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The source is a personal essay, not a new scientific finding: its writer describes hearing the sounds of a deceased dog and dreams involving people who have died. The writer says belief in ghosts can make room for wonder and offer a way to think about continuing bonds in grief, while acknowledging these experiences cannot prove the supernatural.
A personal essay argues that believing in ghosts can enrich life by making space for wonder and offering a way to understand relationships that endure after death, while stressing that its writer’s experiences do not prove the paranormal. The account centers on hearing the writer’s deceased dog at home and on vivid dreams involving a dead friend and filmmaker David Lynch.
The writer recalls being home from college during summer break, a year after the family dog Max had died. The writer heard what sounded like Max trotting down the hallway, followed by playful barks and howls. The writer’s mother called from elsewhere in the house to ask whether the sounds had been heard too. The writer says both heard them, but cannot establish what caused them. “He came back to say hi,” the writer remembers thinking, adding: “At least, that’s what I want to believe.”
The essay also describes two unusually vivid dreams: one involving a childhood friend who died during the pandemic, and another featuring Lynch in a conversation about creativity and presence. The writer remembers strong physical sensations and detailed surroundings, but only fragments of the conversations after waking. These episodes are presented as personal experiences, not evidence that the dead visited in dreams.
The writer, a poet and horror writer, says being open to supernatural possibilities is not the same as treating every strange event as proof. A flickering bulb or unexplained sound may have an ordinary cause. The point, the essay says, is to remain comfortable with uncertainty rather than immediately ruling out mystery or accepting a paranormal explanation as fact.
Grief · Wonder · The Unexplained
Why Believing in Ghosts Can Enrich Our Lives
A personal essay makes room for mystery and continuing bonds after loss—while drawing a clear line between what feels meaningful and what can be proved.
At least, that’s what I want to believe.The essay’s writer, remembering Max
The central idea
Meaning can coexist with uncertainty.
The essay explores a middle ground between dismissing every strange moment and treating it as proof. An experience may matter emotionally even when its cause remains unknown.
01 / Wonder
Keep the question open
A sound may have an ordinary explanation. Staying curious can still leave room to imagine what else might be possible.
Curiosity is not certainty02 / Grief
Relationships can change
“Continuing bonds” describes connections with people who have died that remain meaningful in an altered form.
A lens for loss, not proof of presence03 / Evidence
Separate feeling from fact
Vivid memories, dreams, and perceived signs can feel powerful without verifying that a spirit was present.
Personal account, not a studyThe remembered moment
From Max’s sounds to ghost stories
The essay’s account centers on a brief, striking experience at home, then connects it to a lifelong interest in supernatural stories and the questions they leave unresolved.
It was a year after the family dog had died. The writer remembers both of them hearing the sounds, but the account cannot establish what caused them. There are no independent records or investigation to settle the question.
The writer also describes vivid dreams involving a childhood friend who died during the pandemic and filmmaker David Lynch. The scenes felt detailed and physically vivid; the conversations mostly faded after waking. The essay does not present the dreams as verified visits.
As a poet and horror writer, the essay’s author values “what if?” A noise in the attic might be a raccoon; an unresolved story can still hold wonder. Openness to possibility does not mean accepting every unusual event as supernatural.
Notice
A sound, dream, or memory stands out.
Consider
Ordinary causes remain possible.
Reflect
The experience may connect to grief or love.
Leave open
Meaning does not prove a paranormal cause.
What the account can establish
Experience is not verification.
The writer describes what was heard and dreamed, and how those moments felt. The source offers no test that can determine whether the events had a supernatural cause.
What it offers
A personal memory, vivid dreams, a family connection to the moment, and a way to think about grief, wonder, and continuing bonds.
What it cannot prove
That Max, the deceased friend, or David Lynch visited; that ghosts exist; or that ghost belief improves mental health.
Questions the essay leaves open
Hold meaning and evidence apart.
The supplied source does not cite a specific study, researcher, investigation, or follow-up. Its practical invitation is to consider explanations without dismissing the feelings an experience brings up.
Does the essay prove ghosts exist?
No. The writer says the experiences cannot be proved and does not present them as verified paranormal events.
What happened after Max died?
A year later, the writer recalls sounds like footsteps, barks, and howls. The writer’s mother also asked about them; their cause remains unknown.
What are “continuing bonds”?
The phrase describes an ongoing relationship with someone after death, changed by loss. The essay does not cite a particular study or claim this is universal.
Is every strange event supernatural?
No. The writer allows for ordinary explanations and describes openness to possibility, not automatic belief in paranormal claims.
Wonder, Grief and Uncertain Experiences
The essay’s significance is personal and cultural rather than a report of new research: it challenges the idea that adults must choose between complete skepticism and firm paranormal belief. Its writer describes a middle ground—being curious about unexplained experiences while recognizing that they cannot be verified. That distinction matters for readers encountering unusual sounds, dreams or memories, because an experience can feel meaningful without settling what caused it.
Ghost stories can also provide a vocabulary for grief. The essay connects its account of Max with the idea of continuing bonds: relationships with people who have died may remain meaningful in altered forms, rather than being understood only as ties that must be severed. The writer presents this as a way to think about loss, not as evidence that a deceased person is literally present.
That approach can preserve room for both emotional meaning and ordinary explanations. A person may find comfort in imagining a loved one nearby while also acknowledging that a sound could have come from a house, an animal or memory. The source does not claim that ghost belief is necessary for grieving well, or that supernatural interpretations have been demonstrated to improve mental health.
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From Max’s Sounds to Ghost Stories
The writer places the childhood dog memory within a lifelong interest in supernatural stories, including fairy tales and accounts of ghosts. As an adult, the writer works as a poet and horror writer and says that asking “what if?” is part of the genre’s appeal. A noise in an attic might be a raccoon; a reader can still imagine another possibility while the story leaves the cause unresolved.
The essay contrasts that uncertainty with easy access to information through phones, search tools and artificial intelligence. It does not argue against science or practical explanations. Instead, it suggests that knowing how many things work need not remove all wonder, and that some questions may remain unanswered.
In discussing bereavement, the writer refers to the psychological phrase “continuing bonds” for ongoing connections with people who have died. The essay uses the concept to question the assumption that healthy grief always requires detachment or “moving on.” The supplied material does not cite a specific study or researcher, so it offers no data about how common such bonds are or their effects.
““At least, that’s what I want to believe.””
— The essay’s writer
What These Experiences Can Establish
The cause of the sounds heard by the writer and the writer’s mother is not established. The account does not include independent records, an investigation or evidence that could determine whether the sounds came from an ordinary source or something paranormal. The writer says the experience lasted less than 30 seconds, but the supplied material does not explain how that duration was measured.
The dreams also cannot establish that the deceased friend or Lynch communicated with the writer. Vivid sensations and detailed scenes are part of the writer’s recollection, but the essay does not offer a way to distinguish a supernatural visitation from dreaming, memory or the subconscious. No specific scientific study is provided to test those explanations or to show that believing in ghosts improves well-being.
The source material ends during its discussion of continuing bonds, so it does not provide further detail about the research or the writer’s conclusion on that point. The article’s case for ghost belief is therefore a personal reflection, not a verified finding about bereavement or paranormal activity.
Questions the Essay Leaves Open
No investigation, new study or scheduled follow-up is described in the source. The writer’s next step is not a factual milestone but an invitation to hold open more than one explanation: consider an ordinary cause for an unusual sound without dismissing the feelings or memories it brings up.
For readers, the practical distinction is between meaning and evidence. A ghost story, dream or perceived sign may help someone reflect on grief, but the experience alone does not verify that a spirit is present. The essay leaves the underlying question—what, if anything, caused the events it describes—unanswered.
Key Questions
Does the essay prove that ghosts exist?
No. The writer says the experiences cannot be proved and does not present them as verified paranormal events.
What happened after Max died?
A year after Max’s death, the writer recalls hearing sounds resembling the dog’s footsteps, barks and howls. The writer’s mother also asked whether she had heard the sounds, but their cause remains unknown.
What does “continuing bonds” mean in the essay?
The phrase describes maintaining a relationship with someone after their death in an altered form. The essay uses it to discuss grief, but does not cite a particular study or claim that every grieving person experiences this.
Does the writer say every strange event is supernatural?
No. The writer says unusual events can have ordinary explanations and describes openness to possibility, not automatic acceptance of paranormal claims.
Source: thegoodtrade.com
