Ghosts and Little People

Try it before you scoff. Subtly introduce the subject of ghosts into a conversation with even the most erudite and grounded person, and see if they don't have macabre tales of unexplained weirdness and spectral intrigue. Ghosts and little people (elves, brownies, fairies, goblins, etc.) are a worldwide subject of belief and conjecture. If they aren't real, then why do so many experience them? I'm not saying ghosts and little people exist...I don't know...but if they don't, what's the explanation?