A Ghost, an Exorcism, and the spirit world. Are they real?

I’ve spent most of my career focusing on category 1, Spirits (AKA “ghosts”), notwithstanding various paid freelance jobs with a government I cannot identify, per the guidelines of my contracts, on which I focused on category 2 (extraterrestrial life).

In my experience, the idea of the existence of ghosts seems to be the most publicly acceptable.  This may seem contrary to logic, as this category of the paranormal specifically deals with entities from another existence, another dimension if you will; whereas “alien life forms” and “cryptids” are purported to exist within our own realm, be it on another planet or not.  This may stem from the idea of the “soul” and a person’s intrinsic desire to be in touch with spirits (whether the spirits of those friends and family members who’ve passed on, or the spirits of strangers) outside of our own.  Demonic possession is a “happening” that has been, and continues to be, accepted by those inside and out of various religious communities.  Exorcisms continue to be practiced, just as they once had been when they were first practiced by the Jesuits at the College of The Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.  To this day, this small liberal arts college is rumored to keep a light on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in an upper floor room in their main academic building that was used to conduct exorcisms in the late 19^th Century.  This does pique the students’ interest there, as it remains unexplained as to why the light remains on, and it does seem like a ridiculous waste of electricity.

Although my students, and others their age, may find it boring by today’s standards, I still maintain that THE EXORCIST is the scariest movie ever made; and judging by the unending explorations of this “dark art” by Hollywood, it’s still relevant.

This widespread embrace of the spiritual world may be a result of another intrinsic desire to not only comprehend what happens to “us” after we die, but to determine whether or not there is life, or a form of life, after death...