Two kinds of ghosts

Mukul Sharma, ET Bureau

When is one most scared of ghosts? Typically the setting is an abandoned house or graveyard at night with no one else around. Under such circumstances the appearance of an apparition is terrifying because there's no affirmation of life anywhere one can relate to. Suddenly one's own mortality, which is not generally contemplated, is threatened. Also, the apparition either does nothing or remains engaged in some meaningless activity which makes little sense.

Yes, they can apparently be hostile sometimes but the fear then is of a physical nature since bodily harm may result. It's not the same as the existential horror evoked by the bodily disintegration we associate with death. When is one least scared of ghosts? Typically the setting is the emergency ward of hospitals when a terminally damaged or diseased individual reports having what is called a near-death-experience.

We needn't be concerned about the empirical validity of such an event but consider just the subjective feelings of millions of people from all over the world who have had it. They report among other things travelling through a tunnel with a light at the end and being greeted by long dead family members or friends who tell them that it's not yet their time and that they must return.

At no time is there any fear of these "ghosts"; there's only a sense of tranquility. When they return, they remember everything and living for them takes on a new meaning after that. To them there's peace at the end of life and joy in the act of dying.