# Do ghosts exist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 1, 2000, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ghosts-exist/27677 "2000-08-01T06:40:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2000, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ghosts-exist/27677/41 "2000-08-08T21:58:13Z")
> [@](#): > > I can’t remember which.It wasn’t of course stated like that since the scientists measured the mass of a ghost to be about 12 ounces(if i can remember correctly) by measuring the difference between a live patient and a dead one. Welcome to the scientific method, Zeeshan. Tell me, what exactly in the statement “Out of a sample of X bodies weighed before and after death, the average difference in weight was Y ounces” leads to the conclusion, “Ghosts exist”? (Hint: Nothing) ---
**Author:** ![muffinman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@muffinman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muffinman)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2000, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ghosts-exist/27677/42 "2000-08-08T23:05:15Z")
My girlfriend’s mother insists that their house is haunted by the ghost of her husbands mother. She apparently died in the livingroom, and has been known to move a heavy wooden stool across the tile floor (easily heard), turning on appliances (stove, etc), and opening cabinets. Most interesting is a story they told about his DUI several years ago, in which the front porch light refused to shut off until he made it home. They could turn it off, and as soon as they turned their backs, the switch would flip back. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2000, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ghosts-exist/27677/43 "2000-08-09T02:24:16Z")
matt\_mcl wrote: > [@](#): > > Absence of proof is not proof of absence. Darn it, Matt, you’re right! I’m going to go right out and worship the Invisible Pink Unicorn, just in case She’s for real. ---
**Author:** ![NiceGuyJack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/niceguyjack/32/3069_2.png) [@NiceGuyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NiceGuyJack)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2000, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ghosts-exist/27677/44 "2000-08-09T16:51:55Z")
Isn’t it strange that the people who have witnessed ghosts tend to be the friend of some uncle’s nephew’s girlfriend’s brother’s aunt. It gives me the shivers. ---
**Author:** ![Zeeshan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c4cdca/32.png) [@Zeeshan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeeshan)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2000, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ghosts-exist/27677/45 "2000-08-09T19:36:45Z")
Hi, Do any of you guys know about possessions and how people get possessed by spirits or demons and stuff and are somebody else and speak as the demon “excorcist style” 'cos its been happening on my cousins side of the family a lot and its an in thing and everybody believes in it.What do you guys think of this since excorcims are still being performed and religions even have ceremonies for them. Also a funny thing that i think about.The christians ward off evil spirits and vampires etc. with a cross,the muslims do it by reciting from the Quran,the hindus have their own sign and the jews might have their own ways.I smell something fishy. Bye Zeeshan ---
**Author:** ![Gregatiki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e95f7d/32.png) [@Gregatiki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gregatiki)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2000, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ghosts-exist/27677/46 "2000-08-09T20:15:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zeeshan \* > **Hi, > Do any of you guys know about possessions and how people get possessed by spirits or demons and stuff and are somebody else and speak as the demon “excorcist style” 'cos its been happening on my cousins side of the family a lot and its an in thing and everybody believes in it.What do you guys think of this since excorcims are still being performed and religions even have ceremonies for them.** Relegions have ceremonies for lots of things, I’m not required to take them all at face value. That’s why they are ceremonial. I think that, before you hogtie your relations and sprinkle them with holy water, you might want to get them to physician or a psychologist. Simple test: If the room gets cold, multiple objects fly around on their own, or heads begin to spin, it is probably demonic possession. If not, they are either in need of medical help or practicing their Paul Reubens impressions. > [@](#): > > \*\*Also a funny thing that i think about.The christians ward off evil spirits and vampires etc. with a cross,the muslims do it by reciting from the Quran,the hindus have their own sign and the jews might have their own ways.I smell something fishy. > Bye > Zeeshan \*\* Funny thing that. Odd how every culture has their own form of superstition. Not terribly surprising, though. Before things like electricity, locked doors, motion detectors, and Cecil, the only way to ward off the bumps in the night was through signs, symbols, prayers, and incantations. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2000, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ghosts-exist/27677/47 "2000-08-09T20:27:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by muffinman \* > \*\*Most interesting is a story they told about his DUI several years ago, in which the front porch light refused to shut off until he made it home. They could turn it off, and as soon as they turned their backs, the switch would flip back. \*\* So a defective light switch is proof of ghosts? ---
**Author:** ![Zeeshan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c4cdca/32.png) [@Zeeshan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeeshan)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2000, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ghosts-exist/27677/48 "2000-08-09T21:23:32Z")
HEY THE SWITCH WAS TURNING ON AND OFF WHEN THEY TURNED THEIR BACKS. sounds more bugs bunny than ghost to me.But definitely wierd and unexplained so far. Bye Zeeshan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ghosts-exist/27677.md?page=2)