Einstein’s theory of the conservation of energy is summed up in a phrase which is familiar to most of us, “Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed.” In the human body, two types of energy exist. The first is chemical energy, created by the process of digestion and nutrient absorption, which turns our food into useable fuel, much like burning wood in a fire. The second is electrical energy, created by the beating of our hearts, which tell our legs to move, and our minds to dream.
According to Einstein’s theory and the First Law of Thermodynamics, the energy that courses through our body is not snuffed out when we die. Most traditional scientists believe that it is converted into energy for plants and other living things during the process of decomposition.
But what if it isn’t, or at least not all of it? What if those electrical impulses, which cause us to think and dream, continue on in a very similar state to how they existed when we were alive? What if these now homeless electrical impulses become ghosts?
Despite the massive number of people who have had experiences beyond the normal, and the investigators who have amassed piles and piles of carefully gathered, scientifically examined data, no one has proven that ghosts exist. No one has been able to follow the transfer of energy from a person to…well, wherever it goes. But then again, no one has been able to prove they don’t, either. And honestly, I don’t know if I want to.
Imagine you have your friends over for a sleepover. You’re sitting up late, whispering in your bedroom, when suddenly, the temperature drops twenty degrees, and you suddenly know that you and your friends are no longer alone in the room. But rather than freezing in terror, you explain, “Oh, that’s just the ghost. He does that every now and then.” Your friends nod, and you continue your conversation as if nothing had happened.
No more ghost movies. No more ghost books. Nobody dressing up as a ghost for Halloween. Because if the mystery is gone, if the thrill of fear is replaced by nonchalant acceptance, then where is the magic? And what can we dream about if we know everything?
Jacquelyn Sylvan is the author of Surviving Serendipity, a YA fantasy novel. Click below to purchase on Amazon!
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