True cases

If we accept that our senses can fool us, then we must find a means to separate illusions and real apparitions. Here is a short list of items to watch when facing a haunting case.

  1. Cases in which the apparition conveyed to the percipient accurate information that was previously unknown to him.
  2. Cases in which the “ghost” seemed to be pursuing some well-defined objective. The spirit of Hamlet’s father who makes Hamlet swear to seek revenge for his murder is a famous literary example of this.
  3. Cases in which the phantom bears a strong resemblance to a deceased person who is unknown to the percipient at the time of the manifestation. A case of this sort, incidentally, recently made headlines in the Berkeley Gazette, as the phantom was observed in the Faculty Club of the University of California
  4. Cases in which two or more people had independently seen similar apparitions: Into this category falls your typical haunting ghost or apparitions associated with a particular location. Often such phantoms are seen by individuals who are ignorant of previous sightings. These phantoms rarely seem to speak or take notice of humans, although voices and noises may be associated with them, and they are generally not seen for more than a minute before they vanish.