As a child I grew up watching Caspar The Friendly Ghost on TV. I may even have read a comic book or two. And I believe that I may have dressed up as a ghost one year on Halloween. But believe in them? That they haunt people? That they are evil?

While I thoroughly enjoyed the movie E.T. as well as the TV program Alf, this wasn’t real life. The characters were created to entice audiences to the cinema or to view TV and increase ratings. And then there was I See People Who Are Dead from The Sixth Sense. Again, an attempt to lure people to the cinema.

Years ago on Day of the Dead I went with a friend to a cemetery in Guadalajara at night. My students were skeptical. “Teacher, be careful. It is dangerous. The ghosts are not nice.” They were serious. They were actually frightened and feared for my safety. However, my friend and I left the cemetery that night unscathed. We actually laughed at the eerie sounds such as creaking doors and clanking chains. We were amused by the spectacle of ghosts flitting about in the cemetery and disappearing behind brick walls. Amazing what special effects can do!

Last winter, Emiliano and his friends created a podcast for his middle school class. The subject—fantasmas(ghosts). He informed me that there was a ghost that haunted his school. At night the building was locked up tight. In the morning, often furniture was moved, windows were opened and various objects strewn about. Interesting.

Here in Mexico it is very common that people believe in ghosts. I’ve lived in several places in Mexico and have heard that phrase often. And I heard it once again at Conversation Club last week. This group is comprised of adults and last week all present were in their 50s. One of them remarked that two ghosts haunted the house he lived in. Another stated that he had seen strange things in the sky at night and had taken photos of them. However not all of these objects were visible in the photos.

Given my background in psychology, one of the members asked me point blank if I believe in ghosts and the supernatural. It’s true that I have read articles and watched documentaries. But I am not convinced. I have not had any type of personal experience, unless you count the night at the cemetery in Guadalajara. And I did not feel any drastic change in temperature, or any sudden breeze in the air, as others have reported. I have never seen a flying saucer in the sky nor seen an extraterrestrial creature.

But is it time to delve into this and do more research? Hmmmmm.