Afterlife

"Safety coffins" were tricked-out caskets that provided a way for prematurely buried people to escape from 6 feet under, back when this fear was sometimes a frightening reality.

By Dave Roos

Tourists may not be the only ones to enjoy the beauty of the famous palace.

By Diana Brown

It turns out you can't just scatter your loved one's ashes anywhere. So what can you do with them?

By Jesslyn Shields

Is 'Jim Wilson' really a code name airlines use to refer to a corpse being transported on a plane? Or just an urban myth?

By Kristen Hall-Geisler

Move over, mediums. Lots of people say they talk to the dead, including the bereaved. Ready to meet a few others?

By John Perritano

The best photograph can't touch one. A death mask, in all its 3-D glory, is the last likeness of a loved one that a family can own. After all, it vividly preserves what some consider to be the very essence of a person -- the face.

By Erin Wright

You may know that the ancient Egyptians used embalming in mummification. But they weren't the first to embalm their dead, nor were they the last. In fact, it's still being done today.

By Elizabeth Sprouse

What do you want to happen to your mortal remains after you die? You could have them turned into a diamond, packed into ammo or shot into space. Speaking of which, how does turning back into star stuff work?

By Nicholas Gerbis

Made of plain pine or shaped like a shoe, mourners may inter them, suspend them or set them ablaze. Why do coffins have so many forms and functions?

By Allison Wachtel

You know the drill: You plunge into darkness and then see a bright light. An angelic figure speaks to you. Why are people's near-death experiences so similar?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Carnivals and amusement parks create haunted houses to give you a good scare during Halloween. But what if the scares lasted for centuries -- and your house was the frightening attraction?

By Cristen Conger & Jonathan Atteberry

Cult films like Phantasm haven't exactly made graveyards inviting places. But what do we fear? Is it the thought of all those decaying bodies and bones stirring under the soil?

By Robert Lamb

Do you relish the thought of finding yourself face-to-face with a ghost? Do your favorite historical sites all have human suffering in common? If ghosts are your pleasure, then you may want to visit the cities on our list.

By Sarah Winkler & Mark Boyer

It's not cool when a ghost drags you out of your hotel bed. Unless, of course, you're into that kind of thing. What hotels provide such fright?

By Charles W. Bryant & Jessika Toothman

Why was the eccentric heiress Sarah Winchester consumed with transforming her six-room farmhouse into a creepy labyrinth?

By Molly Edmonds

Can you watch your body after you die? Near-death out-of-body experiences have left researchers wondering if life after death exists. How do scientists explain it?

By Josh Clark

When you're alone in a strange room at night, it's easy to believe that noises, shadows and chills are proof that spirits of the dead are there with you. Learn some possible explanations for the phenomena most often attributed to ghosts.

By Tracy V. Wilson

If you've seen the movie "The Exorcist," you have some idea of what exorcism is. But is it real, or are there other explanations for what some people call "possession"? Learn why a priest might perform an exorcism and more.

By Julia Layton

The movie "Ghostbusters" introduced a generation to proton beams, ectoplasm and a terrorizing Stay Puft Marshmallow. Real-life ghost busting is a bit less glamorous and whole lot cleaner.

By Ed Grabianowski

The eerie occurrence of "otherworldly" voices showing up on tape -- voices that weren't audible during recording -- is poised for the kind of exposure typically saved for UFOs and ESP.

By Stephanie Watson