Can a Ghost Harm Someone? by Jennifer Scelsi of CSI: Paranormal

While on the surface the answer to this question seems pretty simple, in reality it's complicated because it's a gray area.

First you have to define the word hurt. 

Ghosts can take a huge mental toll on a person. If you're living in fear, you may not be sleeping well, you may be more nervous, and you may not be eating like you normally do. Even if the ghost living in your home means no harm to anyone, the fact that you are afraid of it is enough. Living with this mental strain over a period of time can start to affect your health and that of your family. When dealing with a ghost, fear is the enemy - not the ghost itself. 

If you or a member of your family is being injured because you are running away from a ghost, then it is not the ghost that is harming you, you are harming yourself. This may seem like a small difference, but if the ghost did nothing to harm you and really means no harm to the living, it was your fear that caused you to be injured. 

You might be thinking that the ghost, if meant no harm, should have known you'd be afraid. Remember: the ghost was once a living breathing person just like you and may be trying desperately trying to make contact with the living. There have been cases when a ghost or spirit has attacked a living person. Some people who have been victims of such attacks have reported being scratched, punched, and choked, as well as having objects hurled at them. 

Now there are some very nasty ghosts out there, and one of them may decide for whatever reason, that it doesn't want you or your family in what it considers to be its house and will take drastic actions to send you fleeing from your home. Little is known about what makes a ghost or spirit evil, but often the answer can be found by researching the history of the house or place being haunted. It could be that someone was murdered on the property or there were cases of similar violence. It could also be something as simple as the ghost not wanting what it perceives to be trespassers in its home. 

Whatever the reason, some of these mean, negative, or downright evil ghosts can be hard to get rid of, and in some cases next to impossible. There are cases in which objects have been thrown directly at people and in which people have been pushed or tripped on a staircase. In such cases the answer would be yes, certain types of ghosts can hurt you. A person who was mean and nasty while alive will not change when he or she has died and can make your life a living hell. But again in this situation, fear as well as the ghost is the enemy. The more fear you show toward a ghost of this type, the more it is going to escalate its activity. 

The type of entity that is capable of causing the greatest amount of harm to the living is the inhuman, or demon. Running into an actual demon is rare, despite what you see on television and of course at the movies. Inhuman ghosts are capable of unbelievable psychological warfare and physical attacks that can include scratching, biting, pushing, shoving and so forth. So as you can see there is no short answer as to whether a ghost can or cannot ‘cause you harm. 

Most ghosts are harmless, and it is fear that makes people feel that a ghost is going to hurt them. The important thing to remember is that if you are a witness to paranormal activity, before you can react with fear, stop and really think about whether you're being harmed physically or mentally harmed in any way. Chances are you're not.