What is a ghost? – Part 3

You saw it, and you know that you saw it. However, few believe you. They tell you that you have been working too hard, or the light was dim, or you just wanted to see something so you saw something. Regardless, you know that you saw it. What exactly did you see? You describe it as an almost transparent being, without real substance, in other words, a “ghost.”

Regardless of the skeptics, many people do accept the existence of ghosts. What exactly, though, is a ghost? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ghost as “a disembodied soul.” I would expand that definition by stating that a ghost is a disembodied soul that does not know it is dead. For most people, at the time of death, the soul departs from life assured about what path it is to take and looking expectantly to what lies ahead. However, sometimes a soul does not leave but continues to dwell among the living. Why does this occur?

Some people are too entwined with earth to detach, and they miss the signs that tell them to move on their way. They are confused. There are others who feel that there is business here that they did not finish, or someone they feel they must protect. Whatever the reason, these souls are not to be feared. Instead, they need help to continue on their way.

I myself have seen ghosts many times. One of the most memorable was a ghost I encountered at the ruins of an old school in Oklahoma. The site of the ruins of this school is in a very picturesque, wooded area. I saw a young girl standing by a tree one day while I was there. I could see her so clearly that at first I did not realize she was a ghost. She told me her name was Mary Beth. It was clear as I talked to her that she saw the school as it when she was enrolled there as she talked about three buildings, and only the ruins of one building were visible. Also, she talked about her birthday next week and told me the date, November 13th. The only problem is that it was summer when we had this conversation. From that information, I realized that she must have died in November (I did not know which year), a week before her birthday.

I asked her if she had ever been in an accident at the school. She told me about a wagon that came to the school with some barrels of apples, and one of the barrels had fallen off the wagon and hit her. I realized that this event had actually probably led to her death, but she was unaware of this. While she had attended this school, she evidently waited for her brother, David, each day to take her