Do Catholics Believe in Ghosts?

[Michie]

There is something distinctly human about sitting around a campfire to share ghost stories. We love a good story, no matter how spooky it might be, and sharing these stories helps us build community and friendship. Perhaps we don’t sit around a campfire as much as we used to, and certainly less often than I’d like, but even in our technological age we delight in hearing and sharing stories just like our ancestors did.

Beyond the enjoyment of a spooky tale, some also believe in the reality of ghosts. In one poll, roughly 50% of Americans were found to believe in ghosts, with the same poll finding that 57% of US Catholics believe that the spirits of the dead can visit the living. So, many Catholics today believe in ghosts, but is there a historical precedence for such belief?

Defining Ghosts​

Continued below.

Do Catholics Believe in Ghosts?

There is something distinctly human about sitting around a campfire to share ghost stories. We love a good story, no matter how spooky it might be, and sharing these stories helps us build community and friendship. Perhaps we don’t sit around a campfire as much as we used to, and certainly less...

catholicexchange.com

 

[Jerry N.]

I’m not Catholic, so I’m not sure my post is relevant. Ghost probably exist, but the problem is that we don’t know what they are. They could be the dead waking up from “soul sleep” and having a little walk around. However, they could be demons that can look like anything or anybody they want. Nobody should have anything to do with them. I have seen ghosts twice. The first time happened shortly after my grandfather died. He walked into my bedroom and stopped the clock he gave me before he died. The second time was also experienced by my wife. We both woke up a little frightened. I saw an old woman leaning on the arm of a young woman, and both were dressed in a fashion from the 1800s. My wife saw a snake of light, like a sparkler moving in the dark. Whatever it was came through one wall of the bedroom, crossed the room, and went through the other wall. There was no interaction in either case, but the clock did stop.

 

[Michie]

I’m not Catholic, so I’m not sure my post is relevant. Ghost probably exist, but the problem is that we don’t know what they are. They could be the dead waking up from “soul sleep” and having a little walk around. However, they could be demons that can look like anything or anybody they want. Nobody should have anything to do with them. I have seen ghosts twice. The first time happened shortly after my grandfather died. He walked into my bedroom and stopped the clock he gave me before he died. The second time was also experienced by my wife. We both woke up a little frightened. I saw an old woman leaning on the arm of a young woman, and both were dressed in a fashion from the 1800s. My wife saw a snake of light, like a sparkler moving in the dark. Whatever it was came through one wall of the bedroom, crossed the room, and went through the other wall. There was no interaction in either case, but the clock did stop.

Did you read the whole article? It kind of explains Catholic thought on the matter. We take purgatory into account as well. We do not believe in soul sleep.

 

[Wolseley]

I’m not Catholic, so I’m not sure my post is relevant.

You're okay. Anybody is free to post here in the Catholic forums, as long as they don't try to contradict Catholic doctrine or attempt to convert us.

Ghost probably exist, but the problem is that we don’t know what they are. They could be the dead waking up from “soul sleep” and having a little walk around.

In Catholic belief, there are three states of afterlife: heaven, purgatory, and hell. And while we know a lot about all three of them, we don't know everything. It's possible that some souls may "hang around" for a while, but that's not an infallible dogma, that's just my own speculation. And another problem is that while spirits may be drifting around, we can't identify or classify them, which can be dangerous if anyone is foolish enough to try to make contact with them.

However, they could be demons that can look like anything or anybody they want. Nobody should have anything to do with them.

I definitely agree.

I have seen ghosts twice. The first time happened shortly after my grandfather died. He walked into my bedroom and stopped the clock he gave me before he died. The second time was also experienced by my wife. We both woke up a little frightened. I saw an old woman leaning on the arm of a young woman, and both were dressed in a fashion from the 1800s.

I've seen a lot of strange stuff in my life, but the only thing I ever experienced that could be classified as a "ghost" happened shortly after my father died; I had gone to bed for the night, and I heard footsteps walk across the living room floor, and somebody (or something) turned a light on out there. I called out to see who it was, and got no response. I got up and proceeded to check the entire house; nobody there but me, my mom, who was fast asleep, and the dog. So who turned the light on? I don't know. I suspect it may have been my dad, just letting us know that he was still around for a while, but I don't know that for sure. I didn't have an explanation for it then, and I don't have an explanation for it now. It was just weird.

My wife saw a snake of light, like a sparkler moving in the dark. Whatever it was came through one wall of the bedroom, crossed the room, and went through the other wall. There was no interaction in either case, but the clock did stop.

Sound like it could have been ball lightning.....that can do some pretty wild stuff. People have seen ball lightning come through a corner of the ceiling, streak around the top of the room, and exit through a window. Or they have seen sizzling globes leap out of fireplaces, roll around on the floor, and then go straight back up the chimney. And it can play absolutely hob with electronic devices, too.

 

[Jerry N.]

I’m not too sure it was ball lightning, but it is possible. (A person can make tiny ball lightning in a microwave oven, but my wife forbids it, because it isn’t very safe.) Sometimes the brain registers that something is there and then uses imagination to fill in what is missing. I had a friend who ran away from a tree stump in the dark who swears it was a bear. Maybe my brain imagined the two women, but there was something there, and my brain made things up to fill in the missing information.

 

[RileyG]

I believe many ghosts are souls from purgatory that need prayer. Just my opinion.

 

[Michie]

A Catholic Entertains Ghost Stories

There are too many testimonies of ghosts, across the world and through the ages, for a Catholic simply to dismiss the phenomenon.

www.catholic.com