A scientific (technobabble) explanation for ghosts.

[Dr. John Overwatch]

(I will tell you right now that this concept is an elaboration of a concept used in the FPSRPG video game "System shock 2." I also wrote this up mostly for fun and haven't really figured out a way to use it for my own purposes. No real research went into this specifically. Nor am I claiming any of this to be fact. I just thought it would be a cool concept)

Literature has always referenced ghosts in some fashion. Be the intent information or for entertainment, ghosts have been lingering in the collective conscious for longer than human linguistics.

As fascinating as the realm of the supernatural is for most, there might be more logical explanations for apparitions other than simply ectoplasmic based beings.

The brain operates on electrical currents to function, this is a simple fact. As such, certain electrical impulses can interfere with brain wave activity. Think of what happens to electronic equipment when effected by lightning.

This being said, all matter is energy. Energy is impossible to destroy. Not even the inevitability of demise can counter this fact.

Most ghosts are said to appear after violent death occurs. Usually, during the death, the subject will panic. This causes the electrical currents in the brain to intensify more than usual. Matter being energy, after the body is no longer a suitable host the energy flows to the nearby matter and has a potential to manifest as a "psionic emanation."

Psionic emanations may or may not retain sentience. If they do, there's a chance that the psyche of the deceased would have been damaged by the traumatic event and may behave mysteriously or erratically. If they are indeed sentient, this might explain why some appear as orbs of light, full body or otherwise.

Psionic emanations rarely leave the place of their death as while their electrical current is great, it will weaken the further they move from the source. Psionic emanations, being electrical in nature can form onto almost anything. This explains why some may "haunt" certain locations or certain objects.

Psionic emanations can be seen by some people who's brain waves are also functioning differently from other people. It should be noted that due to the fact that a subject has to be alive for this to be experienced, information on the exact specifications of a brain capable of experiencing this phenomenon limited. Emanations can however be more visible using electronic equipment, as the electric currents in man made equipment are more easily manipulated.