What is a ghost? - My personal theories.

If we make a broad and generalised sweep and say (for the purpose of argument) that ghosts do exist - how do they work?

If we take the full body apparition as a point in question, why are they always fully clothed? I can accept the fact that a ghost could appear in front of someone as a manifestation of their once physical presence, but where do the clothes come from? This would lean towards the hypothesis that the spirit in question is making some physical judgement as to what garb it dresses in to make it's appearance to the observer. That would then rule out the "stone tapes" theory that the ghost in question is just an electromagnetic recording of a past event being played out over and over. I wouldn't imagine that mere clothing can manifest itself in any way at all through the medium of an electromagnetic recording....or can it?

This then lends itself to the extended argument of "can a ghost think and interract with us". If it can, then the ghost must be projecting the image of it's former self that it wishes us to see. For example, if the ghost is one of a soldier or an airman, it would naturally be dressed in uniform because that is the impression it wishes us to see. Does this then mean that the ghost is actually projecting images for us to see by some other medium as yet unknown to science, or could it be that the spirit is actually controlling some part of our brain through some kind of electromagnetic resonance and actually manufacturing hallucinations?

Of course, the logical explanation would simply be that the brain has been tricked in some way to see something that isn't really there and just fill in the gaps. A simple hallucination or trick of the mind. Surroundings also play a big part in the susceptibility of the mind. If you are in a spooky old castle at midnight the mindset is better to see ghosts than would be a brightly lit shopping arcade filled with people.

The more ethereal side of hauntings seem (in my humble opinion) to carry more scientific weight. The shapeless mists and the disembodied voices etc. These all seem a little less "Hollywood" and more within the realm of possibility. Physical interraction is also something to be looked at. If you get punched, hit, scratched or choked etc, as some have claimed to have been, then this puts ghosts on a whole different plane. Are they then ghosts or have they then become poltergeists?

It seems to me that the word ghost is a handy cover-all for what could be completely different entities altogether.........the hunt goes on!