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In an age when ghost-hunting shows dominate cable television, haunted-house tourism thrives, and social media feeds brim with eerie personal accounts, a growing number of Americans still grapple with an ancient question: Are ghosts real? And if so, what exactly are they?
Author, filmmaker, and theologian Derrick Warfel offers a clear, uncompromising answer rooted in Scripture. In his forthcoming book UFOs and God: Revealing Deception and Truth Behind the Supernatural, Invisible War (Forefront Books, distributed by Simon & Schuster, scheduled for release August 25, 2026), Warfel contends that what people commonly call “ghosts” are not the lingering spirits of deceased humans. Instead, he argues, they are “deceiving evil spirits or demons” impersonating the dead to mislead the living.
“Ghosts are not spirits of dead humans who didn’t make it to the other side: Heaven or Hell. They are deceiving evil spirits or demons,” Warfel told The Christian Post. He points to passages such as Luke 16, which describes a fixed divide after death, and Revelation 20, which speaks of final judgment and the lake of fire. “Righteous dead humans are in a holding place before they go to Heaven called ‘Abraham’s bosom’ and unrighteous dead humans are in a holding place called ‘Hades’ till they are judged… What we refer to as ghosts of dead people are evil spirits impersonating the dead to deceive men and get them to follow them.”
This stance is not a fringe opinion within conservative Christian theology. It aligns with a long interpretive tradition that treats popular ghost lore as spiritually dangerous rather than merely entertaining or comforting.
Biblical Framework:▶︎ Immediate Destiny, Not Earthbound Wandering
Central to Warfel’s argument is the biblical teaching that human spirits do not remain on earth after death. Hebrews 9:27 states it is “appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” Luke 16’s parable of the rich man and Lazarus depicts an impassable chasm separating the righteous and the unrighteous immediately after death. There is no scriptural support for a purgatorial intermediate state of restless wandering or unfinished earthly business.
Warfel notes that the Bible repeatedly condemns consulting mediums or attempting to contact the dead (Leviticus 19:31; Deuteronomy 18:10-12). The reason, in his view, is practical as well as theological: such practices open the door to demonic deception rather than genuine communication with departed loved ones. “It’s for this reason… that the Bible forbids consulting mediums—because the people are consorting with demons.”
The most debated biblical episode on this topic is 1 Samuel 28, the story of King Saul and the medium at Endor. Facing the Philistine army and receiving no answer from God through prophets, dreams, or the Urim and Thummim, the desperate Saul violates his own earlier ban on occult practices. He seeks out a medium to summon the prophet Samuel.
The narrative describes an appearance that terrifies the medium herself. The figure delivers a message of judgment: Saul and his sons will die in battle the next day—a prophecy fulfilled in 1 Samuel 31.
Christian interpreters have long divided over whether this was the actual spirit of Samuel, permitted by God for a unique purpose of judgment, or a demonic impersonation.
Warfel leans toward the former while emphasizing the medium’s shock. “She was expecting to hear from her ‘familiar spirit,’ an evil demonic spirit, not the real Samuel,” he said. “And Saul was condemned for trying to reach the dead. He should have just prayed to God.” Many traditional commentators (including some Reformation figures who saw demonic involvement, and others who accepted a genuine appearance of Samuel under divine sovereignty) agree that the episode offers no endorsement of necromancy. It stands as a cautionary tale of a king who had already rejected God’s voice and turned instead to forbidden sources.
Mainstream evangelical resources such as GotQuestions.org, Compelling Truth, and Christianity.com reach similar conclusions: the spirits of the dead do not haunt the living. Apparent ghostly encounters, when genuine supernatural phenomena rather than psychological or environmental explanations, are better understood as demonic activity. Demons, according to 2 Corinthians 11:14-15, can masquerade as “angels of light” or servants of righteousness—and, by extension, as comforting or familiar deceased persons.
Connecting Ghosts to the Broader “Invisible War”
Warfel’s treatment of ghosts forms part of a larger thesis in UFOs and God. A Princeton psychology graduate, Dallas Theological Seminary Th.M. (where he studied under Charles Ryrie and John Walvoord), and USC MFA holder, Warfel spent decades as an award-winning filmmaker creating media from a biblical worldview after earlier work with Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ). In recent years he has grown alarmed by the mainstreaming of UFO/UAP narratives—military reports, congressional hearings, whistleblowers, and media portrayals of “space brothers” offering evolutionary guidance to humanity.
He argues these phenomena are not extraterrestrial but “fallen supernatural powers the Bible warns us about in Ephesians 6:12”—principalities, powers, and spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. The same deceptive intelligence that once appeared as gods, fairies, or familiar spirits now presents itself in technological guise suited to a materialist, space-obsessed age. Ghosts and UFOs, in this framework, are related manifestations of an ancient spiritual conflict rather than separate categories of the unexplained.
This perspective is not unique to Warfel. Other Christian thinkers and researchers have long noted parallels between classic demonic encounters, fairy lore, and modern alien abduction reports—shared elements of paralysis, telepathic communication, sexual or reproductive themes, and messages that undermine traditional biblical faith. Warfel’s contribution is a sustained, accessible synthesis aimed at equipping the church, complete with a companion documentary and planned small-group study materials.
Cultural Backdrop:▶︎ Belief, Skepticism, and Spiritual Hunger
Public opinion data underscores why such discussions remain relevant. A May 2025 Gallup poll found Americans broadly skeptical of the paranormal: 66% are generally skeptical, while 34% are open to it. Belief in ghosts—that spirits of the dead can return in certain places and situations—stands at 39%, with 42% disagreeing. Psychic or spiritual healing draws the highest support at 48%, but no paranormal phenomenon commands a majority.
Religious practice correlates strongly with skepticism. Those who infrequently attend services are more likely (40%) to be open to the paranormal than weekly churchgoers (22%), according to Lifeway Research analysis of the Gallup findings. Weekly attenders form the most skeptical group. This pattern suggests that regular engagement with orthodox Christian teaching tends to produce greater caution toward ghost narratives—precisely the caution Warfel advocates.
Yet cultural fascination persists. Ghost tourism, paranormal investigation groups, and entertainment media keep the topic alive. For many, belief in ghosts offers emotional comfort—the idea that loved ones remain near—or a sense of mystery in a disenchanted world. Warfel’s response is pastoral as well as polemical: the true comfort lies not in lingering spirits but in the biblical hope of resurrection and reunion in Christ.
Implications for Faith and Discernment
Warfel’s thesis invites deeper reflection. If apparent ghosts are demonic deceptions, then fascination with the paranormal risks spiritual vulnerability rather than mere harmless curiosity. The biblical prohibitions against mediums and necromancy were never about denying the existence of the supernatural; they were about directing people exclusively to the living God rather than to counterfeit sources of knowledge or comfort.
At the same time, the argument does not require dismissing every unexplained experience as demonic. Psychological factors, grief, environmental stimuli, and suggestion can produce powerful impressions. Honest investigation leaves room for natural explanations while remaining open to the spiritual warfare Scripture describes.
For Christians, the practical response Warfel and similar voices recommend is straightforward: test the spirits (1 John 4:1), submit to God and resist the devil (James 4:7), and refuse to seek guidance or contact through forbidden channels. In an era of increasing public discussion of UAPs and the paranormal, clarity about the biblical categories of angels, demons, and the finality of human death becomes especially important.
Warfel’s book and related documentary aim to provide that clarity. Whether readers ultimately accept his identification of UFO phenomena with the same spiritual forces behind ghostly encounters, the core claim about the nature of “ghosts” stands on well-established theological ground. Dead human spirits do not wander the earth. What appears to be their presence, Scripture suggests, is more likely something far more intentional—and far more dangerous—seeking to deceive.
In a culture hungry for the supernatural yet often skeptical of traditional religion, Warfel’s contribution is a reminder that the Bible already offers a coherent framework for the invisible realm. The question is whether modern seekers will consult that framework—or continue chasing shadows that may not be what they seem.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Technology.
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