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About Apparitions

An apparition is the supernormal appearance of a dead person or animal, or of a living person or animal too distant to be within the sensory range of the observer. Apparitions of the dead, which are seen repeatedly over a period of time, apparently Haunting the same location, are also called Ghosts.

Only a minority of apparition experiences are visual. Most instead involve the sensing of a presence, perhaps accompanied by touch; hearing thumps, Rappings, moanings, animal sounds, and other strange noises; or unexplained Smells.

Apparitions of all types have been studied extensively by psychical researchers, parapsychologists, paranormal investigators, and others since the late 19th century. Tens of thousands of cases have been collected and analyzed. Various theories have been put forth, yet researchers still know very little about apparitions. In the discussion that follows, the term “agent” refers to the person (or animal) whose apparition is seen; the “percipient” is the person who sees the apparition.

Characteristics of Apparitions

According to a study of major features of apparitions published in 1956 by Hornell Hart, an American sociologist and psychical researcher, and collaborators, there are no significant differences between apparitions of the living and of the dead. Some apparitions seem real and corporeal, with definable form and features and clothing. Other apparitions are fuzzy, luminous, transparent, wispy, and ill-defined; some are little more than streaks, blobs, or patches of light.

Apparitions appear and disappear suddenly, and sometimes just fade away. They both move through walls and objects and walk around them. They can cast shadows and be reflected in Mirrors. Some have a marionette-like quality of limited gestures and movements, such as calling the attention of the percipient to a wound on the ghostly body, while others are more fluid and communicate verbally. Some are accompanied by sounds, smells, sensations of cold, and movement of real objects in the percipient’s environment. In some cases, percipients attempt to touch apparitions; most find their hands go through them, but in a few cases, contact has been made with a substance that feels like a flimsy garment.

An overwhelming majority of apparitions—some 82 percent, according to studies—seem to manifest themselves for a purpose: to communicate the agent’s own crisis (usually grave danger or imminent death) to someone living; to comfort the grieving after the agent’s death; to convey useful information to the living; or to warn the living of danger. Haunting apparitions appear to have emotional ties to a site, possibly resulting from violent or sudden death. Some haunting apparitions are believed to be earthbound spirits of the dead who are trapped by unfinished business (see Spirit Releasement).

Some ghost researchers believe that certain apparitions, such as haunting earthbound spirits of the dead, possess an intelligence that makes mediumistic communication possible. Some apparitions do not respond to attempts at communication, leading some researchers to conclude that they are merely a psychic recording of an event.

Historical and Cultural Beliefs about Apparitions

Every civilization throughout history and around the world has had beliefs about apparitions. Such beliefs usually are part of religion, myth, or folklore. Among Asian peoples, belief in ancestral ghosts is strong, and rituals exist to honor and placate them (see Ancestor Worship; Feasts and Festivals of the Dead). The spirits of the dead are believed to intervene regularly in the affairs of the living and are credited for good luck and prosperity and blamed for illness and misfortune (see Exorcism). The Chinese believe their ancestral ghosts can be dangerous, capable of even killing the living. Similar beliefs are held by tribal cultures around the world. The appearance of spirits of the dead plays a role in rituals and beliefs among native North and South Americans. In some South American tribes, the dead appear as guardian spirits to medicine men and shamans.