With all the ghost research societies, ghost hunter groups, and ghost investigative teams that have materialized in the last several years, there are more people examining the realm of the haunted than in any other time in history. We also have an array of technologies to help in the hunt, from digital recorders and EMF meters to infrared cameras and ghost boxes. There are even scientists and universities trying to find rational explanations for ghost phenomena.

For all that, however, we are no closer to really understanding what ghosts are than we were 100 years ago. We’ve gathered more evidence, developed new tools, and offered revised theories, but we still don’t know with any certainty what the ghost phenomenon is, what causes it, or how and why it manifests. We have evidence, perhaps, but we have no proof.

Yet we need better evidence. We need something more concrete, more solidly convincing to break us out of this 100-year rut. We need a breakthrough in ghost research. Perhaps such a breakthrough isn’t even possible. (And maybe we wouldn’t even want it. What would it be like if we could have conversations with our deceased relatives any time we wanted? How would that change the world?)