Things that go 'bump' in the night.  A tingling up your spine.  Something that moves from the corner of your eye.  A sneaking suspicion you're not alone.  All of these descriptions are common to people who believe that they have been or are being 'haunted' by ghosts.  For the most part such 'hauntings' are terrifying and completely unpleasant, and tend to leave the person or people that have experienced the phenomenon wishing that they could forget the whole incident.

So what exactly are 'ghosts'?  If they do exist, where do they come from, and why are they here?  Obviously, like any supernatural subject, there are no definite answers.  People interested in the paranormal believe that ghosts could possibly be apparitions of the deceased who have yet to 'pass over' to the other side (whatever the 'other side' may be – afterlife, heaven, hell, and so on).  It is generally believed that ghosts remain on Earth because they are themselves tortured by unfinished business or are being punished for behaving badly whilst alive.  Ghosts may be the souls of people who have died of unnatural causes or perhaps the souls of evil people who have remained on Earth to cause mischief and mayhem. 

In popular culture, ghosts are thought to resemble human beings – they may wear clothes or have identifiable body parts which suggest they are indeed shadows of human beings. 

Paranormal experts, however, believe ghosts to be concentrations of light – usually spheres or indecipherable shapes which hover and move.  Whatever they are, there's one thing for sure – ghosts are terrifying for those that encounter them, regardless of whether they are 'real' or not!