Dan Aykroyd Contributes his Creation and Role in his Ghostbuster Movie to his Obsession with the Paranormal.

Canadian Emmy-winning writer (SNL) and Actor, Dan Aykroyd has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. He believes that is one of the reasons he has been so obsessed with ghosts/spirits and law enforcement his entire life. He said in an interview with The Daily Mail, “I became obsessed by Hans Holzer, the greatest ghost hunter ever. That’s when the idea of my film Ghostbusters was born."

Aykroyd originally wrote the Bill Murray character for his close friend, John Belushi, but rewrote the part for

Murray after Belushi’s untimely death. Instead he created the green ghost, "Slimer" and said that it was "the ghost of John Belushi" based on Belushi’s “party animal” personality.

Aykroyd speaks openly about his experiences with the paranormal in several articles he has written on the subject, including one he wrote in Huffpoint’s, “The Blog” in 2009. In this article he tells about an experience he had where he felt a spirit lying in bed with him when he lived in Momma Cass’s Hollywood estate.

Aykroyd’s father, Peter Aykroyd, has also been involved with the paranormal and has written a book, “The History of Ghosts,” (Roldale Press). Dan’s great-grandfather was considered a mystic and corresponded with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on the subject of Spiritualism on a regular basis. The elder Aykroyd was also a member of the Lily dale Society. Ghost/spirit research seems to be a family affair with the Aykroyd clan. This is in spite of the fact that Dan Aykroyd was so religious in his youth (he was raised Catholic) that he intended to become a Catholic priest.

Now Aykroyd is an open Spiritualist. He has been quoted as saying, “I am a Spiritualist, a proud wearer of the Spiritualist badge. Mediums and psychic research have gone on for many, many years... Loads of people have seen spirits, heard a voice or felt the cold temperature. I believe that they are between here and there, that they exist between the fourth and fifth dimension, and that they visit us frequently.”

Aykroyd is also into UFOlogy. He is not only a life-time member of MUFON (Mutual UFO Network), but he is also the official Hollywood consultant for the organization. He produced and stared in a DVD about UFOs in 2005 entitled, “Dan Aykroyd: Unplugged on UFOs.” In this 80 minute DVD Aykroyd is interviewed by Daivd Sereda, noted UFOologist. Both men discuss all aspects of UFOs and alien visitations to Earth.