My Ghost Experience And Its Impact

[Fulgurator]

"Quod si manifestum flagitat ratio debere propria animalia etiam in aere intellegi, superest ut, quae tandem et cuiusmodi ea sint, disseramus."
"That being evident, logic dictates we should be able to understand animate beings of the air and it only remains to discuss how and what they are."(Apuleius)

The musician Sting testified to seeing a ghost but we know thousands of people have had experiences. Only once in my life did I see a ghost so I'll share the account and comment as to why it led me to be curious about the paranormal.
It was years ago, maybe 2008. I had a job as a security guard at a steel works where I was mostly alone. There was a workers canteen to sit in so I used to bring one of those pocket television sets. I also came to know a fox there that used to follow me about and come for food. I had to do a routine patrol every hour.
It was still light, about 20.40 or around and nobody at all was in the location as it was a public holiday. As I was walking back to the canteen, I saw a man in overalls standing outside the door, from a distance. I automatically used the radio to report it but only because I wanted to clear up whether someone was expected. I was then informed nobody at all should be there and to look into it. The man in overalls strangely enough gave an impression of being very pleasant, cheerful and friendly. Weirdly, I got a strong impression he was visiting the location because he had worked there before and that he was fondly recalling memories of the canteen. Then, as I turned a curve in the road, approaching the canteen, I lost sight of the doorway and the man for a few seconds. When, after clearing the bend, I regained sight of the doorway, the man was gone. Nothing. At that point, I was being buzzed on the radio and it was suggested I check the main gates and for any parked car. The gates I could see were locked and at that point I started to get puzzled because this man had totally vanished. I then thought the only possibility was he'd squeezed through the fences and shrubs next to the abandoned railway track so I darted there to take a look. Nothing. Not a soul in site.
There followed some animosity from the security employers and even doubts about my assumed imagination. It got me into a bit of trouble, in fact. However, a week later, someone from the steelworks popped in for a coffee on site and told me he'd heard about the report. He told me the works was known to be "haunted" and others had seen the same man. He had evidently died on site in a tragic accident.
That was the only ghost experience I had.

[Fulgurator]

According to neo-platonism and Apuleius, all four elements, earth, air, fire and water hold forms of life. The earth is for animal, vegetable and mineral while water is occupied by marine life. Fire was thought to contain life but very alien to us. Air is the suggested medium for spirits and ghosts. Pagans 2000 years ago, revered the so-called "lares familiares", which were spirits of the dead that watched over the home. "Familiars" we say today. Note, in the Middle Ages these "familiars" could lead to accusations of witchcraft but, in the Roman world, it was very normal to revere these familiar spirits.
Following this, the "larvae" are those spirits that supposedly haunt us in a bad way. These were thought to be restless and uprooted so not at peace.
Of course none of this has any proof in science. It's fascinating but we've no scientific evidence beyond electronics magnetic field readings. Those of us who have seen ghosts could have had some hallucination in the pragmatic eyes of science.