Do ghosts exist? Have you seen spirits?Is there any evidence for the paranormal? Every person in the world comes across these questions at least once in a lifetime. But, no one knows the truth and everyone answers accroding their own beliefs. But, what's the truth?

Parapsychology has a fascinating, entertaining & controversial history. With millions believing in paranormal phenomena, it must either exist or be explained by psychological factors.

What Is Parapsychology ?

Parapsychologists study a number of ostensible paranormal phenomena, including - Telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, near-death experiences, reincarnation, apparitional experiences. According to Parapsychological Association, parapsychologists do not study all paranormal phenomena, nor are they concerned with astrology, UFOs,  cryptozoology, paganism, vampires, alchey or witchcarft.

When Parapsychology Started ?

In 1911, Stanford University became the first academic institution in the United States to study extrasensory perception (ESP) & psychokinesis (PK) in a laboratory setting. The effort was headed by psychologist John Edgar Coover. After conducting approximately 10,000 experiments, Coover concluded "statistical treatments of the data fail to reveal any cause beyond chance. While parapsychological ideas have deep historical roots, Joseph Banks Rhine has been described as the founder of parapsychology as a scientific pursuit. In the 1930s, he and his colleagues at Duke University carried out studies of extrasensory perception using means such as card-guessing and dice-rolling to seek evidence. Two universities in the United States currently have academic parapsychology laboratories. The Division of Perceptual Studies, a unit at the University of Virginia's Department of Psychiatric Medicine, studies the possibility of survival of consciousness after bodily death, near-death experiences, & out-of-body experiences. In 2007, parapsychology research is represented in some 30 countries and a number of universities worldwide continue academic parapsychology programs. In the past two decades a band of investigators called parapsychologists have begun taking what they describe as a "scientific peep into the keyhole of eternity". Their number is small and at times they are derisively referred to as "pariah psychologists". But their findings are already raising the subject from the realm of superstition to that of established scientific research. Many researches were also conducted in India and still many researches are going on. The prestigious National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), in Bangalore has conducted a systematic investigation of cases of reincarnation. Its findings are shattering several myths of phenomenon. Parapsychological research has also included other sub-disciplines of psychology. These related fields include transpersonal psychology which studies spiritual or transcendent aspects of the human mind and anomalistic psychology which examines paranormal beliefs & subjective anomalous experiences in traditional psychological terms.

Parapsychology - Fact Or Fiction ?

Parapsychology is widely considered a pseudoscience in the mainstream psychological community. This does not, however mean that research into paranormal phenomena is all  scientifically invalid. Some seemingly paranormal phenomena such as near-death experiences have been researched by mainstream scientists. Oxygen deprivation and other abnormalities in the brain near death may contribute to near-death experiences. Apparitions such as ghosts could be caused by dreams, hallucinations & high suggestibility.  Several critics have argued that parapsychologists have not been able to rule out all natural explanations for the phenomena they study. While historical demonstrations and notions about psychic phenomena have often been shown to be false, contemporary parapsychologists have sought to use the scientific method to test their hypotheses with empirical evidence. Nevertheless, even some of the most high-profile research into apparent psychic phenomena has been challenged due to methodological concerns. Questions of validity aside, it's certainly true that parapsychology research continues, in at least in one historically significant locale. And still the research is going on. Stung by the criticism, parapsychologists have concentrated on evolving laboratory techniques and analytical methods that would stand up to the rigid standards laid down for any science. There are so many mysteries in universe which are yet to be discovered and several unanswered questions. Research will go on as human mind is curious. But, till then, it's all about your own beliefs and imagination. So, what is your opinion about parapsychology ?