"The accidental collision, to parse the quantifiable source," the other replies, holding out one black-gloved hand to accept the book, replacing it atop the stack before stepping aside to one side of the doorway. His irritation has faded to a stoical calm; the smallest smirk may have crossed his face.

"But the nuisance that had me rifling the occult section? It appears that a ghost has manifested near the lantern which I set outside the door to my lodgings," he continues, with another glance to the book stack in the crook of his arm. "The supernatural is... somewhat out of my range of experience, outside of fiction. But it appears that in this place, wherever and whatever it is, the supernatural is the norm and the natural. I'm a scientist, not an occultist, and that leaves me woefully unarmed against a spectral intruder.

A pause and a somewhat curious head tilt. "With that list of beings you named, you sound as though you possess some expertise in the matter."