ICE CUBE THEORY
When discussing the existence of Heaven and Hell with Iris, the topic of Purgatory came up into discussion. The idea of purgatory as a place came into existence in the Central Middle Ages; it was not an idea that was born at the same time as Christianity was. My father has always said that the worse thing to happen to you once you die, other than descend to Hell, is to be trapped on Earth. In effect, the realm of Purgatory is the spiritual realm of Earth.
Purgatory was a place that the souls of the deceases went to in order to serve out the pennants for the sins that God, through priests on Earth, absolved you of. While the idea of Purgatory does not exist in all religions, it is very possible that there is a part of the spiritual realm that the souls of all the dead go to until they are granted admission into a higher or lower plane, or until they become so weak that the energy dissolves into the whole existence of the universe. It is possible that this is the spiritual realm that ghosts are found in, and the appearance of a ghost is a thinning in the fabric between the material and ethereal.
We as humans have both a material and an ethereal self, the ethereal being housed within the material during the extent of the material body’s life. I believe that while the material part is visible to all on the material plane, the ethereal part is visible on the ethereal plane. Ghosts are ethereal remnants of people who have lost their material shell; they are only visible on the ethereal plane.
THE MATERIAL AND THE ETHEREAL
The two planes are basically identical, in most every aspect. Ghosts interact in their world until some force draws them away to a different plane of existence. Ghosts can see the ethereal versions of the living, but unless the can draw enough energy from the fabric that separates the two planes, the material body can’t see the ghost (with some exceptions). When a ghost creates a whole in the fabric of existence, an energy surge is found on the material plane and a window around the ghost opens allowing the living the see the dead.
The ethereal form takes the shape of the last form the material body was in, so any features of the living are traced upon the dead. However, if a ghost exists in the plane for such a long time that its been losing energy into the greater universe, the distinguishing features fade, the strength of the window fades, and the type of appearance the ghost makes on the material plane shifts from intelligent to residual. Once the ghost has lost so much energy that it is barely human, it can do one of two things: 1) transcend to a different plane with the help of other forces, or 2) return to the natural starting point for the entity which would be reincarnation into a new material body. Energy is never destroyed, and the entities that use the energy are never destroyed; they take a new shape or start back from the beginning.
TYPES OF ENTITIES AND WHY THEY OCCUR AS THEY DO
Intelligent, human ghosts require a strong ethereal source that can summon a great deal of energy. These ghosts have the power to interact in the material world for very short periods of time. These ghosts are the ones that have the power to, once in the scope of the material plane, interact with a one on one basis with the person witnessing it.
Residual, human haunts are the ghosts that don’t have enough energy to break the barrier with enough force to communicate effectively; they come back repeating an action that they’ve done that is very powerful in their memory; whether it be the actions of their death or a daily routine.
Poltergeists are ghosts that focus the energy in a different way. They focus there energy on an object instead of themselves. Since the two planes are basically identical, most objects appear in both planes of existence. If an ethereal spirit focuses enough energy on an object that is in the same place in both planes of existence, the energy spreads from the ethereal copy of the object to the material object.
Ghost animals exist in a very similar fashion to human ghosts, both intelligent and residual. Living animals are more in touch with the universe that humans are, they have a deeper connection with the other planes; therefore the amount of energy they need to expend is much less and often allows them to appear as intelligent ghosts. Obviously some animals are more intelligent that others, but at the same time, not all animals become ghosts; many are instantly reincarnated or brought to a different plane to exist somewhere else.
Ghost vessels and no living things that appear exist because of the energy that those that experienced that vessel left upon it. Vessels are almost always residual haunts, with the passengers of the haunts being either intelligent or residual. Only vessels that have some strong connection with the dead, either being the cause or location or a tragedy, can reappear; but they almost always return with the ethereal remnants of those involved; still evoking their energy to bring the ship as well as themselves through the planar fabric.
Orbs or ghost lights are the result of the energy being pulled together to open up a window between the two planes. Orbs (real ones, not dust or water vapor) can't be seen by the naked eye but can be seen by cameras and video; ghost lights can be seen by the naked eye and are usually what catches the attention of a witness before they "see" the ghost.
NON-HUMAN ENTITIES
Death (the figure, not the act) acts as a watcher of the ethereal plane. When a person dies, Death determines whether or not the ethereal form can transcend to another plane or must remain behind for some period of time for some reason or another. Death can use the energy that has dissipated from the ethereal ghosts to appear in both planes at will and in a form of his or her choice.
When dealing with extra planar beings, such as angels or demons, purgatory does not allow them into that realm of existence; and therefore this is where the notion that this realm, ethereal or spiritual, is purgatory ends. This realm exists as the middle ground between Heaven and Hell, and can be called whatever you wish it be called. However, as the middle ground, as it is ‘no man’s land’, both angels and demons (good and bad spirits) can enter.
Angels are the spiritual creatures born in a pure place, Heaven if you choose that word for it. Angels have no material body but, like Death, can use the energy of the ethereal ghosts to appear in the material world. Unlike Death, however, they have a form which they appear in when entering the material world. This form exists so that they can be easily recognized on all planes of existence by those who have the knowledge of their existence.
Demons are the bad cousins of the angels, spiritual creatures that were born in a more diabolical place, i.e. Hell. Demons have no material body but, like Death, can use the energy of the ethereal ghosts to appear in the material world. Demons, unlike Angels and Death, don’t necessarily use energy that has already been expended. Some Demons may steal the energy of a ghost, and then cast the rest of it down into the abyss. Demons can take on any material form and can possess a material form. Possessions weaken the ethereal form, which upon death has a better chance of descending. The true form of Demons, which they can reveal on the material plane, usually reflects some aspect of their vileness.
Elementals, which are rare, are creatures born of the material world that have the ability to jump into the ethereal world. They have no ethereal form and usually return to nature upon death, if they are capable of dieing.
TO BE A GHOST, OR NOT TO BE?
The question is why would Death take some souls to either Heaven or Hell and leave some behind to wallow around? In terms of purgatory, sinners must pay for their sins before the can transcend. However, many ghosts are of people that died in an unexpected or traumatic way. Other ghosts, however, have a strong attachment to locations. This leads me to believe that there are at least three types of ghosts that, for the most part, are indistinguishable as ghosts. 1)Sinners paying for their crimes, which may take centuries or decades; 2)Spirits that have to come to terms with their death and fully accept that they are dead and no longer have that material shell; and 3)Those that chose to not take the hand of Death when their material body died.
Sinners are typically rare, because vicious sinners would most likely be instantly banished to Hell for their crimes, especially if God chooses not to absolve them. The ones that do exist can often become an easy source of energy for demons to manipulate the living. Others, which may have sinned but little, are just biding their time until God has forgiven them. There is no eternity for sinners, unless God chooses not to absolve the sinner.
Confused ghosts, the ones that still think they’re alive, are very common. At first, when they have enough energy to be considered intelligent ghosts, they become frightened when living people become frightened by their presence. They often expel to much energy trying to convince themselves that they are alive and become residual haunts. When that happens, and they begin repeating either their death or some routine actions over and over again; they finally begin to understand what happened to them. At this point, they can transcend or become the third time.
Those not willing to leave a location are more often than not residual haunts. This may be caused by the fact that they are resisting Death’s attempt to move them along where they need to go. All ghosts are stuck in one location until they can move on; but these spirits choose this place because it meant so much to them. Objects can also become a ghost’s stomping ground, where the ghost follows the object instead of a place. The ghost may have some attachment for both object and place, and will fight the living if they try to remove the object from the house. A ghost in this situation has such a strong connection to a location that they don’t need as much energy to break the fabric as other ghosts do.
THE CYCLE OF RESURRECTION
In the end, all the ghosts move on in one way or another. They ascend to Heaven, descend to Hell, or are reborn with a new body. However, there is the possibility that there are not enough ghosts around to create new life, and with a growing world population we know that the souls are coming from somewhere; but where?
The planes have massive stores of energy, extras in a sense, if the material population is exceeding the transcending rate of the ghosts. But because there is only so much energy, there is a limit upon how much energy can be given out before something bad happens. What happens then? Some sort of catastrophe must occur to raise death rates and increase the amount of ghosts existing in the ethereal plane. However, that still doesn’t answer the point that, when major catastrophes occur, population always rebounds at greater levels. Where does this increases energy come from if plague and war isn’t enough?
The material plane itself gives up energy, which is why there are few elemental entities seen. The material plane stopped creating the little creatures of nature to allow for the increase in world population. If women try to give birth to soulless shells, the child will be still-born or lacking the energy to live very long. Infant mortality would rise then.
In a last ditch effort to produce enough souls, the spirits in Heaven and Hell can be brought back to the ethereal plane by Death for a “second chance” to do things right or, in the case of those that came back from Heaven, to “make the world a better place”
HOW THE LIVING INTERACT WITH THE DEAD
I made note earlier that it is possible for the living to touch the dead; but it takes a strong mind and strong will to do so. Most people go about their daily lives, existing in two planes, being more attached to the material but always anchored by the ethereal.
Some people have the ability to do the reverse of what a ghost does, and break the fabric of existence to look into the ethereal world. Much like a poltergeist can focus energy into a material object, so can the living focus enough energy to confront the ethereal. The living can also, through will power and concentration, make an object a door or focus that can easily breach the barrier between the material and ethereal. Mirrors, summoning circles, relics, etc are examples of this.
It is also possible for a living person to keep so much of their energy on the material plane that their ethereal soul isn't that strong but their material self is very strong. They create a sort of vacuum in the ethereal plane that prevents a ghost from drawing enough energy to manifest. If a ghost attempts to manifest for someone like this, the energy the ghost summons transfers to the apparently weaker soul of the living. For a ghost to manifest for someone in this situation would require a great deal of energy coming from a lot of sources.
Barriers and spiritual defenses are similar vacuums of energy that prevent the ethereal beings (including Angels and Demons) from approaching oneself or from leaving one area. With enough willpower, an ethereal being can have their own energy stolen from it if they try to break through such a barrier.
If you think the theory is missing something, or have some opinions on it, leave a message in the message boards, I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts.
As a side note, this theory is my own and does not necessarily coincide with Iris' beliefs.
