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A ghost has been defined as the bodiless spirit of a dead person that appears before the living. In the past most of the population believed in ghosts. Sometimes they longed to meet the apparition of a friend or a family member, but at the same time were still afraid of their ghosts. Today most people do not believe that a dead person can return to Earth as a phantom. But there have been many stories told about such ghosts. One is that a dead person's spirit comes back to the house where they lived and sets up residence once again. A house that is said to have a ghost is called a haunted house.
According to the stories, many ghosts are peaceful but a few of them are loud and even vicious. The belief in apparitions is found in all societies of mankind. It is based on the belief that the soul is different from the body and separates from the body at the time of death to exist somewhere else. In folklore, spooks emerge as living persons in various shapes or forms; they are sometimes described as being pale or hazy. Some have even reported a ghost as being transparent.
A poltergeist is an invisible spirit that causes disorder by making a knocking or rapping noise in the home. They can move furniture across a room, throw things through the air or shake dishes off a shelf. Poltergeists have been linked to the presence of children. In the story, A Christmas Carol, several ghosts make a visit to the penny-pinching Mr.Scrooge. In many poems and stories of the past, ghost come back to remind people of something significant. Today many people like to have amusement with the fancy of spirits. They dress up as a ghost for Halloween or tell spooky ghost stories from their front porch.
Many people today have started a business in which they go ghost hunting for a client or for their own amusement. They go to certain places where sightings have been reported or perhaps a place where they suspect a ghost might show up and try to capture them on video or by taking photos. Graveyards are a favorite place for this type of hunting. But sightings have been reported at churches, schools and many older buildings. It has been said that many church members like to return to their church and keep a watch over it.
A ghost investigation would involve going to the place of a sighting and recording by video any forms that appear or sounds, and the temperature of the room or surrounding area. If something is suspected and the ghost is causing trouble then the investigator would assist in trying to make the ghost move on and leave the house or area. Many people believe that there are two or three types of ghost. They believe that one type may not know it's dead and they look just like the person they were while on Earth. They could be good or bad, still having the same personality. Another type would be a ghost who never was a human to begin with but a demon from Hell and considered quite risky.
Overall the general population does not believe in ghosts at all. Today the commonly accepted theory is that any such type of activity represents the unconscious mind trying to find a way to let off a little steam. Many movies are being made today about ghosts and more books on the subject are being written but the fact remains that this is nothing new, for reported sightings and the belief in ghosts have been around for centuries.
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