What do you believe in?

[The Curmudgeon]

Now there's a grand topic for a Monday.

So we're all fans of horror and sci-fi. But where does the line get drawn for you? Do you think there are other weird, unexplained things out there? Is there more to this world than what we already know? Ghosts? Aliens? Bigfoot? Um..Slenderman?


I'm a fan of different "paranormal" groups on Facebook, and the reaches and huge leaps of belief people are willing to make when to comes this sort of thing is just unreal. Splashes of water on the lense? GHOST. Smudge on the lens? POLTERGEIST. Black mark in the background. SHADOW PERSON. That's apparently a thing. I've been banned from commenting on every single one of the groups pictures because I've slated them all. It's just impossible not to.

Personally.. I dunno.. like Mulder, I WANT to believe. Like, ghosts. Do I want to think there's something after we die? Absolutely. Do I believe in them? ... Not sure. We're a tiny speck on the galaxy, so is it arrogant to think we're the only sentient life-forms out there? Probably.

What about you?

[trashcanman]

I believe in the POSSIBILITY. The problem with scientific types is that they refuse to accept the possibility of anything until it's proven as fact. That is to say they spend most of their time being DEAD FUCKING WRONG. I won't say I believe in ghosts and aliens and whatnot because I've just never seen anything to convince me, but I won't pretend it's outside the realm of what's possible. The things we know about the universe is likely a drop in the bucket of what's out there. And the fact that we've got dumbshits out falsifying evidence and making bullshit reality shows where an of of focus moth flying in front of the camera reflecting the light is some mysterious spectral entity that WAS NOT THERE isn't helping either. Chalk me up as a "want to believe but require concrete evidence".

[Ben]

All the reality shows are complete bullshit. The one about hunting down Bigfoot might be the dumbest of them all. Obviously they're not going to "find" a Bigfoot (even if they do find a Bigfoot) until they've made millions off of the first 5 seasons, so why bother watching at all? And the ghost shit isn't even worth talking about. Faaaaaaake.

That said, I've heard some really convincing ghost stories over the years, many of which are told by people who consider themselves nonbelievers in the supernatural. I have one buddy from high school who laughs at the notion that God, demons, aliens, and other monster types exist but as soon as someone mentions ghosts he's all "I swear on my mother's grave I saw ghosts every night in my last house." I haven't seen one myself, but I more or less believe that others have seen "ghosts." I'm just not sure what ghosts really are.

Aliens I'm less sure about, though I like Arthur C. Clarke's famous quote: "Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying." The idea of aliens absolutely terrifies me, but I don't think the evidence in favor of them visiting Earth and fucking with us is very good at all. A few stories in particular are pretty concerning, though. Like this one:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly%E2%80%93Hopkinsville_encounter

I was just having this discussion with a guy at work the other day, but if it turns out there's no other intelligent life out there and we're it, we might as well chalk that up as evidence for the existence of God.

Other things? Bigfoot stories are fun if not particularly convincing. Still, Google "Sasquatch Genome Project" and watch yourself start to believe that giant hairy humanoids just might be real. Basically, I'm very open to the idea that any or all of these things might be real, but ghosts are the only one I'm willing to say I believe in.

[trashcanman]

I consider the stories that abound to be the best evidence. I mean, they are so universal. People from around the world all throughout history have some pretty similar stories regarding spirits and aliens and all that with no way to communicate with one another. You could chalk it up to hereditary instinctual fears if you wanted to be boring, but it's pretty interesting to me. And yeah, I've had some people I trust (as much as I can trust another person) that have told me some pretty far out stories that would make me a believer if I had witnessed them myself. But in the digital age, it seems more and more farfetched that these things wouldn't be caught on film if they exist. And those reality shows have become a joke. I enjoyed them back when they were rare, but the more you watch them, the more obviously full of shit they are.

[The Curmudgeon]

The reality shows are a waste of time. I did actually enjoy Fact or Faked, but that was taken with a big pinch of salt. The others, like Most Haunted and all the other "ghost" shows, are just pathetic. There are Youtube videos more convincing than that shit, and it just makes it all the more difficult to take any attempt at credible research seriously.

The problem now is, with the advancement of technology and the fact people can make and edit movies on their fucking smartphones now, any actual recording of unexplained stuff is labelled "faked" or "shopped" as soon as it goes online.

I do find the more plausible cases, like Ben's link, pretty fascinating, though. Saying that, THE definitive Bigfoot footage (you know, the 60's video of him walking through the woods) was apparently debunked recently. Is nothing sacred??

[lemex]

I generally don't believe in anything. I don't believe in very much - though I don't think it's impossible there is a supernatural world out there. I just don't think there is.