Should i lower my guard against a haunting if it's said that ghosts don't exist?

[achilles]

Can you do us a favor and let us know if the ghosts are naked or not? I see no logical reason whatsoever why there should be apparitions of inanimate clothing. Though it would be kind of cool to have ghost rocks and trees around. Birds would be all "I'm gonna land there" and miss.

You must go to a place where naked ghosts are plentiful; a strip club. Much research must be done on the phenomenon. I volunteer to do that strenuous research as soon as that grant comes through. In the name of science, of course.

[MyriVerse]

Ambrose Bierce noted that bit about nude ghosts many, many years ago.

Were I to believe in ghosts, I would accept them as psychic entities composed of psychic energy/matter that can appear however they like, and they would probably have leftover beliefs from their physical life. So, generally, they'd appear clothed. Alternately, they're psychically affecting anyone that can view them, and their "victims" have beliefs that automatically imagine them clothed.

Anyway, there have been a few reports of naked ghosts. Some on Alcatraz (prisoners that died naked). There's one story in my hometown (New Orleans) of a woman that died of exposure after being dared to spend the night naked on a rooftop. A few others, here and there.

[MoneySpider]

I think it's possible that some people can see ghosts, and some people just can't, or don't, for whatever reason. I think some people's sixth senses or whatever you want to call it are more heightened than the sixth senses of other people.

Also, when you dream of your deceased loved ones on a regular basis, or a semi-regular basis, and you see them in your dreams and may even interact with them, are they considered to be ghosts?

[Starter Set]

I sometimes watch ghost hunting stuff on youtube for the endless entertainment and comedy value they so generously provide and man, let me tell you, nothing come even close to what Jordanians and more generally Arabs can do.

They don't run when something happens, they charge towards it lol, kicking door and praying out loud. That's freaking hilarious. And creepy in the same time cause it tends to be damn well scripted. And it's a bit different, they aren't calling them ghosts, demons or whatever but djinn.

Always pays off to try something different.

[Celgress]

I think it's possible that some people can see ghosts, and some people just can't, or don't, for whatever reason. I think some people's sixth senses or whatever you want to call it are more heightened than the sixth senses of other people....

I do agree with you on this point.

Food for thought -

Maybe some ghosts get bored and mess with the living just to have fun? If you're a jerk when "alive" why would that change once you "die"?

[CellarDweller]

I do agree with you on this point.

Food for thought -

Maybe some ghosts get bored and mess with the living just to have fun? If you're a jerk when "alive" why would that change once you "die"?

I've seen paranormal shows that have suggested that if a person is angry or a prankster while alive, they will be that way in spirit form.

I also think that your state of mind can affect your experiences with the paranormal. If you are a complete skeptic, and close yourself off, then you will never hear or see anything. On the flip side, if you are determined to see/hear something, then every odd movement or noise will suddenly become paranormal, when there are very reasonable explanations for what you are seeing or hearing. Strike a balance. Be open, but also have a healthy dose of skepticism.

[Celgress]

I've seen paranormal shows that have suggested that if a person is angry or a prankster while alive, they will be that way in spirit form.

I also think that your state of mind can affect your experiences with the paranormal. If you are a complete skeptic, and close yourself off, then you will never hear or see anything. On the flip side, if you are determined to see/hear something, then every odd movement or noise will suddenly become paranormal, when there are very reasonable explanations for what you are seeing or hearing. Strike a balance. Be open, but also have a healthy dose of skepticism.

Interestingly, while I believe in the possibility of the paranormal I worked in two places I was told were "heavily haunted" (the first for over one year the second for three years). I never experienced anything, even when I was alone for hours (in the second place where I was a nightwatchman).

By way of contrast, when I spent summers with my grandparents in the country as a kid (and later as a teen) I did experience many unexplained things in and around the house across the street. The thing that happened most frequently was we would see an old TV (which would also seem to flip through the channels) and lights turn on and off as six to eight vague human shadow shapes drifted back & forth in front of the windows (multiple stories). What is very strange about this is the power was disconnected from the utility poles at the time and the place had no generator! I knew this for sure because my grandfather was charged with watching over the house for the bank. Three times we called the police and they inspected the place from top to bottom but found not one person and nothing out of the ordinary. This went on for years until the house burnt down one cold winter night after a nice gay couple purchased it that fall.
Years later I learned from my uncle that the son of the previous owners blew the head of his father off with a shotgun in the 1980s, while the old man watched the evening news (the mother had died of cancer a year earlier). The kid got off with an insanity plea because he said a demon named "Eddy" who lived in the attic told him to do it, I **** you not. The kid came back to claim the house about five years later but after spending one night there showed up terrified on my grandparents' downstep. The guy said he had been the subject of a tug of war all night long between multiple unseen people (he said he could not see them but could hear them, by not see them I mean the lights were on but there was nothing visible aside from thin air!) who grabbed him while in his sleeping bag, they released him at dawn.

[zinderel]

In the entire history of humankind, there has been not one shred of evidence of the existence of ghosts beyond anecdotal tales easily explained by rational observation. Occam’s Razor applies here. Given a multitude of possibilities, the possibility that requires the least leaps of faith is the most likely to be true.

You are not ‘letting your guard down’, because there is nothing to let your guard down for. You may as well wonder about letting your guard down about demons, vampires, psychics, faeries, unicorns, dragons, krakens, and so on. As much as we may wish these things existed, there is not, and there has never been, proof of their existence.

There are plenty of REAL things to fear. Don’t add made up ghoulies and ghosties to the list. Tell ghost stories for fun, watch horror movies for a scare. But don’t get caught up in the myths and forget that they are just that: myths.

[Starter Set]

There are plenty of REAL things to fear

Especially in 2020.

Just one more trimester guys!! We're going to make it!!!

[MoneySpider]

In the entire history of humankind, there has been not one shred of evidence of the existence of ghosts beyond anecdotal tales easily explained by rational observation. Occam’s Razor applies here. Given a multitude of possibilities, the possibility that requires the least leaps of faith is the most likely to be true.

You are not ‘letting your guard down’, because there is nothing to let your guard down for. You may as well wonder about letting your guard down about demons, vampires, psychics, faeries, unicorns, dragons, krakens, and so on. As much as we may wish these things existed, there is not, and there has never been, proof of their existence.

There are plenty of REAL things to fear. Don’t add made up ghoulies and ghosties to the list. Tell ghost stories for fun, watch horror movies for a scare. But don’t get caught up in the myths and forget that they are just that: myths.

Just because there's no proof doesn't mean these things don't happen, or that ghosts don't exist. All that means is that there is no PROOF. Take this example: If someone commits a crime, but there is no proof the person committed the crime, does that mean the person didn't commit the crime? No, it just means no proof has been found.

Also, sometimes things CAN be proven, and evidence CAN be found, but sometimes some people still choose not to believe, for whatever reason.

Extraterrestrials are another example...some people believe that since the existence of extraterrestrials has not been proven, that extraterrestrials don't exist. But that doesn't mean extraterrestrials don't exist. And who knows? There could be some extraterrestrials on the other side of the universe right now that think HUMANS and EARTH don't exist because they've never seen US and have not proven OUR existence, but of course they'd be wrong.

[Kirby101]

Just because there's no proof doesn't mean these things don't happen, or that ghosts don't exist. All that means is that there is no PROOF. Take this example: If someone commits a crime, but there is no proof the person committed the crime, does that mean the person didn't commit the crime? No, it just means no proof has been found.

Also, sometimes things CAN be proven, and evidence CAN be found, but sometimes some people still choose not to believe, for whatever reason.

Science doesn't work like the legal system. And evidence and proof are different in each. Science requires evidence and data, not belief.

[MoneySpider]

Science doesn't work like the legal system. And evidence and proof are different in each. Science requires evidence and data, not belief.

Well, personally, I don't always agree with the conclusions that science or the legal system come to. I'm trying to use logic to come to my conclusions, and I don't always think science and the legal system are logical in their conclusions.

[achilles]

You might be possessed by a ghost right now! In fact, I'm sure of it, and they're making sure you think they don't exist, the better to work their evil schemes through you!

Fortunately, my pet chupacabra keeps the ghosts away from me.

[Kirby101]

Well, personally, I don't always agree with the conclusions that science or the legal system come to. I'm trying to use logic to come to my conclusions, and I don't always think science and the legal system are logical in their conclusions.

How is science not logical in it's conclusions? How is the scientific method inferior to your own logic?
The point of the scientific method is it doesn't rely on one persons view or belief. It is only accepted after objective confirmation by others.

[Celgress]

I'll only say this -

Some people in this thread are very arrogant and close-minded. Is everything unexplainable that happens caused by a spirit (for lack of a better term), heck no, do I rule out the possibility completely that a spirit might be involved because I cannot "prove" beyond a shadow of a doubt it is caused by a spirit, again, heck no. My rule of thumb is to err on the side of caution in such cases rather than put oneself and others in possible jeopardy. If that makes me seem like a chump so be it.