Ghost stories. Next stop, the Holodeck

I've spent the last month working to finish my latest projects. The home stretch is always intense. With BEING NEIGHBORLY out in the world, and the audio for FAMILY ALCHEMY finished, it's time to redirect my focus to the new series.

Abraham Lincoln Hologram

If you've been following along, you know I've made several field trips ahead of the new series to visit some spectacular places. I've started the next book, but there's one more stop I'm planning to help with the research -- the Galena History Museum. When you walk in, you're greeted by a hologram of Ulysses S. Grant. For my friend Sarah who asks how I research ghosts, here's an example. 

I've also been tracking ghost hunters as research for the new series. For those of you with a healthy dose of skepticism, I'm right there with you, especially based on the shows I've watched and gadgets these people use. I watched an episode of Ghost Hunters and was unimpressed by their findings, and how they regularly talk about "friendly" ghosts, even after they've been called in to investigate ghosts that push people down stairs. Doesn't sound so friendly to me, but what else are they going to say? I also contacted a couple of local ghost hunters. Let's just say I'm again unimpressed. I prefer to think of these people as opportunists. 

When it comes to "real" ghosts, I've found you have to draw the stories out of people who have had encounters. For myself, I've had a couple of experiences that could be within the realm of ghostly. They're unexplained, for sure. Have I "seen" a ghost? Can't say I have. However...

I did talk to someone who witnessed a "manifestation." In fact, she told me about two. (I need to go back to ask her about the second one!) Is she telling me "ghost stories" as entertainment? Certainly, that's a possibility, but she doesn't have a reason to dupe me, and she had several stories at the ready the first time I talked to her. When she has these encounters, she looks for validation. When the ghosts carry a message, what proof can she give to people? If you can't back up what you see/hear, why share it? (Well, in this day and age, there are plenty of people who tell stories with no substance, so I suppose that question is better suited to the type of person you're talking to and what they have to gain from their story.) In talking to Fran, we discussed the desire to see ghosts. Neither one of us would choose that experience, which I think is true of most people. Without us extending the energy to invite them to reveal themselves, spirits don't have enough energy on their own to make themselves known. Or at least that's the theory. It requires energy extended from the receiver as well as the sender. An open mind and a willingness to communicate. 

Or there's the theory of hypnagogic hallucinations. These are dreams you have upon waking, or when drifting off to sleep. Hearing voices. Seeing things. For the most part, they are associated with an illness, but 35% of the population experiences them even when they're healthy. At least one of my personal experiences can likely be written off to this phenomenon. 

Whether ghosts are real or imagined, they make for good stories, from the campfire and beyond.