Originally Posted by
researchwriter
I have to say this thread seems to have taken a bit of a nasty turn.
Whether you believe in people's stories or not (and some are certainly more unbelievable than others) I don't think there's really any reason to "laugh at people who are so gullible", call them mad, etc. All seems a bit out of order to me to be honest. You wouldn't attack people's religious beliefs (for example) just because they might not be your own. I'm not sure why, if people are genuinely not bothered or interested in the supernatural (or "unexplained" or however you want to put it), they'd bother having a go at others who are.
I should point out that I am not someone who has ever seen a ghost or had a profound supernatural experience but neither do I just dismiss anything that whiffs of the paranormal as nonsense. I'm very interested in folklore and history and the supernatural is very often a big feature of both - stories (true or not) of ghosts and apparitions often provide a fascinating and engaging link to the history of a place.
That's not to say that every story is important (or credible or even interesting) but just because some aren't that doesn't automatically make the entire field a load of rubbish. If you want to just take the p**s and have a laugh I think there are plenty of other threads for that.
I'm not defending anyone's stories here but I think just spending post after post giving people stick and not actually adding anything to the topic seems a bit sad. Gang of bored kids talking loudly at the back of the bus so everyone else has to listen whether they like it or not. Know what I mean?