Why do people believe in ghosts?

I've always wondered why most, otherwise intelligent people, believe in ghosts, haunted houses, the full moon having an effect on our bodies (even though no real studies can be found to support that b.s. claim), religion, god, etc. I just don't get it.
 
The want or need for there to be an afterlife. Fear of death can lead to all manner of beliefs so long as they make you feel better about yourself and your fears. Take organised religion as one example of this. ;)
 

LukeEl

I am a failure to the Korean side of my family
The want or need for there to be an afterlife. Fear of death can lead to all manner of beliefs so long as they make you feel better about yourself and your fears. Take organised religion as one example of this. ;)

I couldn't have said it better myself.
 
Oh the ghost hunter guys on discovery channel. Wish I could make a living at something that isn't even real. Must be nice...
 

on

Closed Account
I've seen a ghost, actually seen a few! I live in the countryside, near where I live there have been many sitings!
 

on

Closed Account
Mate I don't do acid anymore! I've cut my pops down to an 8ball every four hours aswell! Anyway, sorry about that but I thaught you were all saying that Goats didn't exist!? My mistake! only crack heads believe in the boogie monster! Although when I'm on the sweets, I am........... The Boogaloo Monster..!
 
Douches like this guy make a living off it.
What a douche.


I hate this guy too and people like him but what does that say about the people that actually believe in that crap? If people want to believe in this garbage (for whatever reason) then so be it but I hate the assholes that take advantage of said people.
 
Why don't people believe in ghosts?

Just as reasonable question.
No one posting here knows, so why not?
Or why?

Sorry, I have to go, an honest politician is at the door.
 

StanScratch

My Penis Is Dancing!
I think many times, it is mistaken perception. We see a flash out of the side of our eye and think that a ghost could be the only explanation. An unknown draft can only come from a spiritual presence. Images from our dreams, or from our moments just before or after entering the dream war are mistaken for ghostly images from the real world.
Pop culture also has a bit to blame. Along with the aforementioned ghost hunters and Edwards type programs, we are bombarded with movies and shows to such an extent, some believe that they must be true.
BlueBalls also touched on another good reason: We don't want to believe this is it. We want to believe that, after our heart stops, our lives continue - all be it on another plane.
 
"Believing" in ghosts means believing in existence after death. It means that one believes that consciousness exists past mortality.

So,if you believe in ghosts, then nobody is temporary. Not you, not your family and friends, loved ones or heroes. So death becomes a promise of immortality, rather than marker of simply ceasing to exist outside of the memory of others.

Also, it implies a higher power or God. Or a supernatural hierarchy. Which mens that that the idea of justice transcends mortality. So, Hitler's tortured, your mom's an angel and you'll reunite with her after your bout with cancer, or a car crash or a piano falling on your head.

Personally, I don't believe we exist after death, BUT, quantum physics, of all things, suggests that we all my be eternal. Scientific hocus pocus aside, I think our biggest downfall as a species is that we factor in the idea o an afterlife into self-existentialism. If God stopped existing in our browns, morality and emotion would not. Which means that we could only blame nature and ourselves for our shortcomings. Which ultimately means that we could only blame ourselves.

Ghosts and whiskey are the same damn thing. The difference is that whiskey lets you stop fearing ghosts. Ghosts lead you to fear whiskey.
 
I ficked up that last paragraph:


Ghosts and whiskey are the same damn thing. The difference is that whiskey lets you stop fearing ghosts. Ghosts lead you to fear whiskey. Also, whiskey makes you feel like shit in the morning. Ghosts make you feel content in the mourning.
 
Top