The theme is ''Science and the Afterlife'', a subject which has fascinated Science Communication Centre director Jesse Bering since he did his thesis in the area years ago - and national and international experts are speaking at the conference, which lasts all weekend.
''It's all about scientific approaches to why so many of us believe that personal consciousness survives biological death, in some form or another. Now, that's a weird concept when you stop to think about it - that the vast majority of people, across the globe, are absolutely convinced that their minds can work independently of a functioning brain,'' Prof Bering said.
Talks will be held on topics such as sacrifice, mortuary rituals, the invention of hell and the notion of immortality, as well as fear of ghosts.
Guests include intellectual Michael Shermer, founder of the Skeptics Society, and science writer and humorist Mary Roach, as well as academics from the US and Australia.
There will also be a special screening from the television series Wellington Paranormal during the weekend.
Prof Bering said his PhD research into beliefs in an afterlife included putting on a puppet show for children, where a mouse was killed by an alligator. He asked the children: ''Does the mouse know that he's dead?'' and ''Is he still thirsty like he was before the alligator got him?''
''Surprisingly, the youngest kids [the 4-year-olds] were more convinced than older ones [9-year-olds] that the dead mouse still had psychological capacities.''
The same could be seen with adults - Prof Bering said he did a similar study with sceptics, which involved them reading a story about a man who died suddenly in a car accident. They were asked questions including: ''Does he know he's dead?''.
''One self-described non-believer, not appreciating the irony, said, 'Of course he knows he's dead. He can look around and see that there's nothing!','' he said.
