Talk:Ghost

Two explanations that don't help the case against ghosts
I've removed these two explanations because, let's be blunt, they're crap: "In particular, Lewy Body dementia, in addition to being characterized by the presence of Lewy bodies in a sufferer's brain, is also characterized by hallucinations of people and animals usually manifesting from the sufferer's memory.

A certain hallucinogenic has been reported to induce visions of ghosts. The Humr people of Sudan consume the drink umm nyolokh, which is created from the liver and marrow of giraffes. Umm nyolokh often contains DMT and other psychoactive substances from plants the giraffes eat such as acacia, and is known to cause hallucinations of giraffes, believed to be the giraffes' ghosts by the Humr. "

Sorry, but these two are a bit obscure as explanations of ghost sightings. The first is a rare medical condition suffered mainly by older people, and it's too much to expect that everyone reporting ghosts has this or a similar illness. Yes it causes hallucinations, but it causes many other symptoms as well. Picking out the one useful symptom and going "aha!" looks too much like cherry picking. The other one, that people imagine ghosts because they eat giraffe livers, is plainly ludicrous. Choose a better example, because choosing these outliers makes it look like you're clutching at straws. Bicycle wheel  08:57, 9 July 2017 (UTC)

The Stone Tape
Some mention of this program should be made (and cross posted to . Anna Livia (talk) 16:36, 16 October 2017 (UTC)

Ghosts and religion
Is it worth mentioning that, despite so many believers in ghosts being followers of the Abrahamic religion, those religions all explicitly tell you that ghosts do not exist, it's a sin to believe they do, it's also a sin to try to communicate with the dead in any form, and it's especially a sin to give money to people like the Witch of Endor or John Edward?

I mean, it's hardly the only inconsistent thing that ghost-botherers or god-botherers believe, and two fantasies contradicting each other isn't as interesting as each one contradicting both itself and reality, and so on. But, on the other hand, it seems significant anyway. --157.131.152.164 (talk) 06:37, 13 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Definitely worth a mention, go ahead and add it. 06:38, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

Just a quick explanation
Just a quick explanation of my changes: I added the paragraph starting with "While there is no scientific evidence for ghosts, there is plenty of evidence about why people think they see ghosts..." under Scientific Explanations because it helps the clarity and development of this section, which is lacking. The first part discusses how there is no evidence for ghosts, and to improve the writing (clarity and development), it's useful to have a intro paragraph to segway to the next topic (explanations on why people think they see ghosts).

Also, I added some info on how hallucinations, especially auditory, are fairly common, as this is not common knowledge. I'm not that savvy at editing here, so I didn't add the sources, but here they are, if anyone more competent at editing here wants to add them:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-common-are-hallucinations/ https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2298236 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150527124725.htm#:~:text=Summary%3A,more%20common%20than%20previously%20thought https://www.livescience.com/50999-hallucinations-delusions-common.html

Choo choo
Will mention this. You are more likely to encounter these beasties. Anna Livia (talk) 20:24, 5 March 2022 (UTC)