{"id":209,"date":"2009-04-13T12:22:00","date_gmt":"2009-04-13T12:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/omeoflittlefaith\/2009\/04\/afterlife-preview-11-sensible-explanations-for-ghosts.html"},"modified":"2009-04-13T12:22:00","modified_gmt":"2009-04-13T12:22:00","slug":"afterlife-preview-11-sensible-explanations-for-ghosts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/omeoflittlefaith\/2009\/04\/afterlife-preview-11-sensible-explanations-for-ghosts.html","title":{"rendered":"Afterlife Preview: 11 Sensible Explanations for Ghosts"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been a few months <\/span>since the last sneak peak<\/a> at Pocket Guide to the Afterlife<\/span>, which releases in August from Jossey-Bass<\/a> (along with Pocket Guide to Sainthood<\/span> and a repackaged Pocket Guide to the Bible<\/span>).<\/p>\n

My favorite chapter in most of the Pocket Guides is the final chapter, which is always just a random collection of lists related to the topic. These are hard to research — lots of information to sift through for a single bullet point — but always fun to write. Because I like lists<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So here’s one of them from “The Afterlists,” which is the listy last chapter of PGTTAfterlife<\/span><\/a>:<\/p>\n

Eleven Sensible Explanations for Ghosts<\/span><\/p>\n

1. They are souls of the dead who have returned to finish an unfinished task.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>2. They have returned to avenge their deaths.<\/p>\n

3. They want to uncover a hidden truth.<\/p>\n

4. They are trying to protect their families.<\/p>\n

5. They are suicide victims bound to wander the earth aimlessly.<\/p>\n

6. They did not receive the proper burial rites.<\/p>\n

7. They are ancestors looking out for us.<\/p>\n

8. They are somehow trapped in this dimension and trying to find a way out.<\/p>\n

9. They are projections of your subconscious.<\/p>\n

10. They are hallucinations.<\/p>\n

11. They are only floating bedsheets with eyeholes and nothing to be afraid of.<\/p>\n

12. They are at Stage Three of the four stages of death prior to the next resurrection, with Stage One being an animal and Stage Two being a demon (Burmese Buddhism<\/a> only).<\/p>\n

————<\/p>\n

Have you ever seen, heard, or otherwise encountered a ghost?<\/span> If so, please explain. (No, Bruce Willis doesn’t count.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s been a few months since the last sneak peak at Pocket Guide to the Afterlife, which releases in August from Jossey-Bass (along with Pocket Guide to Sainthood and a repackaged Pocket Guide to the Bible). 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