Do ghosts have purpose?

The subject of Ghosts will continue to vex scholars and skeptics alike, drawing a line among us, separating us between the believer and nonbeliever. There are many questions we ask ourselves when trying to rationalize the presence of ghosts in our universe. One of the many questions we ask are...why?

Do ghosts have a purpose? Many stories and accounts seem to suggest that the ghosts had some sort of divine purpose. Common belief suggests that ghosts will linger in our world until they 'finish what they needed to', like avenge a death or bring a killer to justice. This just seems too much for me. I tend to think that the reasons ghosts are here is a bit more random, as if part of a system we do not understand yet. I do not think that ghosts are spiritual avengers bent on righting the wrongs they experienced in life. The human mind yearns for understanding. It is more comfortable to rationalize ghosts as having a purpose for their existence, perhaps in a way, making it easier to understand. Does everything have a purpose, a divine objective, or a certain role to play in their lives? Not necessarily. However, some situations defy all possible explanation. Take for example the various stories of ghostly foretelling that either saved a life or prevented a horrible accident. Could that be their divine mission, or just response born out of love and concern? Though this is an interesting type of experience, it is simply not the nature of every haunting.

We as human beings want to have purpose in our lives. Really though we are all just part of a cycle, specifically the life and death cycle. All we really need to do is live, breathe, eat, and reproduce, to further our species in this brutal cycle we call evolution. When we have run our course through life, we simply pass on. Everything after that belongs to the world of the unknown.