# OK, I don't believe in ghosts, BUT... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 7, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704 "2006-08-07T16:44:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/21 "2006-08-07T19:33:40Z")
Why are so many people so quick to presume supernatural explanations for mundane events? It was probably the cat, or the kid kicking in her sleep, or a pipe thumping, or something fell off a shelf or something else equally as boring and unremarkable. It might not have even come from the bedroom. Noises can play tricks on you and it’s not unusual at all to misunderstand the direction that they come from. Even if you think those explanations are unlikely, they are not anywhere _near_ as unlikely as a disembodied, magical spirit floating around in the bedroom. Why not hypothesize a leprechaun or an invisible cow? Those explanations are no less plausible than a ghost. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/22 "2006-08-07T19:38:25Z")
> [@Bobotheoptimist](#): > > I also wouldn’t do any chanting nor reading aloud from… Well, you know. 😉 [Maxwell Smart] Yes, no matter what you do, Do Not chant from [this](http://www.gop.com/News/RisingTide.aspx) aloud. [/Maxwell Smart] ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/23 "2006-08-07T19:42:10Z")
I’m with you on the cat/parrot conspiracy, Count. Who was the parrots previous owner - a one-legged fella with blacken teeth brandishing a yellowed piece of paper with a black spot on it? Did you buy the house from someone called Blind Pew? Also - were BOTH the cat and the parrot in the room with you when you heard the noise. The parrot doesn’t have to throw his voice remember, he’s in the room with you, but he makes a sound like something thudding in another room… ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/24 "2006-08-07T19:44:22Z")
> [@Count Blucher](#): > > [Maxwell Smart] Yes, no matter what you do, Do Not chant from [this](http://www.gop.com/News/RisingTide.aspx) aloud. [/Maxwell Smart] Very scary link ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/25 "2006-08-07T19:50:43Z")
umm…am I the only one to notice that ghosts dont usually go thud? Ghosts go “boo”. Ghosts walk through walls.Ghosts make you feel cold spots. Ghosts cause lights to turn on and off…etc,etc. But ghosts are incorporeal, arent they? They don’t have enough weight to go “thud”. Now, if you want to come visit me and my cat in the middle of the night, I’ll show you some thudding… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/26 "2006-08-07T19:56:46Z")
Lighten up, **Diogenes** , we’re just goofin’ around. **Bam Boo Gut** and **Count** …I have never seen the parrot and the cat pay the slightest bit of attention to each other. On the other hand, I believe they would not be above colluding with each other, if they thought it might get them the upper hand in the household. Will have to keep a closer eye on those two. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/27 "2006-08-07T19:58:13Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > umm…am I the only one to notice that ghosts dont usually go thud? > Ghosts go “boo”. Ghosts walk through walls.Ghosts make you feel cold spots. Ghosts cause lights to turn on and off…etc,etc. > But ghosts are incorporeal, arent they? They don’t have enough weight to go “thud”. I don’t know much about ghosts…can’t they push stuff over? Or can they just make a sound that appears to be a thud? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/28 "2006-08-07T19:59:06Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > Lighten up, **Diogenes** , we’re just goofin’ around. Sorry, I realized that after I posted. Sometimes I go to quickly into my “empirical skeptic” mode. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/29 "2006-08-07T20:07:51Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > Lighten up, **Diogenes** , we’re just goofin’ around. > > **Bam Boo Gut** and **Count** …I have never seen the parrot and the cat pay the slightest bit of attention to each other. On the other hand, I believe they would not be above colluding with each other, if they thought it might get them the upper hand in the household. Will have to keep a closer eye on those two. You might have to install a hidden camera, obviously they are very discreet when you are around. Are you sure the parrot’s not cross-dressing? The owl and the pussy cat were pretty close I heard. ---
**Author:** ![cruel\_butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5daacb/32.png) [@cruel\_butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cruel_butterfly)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/30 "2006-08-07T20:08:21Z")
The building where my office is located is a huge closed-down restaurant/bar/banquet facility. The building itself is only about 20 years old, so there isn’t enough time that’s gone by for any kind of supernatural attachment or anything. BUT… When my mother died a few years ago, I boxed up and brought all of the stuff I had saved of hers to this building. There is sits in the bar area. Once in a while, I’ll go through a box or two to find some of her old videotapes or a board game or something. For a few days, immediately following the disruption of my mother’s stuff, unexplained noises will emanate from that area. I’m not talking about creaks and wind. I’m talking about a sound like someone dropping a handful of silverware or an armload of shoeboxes. It used to freak me out, but now, I just smile and wave. And I’m not the only one who’s heard specific noises like that. My sister-in-law used to work with me in that office. One day, she came back into the room from the restrooms (which are just beyond the bar area), and asked me if she was the only one who heard weird, unexplained, frighteningly specific noises in the bar area. I hadn’t ever said a word to her about what I had heard. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/31 "2006-08-07T20:09:12Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Sorry, I realized that after I posted. Sometimes I go to quickly into my “empirical skeptic” mode. > > Carry on. No problem. I actually speculated for a minute that it was that darn leprechaun that’s been hanging around, but I dismissed it when I realized that I didn’t hear that irish pipe music that always seems to accompany his presence… ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/32 "2006-08-07T20:10:53Z")
> [@Bam Boo Gut](#): > > You might have to install a hidden camera, obviously they are very discreet when you are around. Are you sure the parrot’s not cross-dressing? The owl and the pussy cat were pretty close I heard. The hidden camera is a good idea. But, I’m sure the parrot is really a parrot…have you ever heard of an owl that can talk? ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/33 "2006-08-07T20:11:48Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > No problem. I actually speculated for a minute that it was that darn leprechaun that’s been hanging around, but I dismissed it when I realized that I didn’t hear that irish pipe music that always seems to accompany his presence… You know, for a moment I thought someone was suggesting that leprechauns weren’t real. Thanks for clearing that up. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/34 "2006-08-07T20:22:42Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > We have never heard a thud like this…and the cat is a little elderly now, We have a child gate across the doorway to keep the dogs out of the bedroom. A falling body sound is exactly what the cat sounds like clearing it in the middle of the night. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/35 "2006-08-07T20:28:40Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > We have a child gate across the doorway to keep the dogs out of the bedroom. A falling body sound is exactly what the cat sounds like clearing it in the middle of the night. You are right…that is what it sounds like when the cat climbs over our gate…but the only one we ever use now is the one at the bottom of the stairs, and it wasn’t in place at the time. And the cat was asleep on our bed when I ran upstairs. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/36 "2006-08-07T20:29:04Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Sorry, I realized that after I posted. Sometimes I go to quickly into my “empirical skeptic” mode. Sinopean demons can cause that, I hear. You were wise to flee that place. A 2400 year old Turk going on about ghosts… jeez! > [@Bam Boo Gut](#): > > You know, for a moment I thought someone was suggesting that leprechauns weren’t real. Thanks for clearing that up. I don’t believe in leprechauns… But I know they’re there. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/37 "2006-08-07T20:30:47Z")
“The hidden camera is a good idea. But, I’m sure the parrot is really a parrot…have you ever heard of an owl that can talk?” Well, what with the walnuts and bowling balls dropping on your roof, the stampede of wildebeeste, the leprechauns and the invisible cow - I’d say anything’s possible at your house! ---
**Author:** ![liberty3701](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@liberty3701](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liberty3701)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/38 "2006-08-07T20:40:25Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > umm…am I the only one to notice that ghosts dont usually go thud? > Ghosts go “boo”. Ghosts walk through walls.Ghosts make you feel cold spots. Ghosts cause lights to turn on and off…etc,etc. > But ghosts are incorporeal, arent they? They don’t have enough weight to go “thud”. [POLTERGEISTS!](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084516/) :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/39 "2006-08-07T20:57:22Z")
I heard an unexplained THUD in my apartment last night, too. It’s a new building, so we’re pretty sure it’s not ghosts. Of course, we only really worry about thuds when the cats might be involved, and might have broken something or gotten into something they shouldn’t. The cats were in the computer room with us when it happened, and the thud seemed to come from the living room. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704/40 "2006-08-07T20:58:30Z")
> [@Bam Boo Gut](#): > > “The hidden camera is a good idea. But, I’m sure the parrot is really a parrot…have you ever heard of an owl that can talk?” > > Well, what with the walnuts and bowling balls dropping on your roof, the stampede of wildebeeste, the leprechauns and the invisible cow - I’d say anything’s possible at your house! Ha ha! It IS a crazy place! You never know what is going to happen next. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-dont-believe-in-ghosts-but/367704.md?page=3)