When I was a kid, nothing scared me like a good ghost story.
Ghosts were scary because, well, they're real. Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman - those guys aren't real. Just rubber masks and catsup. Hollywood stuff.
But ghosts? It seems everyone knows someone who has seen a ghost.
Don't believe in ghosts? There are several sites on the World Wide Web that may change your mind.
First, stop by the International Ghost Hunters Society http://www.ghostweb.com where Oregon spook chasers Dave Oester and Sharon Gill have collected and posted 618 photographs of ghosts. There are also ghostly recordings and thermal scans which allegedly depict otherworldly energy spots.
This isn't Halloween hokum. These are serious people, dedicated to finding and recording paranormal activity.
Most of the photographs are taken in cemeteries or in haunted buildings. There also is a series of photographs taken in Jerome, Ariz., which the authors describe as "the most haunted town in the world." Jerome (population 400) advertises its spooky nature with businesses such as the Ghost Inn and Ghost City Goodies.
The most haunted place in this haunted town is the Connor Hotel, and the authors provide several photographs to prove it. Some show shadowy faces, one allegedly shows a hanged man.
The ghost photos at Ghostweb aren't translucent Men in Black or Ladies in White but mysterious mists which look like puffs of white smoke. Ghosthunters call this "ectoplasm".
They encourage visitors to study the photographs for faces or images of the apparitions' earthly forms.
Other photos show "energy vortexes," which look like tiny white tornadoes or strange lines of light that streak through the photographs.
I've seen similar streaks in photos I've taken - after one of the kids accidentally popped open the film compartment in the camera. But the authors of this site swear that these are real ghosts.
There are also photos of ghostly pets, which apparently loved their masters so much that they returned from the dead to be with them.
Many of the photos were taken by accident, such as the family portrait with the ghostly man in a baseball shirt and cap rising from a lampshade (the authors marveled at the shot of "full body ectoplasm").
If all this impresses you, join the IGHS and buy the official T-shirt.
For another good ghost story with photographs, visit the Borley Rectory http://www.rvon.com/borleyrectory.htm
in England. Here, a poltergeist (that's a ghost that likes to move things around) caused about 2,000 paranormal events. The rectory burned in 1939, but the ghosts remained for a while in the ruins, causing bricks to float around (a photo is provided as evidence).
The San Diego Ghost Research Society http://sdghost.simplenet.com has posted on its Web site a series of photographs taken in the Whaley House, a San Diego Old Town landmark, and in various other spooky spots around town. They also reveal that Mission San Juan Capistrano - where the swallows return each year - is haunted by several ghosts, including a faceless monk, a headless soldier and Magdalana, who was killed in an earthquake.
Art Bell, the talk radio host who discusses paranormal activity during his late-night shows, has a large Web site with images of ghosts and UFOs at http://www.artbell.com
If all this inspires you to do a little ghost hunting, the San Diego folks recommend bringing the following equipment:
E-mail Charles Brewer with questions, comments and suggestions at CBrewer@enquirer.com Charles Brewer's columns can be found at http://enquirer.com/columns/brewer