What is a Ghost

A ghost, which is also known as a spirit or an apparition is the energy, soul or personality of a person (or animal, depending on whose opinion you ask) who has died and has somehow gotten stuck between this plane of existence and the next. Most researchers believe that these spirits do not know they are dead. Very often they have died under traumatic, unusual or highly emotional circumstances. Ghosts can be perceived by the living in a number of ways: through sight (apparitions), sound (voices), smell (fragrances and odors), touch - and sometimes they can just be sensed.

Ghost lore has a long and colorful history. The word ghost has been in use since the late sixteenth century. It derives from a more ancient term, gast, in the language that evolved into modern German. For some time, ghost has usually signified the disembodied spirit of a deceased person. Earlier meanings still cling to this word, however. Gast originally referred to a terrifying rage. A person who experiences shock and terror can still be described as aghast (i.e., frightened by an angry ghost). Fear of angry ghosts is built into the word itself.

What is a Ghost?

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Do You Believe in Ghosts?

About three in four Americans profess to having at least one paranormal belief, according to a 2005 Gallup survey. The most popular belief is in ESP, or extrasensory perception, followed by a belief in haunted houses.

The following are some beliefs and the percentage of Americans who hold them:

41% Extrasensory perception

37% Haunted houses

32% Ghosts (spirits of the dead)

31% Telepathy (communication between minds)

31% Clairvoyance (power of the mind to predict the future)

25% Astrology

21% Communication with the dead

21% Witches

20% Reincarnation (rebirth of a soul in a new body)

9% Channeling (allowing a spirit to assume control of living person)

73% Americans who believe in at least one of the 10 items listed above