MARION — A comprehensive course on ghosts and how they’re understood in Christianity is coming to Saint Gabriel’s Church.

Led by the Rev. Eric E. Fialho, the six-week “Ghosts! Explaining the Paranormal” will explore “how the Church defines, understands, and explains” ghosts, which is “one of the most misunderstood areas of belief in Christianity,” according to a press release.

Classes will be an hour and a half and consist of lecture, discussion and storytelling and including readings from “Holy Scripture, Church mothers and fathers, and experts in the ever-evolving fields of parapsychology and exorcism,” the press release said.

Fialho said in the release that it’s “a topic that interests many people, sometimes for the wrong reasons,” and he thinks “people will be very surprised by what they will learn” during the course.

“I am excited to burst bubbles and surprise people,” he said.

The course is free and hybrid. It will meet in person at 124 Front St. on Wednesday evenings from 6:45 to 8:15 p.m. from Sept. 25 to Oct. 30. It is open to all aged 18 and up. College-level reading assignments will be given for almost all sessions.

Fialho said he “wanted to create a space which is both intellectual and folksy.”

Attendees will be able to share personal stories, and an exorcist from the Episcopal Church has been invited to guest lecture one of the sessions, according to the release.

To attend in person or via Zoom, email Jenny Lima, parish administrator, at stgabrielsmarion@gmail.com. Students are asked to plan to be at every session in order to attend the course. Auditing or dropping in and out will not be allowed.

Fialho will also lead an optional field trip to Salem in October, bringing attendees around on a private tour. More Information and signups for the field trip will be provided during the first session.