Do You Believe In Ghosts?

Five types of spirits which may haunt places you go.

Recently, a local publication assigned me to write a story on a historic hotel, built in 1889. But the focus of my story was not on the architecture or genealogy of the building. No, my angle honed in on the permanent residents of the hotel. The ones who never truly left, even after death.

I am referring to the ghosts who still haunt the hotel hallways.

Do you believe in ghosts?

Have you ever seen a shadow or possibly a silhouette, out of the corner of your eye only to look and have it vanish? Or maybe fell a sudden chill or breeze? perhaps you dismissed it as nothing there or a figment of your imagination. But a Harris poll shows 42 percent of Americans say they believe in ghosts and the possibility of spirits returning to previous places.

What is the first thing we do when we hear an eerie noise or experience and unexplainable sight? We try to rationalize it.

We seek some sort of logical explanation. It is how our brains are wired.

When we cannot find an explanation, the summation often comes up as the work of the supernatural.

Maybe you have felt a tap on your shoulder or a brush of your hair. Maybe you have been touched by a ghost. Only what kind of ghost?

The five types of ghosts.

The people in the know about ghosts have categorized five types of spirit encounters. Have you had one?