If you are like me, you are more likely to watch out for creepy shadows following you when you are walking alone in the dark. You could also be expecting spooky voices of dead people who did not die of natural causes. There are stories all around the world about ghosts appearing in the moonlit nights and disappearing just before one’s eyes, stories of spirits moving things weirdly, hearing disembodied and suspicious voices in dark alleys and shadowy hallways, and stories of various other eerie events and mysterious activities. All these mysterious stories are told because people believe in ghosts.
People around the world have different ideas about ghosts and ways to get rid of them. If you ever visit parts of Nepal and India, you are likely to see green chilies and lemons hanging in the front door. In Hindu mythology, it is believed that green chilies and lemons reflect spirits and evil eyes. I grew up in a culture where almost every ritual was offered to gods and also had to do with ghosts. There are rituals which are supposed to give salvation to these spirits, so that they do not harm us. Having grown up in such a culture, the belief in ghosts naturally came to me.
I am one of the thousands of people who believe that ghosts exist. There are some things that need not be proven in order to believe, and ghosts are one of them. As I believe in religion, I believe in the idea that good and bad exist together. For me, gods exist and so do spirits. This is the reason I always have an idol of a goddess in my house because my grandmother always said to me that ghosts cannot penetrate where gods exist.
Halloween is also one such explanation for the existence of ghosts. The festival originated to honor the end of summer and harvest time and to mark a period of cold, darkness and winter. This marked the time in which the barrier between the living and the dead would be thin. The spirits are believed to come back from the dead and create havoc by damaging the crops with frost and cause various other troubles. Therefore, people began dressing up in costumes so that these spirits could not recognize them.
Besides, I do not see any reason not to believe in them. Scientists are frantically trying to give a scientific explanation for paranormal activities but are continuously failing to do so. What else could explain the sudden cold spots, ghostly appearances in the photographs, and the sensation of people touching you when there is no one around? Why else would there be haunted houses all over, ghost hunters, and movies being made on ghosts and spirits if they never existed?
This Halloween, an ancestor ghost might come to visit you. It could be a friendly ghost like Peeves the poltergeist, or could be a deadly spirit planning to choke you. Wait, what is it lurking behind you? Watch out.
