Do You Believe That Ghosts/Apparitions Exist?

[New Zacharianasville]

Hey guys, another poll here. This time I will try to start a conversation so the power hungry admins will not shut me down for just polling. So do you guys believe in ghosts/apparitions? I am undecided, mostly because I have no experience with them. I would like to hear everyone's opinion, and commentary backing their belief, thank you.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

I believe there are things out there that we do not understand. But, are there ghosts/apparitions? No idea. I have seen or felt a few things but I can usually explain them by, for example, me being inebriated.

[Greater Narkova]

Honestly, I do believe they exist, as I know people who have experienced them, including within my immediate family, and I have seen things out of the corner of my eye plenty of times, so I certainly believe they are there, and why I believe firmly it is not to be toyed with.

[Socialist Nordia]

No. Ghosts are at about the same level of realness as God to me.

[The Lone Alliance]

There might be something, if that something is mass hysteria, hallucinations, Infasound, mirages, time distortions, brain glitches, or ghosts who knows.

[The Foxes Swamp]

yes but no idea what they are

[Barboneia]

Probably not.

[The Islands of Versilia]

Not really. I do think there are things that we do not understand and are likely something that would conflict with our current scientific knowledge. Do I believe in fully sapient or sentient ghosts/apparitions? No, I don't. Do I believe in some kind of supernatural/paranormal force? Yes, I do. It's kinda hard to explain.

[Ifreann]

To quote Tim Minchin, in all of history every mystery ever solved has turned out to be not magic.

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the power hungry admins

Oh no, I've become possessed by the Spirit of the Rolling Eyes!

[Socialist Nordia]

Are there really this many people who believe in ghosts?

[Ava Ire]

No, I don't really believe that the souls or spirits of the dead roam the earth. That being said, though, there are still some things out there that I'd be perfectly fine not messing around with.

[New Zacharianasville]

I wonder if this thread will be shut down since I said a brief insult about admins.

[Ashmoria]

no I don't believe in ghosts and as an atheist I cant understand why anyone would. what would be the mechanism for life to exist after death?

[Yumyumsuppertime]

No, I don't. I think that people can talk themselves into believing that they experienced something supernatural without actually being mentally ill, but I don't think that they exist outside of people's heads.

[Jumalariik]

Yes. Who could not believe in Fatima?

[Farnhamia]

No, I don't. I think that people can talk themselves into believing that they experienced something supernatural without actually being mentally ill, but I don't think that they exist outside of people's heads.

Where did religion start ? Actually, where did the holy men and women gain the power to perceive a nonphysical, magical world ? The answer is mental illness.

<looms ominously> Let's be very careful how we push the "religious belief is a mental illness" thing, shall we? That way lies anger and red text.

[Jumalariik]

No, I don't. I think that people can talk themselves into believing that they experienced something supernatural without actually being mentally ill, but I don't think that they exist outside of people's heads.

Where did religion start ? Actually, where did the holy men and women gain the power to perceive a nonphysical, magical world ? The answer is mental illness.

50k people at Fatima were insane? k.

[Troperia]

I believe ghosts exists but I mostly think they usually stay put in their graves instead of scaring people for no reason.

[Yumyumsuppertime]

No, I don't. I think that people can talk themselves into believing that they experienced something supernatural without actually being mentally ill, but I don't think that they exist outside of people's heads.

Where did religion start ? Actually, where did the holy men and women gain the power to perceive a nonphysical, magical world ? The answer is mental illness.

That's an answer that manages the neat trick of being simultaneously reductive, unprovable, and likely wrong. Religion most likely started as an attempt to explain natural phenomena, and developed from there into a series of increasingly more complex beliefs over the course of thousands of years. Mental illness has almost certainly played a part from time to time, especially with the prophets who had especially intense visions, but there's nothing to indicate that this was the starting point.

[New Zacharianasville]

I have my own personal beliefs about what God is and what the afterlife and the meaning of everything is, but I respect all beliefs too. After all, anyone's guess about this subject is just about as credible as anyone elses, its all a guess. Literally any one of us could be right, including atheists too. We cannot know what awaits us for certain. The reason I choose to believe is because everything that ever existed, is existing, or will exist, is the result of a bunch of long complicated coincidences that are so complex and precise, that I have trouble absolutely 110% ruling out the intervention of some mysterious higher power. Then again, it could be anyone elses guess.

[Conscentia]

If ghosts exist they're afraid of scientists.

[The Liberated Territories]

I've seen a lot of shpirits.

hic!

[Kitsura]

If ghosts exist they're afraid of scientists.

Maybe to ghosts, scientists are ghosts and the ghosts are scientists? Spooky huh? No but seriously ghosts haven't been proven empirically therefore they probably don't exist.

[The Holy Empire of the Spaghetti Monster]

Could be. Could not be.

I hooe there are, just so the world can be more interesting.

Pretty much the same way I feel about gods. Is there a term for that?

[Conscentia]

If ghosts exist they're afraid of scientists.

Maybe to ghosts, scientists are ghosts and the ghosts are scientists? Spooky huh? No but seriously ghosts haven't been proven empirically therefore they probably don't exist.