternal loss of consciousness.

Hello! This was a great choice for your blog post! I think most people have some idea if they believe in ghosts or not. I think the belief in ghosts vary person to person. Sometimes people may think of them literally like in horror movies and think there loved ones souls still linger around. I think this is an interesting idea to choose because this is something we still lack evidence on as in science. Where do people go where there gone? Do we know what matter or place they go to? There is so much to be known and its really cool to take a step back and look at what we do know. Personally I dont think ghosts are like they appear in movies, like Casper, but it would be interesting and cool to find out the when people leave earth, they still leave a part of themselves or look over loved ones!

One thing I found really interesting in your article is how people believe in ghost would misinterpret the evidence that not equally support their belief. Confirmation bias is so general that we could see it in every day life. But I think the concept of ghost may also have some culture and literature meaning. Just like the fear of death and the trauma of family member’s death. This is really a complicated belief that combine bias in many aspects.

I find it how interesting in the post, you mentioned how ghost might have unfinished business or rather this is why people thing that ghosts are around. However, my family described ghosts as spirits which was different because spirits were good. Essentially, spirits were only sent down to protect. However, I find it interesting how everyone has their own interpretation of what ghosts are. Overall, I think that people who believe in ghosts use it more as a comfort so they can feel like there is something after death and this is why the fall under confirmation bias so much.

Do I believe in ghosts? You better believe it! My mom lost her sister to some sort of cardiac complication at the age of 22, and ever since then my mother has felt/seen/dreamed her presence many times. This is her recollection, but there are other people around the world who visualize ghosts much differently. I like how someone above mentioned the difference between ghosts and spirits and the idea that one is good and one is deemed culturally bad. Some people I know use “luck” as a way to explain a ghost’s presence. Other’s use close calls, or times of overcoming hardship to explain the presence of ghosts/spirits. Overall though, I believe that the belief in ghosts/spirits is maintained only in a space where it is all together accepted. For example, The Holy Ghost is perceived by some of the population to be a thriving spirit that is there for the purposes of guidance and care. But to an Atheist or a non-religious individual/group of people, The Holy Ghost might be interpreted as a sham or a hoax. This is a religious example, but it still provides support for the fact that if there is no fostering of the idea of ghosts in ones local society, then there is overall subtle consequences (however minor) linked with the belief. This post was really enjoyable to read!

I loved reading your blog post. I am someone who does not want to believe in ghosts, but at the same time, when I am in creepy situations or home alone and hear strange noises, I first think “intruder?” and then “ghost?”. I will say I have had multiple strange experiences at my house where I cannot explained what happened so I resort to ghosts. When I was home alone one night, I had my dogs with me and coincidentally they looked at the entrance to my room just as I had taken a snapchat picture to send my good night streaks and when I looked at the picture there was what looked like a “ghostly” figure standing in the door way. I didn’t want to believe it was a ghost, nonetheless I ran out screaming and called my dad.

I think people believe in ghosts because there is comfort in believing there’s life after death. I am not a fan of ghosts and the supernatural, but I know there is supposedly “scientific” proof. Like people who believe in aliens, people also claim to have experiences with ghosts. Other reasons people believe in ghosts for religious reasons or simply because they want to believe their loved ones who have passed away are still there.

Loved your post! You took a very objective side and explained both sides in a great way. Ghosts is a very fascinating belief that exists. I still do not know if I believe in ghosts and spirits or not. I think, sometimes believing in spirits gives people a feeling of hope. It is scary to think of life after death, but believing that there is something after life makes it a little less of a scary thing.

Comments are closed.

There’s a fascinating psychological reason behind your belief in ghosts

Halloween is a time to celebrate ghosts, vampires, and everything supernatural.

But if you truly believe in ghosts, you're not alone.

According to a Gallup survey from 2005, about three out of four Americans harbor at least one paranormal belief. More than a third of people surveyed also said they believed in ghosts or spirits returning from the dead. Another 37% reported believing in haunted houses , and a whopping 41% in extrasensory perception (ESP).

But just what makes us susceptible to these beliefs, despite an utter lack of evidence that they're real?

It's how our brains are wired

Part of the reason many of us believe in ghosts simply comes down to the way our brains work, Barry Markovsky, a sociologist at the University of South Carolina, told Business Insider.

The human mind seeks patterns to make sense of ambiguous information. "Ghosts are almost always seen under ambiguous circumstances — such as in poor lighting, or when we're just waking up or falling asleep, when our senses are not at their peak function," Markovsky said.

People who believe in ghosts are often in situations where they're expecting to see them , such as in a "haunted" house, Markovsky added. In other words, if you're looking for something, you're more likely to find it.

"Humans are hardwired to seek out explanations for what happens around us," Radford adds.

It's related to belief in life after death

A wide variety of supernatural beliefs exist in different cultures, but ghosts are by far the most common one, Benjamin Radford, deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine and author of " Scientific Paranormal Investigation: How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries ," told Business Insider.

Part of the reason for this is that believing in ghosts may be related to a belief in the afterlife , a tenet of most major religions. Believing in the supernatural also has its roots in our desire to have control over our world, Radford explained. After all, a world where random things happen is a scary one.

Another Gallup poll found that in sub-Saharan Africa, more than half of people surveyed believed in witchcraft, and those who did tended to rate themselves as less happy than nonbelievers. And a 2008 study found that lonely people are more likely to believe in the supernatural.

Some seek the thrill of it

Of course, another reason people believe in ghosts is the same reason that people like to watch scary movies or play Bloody Mary in girls' bathrooms: for the thrill of it.

There's a word for buying into these scary stories: legend-tripping. Basically, people do this because they know they're not in any real danger, Radford said.

But there's a contradiction at the heart of our belief in ghosts. One the one hand, there's the idea that ghosts are scary and wish to do us harm, but on the other, there are people who go looking for ghosts.

Many ghost hunters see themselves as "traffic cops for the afterlife," Radford said. Instead of believing ghosts to be evil, they think of them as spirits that have simply gotten lost on the way to the hereafter.

As Radford put it, "If you're genuinely terrified of ghosts and think they could kill you, why the [heck] would you go looking for them?"

Of course, movies and TV shows about ghost-hunting, which are often presented with very little skepticism, aren't helpful.

It's all good fun, but as Radford said, "Don't believe everything you see on TV!"

Watch: This 'Ghostbusters' superfan spent over $150K recreating the famous vehicle from the film

Main content

The Existence of Ghosts Essay

To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
As a template for you assignment

In the traditional cultural beliefs, a ghost is universally thought of as the spirit or soul of a dead person. It could even be that of an animal, which can appear to the living in different manifestations. In every culture, people believe that ghosts exist, which is certainly true, except that their description differs. Ghosts may manifest in realistic, life-like visions or even as an invisible presence. They could as well be manifested as wimpy shapes.

Those do not believe in the existence of ghosts can only be thought of as living in an ideal world. We have witnessed or heard stories of ghosts haunting particular people or locations associated with them when they were still alive. Ghosts are known to exist because there have always been evidences of them communicating with people directly or even in dreams.

In the Bible, which forms an integral part of lives of all Christians, it is documented that spirits spoke to Jesus when he wanted to cast them, asked him why he wanted to interfere with them while his time was not yet, and begged him to drive them into a herd of pigs. Jesus answered them and said “Go!” and they left the two men whom they had controlled for years and instead went into the pigs. These scriptures, along with many other scriptures in the Bible, are a clear proof of the existence of ghosts.

They existed even before what we now call the modern world and they are still there since people die every day and transform into ghosts. It is something we just cannot assume that does not exist. They have powers in the spirit world, time and again, we have witnessed circumstances of spirits controlling certain aspects of life activities and our lives.

There have been several instances of ghost activities or people meeting and talking to ghosts. Although some people tend to dismiss such stories or events, I believe that it is just a matter of time before they experience such instances before they come to believe that ghosts exist.

Some people who have walked through cemetery lands in the dark have always had memorable experiences. Some of them have been chased by ghosts from the cemeteries or have heard voices of invincible beings talking to them or talking on their own. There have been instances of people who have encounters with ghosts being mentally disturbed or ill, and in some cases, developing complications which can not be diagnosed or explained scientifically.

Some people, who to me, pretend to be living in an ideal world, have tended to explain the existence of ghosts as being in the minds of people, and therefore to them, people react according to what they believe in their minds. Such perceptions are certainly not true. For example, in my Junior High School, students would wake in the morning only to find their pair of shoes missing from under their beds, but later find their well polished shoes in the lavatories.

According to the history of the school, a catholic nun had died while teaching in the mission school and therefore her spirits have returned to haunt those in the school. If anybody was to dismiss the existence of ghosts in my former school, how would they explain such instances? How do they explain the presence of over 20 pairs of well polished shoes in the lavatory, against the knowledge of their owners?

Again, we have always had black spots along the major roads. Most of the drivers interviewed after accidents in the black spot areas have always reported having seen somebody cross the road or standing in the middle of the road and in attempts to avoid hitting the person, the vehicle overturned or something like that. How do you explain such incidences?

We have also constantly witnessed pastors or men of God rebuke spirits out of ailing people. They sometimes speak to them, and while some spirits would reply, some would just go away, and in the event, the person gets healed. How then does anybody dispute the fact that ghosts exist? What would explain the sickness of such a person; obviously his or her sickness had resulted from the control by spirits.

It is under the same ideology that spirits exist that witchdoctors operate. Many people including patients have consulted witchdoctors to get healed or to seek some favors, which they have always found through the witchdoctors communication with ghosts.

People should therefore understand that ghosts are real and that they exist. They have even been recognized by God as demonstrated by works of Jesus. They have supernatural powers and can control our lives or events in our lives. They are able to see, communicate and control every being in the world, including those who pretend that ghosts do not exist.

Religions as a Prime Root of Conflicts
Position of the Christian Church on Homosexuality
Debunking Ghosts in the World Literature
Ghost's Fear
Ghost Dance Religious Movement
Euthanasia From a Disciple of Jesus Christ in Today’s World
The Future of Religion
The Fight Against Terrorism by Christian and Islam Leaders
Why politics needs religion
Aspects of the Male Divine in Contemporary Culture
Chicago (A-D)
Chicago (N-B)

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1. IvyPanda . "The Existence of Ghosts." October 10, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-existence-of-ghosts/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Existence of Ghosts." October 10, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-existence-of-ghosts/.

Here's Why Ghost Stories Are So Important, According to a Professor of Anthropology

Unpacking this unofficial yet ubiquitous part of our culture.

silhouette of a gravestone with the sun in clouds

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"Science doesn't tell you to believe in ghosts and most organized religions really don't tell you to believe in ghosts. And yet people believe in ghosts—this is folklore at its finest... Ghosts have an interesting role in that they are a really well-believed and well-discussed, but completely unofficial part of our culture," says Tok Thompson , Ph.D., renowned folklorist, author , and professor of anthropology at the University of Southern California. But why? Why do we keep passing on ghost stories, and in some cases, believing them?

Professor Thompson points out that beliefs are contextual, and within the topic of the paranormal, this means that what we experience as true and real is dependent on a whole host of variables. These variables can be as fleeting as one's immediate environment. For example, "if I asked my students in a classroom under neon lights how people believe it ghosts, very few people will raise their hands," Professor Thompson explains. "But, if we're all sitting together in some kind of mausoleum with gothic architecture in the moonlight and a wolf starts howling in the middle of Los Angeles where that doesn't usually happen, then more people will raise their hands," he adds. So it can be very mood-based.

And, like moods that come and go, belief can also be seasonal. Unsurprisingly, interest in ghost stories peaks in October. According to Google Trends , search queries for keywords like "ghost stories" and "real haunted houses" increase by over 400 percent in the weeks leading up to Halloween. Conversely, while the entertainment factor is certainly a big driver around spooky season, the question "are ghosts real?" has a pretty consistently high search volume throughout the year.

bewitching beauties prepare for halloween

Another important factor in the believability of a specific ghost story is the storyteller. As Professor Thompson reminds us, "some storytellers are so good at presenting a performance that you really want to believe it, no matter how ridiculous the story may be. There's an aesthetics to belief." If two different people each told the same ghost story, one of them might tell it in a way that's more compelling, and thus believable.

Of course, there's cultural background, too, which includes everything from nationality to religion and really shapes the way we make sense of the world, including whether or not we believe in ghosts, and how that belief manifests itself. In the U.S., there tend to be two main types of ghosts, the friendly familial ghost (like a grandparent or a life partner) and the malevolent, haunting spirit, which tends to be the more common representation in entertainment. It tells us a lot about what we fear and how we deal with bereavement and death. And though a huge percent of the U.S. population does indeed believe in ghosts, it's somewhat taboo, partially because we emphasize only trusting things that can be proven scientifically.

But if you go somewhere else in the world, you might notice different patterns. Professor Thompson explains that Japan is largely built around the motif of ghosts, particularly the "ancestral ghost who are warmly welcomed and sought out during the annual Oban festival, which is as important as Christmas in the U.S. and includes rituals like setting a place for the dead and inviting them in to eat with you again."

In Taiwan, over 95 percent of the population believes in ghosts. Their calendar system even incorporates this with a "ghost month," where the government shuts down, pausing official proceedings, like court cases. Whereas "France tends to have a low belief in ghosts, and instead, people claim to see saints," which can be understood as a variation of a ghost, says Thompson. The same is true when you look at the very vocabulary we use to define the motif of a ghost.

In Anglo-Saxon discourse, "a ghost tends to be thought of as a singular human soul associated with a person, which aligns with our idea of one soul per person. Not every culture has that. Sometimes people have sort of communal souls and family souls, in West African traditions, people have two souls, and in ancient Egypt, people had five souls. So, even the question of what is a soul? where does it go? has as enormous variation. This really gives you a sense of the richness of the tradition and all the different ways you can look at it," says Professor Thompson.

So while every culture may present ghosts and their relationship to them differently, it is indeed found throughout the world. Thompson describes it as a "worldwide tradition with an ancient history and overlaps with politics and history and religion." Even a widespread lack of belief in ghosts in a given culture can tell you a lot about the people in it. That's partially why he designed a course at USC that revolves around ghost stories. The university wanted him to spotlight a theme that transcends various disciplines and is also an accessible touchstone for a lot of people. "Everybody knows what we mean when we say ghosts, and I had students from around the world at my course," which made it even more fruitful for discussion, as learning about the different cultural flavors allows people to understand their own culture a little more deeply.

old gate, durham traditional anglosaxon gate, closed, with mansion

One way to learn more about the underlying cultural tensions within ghost stories is to examine the setting they function within: the grand old haunted house. In the U.S., there's a common trope of the fancy old house that used to be beautiful is now haunted. Thompson argues that there are distinct societal lineages for why this type of house keeps popping up as the backdrop for ghost stories. In western discourse, these haunted house representations "tend to suggest that maybe there are some ethical issues with the way we distribute wealth in our society. It's not so much the gothic castle pointing to the fall of the aristocracy as it is in England, because we don't have an aristocracy per se, but what we do have in America is a huge divide between the haves and a have nots."

Regardless of the size of a house, shelter is essential, and our most private moments tend to occur within our own homes, whatever they look like. So if we do most of our living in our homes, then they’re bound to represent the people who once lived in them even once those people pass. Maybe they will even go on to haunt them. Belief aside, ghost stories have a real impact on the empirical lives of many people, including both believers and skeptics alike.

Typically studied around Halloween, the Ghostbusters Ruling, known more formally as Stambovsky vs. Ackley, changed the law in the 1990s, mandating that listing agents disclose if a house is haunted (you can read more about the home here ). In the ruling, the court stated, “as a matter of law, this house is haunted," a controversial line, as we typically think of legal proceedings as factual and objective, while all things paranormal are associated with the binary opposite: spirituality, faith, and unprovable things. "This happens all the time in the world of real estate [and] you're legally required to disclose this fact to any potential buyers, the reason being that it would take down the market value and that it's a known condition, you can see that the idea of haunted houses is not really official, but it is ubiquitous in our society" to the extent that certain laws validate belief in ghosts, Professor Thompson says.

Now that he has been teaching the course for over a decade, he's been noticing more and more ghost stories set in the cyber realm, demonstrating how contemporary of a tradition it is. So, even though ghosts are distinctly located in the past—or they were when they were alive, at least—their stories have always evolved to fit within a contemporary framework. "I remember when the internet sort of popped into being, and there were no ghosts on the internet. Back then it was not a haunted place. And now it's a very haunted place," he adds. And that connects back to the idea of a haunted house, if the internet is where we do so much living, then it's going to become haunted, too.

low angle view of illuminated street light on building

So why do we continue to pass down ghost stories? Well, they seem to offer utility in a few ways: First, they're simply fun. "At summer camp, you sit around and you tell ghost stories, we watch scary movies... It's always been done for entertainment, but also it's always about what to believe, right." But there's probably more to it than that. "Ghost stories aren't mandated in high school, the government and church don't require you to learn them, but people choose to learn and pass them on. Because very often in ghost stories, there's a possibility that the ghost can be appeased, that you can acknowledge the wrongs, and give them a proper burial, whatever the case may be. And I think that's a really powerful ethical message to consider: We can't change the past, but you can certainly try to do the right thing now," Thompson says.

Ghost stories are important because they provide another view of history you might not otherwise find in a textbook, and they can become tools of resistance that ask listeners to unpack local histories in a new light or from a different, less official perspective. And under that air of ambivalence and mystery that breeds fear, ghost stories give us hope.

Colin Dickey Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places

Tok Thompson Truth of Myth: World Mythology in Theory and Everyday Life

Shirley Jackson The Haunting of Hill House (Penguin Horror)

Elizabeth Tucker Haunted Halls: Ghostlore of American College Campuses

To hear more ghost stories and to learn more from Professor Thompson, subscribe to our haunted house podcast, Dark House , on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Audible , or anywhere you listen.

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Essay on Why Do Many People Believe In Ghosts

Students are often asked to write an essay on Why Do Many People Believe In Ghosts in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Why Do Many People Believe In Ghosts

Belief in the unknown.

Ghosts are part of many cultures and stories worldwide. These tales often describe ghosts as spirits of the dead. People believe in ghosts because they offer an explanation for things that are hard to understand. For example, strange noises or lights in a house might be seen as signs of a ghost.

Emotional Connections

Fear and excitement.

Fear and excitement can also lead to belief in ghosts. Ghost stories can be thrilling, sparking our imagination and curiosity. This mix of fear and fascination can make the idea of ghosts very compelling.

Influence of Media

Movies, TV shows, and books often portray ghosts, reinforcing belief in their existence. These stories can make ghosts seem real, especially to those who are already open to the idea. Media can be very influential, shaping our perceptions and beliefs.

250 Words Essay on Why Do Many People Believe In Ghosts

Introduction, stories and folklore.

One reason people believe in ghosts is because of stories and folklore. From a young age, we hear tales about spooky spirits from our elders or in books and movies. These stories make a lasting impression and can convince us that ghosts are real.

Personal Experiences

Sometimes, people believe in ghosts because of personal experiences. They may feel a chill in a room, see a shadowy figure, or hear strange noises. These unexplained events can make them think that a ghost is nearby.

Fear of Death

The fear of death also plays a part. It’s hard for us to imagine what happens after we die. Believing in ghosts can make us feel like there’s something beyond death, which can be comforting.

Religion and Culture

Lastly, religion and culture can influence our beliefs about ghosts. Many religions and cultures around the world include spirits or ancestors in their teachings, which can make the idea of ghosts seem more real.

In conclusion, there are many reasons why people believe in ghosts. From stories and personal experiences to fears about death and cultural beliefs, these factors can make the idea of ghosts feel real and tangible. Even without scientific proof, the belief in ghosts continues to be a part of human nature.

500 Words Essay on Why Do Many People Believe In Ghosts

The influence of culture and tradition.

One of the main reasons why people believe in ghosts is because of culture and tradition. Many societies have stories and legends about spirits and supernatural beings. These tales are often passed down from generation to generation. As kids, we hear these stories from our elders and grow up believing in them. This cultural influence plays a big part in shaping our beliefs about ghosts.

Media and Entertainment

Movies, TV shows, and books also play a role in making people believe in ghosts. These forms of entertainment often depict ghosts in a way that seems real and believable. They show ghosts interacting with people and the physical world. This can make the idea of ghosts seem more real to us.

The Need for Explanation

The comfort of belief.

Believing in ghosts can also offer comfort. For some, it provides a way to stay connected with loved ones who have passed away. The idea that their spirits are still around can be comforting. It can also make the idea of death less scary, as it suggests that there is a form of life after death.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

How to Believe Ghost Stories

What people saw isn’t what matters. It’s what they think they saw.

Three black-and-white photos of people sitting for portraits with hazy ghostlike figures surrounding each of them.

Y our aunt says she was unable to sleep a wink because her Airbnb on the Cape was haunted by a pirate. Your uncle, who survived a heart attack, claims to have a new zeal for life after talking with his deceased father in heaven. Does believing their stories mean believing in ghosts?

No, it doesn’t. Because a story can be true in different ways.

Now is the time for ghost stories—and not just the kind intended to scare the kids at night. It’s also the perfect moment to reconsider how we think about other seemingly unexplainable tales. If someone tells you they’ve seen a ghost—or had a near-death experience (NDE) in which they departed their corporeal self—resist the urge to scoff. There’s a difference between ghost stories that are accurate and ones that are real.

Unlike the scary stories we like to tell in the dark, first-person reports of ghost sightings warrant a presumption of truth. Unless you have good reason to think otherwise, trust that your aunt really did see a specter and that your uncle really did hear his dad’s voice. The fact that they saw and heard these things helps explain why she’s so tired and he’s so energized. And rather than rolling our eyes at stories that sound unexplainable, we can accept the profundity of these experiences and respect their sincerity without being committed to their accuracy.

Read: Why do people believe in ghosts?

Experience, after all, doesn’t always match reality. Consider hallucinations, a term we don’t often associate with the supernatural. When people hallucinate, they see and hear things that aren’t there —like that time your college roommate took some mushrooms and kept insisting that the rose on his Salvador Dalí poster was blooming. Accepting reports of what a person experienced can help explain their behavior, even if we know it was the result of a chemical imbalance or something they ingested.

You might worry that comparing supernatural experiences to hallucinations stigmatizes those who see ghosts by suggesting they are mentally ill or on drugs. But drawing parallels with hallucinations is stigmatizing only if our presumption is that there is something wrong with having hallucinations in the first place. W e need not accept this .

Hallucinations occur for many reasons and are quite widespread . How many times have you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket, only to realize you didn’t actually get a text? Being the subject of a hallucinatory experience is nothing to be ashamed of.

Moreover, comparing ghost sightings and other supernatural experiences to hallucinations can be illuminating. The results of induced hallucination studies , for example, may provide a window through which we can better understand what’s going on with ghost stories. In both cases, we have reason to think that what people perceive is influenced by their prior expectations. The subjects in these studies are primed to expect to hear a beep when they see a light, and that’s what happens, even when no beep occurs. Similarly, we can suppose that your aunt saw the ghost pirate because she read a comment in the guestbook that the house is haunted. She was expecting him! To reject the parallel between hallucinations and ghost sightings out of hand would be to unnecessarily curtail our powers of explanation.

A ll of this can be easily applied to stories like your aunt’s encounter. We may not believe she saw a ghost, but we believe that she believes she saw one—and that therefore her experience was real. But what about your uncle’s chat with his dead father? Here we have a different category of ghost story altogether. And some insist that NDEs like your uncle’s prove the existence of the supernatural .

Let’s look at a particularly compelling case reported by the cardiologist and NDE researcher Pim van Lommel. A heart-attack patient’s dentures were still missing a few days after he had been resuscitated in the hospital. One day while he was still in recovery, he recognized the nurse who had removed them from his mouth days earlier—and it all came back to him. Lo and behold, they were in the cart drawer, where the patient said the nurse had placed them! But how did he know? He was unconscious when the nurse had taken his dentures out. Because, he said, he’d been floating above his body during the procedure and had seen it all happen.

From the April 2015 issue: The science of near-death experiences

This experience contains a detail—the dentures in the drawer—that matches what occurred at the time the person was unconscious. It’s not clear how the man could’ve known this if he wasn’t floating above his body. This NDE seems to support belief in the supernatural by giving us reason to accept the reality of a disembodied consciousness. It seems to provide us with a firsthand story about a real ghost.

We have plenty of reasons to resist this conclusion . For starters, accepting the supernatural explanation requires accepting the truth of things we can’t, even in principle, measure or observe. It requires giving up on the explanatory completeness of science. And it’s not clear we should do that yet. The fact that we don’t currently have a scientifically sound explanation for how this man could have known the whereabouts of his dentures doesn’t mean we won’t have one in the future. Science has been enormously successful in catching up with the apparently unexplainable, and it won’t stop.

In the meantime, Team Supernatural can point to a ready explanation for how the man knew about his dentures: He was a disembodied mind. The only thing Team Science can offer in response is a request for patience. Isn’t this just trading faith in the supernatural for faith in science?

Not quite. Team Science may not, at the moment, have an explanation handy for this man’s NDE, but its track record should instill confidence. Meanwhile, it isn’t in a worse position than Team Supernatural—both have some explaining to do.

Even if we accept that this man knew his dentures were put in the drawer by granting that he was, for a time, a disembodied mind, the supernaturalist then has to explain how this mind could function in connection with this same body both before and after the NDE. Most of what this man has seen in his life, he’s seen through his eyeballs. Team Science reminds us that we know something about how a physical brain receives visual inputs from physical eyeballs. How does a nonphysical mind receive visual inputs from physical eyeballs? Team Supernatural still faces the task of explaining how the physical and nonphysical can interact.

Until the believer in ghosts can provide a compelling explanation for this, it seems best to stick with science and believe some ghost stories without believing in ghosts.

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About the Author

Study Reveals Why You've Seen Dead People

Your sixth sense, explained.

Sleep paralysis may make you believe in aliens , too.
Scientists aren’t entirely sure what’s behind the link.

Do you believe in ghosts? Then you should get some sleep. How about aliens? Then you should really get some sleep.

A new study published in the Journal of Sleep Research further strengthens the scientific connections between poor sleep quality and paranormal beliefs.

In the study, poorer subjective sleep quality among subjects—lower sleep efficiency, longer sleep latency, shorter sleep duration, and increased insomnia symptoms—was linked to a greater belief in ghosts, demons, the ability to communicate with the dead, the soul living on after death, near-death experiences as evidence for life after death, and that aliens have visited the earth.

Plus, episodes of “exploding head syndrome” and isolated sleep paralysis were associated with “the belief that aliens have visited Earth,” the authors write.

The study largely used survey responses. In total, 8,853 participants, all at least 18 years old, worked through a survey and answered questions about their personal sleep habits and their penchant for the paranormal.

“For all associations, it was found that a higher level of paranormal belief was associated with a poorer subjective sleep quality, even when controlling for age and gender effects,” the authors write, adding the study indicates “associations between beliefs in the paranormal and various sleep variables.”

But why is that? Well, the scientists from Goldsmiths University of London say the mechanisms connecting the associations are likely complex and require an in-depth look, but they volunteered a few ideas, including that some of the more serious sleep issues include visual and auditory hallucinations.

Whether that means the sleep-deprived subjects interpret spooky sounds or images as aliens and ghosts, or it’s their beliefs that actually cause a sleep-sucking anxiety, the scientists hope to further explore the surprising connection. Until then, maybe they can just sleep on it.

Tim Newcomb is a journalist based in the Pacific Northwest. He covers stadiums, sneakers, gear, infrastructure, and more for a variety of publications, including Popular Mechanics. His favorite interviews have included sit-downs with Roger Federer in Switzerland, Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, and Tinker Hatfield in Portland.

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Articles and other items of interest on ghosts and the paranormal. Posting fake or frivolous photos is a violation of this community's rules and can lead to being banned. Posting fake and/or frivolous videos from Youtube or other sites can also lead to being banned. Be civil! The moderators of /r/Ghosts reserve the right to moderate posts and comments at their discretion, with regard to their perception of the suitability of said posts and comments for this subreddit. Language - English.

doing an essay on people who believe in ghosts, if you could answer these 7 questions, that’d be great!!

At what age did you start to believe in ghosts? And how many years has it been currently?

Do you communicate to others that also believe in ghosts or do you keep this belief private?

Do you ever doubt having this belief/ has it changed or stayed the same since you started?

What led you to believe in ghosts, or is there a paranormal experience you’ve had that led you to this belief?

Are you religious and Does religion play a part in your beliefs?

Does believing in ghosts/ the paranormal generally have a positive or negative impact on your life and why?

What’s your opinion on people who don’t believe in ghosts?

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FILE PHOTO: Minnesota Governor Walz speaks in St Paul about a change in charges to the officers involved in the death in M...

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Looking back at Tim Walz’s record and past statements

This fact check originally appeared on PolitiFact .

Vice President Kamala Harris has tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, capping a historically compressed vice presidential search.

Walz rocketed up the list of finalists on the strength of his folksy relatability, gubernatorial experience and congressional record representing a conservative-leaning district.

READ MORE: Harris selects Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as running mate

“I am proud to announce that I’ve asked @Tim_Walz to be my running mate,” Harris posted on X Aug. 6. “As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his. It’s great to have him on the team. Now let’s get to work.”

Walz rose to the rank of command sergeant major over 24 years in the U.S. Army National Guard and worked as a teacher and football coach. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives by ousting a Republican incumbent in a heavily rural district in 2006. Walz was elected governor in 2018 and was reelected in 2022.

“He’s a smart choice if they deploy him in two specific ways,” said Blois Olson, a political analyst for WCCO radio in Minneapolis-St. Paul. “Send him to rural areas to counter the polarization and the idea that only Republicans can win there. And have him keep the deep left base satisfied, which could be an issue with a very moody voting bloc.”

Olson said Walz’s rural experience and regular-guy vibes might be able to shave 2 to 4 percentage points off GOP electoral performance in rural Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — three states considered crucial to a Democratic victory in November.

WATCH LIVE: Harris holds first rally with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after choosing him as running mate

“The most recent Survey USA poll taken last month for KSTP-TV had Walz’ job approval at a healthy 56 percent,” said Steve Schier, a political scientist at Carleton College in Minnesota. “That said, Minnesota is quite a polarized state, and Republicans in the state despise him. He initially campaigned as a moderate in 2018 but has governed as a progressive.”

Walz was one of several potential vice presidential options floated since President Joe Biden announced he’d cede the nomination and endorsed Harris. Other frequently cited names were Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Now that he is Harris’ running mate, we are on the lookout for claims by and about Walz to fact-check — just as we are for Harris and former President Donald Trump and his vice presidential pick, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio. Readers can email us suggestions to [email protected].

READ MORE: Fact-checking JD Vance’s past statements and relationship with Trump

Republicans have already begun to question Walz’s handling of the rioting following the murder of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody. Walz clashed with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over how to handle the unrest, but he sent the Minnesota National Guard to aid local law enforcement.

Who is Tim Walz?

Walz grew up in Nebraska but moved with his wife, Gwen, to Minnesota in 1996 to teach high school geography and coach football; his teams won two state championships.

He was 42 when he ran for Congress, a decision sparked by a 2004 incident at an appearance by President George W. Bush. “Walz took two students to the event, where Bush campaign staffers demanded to know whether he supported the president and barred the students from entering after discovering one had a sticker for Democratic candidate John Kerry,” according to the Almanac of American Politics. “Walz suggested it might be bad PR for the Bush campaign to bar an Army veteran, and he and the students were allowed in. Walz said the experience sparked his interest in politics, first as a volunteer for the Kerry campaign and then as a congressional candidate.”

Walz’s ideological profile is nuanced. The other highest-profile finalist for Harris’ running mate, Shapiro, was pegged as somewhat more moderate and bipartisan than Walz. An Emerson College poll released in July found Shapiro with 49 percent approval overall in his state, including a strong 46 percent approval from independents and 22 percent from Republicans.

When he was elected to Congress, Walz represented a district that had sent Republicans to Washington for 102 of the previous 114 years, according to the Almanac of American Politics. Representing that constituency, Walz was able to win the National Rifle Association’s endorsement and he voted for the Keystone XL pipeline — two positions that have become highly unusual in today’s Democratic Party.

During his first gubernatorial term, Walz worked with legislative Republicans, which produced some bipartisan achievements, including $275 million for roads and bridges, additional funds for opioid treatment and prevention, and a middle-income tax cut.

In 2022, Walz won a second term by a 52 percent to 45 percent margin. Democrats also flipped the state Senate, providing him with unified Democratic control in the Legislature. This enabled Walz to enact a progressive wish list of policies, including classifying abortion as a “fundamental right,” a requirement that utilities produce carbon-free energy by 2040, paid family leave and legalizing recreational marijuana. He also signed an executive order safeguarding access to gender-affirming health care for transgender residents.

After Harris’ announcement, the Trump campaign attacked Walz’s legislative record in a campaign email: “Kamala Harris just doubled-down on her radical vision for America by tapping another left-wing extremist as her VP nominee.”

Olson noted that Walz “only has one veto in six years. He doesn’t say ‘no’ to the left, after being a moderate. That’s a reason he’s now beloved by the left.”

Democrats have controlled the Minnesota state Legislature’s lower chamber during Walz’ entire tenure. However, Republicans controlled the state Senate for his first four years in office.

Walz’s meteoric three-week rise on the national scene stemmed after calling Trump, Vance and other Republicans in their circle “weird.”

In a July 23 interview on MSNBC, Walz predicted that Harris would win older, white voters because she was talking about substance, including schools, jobs and environmental policy.

“These are weird people on the other side,” Walz said. “They want to take books away. They want to be in your exam room. That’s what it comes down to. And don’t, you know, get sugarcoating this. These are weird ideas.”

Days later on MSNBC , Walz reiterated the point: “You know there’s something wrong with people when they talk about freedom. Freedom to be in your bedroom. Freedom to be in your exam room. Freedom to tell your kids what they can read. That stuff is weird. They come across weird. They seem obsessed with this.”

Other Democrats, including the Harris campaign, amplified the “weird” message, quickly making Walz a star in online Democratic circles.

Walz also attracted notice for being a self-styled fix-it guy who has helped pull a car out of a ditch and given advice about how to save money on car repairs . He staged a bill signing for free breakfast and lunch for students surrounded by cheering children .

Schier said he expects Walz to be a compatible ticket-mate who won’t upstage the presidential nominee. “Walz will be a loyal companion to Harris,” Schier said.

One thing Walz does not bring to the table is a critical state for the Democratic ticket. In 2024, election analysts universally rate Minnesota as leaning or likely Democratic. By contrast, Shapiro’s state of Pennsylvania is not only one of a handful of battleground states but also the one with the biggest haul of electoral votes, at 19. Another finalist, Kelly, represents another battleground state with nine electoral votes, Arizona.

Fact-checking Walz

We have not put Walz on our Truth-O-Meter. However, days after Floyd’s murder, we wrote a story about how a false claim about out-of-state protestors was spread by Minnesota officials, including Walz, and then national politicians, including Trump.

At a May 2020 news conference, Walz said he understood that the catalyst for the protests was “Minnesotans’ inability to deal with inequalities, inequities and quite honestly the racism that has persisted.” But there was an issue with “everybody from everywhere else.”

“We’re going to start releasing who some of these people are, and they’ll be able to start tracing that history of where they’re at, and what they’re doing on the ‘dark web’ and how they’re organizing,” Walz said. “I think our best estimate right now that I heard is about 20 percent that are Minnesotans and about 80 percent are outside.”

The statistic soon fell apart.

Within hours, local TV station KARE reported that Minneapolis-based police tallies of those arrested for rioting, unlawful assembly, and burglary-related crimes from May 29 to May 30 showed that 86 percent of those arrested listed Minnesota as their address. Twelve out of 18 people arrested in St. Paul were from Minnesota.

Confronted with these numbers, the officials walked back their comments that evening or did not repeat them. In a news conference, Walz did not repeat his earlier 80 percent assertion. KARE-TV wrote that Walz said the estimate was based in part on law enforcement intelligence information and that the state would monitor developments.

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Parapsychology

Why it's normal to believe in the paranormal, psychology explains paranormal beliefs despite scant scientific evidence..

Updated October 24, 2023 | Reviewed by Ray Parker

Beliefs in the paranormal, like interaction between the living and the dead, are common in the United States.
Psychologists link paranormal belief to weak reality testing: the ability to tell what's real from what's not.
Cognitive and motivational biases, distrust in science, and sensory perception can explain paranormal belief.
Non-scripted paranormal TV shows fuel paranormal belief with dramatic imagery and manufactured credibility.

It’s fun to think about what people believe and why they believe it. This, too, is part of psychology. This time of year, it’s interesting to think about beliefs in the paranormal.

Paranormal Beliefs Are Common in U.S.

Most Americans (70 percent) believe some interaction is possible between the living and the dead, according to the Pew Research Center. Some 44 percent agree they’ve felt the presence of a deceased person.

Smaller percentages report getting help from the dead (20 percent) and personally communicating with the dead (14 percent). And according to Ipsos, close to half (46 percent) say they believe ghosts are real.

Interest in and studying the paranormal goes back to the beginning of psychology in the late 1800s. However, given the relative lack of scientific support for the existence of the paranormal, today, most psychologists relegate paranormal belief to a weakness in the “reality testing process.”

That is the ability to distinguish between what is real and what is not. Indeed, some research finds that paranormal beliefs are associated with cognitive biases, such as jumping to conclusions based on their emotional appeal and interpreting random events as meaningful.

For instance, you can see how some people might want to see something that occurs in their environment (a sound, a breeze, a creak, a penny, a smell, a song, etc.) as an indicator a deceased loved one is communicating with them, or that spirits are present. From a psychodynamic perspective, believing is motivated reasoning that may reduce grief , existential anxiety , and fear of death .

Death can also represent the end of a relationship; some paranormal beliefs allow for a continued relationship. There is even some evidence of brain differences between believers and non-believers.

The Role of Scientific Literacy

It's also true that paranormal belief is associated with lower scientific literacy and scientific values (understanding science and scientific methods and trusting science). I wonder if a rise in their paranormal beliefs will accompany the trend among some American groups toward distrusting science and scientists.

But it also seems likely that scientifically minded people may be less inclined to admit to paranormal belief with its lack of scientific confirmation and contradiction of basic scientific principles. I struggle with this myself. Believing flies in the face of my training and scientific mindset, yet I find myself attracted to the idea that spirits are among us, and it is something I have “felt.”

I also know the history of science is replete with examples of things we did not know until we figured out scientific ways to see and study them, and sometimes, I wonder if this could be one of them.

But as a psychologist, I recognize how minds can play tricks. I know how believing leads to seeing almost as much as seeing leads to believing (what is known as confirmation bias ). I know how we perceive sensory inputs from the physical environment ( environmental perception ) is an interpretative process.

Hallucinations mimicking supernatural experiences have been induced in laboratory settings , and researchers suggest they result from how the brain processes unexpected sensory information. Therefore, I question my paranormal beliefs and experiences, taking them with a grain of salt and a saltshaker.

The Role of the Media

To some extent, the media have mainstreamed paranormal belief and increased social acceptance. Non-scripted shows like Ghost Hunters , Ghost Adventures , and The Dead Files , among others, are very popular. They play an interesting role in paranormal beliefs in responding to market demand from believers but promoting even stronger belief (and increased demand).

From a cognitive psychology perspective, these shows make it easier to imagine that spirits are among us and that the dead communicate with the living. This is consistent with the short-cut inference strategy called the availability heuristic (the easier something is to imagine, the more probable we judge it to be).

From a social-psychological perspective, these shows fuel belief because they are persuasive. The science of persuasion demonstrates the role of the information source in influencing us, particularly the appearance of trustworthiness, objectivity, and expertise.

Investigators seem trustworthy and unbiased, and many are open to “debunking” paranormal claims. They are presented as paranormal experts who use scientific-appearing equipment and scientific-sounding jargon (which may enhance their believability even with those holding scientific values). They confidently provide seemingly plausible explanations for the existence of paranormal phenomena.

The shows also employ dramatic and sincere testimonials from people claiming to have personal experiences with the paranormal. Vivid stories and the superficial appearance of credibility are known to be more persuasive than facts for those less in need of cognition (those who don't enjoy effortful thinking). These shows are compelling and persuasive, especially if you don’t question the role of the producers in manufacturing the appearance of credibility, and of course if you want to believe.

For my other essays on Halloween-related topics, read Very Superstitious (Why are people superstitious?) and Candy, Costumes, and Scares, Oh My! (Why do people "like" to be scared?)

Coelho, G.H.P., Hanel, P.H.P., & J. Wolf, L.J. (2020). The very efficient assessment of need for cognition: Developing a six-item version. Assessment , 27 , 1870-1885.

Fasce A., Picó A. (2019). Science as a vaccine. Science & Education , 28(1–2), 109–125.

Fiorito T. A., Abeyta A. A., Routledge C. (2020). Religion, paranormal beliefs, and meaning in life. Religion, Brain & Behavior , 1–8.

ackson, C., & Yi, J. (2019). Less than half of Americans believe ghosts are real. Ipsos. https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/halloween-2019

Kambhampathy, A.P. (2021). Many Americans believe in ghosts, do you? New York Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/28/style/do-you-believe-in-ghosts.html

Orepic, P., Bernasconi, F., Faggella, M., Faivre, N., & Blanke, O. (2023). Robotically-induced auditory-verbal hallucinations: Combining self-monitoring and strong perceptual priors. Psychological Medicine, 1-13. doi:10.1017/S0033291723002222

Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J.T. (1986). The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion.

In Advances in Experimental Social Psychology , 19, 123-205.

Pew Research Center. (2021). Few Americans blame God or say faith has been shaken amid pandemic, other tragedies. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/11/23/views-on-the-afterlife/#most-believe-some-interaction-is-possible-between-the-living-and-the-dead

Williams, C., Denovan, A., Drinkwater, K., & Dagnall, N. (2022). Thinking style and paranormal belief: the role of cognitive biases. Imagination, Cognition and Personality , 41 , 274-298.

Shawn Meghan Burn, Ph.D. , is a professor of psychology at the California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo.

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Remove the Ghosts from Haunted Provider Directories: 5 Things Payers Should Know

by Meghan Gaffney, CEO and co-founder, Veda 08/07/2024 Leave a Comment

Payers place many resources—including time, personnel, and money—into maintaining provider networks for their plans and members. What is the intended goal after negotiating and contracting with networks? An accurate and comprehensive provider directory containing in-network clinicians and specialists that members can effectively use to “find a doctor” when they need care.

In reality, though, this is often an elusive goal. Members frequently find themselves haunted by ‘ghost networks’ – directories with listings for doctors who are no longer practicing, not accepting new patients, out-of-network, or have listings with inaccurate addresses, phone numbers, and websites. Those lists, constructed from bad or inaccurate data, contain inaccurate information that can hide network inadequacy. Patients have made lawmakers aware of their frustrations with delayed care and unexpected, sometimes life-altering surprise bills due to a ghost networks.

Lawmakers have listened. In 2023, the Senate Committee on Finance conducted a study of Medicare Advantage mental health care providers in provider directories and found that “more than 80% of the listed, in-network, mental health providers staff attempted to contact were therefore ‘ghosts,’ as they were either unreachable, not accepting new patients, or not in-network.” Results such as this have prompted legislators to propose legislation at both the federal and state level to require payers and providers to address the ghost network problem.

As patients advocate for change and elected officials take note, payers and providers should prepare for the mandates that are coming.

The following are five key considerations around legislative efforts to address ghost networks and improving transparency in provider directory data management.

1. Federal Efforts to Combat Ghost Networks Are Underway

Two companion, bi-partisan bills have been introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to address ghost networks at the federal level for Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries.

In October 2023, U.S. Senators Bennet, Tillis, and Wyden introduced the REAL Health Providers Act . This bipartisan bill, which was approved unanimously by the Senate Finance Committee, mandates that MA plans maintain accurate and updated provider directories, ensures seniors do not pay out-of-network costs for incorrect ghost listings, and instructs CMS to post publicly the provider data accuracy scores of MA plans.
In March 2024, the House version of the REAL Health Providers Act, H.R. 7708 , was introduced by a bipartisan group of legislators. Like its Senate counterpart, this bill aims to protect seniors against surprise bills from providers they thought were in-network and aims to eradicate inaccuracies in provider directory listings.

And, ghost network legislation is not limited to MA plan enrollees. The Senate has also taken on ghost networks in private health insurance.

In March 2024, Senators Smith and Wyden introduced a bill focusing on behavioral health and insurance coverage. The Behavioral Health Network and Directory Improvement Act focuses on improving provider directory accuracy, ensuring that directory update are done in a timely manner, addressing network adequacy shortcomings, and working toward mental health parity.

2. State Legislators Are Also Viewing Ghost Networks as an Election Year Issue

In addition to Congress, several states—New York, California, New Jersey, Illinois, New Jersey and New York, to name a few—have also introduced legislation to combat ghost networks. And some of these proposals are more stringent than the Congressional proposals. For example, California’s proposed bill mandates investigations of reported inaccuracies and levies steep fines for non-compliance, whereas Illinois’ proposed legislation requires updates within two days of being notified of the need for a change. Plans should be mindful of this ever-evolving state landscape as well when developing their future provider directory strategies.

3. The Momentum for Change Is Likely To Increase

Current proposed legislation evolved out of concerns for access to behavioral health care. It is likely, as momentum builds, that the language from these bi-partisan proposals will be used as a template for broader reforms focused on improved provider directory data management, shorter timelines for provider data updates, and more robust network adequacy across many types of insurers and plans. However, inaccurate provider data remains rampant at health plans, significantly affecting the overall member experience. Therefore, stopping at behavioral health reforms alone will not suffice to enhance member experience across the board.

Providers and payers should continue monitoring evolving legislation and work to address the upcoming anticipated legislative changes. Then can then develop new strategies to optimize workflows, remove data gaps and inaccuracies, and improve network adequacy.

4. The Best Defense Is a Good Offense

Payers would benefit from developing a comprehensive approach to addressing the changes to come. Health plans should strive to enact systematic fixes to improve their provider data management systems and processes. As part of this process, payors should be mindful of the following requirements that are common among many of the legislative proposals:

Regular provider directory verifications – Plans must verify the accuracy of provider directory data every 90 days.
Provider directory currency – Plans must keep certain categories of provider directory information up-to-date including name, specialty, contact information, address, people with disability accommodations, cultural and linguistic capabilities, and telehealth capabilities.
Fast updates for inaccurate or outdated information – Plans will be given a short deadline (e.g., 5 days) for updating provider directory information and removing providers who are no longer in-network.
Publicly available accuracy scores and audit results – Plans should be mindful that the results of their annual provider data accuracy assessments are likely to be made public and will be considered by members during open enrollment periods.
In-network rates for the care provided by physicians listed as in-network – Plans willl be required to charge in-network rates for any care received by members by out-of-network providers who were listed as in-network at the time care was sought.

5. Work on an Action Plan for Data Governance Now

Payers should anticipate these new proposals and understand how they will impact their operational workflows and strategies for managing provider networks.

As part of that strategy, plans should consider the impact of ghost networks on member satisfaction. Member experience and data quality impact HEDIS scores and Star ratings. Improved data governance, interoperability, and a renewed focus on provider data accuracy will positively impact both.

To address these concerns and prepare for upcoming changes, payers should:

Examine their current approach to provider data management – Traditional manual approaches of call campaigns, manual roster intake, and attestation will not be robust enough to handle the quick turnarounds, data standardization, and data accuracy benchmarks set by the new legislation.
Determine areas for improvement – Identify which processes do not align with the new requirements. Accuracy score reporting, data processing times, and rapid updates will require new technology-based approaches for the creation and maintenance of accurate provider directories. Payers should examine current processing times, compliance attestation processes, and data standardization methodologies to see if they are adequate for the new legislative requirements.
Capitalize on technology-based processes, including AI, to boost accuracy scores and achieve compliance – Manual processes will not provide the agility or accuracy required by the current legislative proposals. Plans should look to technology-based solutions to provide the processing capabilities needed to identify and clean up inaccurate data, remove directory ghosts quickly, and increase overall accuracy scores.

Accessible healthcare is at the core of efforts to eliminate ghost networks and improve the member experience through accurate and reliable provider directory listings. Once existing data is accurate, plans can build out their networks to meet adequacy requirements and ensure members have access to the right providers when and where they need care.

Legislative efforts are driving change – plans should start planning now and explore technology-based solutions to help them improve performance, achieve compliance, and most importantly, streamline the ability of their members to obtain the care they need.

About Meghan Gaffney

Meghan Gaffney is the CEO and co-founder of Veda , a healthcare-focused data automation company solving complex payer and provider data challenges.

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Guest Essay

He Stands Out in a ‘Sea of Elites and Strivers’: Our Writers on What Tim Walz Brings to the Ticket

By New York Times Opinion

On Tuesday, Kamala Harris announced that Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, was her running mate. We asked eight of our columnists and contributors to assess the pick by rating Mr. Walz on two metrics: how much he’ll help Ms. Harris against Donald Trump and how much enthusiasm he’ll generate.

What excites you about the pick?

Josh Barro, author of the newsletter Very Serious Tim Walz is good on television, and his roots as a high school teacher and football coach from the rural Midwest will offer a good contrast to the Republican ticket. And he does no harm — what voter is open to Kamala Harris but finds Walz too off-putting to elect?

Charles M. Blow, Times columnist Walz made “weird” happen. His affable and relatable style on the campaign trail helped him distill the current conservative movement into a single word, “weird,” that has been a surprisingly effective attack line. He brings a plain-talking, labor-friendly, Midwestern appeal to the ticket. He is Joe Biden, 20 years ago.

Jane Coaston, contributing Opinion writer We have never had a defensive coordinator in the White House or on the campaign trail. Excited to hear how the 4-4 will work nationally.

Gail Collins, Times columnist Teacher and football coach!

Michelle Cottle, political writer for Opinion The guy looks natural rocking a camo baseball cap and grubby T-shirt — a big plus for a party that has trouble relating to regular folks. Plus, he clearly knows how to have fun in the attack-dog role without being the least bit nasty.

Liam Donovan, Republican strategist An affable character with an avuncular charm befitting a career teacher and coach. Walz’s background as a senior enlisted National Guardsman and his unique path to the governor’s mansion stand out in a sea of elites and strivers. Odd-couple pairing adds cultural and optical balance to the ticket.

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COMMENTS

A Belief in Ghosts: Poetry and the Shared Imagination
Baby hair with a woman's eyes. I can feel you watching in the night. All alone with me and we're waiting for the sunlight. When I feel cold, you warm me. And when I feel I can't go on, you come and hold me. It's you…. And me forever. —Hall & Oates. I.
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In Taiwan, some people believe that the presence of wandering ghosts during Ghost Month can cause accidents to the living. At least one study has shown that people avoid risky behaviors during ...
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naïve dualists. More recent research. phenomenon of sleep paralysis more likely to experience it. comes quickly and naturally study of neural activity. Between 30% and 50% of the population ...
Saying Thanks To My Ghosts : NPR
It took my breath away and filled me with something absolute: love, but also joy and peace — and with that, understanding that love and joy and peace are all the same thing. Joy comes from love ...
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Tell us about it. The article cites a 2019 YouGov survey that revealed 45 percent of U.S. adults believe in ghosts and a 2009 Pew Research Center report that found 18 percent of Americans believe ...
Millions of Americans Believe in Ghosts. An Expert Reveals Why
An Expert Reveals Why. Certainly, lots of people believe in ghosts - a spirit left behind after someone who was alive has died. In a 2021 poll of 1,000 American adults, 41% said they believe in ghosts, and 20% said they had personally experienced them.
Why Do We Believe in Ghosts?
Our ghosts give us our identity, help us to know who we are. Above all, they give us our ability to reach out to others, to love. Sheila Kohler is the author most recently of a memoir "Once we ...
Are ghosts real? A social psychologist examines the evidence
Certainly, lots of people believe in ghosts - a spirit left behind after someone who was alive has died. In a 2021 poll of 1,000 American adults, 41% said they believe in ghosts, and 20% said ...
Why Do We Believe in Ghosts?
Our ghosts give us our identity, help us to know who we are. Above all, they give us our ability to reach out to others, to love. Sheila Kohler is the author most recently of a memoir "Once we ...
Why Do We Believe in Ghosts?
We cannot know the future or interpret the present moment. Our ghosts give us our identity, help us to know who we are. Above all, they give us our ability to reach out to others, to love. Sheila ...
Are Ghosts Real? What The Experts Say, Theories & More
Whether they identify as an atheist, don't believe in the afterlife, or don't believe in the idea of a soul, some people are not open to mystical ideas. To believe in ghosts is to believe that a spirit, soul, entity, etc., can exist without a physical body in some unseen realm, and for nonbelievers, that just doesn't sound possible.
Ghosts: Fact or Fiction?
Ghosts are considered extraordinary because the idea of them is unable to be authenticated by science. There is no replicable experiment known that can validate a ghost's presence; people coming back after death as spirits defies all scientific laws of nature. Besides hope, the belief of ghosts continues to live on through oral stories that ...
Why Do People Believe in Ghosts?
Of course, another reason people believe in ghosts is the same reason that people like to watch scary movies or play Bloody Mary in girls' bathrooms: for the thrill of it. There's a word for ...
The Existence of Ghosts
The Existence of Ghosts Essay. Exclusively available on IvyPanda®. In the traditional cultural beliefs, a ghost is universally thought of as the spirit or soul of a dead person. It could even be that of an animal, which can appear to the living in different manifestations. In every culture, people believe that ghosts exist, which is certainly ...
Many Americans Say They Believe in Ghosts. Do You?
The last time Gallup surveyed people about ghosts, in 2005, 32 percent of respondents said they believed in "ghosts or that spirits of dead people can come back in certain places and situations ...
Are Ghosts Real? Why Do People Believe In Ghosts?
In the U.S. alone, a recent poll revealed that almost half of the population identifies with believing in ghosts to some degree. "Science doesn't tell you to believe in ghosts and most organized ...
100 Words Essay on Why Do Many People Believe In Ghosts
The Influence of Culture and Tradition. One of the main reasons why people believe in ghosts is because of culture and tradition. Many societies have stories and legends about spirits and supernatural beings. These tales are often passed down from generation to generation. As kids, we hear these stories from our elders and grow up believing in ...
How to Believe Ghost Stories
By Benjamin Mitchell-Yellin. Your aunt says she was unable to sleep a wink because her Airbnb on the Cape was haunted by a pirate. Your uncle, who survived a heart attack, claims to have a new ...
Why People Believe in Ghosts: New Study Reveals Surprising Reason
In total, 8,853 participants, all at least 18 years old, worked through a survey and answered questions about their personal sleep habits and their penchant for the paranormal. "For all ...
doing an essay on people who believe in ghosts, if you could answer
Articles and other items of interest on ghosts and the paranormal. Posting fake or frivolous photos is a violation of this community's rules and can lead to being banned. Posting fake and/or frivolous videos from Youtube or other sites can also lead to being banned.
Looking back at Tim Walz's record and past statements
Walz's meteoric three-week rise on the national scene stemmed after calling Trump, Vance and other Republicans in their circle "weird."
12 Ghost Stories for Halloween 2024
10 True Ghost Stories from the Most Haunted Places in the World
Why It's Normal to Believe in the Paranormal
Paranormal Beliefs Are Common in U.S. Most Americans (70 percent) believe some interaction is possible between the living and the dead, according to the Pew Research Center. Some 44 percent agree ...
Remove the Ghosts from Haunted Provider Directories for Payers
The Senate has also taken on ghost networks in private health insurance. In March 2024, Senators Smith and Wyden introduced a bill focusing on behavioral health and insurance coverage.
Where Tim Walz Stands on the Issues
During his re-election campaign for governor in 2022, he said that he wanted electric vehicles to account for 20 percent of cars on Minnesota roads by 2030, and that he wanted the state to reach ...
Opinion
Guest Essay. The Christian Case Against Trump. Aug. 2, 2024. ... They also believe that they can sway enough of their fellow evangelicals, along with other people of faith, and low-income ...
Opinion
On Tuesday, Kamala Harris announced that Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, was her running mate. We asked eight of our columnists and contributors to assess the pick by rating Mr. Walz on two ...

A Belief in Ghosts: Poetry and the Shared Imagination

I. The Materiality of the Imagination

II. A Belief in Ghosts

III. The Sighting of the Ghost

IV. Poetry Needs a Belief in a Shared, Material Imagination

V. Does a Material Imagination Make a Visionary Poetry

VI. What About Reality That is Not Real, What About Poetry

V. To Conclude

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What does the term "ghost" really mean?

The history of the term.

Why some people believe in ghosts:

They want to believe.

They've had a paranormal experience.

They're open to mystical ideas.

Why some people don't believe in ghosts:

They've never experienced anything paranormal.

There's no "real" proof.

So, are ghosts real?

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