Many of us enjoy ghost stories, and though I’ve never seen a ghost I believe I live with them and won’t dismiss the possibility there are such beings. After all, what we can actually see with our unaided eyes of the visible spectrum is only the tiniest fraction of what there is to be seen through various scientific instruments; and even the most sophisticated of these do not see all that is to be seen.

Recently I came across an article concerning theoretical dark matter that tickled my fancy about ghosts: “Dark matter has taunted astronomers and physicists ever since the astronomer Fritz Zwicky of the California Institute of Technology pointed out in the 1930s that clusters of galaxies appear to be missing enough visible matter to hold them together gravitationally. Speculation has centered on the possibility that the dark matter consists of hypothetical elementary particles left over from the Big Bang — so-called WIMPs, or weakly interacting massive particles, that are immune to most forces of nature and so can pass through us and the Earth like ghosts.”

The funny acronym causes me to wonder if this is more a result of actual humor than scientific serendipity. I love that line from “Men In Black” where Tommy Lee Jones tells the lady “The FBI does not have a sense of humor that I’m aware of.” And while that too often seems to be the opinion concerning scientists, I’ve known a few that had a very fine sense of humor; so I’m more than a little disposed to suspect this regarding “WIMPs” and comparing these with ghosts. But notice the writer says these “can pass through us and the Earth like ghosts.” Like ghosts? That presupposes accepting these as factual, intentional or not.

No, I wouldn’t hold the writer’s feet to the fire on this one. It is far more likely the writer used the phrase as a common perception of ghosts, whether one believes in them or not; still there is that cautionary word of Sam Clemens who confessed he didn’t believe in ghosts, but he was afraid of them. And, despite Casper, I suppose this is the view held by a goodly number of people.

I’m possessed of a pretty good imagination, but not one so active that I believe I’m bumping into ghosts every time I turn around. Still, when I consider what may be unknown about our universe and read about the esoteric scientific speculation concerning dark matter and dark energy it grants my imagination leave to imagine many things, among which are ghosts and spirits. Ghosts have a history as old as humankind itself, and while one must not confess their belief in such beings too openly or adamantly in polite society lest one be branded a kook nevertheless as the old saying goes, where there’s smoke there has to be fire may apply to these beings.

Of course, the “proof” of ghosts has been more along the line of something we “feel in our bones” rather than anything amenable to scientific validation. We have yet to learn of any cooperative ghost lending their presence to a group of scientists interested in manifestations of the departed. But The Witch of Endor was frightened out of her wits at the appearance of Samuel, and I have to wonder how any group of scientists would react to the appearance of Einstein? On the other hand, I don’t know of any group of scientists attempting to conjure Einstein from “the other side.”

Interesting phrase the other side; ever wonder how that became common jargon? Much like the “hereafter, passed on,” and other like euphemisms for death they nevertheless have a singular relevance peculiar to our unwillingness to accept death as nihilistic. There is something within us that refuses death as being the cessation of our being. There is just something about looking up at the stars, a something that seems to tell us this life is only a passing phase, not the end. It is the same something that keeps my hope alive I will rejoin loved ones and friends gone on before me, and even speak peace to my soul when I lay my head on my pillow at night and converse with them in the darkness before falling asleep that they have never really left me at all.

Emerson, Thoreau, even Francis Church in his letter to little Virginia pose the possibility the things unseen may be more real than what our eyes behold in this world. And while science has yet to discover whether dark matter even exists let alone may be the stuff of ghosts, I’m more than a little ready to believe in such a thing. After all, I live with ghosts and am very happy to entertain the notion they are happy to keep me company. There is little I can do to frustrate the evil in this poor, suffering old world, but if I may speak a word of hopeful comfort to fellow pilgrims on their journey through this life it would be to welcome and hold on to the ghosts of your loved ones and friends gone on before you. And who knows but what science may yet prove we are correct in doing so?