I once went on a ghost hunting mission with my ex boyfriend, and some friends. This was before I became an atheist, or even gave a shit at all. All night long people would scream, and claim they saw something. I screamed too because it was freaking me out. I never saw what my friends saw. I never felt anything icy cold reach out an grab me, but their hysteria convinced me that I must have sensed something supernatural at play.
Fast-forward two years, and I have already pretty much unwound religion from my brain, and I am lying in bed working on supernatural claims. So, I think about that night. I could honestly admit to myself that I hadn't seen anything, but I had to be sure. I threw on a jacket and drove an hour away to the same house where my friends and I had ghost hunted. I crawled in through the broken basement window, and did a full walk through, before taking a seat in the middle of the floor. I screamed out, trying to provoke whatever entity that had showed themselves to my friends. I called it names, I shouted how big of a pussy it was, and you know what happened next?
Absolutely. nothing.
This doesn't prove that ghosts don't exist, I know that. To me it proved that when more people are gathered together, feeding off each other's fears, and playing off of each other's queues, things can seem real. It also helps if you want it to be true. People assume they're always in control of their own minds, but in just assuming that, you've lost some control already. When I told one of the friends that went with me on the original trip what I experienced when I went alone, they started making all sorts of excuses for the fucking ghost, such as, "It knew you didn't believe in it, so it didn't mess with you." .
Oh, so ghosts are fucking mind readers now?
I have to say, she did sum it up perfectly, whether she realized it or not. It helps the illusion if you're already convinced it's real. It helps the authenticity if there are others with you who are longing for the same experience.
I don't know if ghosts are real, but I don't believe in them, personally.
Fast-forward two years, and I have already pretty much unwound religion from my brain, and I am lying in bed working on supernatural claims. So, I think about that night. I could honestly admit to myself that I hadn't seen anything, but I had to be sure. I threw on a jacket and drove an hour away to the same house where my friends and I had ghost hunted. I crawled in through the broken basement window, and did a full walk through, before taking a seat in the middle of the floor. I screamed out, trying to provoke whatever entity that had showed themselves to my friends. I called it names, I shouted how big of a pussy it was, and you know what happened next?
Absolutely. nothing.
This doesn't prove that ghosts don't exist, I know that. To me it proved that when more people are gathered together, feeding off each other's fears, and playing off of each other's queues, things can seem real. It also helps if you want it to be true. People assume they're always in control of their own minds, but in just assuming that, you've lost some control already. When I told one of the friends that went with me on the original trip what I experienced when I went alone, they started making all sorts of excuses for the fucking ghost, such as, "It knew you didn't believe in it, so it didn't mess with you." .
Oh, so ghosts are fucking mind readers now?
I have to say, she did sum it up perfectly, whether she realized it or not. It helps the illusion if you're already convinced it's real. It helps the authenticity if there are others with you who are longing for the same experience.
I don't know if ghosts are real, but I don't believe in them, personally.
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