Article Topic: Ghosts

Route 66 is a 2,448-mile roadway that connects Illinois to California; along with its many twists and turns come stories of ghosts, hauntings, and other paranormal activity. Why does this road, one of great history and legend, inspire paranormal activity? Richard Southall, author of Haunted Route 66, provides five reasons.

Public culture has long had an appetite for the supernatural, resulting in numerous television shows and a growing number of ghost hunters. But there is a flip side to this: this type of avocation carries real personal and transformative meaning for the many who choose to partake. It really is a spiritual and intellectual privilege to "ghost hunt." Deonna Kelli Sayed, paranormal investigator and author of So You Want to Hunt Ghosts? and Paranormal Obsession, discusses why ghost hunting has benefits reaching far beyond discovering the supernatural.

Extreme Paranormal Investigations author Marcus F. Griffin and his wife recently moved from northern Indiana to Colorado, leaving behind a host of friends, family, and familiar spirits. But what they found was that, while they missed the ghosts and spirits they had left behind, ghosts are wherever you find them.

Paranormal investigation, namely ghost hunting, is enjoying phenomenal and unprecedented growth. This is due to the global broadcast of paranormal reality TV, and this avocation is now popular around the world. But do these shows get it right? What are they—and the paranormal community—missing from their investigations? Deonna Kelli Sayed, author of Paranormal Obsession, discusses the concept of psi and the concept of consciousness in paranormal investigation.

Most of us associate the term "ghosts" with the beings we have defined and known in Western culture (mainly North America, Great Britain, and Ireland). But, interestingly, ghosts are a universally-known phenomena that have been witnessed throughout the world. With Halloween approaching fast—and with it, increased attention to the spiritual world—I thought it would be fun to talk about some of the more interesting, yet lesser known, types of ghosts from all around the world. Rich Newman, ghost hunter and author of The Ghost Hunter's Field Guide and the forthcoming Ghost Hunting for Beginners, details the nuances of ghost history and lore from across the globe.

Do you really know what a ghost is? What distinguishes a ghost from other entities in the paranormal realm? J. Allan Danelek discusses the differences between ghosts and other entities he calls "extra-celestials."