As paranormal researchers, we are often used to strange looks when we talk about our interest in ghosts. However interest in the paranormal is growing, with many studies say one out of three people believe in ghosts. All of us involved in this research have at one time or another gotten questions about why we believe ghosts exist. Many of us have different answers; whether it is from some personal experience, from our upbringing, or just from personal beliefs. Many people out there are very skeptical about the possibilities of ghosts, and rightfully so. It’s hard for people to believe in things they can not see or hear. However there are many reasons to believe in ghosts.

For example, roughly three out of four people believe in God. Many organized religions preach about a soul, or spirit of the human body. And many of those religions talk about an afterlife, where the spirit is supposed to go after death. But what if those spirits are somehow trapped here on Earth? There are many theories about how this can happen. They range from the spirit getting trapped here by attachment to people, places, or objects. Some say the spirit leaves a lasting “impression” on a place or object. Some say that they are trapped because of some business they needed to complete before moving on to a final resting place. Even that they are trapped here because the spirit refuses to believe that is has died, and will not fully pass on.

However these theories are tied into a strong belief in God, a soul, and an afterlife. What of the other 25% of the world that doesn’t believe in God? Is it still possible to believe in ghosts? Absolutely, and here is a possible scientific explanation as to how ‘ghosts’ might exist. The ‘law of conservation of energy’ states that the total amount of energy in a system remains constant. Therefore, energy cannot be created or destroyed. Tie that in with Einstein’s ‘theory of relativity’, which shows that energy is associated with mass (the famous e=mc²), and you get an interesting idea. Our bodies are just a big bunch of energy. Between the our bodies mass, and the energy constantly present within our bodies (everything you do in life is constant energy, from your brain firing of synapses while reading this, to your heart beat, and everything in between), its safe to say we are literally full of energy. And if that energy can not be created, or more importantly in this case, destroyed, then it’s safe to say that some of this energy can possibly carry over after the body dies. What we are experiencing when we have a ghostly encounter, is the remnants of that energy. Whether the energy maintains its form, transforms to leave an imprint, or any number of other possibilities is hard to say for sure.

That’s why it’s so fascinating to research this phenomenon. Maybe, someday we will have all the evidence we need to prove once and for all the existence of ghosts. But until that time, we will keep searching for answers, searching for evidence, all the while remaining skeptical of what we find. Because if we are not skeptical in our research, we will only discredit the real evidence that we find.