Ghosts and Apparitions
My family has lived in our two-family house for five generations—ever since it was built. We often felt a presence in the basement—someone watching. After my mom’s death, my son continued to live in the first-floor apartment while my niece and her family lived in the second-floor apartment. After he married, my son and daughter-in-law lived there before they bought their own home. One day when I was visiting, my daughter-in-law remarked that she sometimes felt someone was watching her in the basement. We all laughed and shared that it was my paternal grandmother who died there years before I was born.
We all, at times, felt that presence. When I was a boy, I used to go to a then-unfinished basement to play with my toys. One day, I asked if my mom had seen me, as I thought someone was watching. She laughed and shared the story of the ghost in our basement. Over time, all the family members at one time or another experienced that sense of presence.
In fact, when my niece was little and my sister lived in that second-floor apartment, my sister brought her down to the basement as my sister needed to fold laundry. She noticed her toddler happily babbling and looking like she was engaged in conversation—yet no one was there. The presence seems benign—even friendly and maternal. But we often joke that God help the first non-family members should they ever buy this house.
There is a paradoxical aspect to ghosts. Stories of ghosts and apparitions have existed from antiquity and are generally found in almost every culture. Most holy books in most religions either discuss or account for them. They are often pictured in literature and film in genres that include comedies, dramas, and horror films. In fact, the study of ghosts and apparitions took on a formal process with the founding of the American Center for Psychical Research in New York City. The founders sought to study both apparitions and telepathy to see if these phenomena could offer proof of survival after death.
Yet while ghosts and apparitions are culturally universal, the strong consensus of science is that ghosts and apparitions do not, in any way, actually exist. For evidence to be convincing there would need to be data, such as an apparition seen by multiple observers or that the apparition shared verifiable information that could not be obtained or known to others by conventional means. Naturally, to meet scientific standards, any alternate explanations would need to be ruled out. At present, meeting such criteria, despite an occasional anomalous case, seems elusive.
In fact, so many of the stories that seem to point to ghosts, on close examination, are found to lack support. For example, during World War II, the story of RAF Gunner Stoker was both widely repeated and believed. In the account, Wilbur Wright is an RAF ground engineer during World War II. In Wright’s account, he returns from a brief leave on Sunday night and meets Stoker as Stoker is searching for his gloves in preparation for a flight to lay mines at the Dortmund Ems Canal. On Monday, as Wright joins others for breakfast, he is told that McIntyre’s plane was shot down on Saturday. Wright remarks that Stoker was lucky he was not on that flight as he usually flew with McIntyre. His companions correct him—Stoker died on Saturday night. He had complained earlier that night that his gloves were missing. Yet, Charman’s investigation of the incident revealed no such mission at the time nor was there any record of McIntyre or Stoker.171
Yet there is one more paradox. Despite that general consensus of scientists that ghosts do not exist, polls report that over a third of the US population continue to believe in the existence of ghosts! 172
This chapter further develops and expands the discussion of the two prior chapters. These paranormal phenomena are, unlike the types of experiences in Chapter 6, not experienced necessarily as part of bereavement. In many cases, persons reporting ghosts and apparitions may not even know the deceased. Moreover, these experiences can take place years after a significant loss. Nor, like the messages through mediums explored in Chapter 7, do these experiences necessarily include some form of communication to survivors from a deceased individual.
We begin this chapter by exploring the different types of apparitions as well as some theories accounting for their presence. We then briefly review the role of ghosts in literature and other media as well as throughout history and across cultures. However, as we move toward the conclusion, we broach the most significant question of this chapter: what role do ghosts and apparitions play, if any, in the lives of those grieving a loss?
Types of Apparitions
Paranormal psychologists have tended to favor the term apparition over ghost, as the latter term is broader. Ghosts generally refer to some form of disembodied spirit while apparitions can then be defined as nonphysical manifestations of spirit activity that continue to be evidenced after physical death.173
Such apparitions are reported in many forms. Common classifications include benevolent apparitions, such as the case of the protective relative that opened this section, malevolent apparitions who seem to wish to harm living beings, demonic presences who possess unusual powers and are malevolent, benign apparitions who seem unconcerned with living beings, interactive intelligent apparitions who may attempt to try to communicate with humans or let their presence be known by making sounds or moving objects, crisis apparitions—much like those described in post-bereavement experiences—who simply wish to say farewell or otherwise finish business with a surviving loved one soon after the death, and apparitions of the dead who make multiple appearances to someone who may or may not have known them or who seem to stay in a certain locale. In addition, there are residual hauntings where certain sounds like crying are frequently heard without external stimuli, poltergeists or noisy spirits that may throw objects or otherwise make themselves known either to create mischief or fear, or shadow people who seem like dark silhouettes darting through a room. And, of course, ghosts can range from wispy images to spirits that are fully lifelike and even recognizable.
I might also remind that ghosts or apparitions are but one form of survival after death evidenced in story and folklore. Others include zombies or other beings who are reanimated bodies but without soul or mind. While zombies are often associated with Haiti and the Caribbean, zombie stories are actually relatively widespread and are found both in Asia and Africa, among other places. In Europe, the Frankenstein story is about a zombie—a corpse reanimated not by any spiritual ritual but by scientific means. And like all zombies, the Frankenstein monster is capable of a violence that was unlikely in his human life.
Finally, there are creatures such as vampires. In vampire tales, the vampire is the “undead”—a creature that feasts on human blood and can only truly die if killed in certain ways—a stake through the heart is a common method, but other methods such as decapitation are also mentioned in different cultures. While vampires are often associated with Eastern Europe—the purported home of Dracula, in truth, vampire myths are present in many cultures.
Explaining Apparitions
Explanations for accounts of ghosts and apparitions, like much paranormal research, run the gamut. Some simply dismiss them as an artifact, a survivor, of a less scientific age—a simple superstition that seems to have unusual resilience. Underlying this explanation would be that many of the signs and sounds associated with these so called “spirits” can be easily accounted for by natural processes. Wood creaks when it naturally expands. As wood or other materials so respond, a closed door can sometimes open. Water or heating pipes can offer groan-like sounds when air gets trapped in a pipe. Electrical surges can sometimes turn on or off appliances.
There can be spiritual explanations as well. For example, as mentioned earlier, in Greek folklore souls will remain on earth for forty days following a death—much like Jesus is said to have done in the Christian Bible. During this time, the spirit may visit people and places that were dear and finish any unfinished business. At the fortieth day, there is a ritual to commemorate the deceased’s final rest. In much spirituality, ghosts may be souls that for some reason cannot rest. Often the reason may be that they died suddenly or violently. They then roam with unfinished business—to seek justice, give witness or warning, or otherwise offer counsel to the living. At its very basic level, a belief in ghosts affirms a life beyond death—that there is something more than just physical being, that life survives a decaying corpse.
Then there are a range of psychological explanations. Some may see an apparition as a clearly hallucinatory experience brought on in crisis, such as bereavement. Other psychologists may explain it as wish fulfillment. Put simply, those who seek to believe a house is haunted are rarely disappointed. Here, though, we have such a desire for contact with the deceased, perhaps to say goodbye or otherwise finish some business, or wish to see an apparition that we actually believe we have done so. Still other psychologists would describe an apparition as an illusion brought on by strong memories. Here, seeing a ghost is viewed as a part of the process of perception where the mind interprets ambiguous stimuli based upon memory, beliefs, and expectations. For example, one client, Alicia, would often spend summers with her grandfather in a cabin in New Hampshire. She loved both her grandfather and the summer respite from a quarrelsome home life with her parents. As an older adult, decades after her grandfather’s death, she found and even rented the cabin by the lake. One night, she claimed, she saw her grandfather come by her bed as she drifted to sleep. Welcome back, he said, it is always safe here. Such a perspective is similar to the ideas of an early parapsychologist, George Tyrrell. Tyrrell, while he believed in and investigated many aspects of parapsychology such as precognition and telepathy, and even served as president of the Society for Psychical Research, gave little credence to the notion of ghosts as entities. To Tyrrell, they were manifestations of the subconscious mind.
Another explanation is the concept of schizotypy. This is a concept in psychology that sees psychosis as the extreme end of a continuum. Here, there is an attempt to move from a disease perspective of hallucinatory experiences. Within adherents of this view, openness to such experiences varies within the population much like introversion and extroversion. Naturally, those very prone to such experiences may reach a psychotic level and even be diagnosed with a mental illness such as schizophrenia, while others not as high on the scale may be more prone to experiences such as perceiving an apparition and, in fact, in certain situations such as bereavement, this characteristic may be adaptive.174 There are even some psychologists interested in the study of anomalous trauma organized in a group called TREAT (Treatment and Research on Experienced Anomalous Trauma) that, while not judging the reality of experiences such as ghosts or UFOs, focus on treating such persons who claimed to have such encounters.
Then there are some therapists who would view encounters with ghosts as hallucinatory behaviors that particularly, if they impair an individual’s ability to function in key roles, would be viewed as evidence of a mental illness such as schizophrenia.
Finally, sociologists might explain ghostly apparitions as a manifestation of continuing bonds. This means that we retain an ongoing relationship with the deceased. This can occur in a variety of forms, including in our rituals, beliefs about the afterlife, and memories—to name but a few. A belief in a ghost or apparition is another way to retain a connection.
The Ghost/Apparition
Whether one believes in ghosts or apparitions or not, they have had a significant role in history, religion, literature, and film. In fact, there are few if any genres of either literature or film that they have not appeared in, including drama, comedy, horror, romance, and even comics!
In History
Beliefs in ghosts and apparitions have existed since the beginning of history. Early humans saw the division between living and dead as porous. In fact, the earliest funerals were often thought not only to honor the deceased but also to assure that the proper rites were observed so that the dead would not trouble or haunt the living. Nonetheless, there were times and places where those boundaries could be breached.
Even today, there still exist cultural rituals that emphasize the permeability of the boundaries between the living and the dead, such as days when the living and dead can, in some form, interact. For example, among the Celtic populations in the British Isles, Samhain is a festival that is a precursor to Halloween, celebrating the harvest and heralding the beginning of winter. During this time, those who died in the past year are believed to be able to return.
In the Buddhist and Taoist sections of Asia, particularly China, Ghost Month or Hungry Ghost Month is observed in the seventh lunar month. For this month, the gates of the realms of the dead are opened and the dead are permitted to visit the living—seeking food and entertainment. Of particular concern during this period are hungry ghosts. Hungry ghosts are those who were not properly buried, who died with unfulfilled lusts, or whose descendants did not offer proper respect after their deaths. In Buddhist and Taoist areas of Asia, the festival may be more limited to a single day.
Finally, there is the Day of the Dead—a Mexican celebration that blends elements of Catholicism with Aztec beliefs and rituals—that takes place from October 31 to November 2—encompassing Halloween, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day. This is a highly festive celebration where the dead are perceived to visit the living. During the holiday, graves are visited, and the dead are invited to celebrate the holiday, families picnic by the grave—decorating graves and leaving offerings. It is thought that the celebration, which includes candy skulls, may help reduce children’s anxieties about death.175
In some cases, it may be a place rather than time where the boundaries between the living and dead are permeable or thin. The origins and purpose of Stonehenge are lost in the mists of history as the people who built it left no accounts or records. Many scholars believe it was a place for healing as well as a place to honor and worship ancestors—marking a spot where the boundaries between life and death were thought to be thin.176
Historically, the belief in ghosts goes back to the very beginnings of human writings. Both the Gilgamesh Epic and the Egyptian Book of the Dead reference ghosts, as does the Bible. Generally, among ancients, the belief in ghosts was both widespread and evidenced across cultures.
This continued through the Middle Ages. Ghosts were often perceived in folklore as being of two types. The first were demons who took on such forms to tempt humans. A second type was souls still in purgatory. Often pictured as sadder and paler versions of their living selves, they visited either to warn the living about sins or to request prayers to speed up their entry to paradise. During the Renaissance, there was a revival of interest in classic texts (such as the Iliad and Odyssey) that often mentioned ghosts. Interest also peaked in the Romantic era where a recurrent theme was that the dead would haunt a former lover who engaged in a new affair without the formal release on the part of his or her departed flame. As we move into more current, scientific eras, interest in both spiritualism and New Age spiritualities continues to arouse interests in ghosts.
In Religion
Most religions, to some degree, reference ghosts. As stated earlier, the reference to King Saul summoning Samuel through the Medium or Witch of Endor has been troubling to theologians, as both Judaism and Christianity reject practices such as contacting the dead through mediums or believing in ghosts. Two explanations are often offered about this story. The first explanation is that it is God who has the power to summon Samuel. The other is that Samuel or some image is evoked by demons to fool and dishearten Saul.
The widespread belief in ghosts is attested to in the Christian New Testament. When Jesus walks on water to see his disciples in the midst of a storm, they are fearful that they are seeing a ghost. A similar reaction takes place after Jesus’s resurrection. In both cases, Jesus has the disciples touch him to indicate he is not a spirit but present to them in body.
Islam's approach to ghosts is somewhat complex and, as in Christian traditions, popular beliefs may be mixed with local folklore. Islam acknowledges Jinns—or invisible beings that co-exist with humans. Like humans, some follow Islam but others may be evil. Some traditions acknowledge ghosts as well—noting that in rare circumstances the dead can appear to the living. As with other images of ghosts, some ghosts are seen as pure souls while others seek vengeance. Again, souls without proper burials can also become ghosts—fated to restlessly roam.177
Buddhism also recognizes ghosts. For example, hungry ghosts, as mentioned, are those caught in a state of suffering. They are to be treated with compassion. Other ghosts may linger because of their love and concern for survivors. Still others may remain ghosts as they work through negative emotions such as lust, fear, or guilt.178 Traditional Chinese religions such as Taoism and Confucianism acknowledge spirits as well as part of the practice of ancestor worship.
Finally, in Hinduism, ghosts are perceived as those who die, often from tragedy or trauma, before their allotted time. While the physical body no longer exists, they remained trapped in their spiritual, nonmaterial, or subtle bodies until they have completed their time on earth. This is a time of great suffering as the ghost retains all earthly needs but lacks the physical body necessary to fulfill their needs. A danger is that such ghosts may take possession of another person’s body. Hinduism offers rituals both to end possession and to set the souls of ghosts on their journeys.179
In Literature and Film
Given the long historical beliefs in ghosts and apparitions across cultures and spiritualities, it is unsurprising that ghost stories can be found throughout literature in different genres, such as comedy, drama, and horror, and in varieties of literary forms such as poetry, books, and short stories. I previously mentioned that accounts of ghosts are evident in most religious writings as well as some of the earliest human writings such as the Book of the Dead and the Gilgamesh Epic. Early Greek and Roman literature also uses ghosts as literary devices. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are populated by ghosts. In Aeschylus’ trilogy, Oresteia, ghosts spur the characters to seek revenge.
Ghosts play a similar role in a number of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies. In Richard III, the ghosts of his victims appear in his dreams the night before battle—each one cursing him to “despair and die.” In Macbeth, the ghost of Banquo, whom Macbeth murdered, returns to torment Macbeth. Interestingly, only Macbeth can see him. Hamlet, of course, sees the ghost of his father—again urging his son to avenge his death. Yet, even within the play it is unclear if this is truly the ghost of his father or a symptom of Hamlet’s grief and possible madness. Shakespeare’s treatment of ghosts is also interesting in that, by his strategies in portraying these varied ghosts, he avoided the very Protestant censors of Elizabethan England. In each case, there is little affirmation by Shakespeare in the actual existence of ghosts—they appear in dreams or to one individual exclusively, often as that character teeters on the edge of madness.
Ghosts or apparitions continue to appear in all forms of literature through the centuries, in plays, poetry, and other literary forms. Arguably, some of the most famous and well-known ghosts are those in Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Here, we find the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. These ghosts perform another traditional role. Rather than cry out for vengeance, they deliver a warning. If Scrooge does not listen to them, he—and those around him—are condemned to a miserable fate. Happily, Scrooge does heed their message.
Beyond serious literature, ghosts appear widely in popular culture. A staple of my camping days was sharing ghost stories. One very popular and widely known story about a young girl who returns from the grave on the anniversary of her death was even made into a hit song in 1965 by Dicky Lee—Laurie (Strange Things Happen). In fact, scores of popular songs throughout the years have dealt with ghosts.
So have comics. In fact, for a twelve-year period, from 1971–1982, DC Comics published a horror anthology under the title Ghosts: True Tales of the Weird and Supernatural. Perhaps, though, the most famous ghost in the comics was Casper The Friendly Ghost. Casper’s appearance was not unlike a legless Pillsbury Doughboy. Unlike the ghosts in Ghosts: True Tales of the Weird and Supernatural, Casper was friendly rather than scary—helpful rather than mischievous or evil. But he was popular. First appearing in the 1940’s, Casper has spun off movies, television specials, and cartoons.180
Casper was hardly the first or the last ghost to appear either on television or on film. Literally, there have been hundreds of films featuring ghosts. These include comedies such as Ghostbusters or Beetlejuice (also a Broadway musical), horror (13 Ghosts, The Shining), drama (The Sixth Sense, A Christmas Carol—in all its many versions), family films (Casper The Friendly Ghost), and romance (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir).
Nor have ghosts been neglected by television. They are present in cartoons such as Beetlejuice or The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, ghost reality shows such as Ghost Hunters, horror anthology series like The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits that often featured ghost stories, or comedies and dramas such as The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, or one of my favorite childhood shows—Topper. Cosmo Topper is a somewhat stuffy banker who buys a house only to find it is inhabited by the ghosts of the previous owners—George and Marion Kerby—a young couple who died in a skiing avalanche, as well as Neil—a martini-loving St. Bernard—killed trying to rescue them. In each episode, the Kerbys (and Neil) attempt to loosen up the stuffy banker, thereby creating humorous havoc in Topper’s life. As is the case with many ghost comedies, Topper offers another perspective of ghosts—portraying ghosts as mischievous but well-meaning.
It is interesting that a phenomenon so dismissed by science has so many significant roles. But, then, ghosts are far older than science!
Ghosts and Grief
In the end, though, the important question that always remains is how the individual attributes meaning to the event. So if you are experiencing ghosts and apparitions, you may want to ponder how these experiences affect your beliefs, your understanding of death, and your adaptation to grief. I have found, in my work with clients, three ways that such encounters may influence or be influenced by grief.
One role such experiences play is that they continue a bond. I often reflect on our family’s fascination with “grandma’s ghost in the basement”—a family story noted in the chapter opening and one that is older than I am and probably dates back in our family folklore at least eighty years. If there was a low-cost technology to ascertain the presence of a ghost, we would probably, out of curiosity, engage it. However, I think each of us would be reluctant to even bet a small amount on the outcome. So why does the story persist for decades? The answer is that it is one of the few connections we share with our paternal grandmother.
Even though my paternal grandfather predeceased me by five years, I know much about him. He was known as “Upper”—a term I always thought was a relatively loose translation of the Hungarian. Evidently it is not. In any case, Upper, in the stories related to me, seemed like a larger-than-life person—proud, booming, and affectionate. He was militantly Protestant, highly active in the Hungarian Reformed Church, and a Bull Moose Republican. He was deeply proud of our family’s history, especially that our family supported Kossuth’s fight against Austrian domination in 1848. He seemingly loved his growing family, and his grandchildren were constantly competing to sit on his lap.
I know much less about my grandmother and much of it seems sad. Evidently, when my grandfather left Hungary, he was betrothed to a young woman he deeply loved. As in the case with many immigrants, he would send for her as soon as he was settled. But when he did, he found that she had broken off the engagement and married someone else. We do not know the exact details, but somehow, his family in Hungary found another bride—anxious to join him in America—a woman named Mary. We are unsure of the connection. Was she a sister or relative of his original fiancée? Did he even know her before he agreed? In any case, he married her.
Our family’s impression is that it was a loveless marriage. They did have four children. But Mary struggled with depression. Seemingly, her problems were evident—even at a time when mental health issues were rarely discussed. My grandfather had someone stay with her when he was at work. One day, though, she told her companion that she needed to retrieve something from the basement. Alone there, she consumed rat poison and died by suicide. My father was a young teenager at the time.
As I look at that story now, I see that one role of our family ghost stories is that they provide memories where none previously existed. Her “sightings” also affirm a love for our family and reintegrate her with our family narrative. They present her as caring and involved—perhaps something that was not as apparent as she struggled with her illness. Her ghost story is really our family’s only continuing bond with this unhappy and elusive woman.
A second role of ghost stories is that they affirm survivorship. From the beginnings of time, humans have struggled with a paradox. We believe that there is something about us that is eternal—an aspect of self or soul that seems transcendent. Yet at the same time, our minds can foresee and acknowledge our mortality. Our minds reach for immortality while comprehending that our bodies are clearly mortal.
Stories of ghosts and of apparitions sightings offer a subtle hope that even in death, still something, however ethereal, remains. While we may retain a belief in some form of a spiritual afterlife, nirvana, a transcendental union with God or the Universe, or reincarnation, ghost stories are another avenue to affirm some form of eternal endurance.
Finally, in their third role, ghost stories are a way to hold onto and work through emotions or other grief reactions. They can allow us to finish business.
Rosa illustrates that. I completed a pre-adoptive interview with Rosa. She was an HIV-affected (but not infected) child. Though she did not have the infection, her life was deeply complicated and troubled by her mom’s, as well as her mother’s addiction, AIDS-related illnesses, and her eventual death. She was nine years old at that time. In those short years, her history with her mother was problematic. Her mom was an IV drug user. Numerous times in her life, her mother would lose custody of Rosa as the mom struggled with addiction.
Fortunately, Rosa had a ready foster home (and later adoptive home) with her comadre, or godmother, and her godmother’s husband. They were deeply involved in Rosa’s life even when she was not in foster care. They paid for her tuition at a local Catholic school to provide a consistent and enhanced educational experience for the girl whether she was with them or not. Yet, for nine years, a distressing cycle continued. Rosa would return to her mom, now out of drug rehabilitation. Her mother would slowly descend into her addiction once again. Rosa would be placed with her foster care family—a family, by the way, she loved. The cycle was only broken when Rosa’s mother finally succumbed to AIDS.
Now as the foster family prepared to adopt, I was assigned to interview Rosa. In our conversation, I asked Rosa where her mother was. Rosa replied that she was a “ghost.” As Rosa explained it, good people go to heaven and bad people are sent to hell. But people—sometimes good but not always—like her mom—become ghosts. Ghosts get second chances—they can become good ghosts and then go to heaven or be bad ghosts now damned to hell—something she probably did not learn at Catholic school.
It was clear that as Rosa dealt with her grief over her mother’s death, she was fraught with ambivalence. We spoke about when her mother was a good mother and when she was not such a good mom—the inevitable neglect that accompanied addiction. As Rosa dealt with her ambivalence, she announced that her mother was ready to go to heaven—in essence, that Rosa had forgiven her. We devised a small ritual. She took a cut-out photo of her mother and attached angel wings to it. Interestingly, Rosa decided that we needed to burn the photo so that it would rise to heaven. That is one of the beauties of ritual. She was able to encompass her ambivalence in the very ritual. While her mother was forgiven and sent to heaven, she still had to, at least symbolically and just for a moment, burn.
Martin also struggled with ambivalence. He felt he was being haunted by his father’s ghost. In the thirty-two years of Martin’s life, he had a very equivocal and mixed relationship with his dad. The father struggled with alcoholism. When Martin was young, the dad’s drinking was the cause of a divorce. Even after the divorce, his father continued to disappoint him—not keeping promises and commitments. In a drunken stupor, he even missed Martin’s wedding. Martin broke off the relationship with his dad—ignoring calls in his father’s last days. As we addressed his relationship, the “haunting” diminished, ceasing altogether after Martin had an anniversary mass for his father.
Perhaps grief is not the only reason that you or others may see ghosts, but it is always worth exploring what the ghost may mean to you and your grief—if anything. Ghosts, after all, may be highly disputed residents at the edge of forever. But they do make one hell of a good story—sometimes when they have died, a better story than they did in life.
171. R. Charman, “Research Note: The Gloveless Ghost of Air Gunner Stoker and Pilot Officer Douglas Worley’s Apparent Premonition of Death: Two Very Baffling and Disturbing Stories,” Journal for the Society of Psychical Research 81, no. 3 (2017): 194–204.
172. Charles F. Emmons, “Ghosts: The Dead Among Us,” in The Handbook of Death and Dying, vol.1, ed. Clifton Bryant (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2003): 87–95; A recent Huffington Post poll showed near 45 percent believed in ghosts: Lee Speigel, “Spooky Number of Americans Believe In Ghosts,” Huffpost, Verizon Media, updated December 6, 2017, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/real-ghosts-americans-poll_n_2049485.
173. “Ghost Vs. Apparition: The Subtle Difference,” Pensacola Paranormal Society, accessed June 12, 2020, http://pensacolaparanormalsociety.com/ghost_vs_apparition.htm.
174. Gordon Claridge, Schizotypy: Implications for Illness and Health (Oxford University Press, 1997), n.p.
175. “Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos),” History, A&E Television Networks, LLC., Updated October 28, 2019, https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/day-of-the-dead.
176. Christopher Chippindale, Stonehenge Complete (London: Thames and Hudsoon), n.p.
177. Werner Diem, The Living and the Dead in Islam, vol. 1, Epitaphs as Texts (Wiesbaden-Erbenheim, Germany: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 2004), n.p.
178. Barbara O’Brien, “Hungry Ghosts,” Learn Religions, Dotdash, updated January 8, 2018, https://www.learnreligions.com/hungry-ghosts-449825.
179. Abhilash Rajendran, “Ghosts in Hindu Religion—the Preta Concept in Hinduism,” Hindu Blog (blog), June 9, 2015, https://www.hindu-blog.com/2008/07/ghosts-in>-hindu-religion-preta-concept.html; See also Shirley Firth, “End-of-Life: A Hindu View,” The Lancet 366, no. 9486 (August 2005): 682–686, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67141-3.
180. “Casper: The Friendly Ghost (1945),” IMDb, Amazon, n.d., https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037582/.