With such a mountain of evidence, stretching across all cultures and all continents, only a person with a closed mind can continue believe that ghosts do not exist. The reality of ghosts is self-evident.

But what are ghosts? People often assume this is known. Even some who style themselves “Paranormal Scientists” operate on a cocktail of silly superstitions and Hollywood clichés rather than hard science.

There is no proof that ghosts are the “souls” of the dead trying to “cross over.” After all, ghosts of still-living people, while rare, are not unheard of. This would rather seem to suggest that ghosts are either a phenomenon caused by the emotions of living people or a sort of experiential reverberation of past events.

So, paranormalists of the world, please, leave your crystal balls and divining rods at home with Halloween candy. Paranormal science, real science that produces verifiable results, is our best hope for ever understanding the paranormal.