The paranormal and the supernatural topic

A thread for discussing aspects of the paranormal (ghosts) and the supernatural (but not the TV show!)

I have a question to start us off

Why do some people who insist there's no such thing as the paranormal refuse to even touch and are even fearful of an Ouija board?They shouldn't be fearful of something they don't believe in,but they are,or are they afraid of the human element behind the board,moving the pierces?

Not sure if it's fine for me to post this since this thread's (kinda) related in a way.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13213064900A63545800&page=1#comment-1

That's a good question. Personally, I don't believe in the supernatural and I have no qualms with interacting with ouija board.

I suppose if someone claims they don't believe but they still hesitate, they're lying. Possibly to themselves.

I've never interacted with an ouija board but I don't think I'd even been allowed to,but if I did see one I would be cautious.

Edited by Ultimatum on Dec 12th 2023 at 2:51:02 PM

Ouija boards work based on the ideomotor effect. Basically the group of people playing with the board unconsciously guide the piece to spell out an answer. The same thing happens with divining rods.

There's nothing supernatural to it, I'm not sure why someone who doesn't believe in spiritualism would avoid it besides just not putting any stock into it's effects

The psychology of superstition is fascinating. If you define a superstition as behavior or beliefs that do not correspond to a scientific understanding of reality, there are basically no non-superstitious people. We all have little rituals we undertake to relieve our anxiety (I actually knock on wood when I am hoping for something to go my way), or little taboos we avoid for the same reason. It's all about anxiety and maintaining a sense of control. We are essentially trying to placate our monkey brain by reassuring it that, no matter how stressed we feel, there is something we can do to make it better.

I am skeptical about the supernatural, but I try to keep an open mind. I belonged to a ghost hunting club for a number of years, and while I found the whole think very interesting and fun, we never caught any ghosts.

Do behaviours without belief count thought ? I would argue that doing something irrational in order to comfort yourself psychologically is rational. Provided that you intellectually know that the effect is purely psychological. Sure, essentially fooling yourself is a bit strange, but not irrational. EDIT: As for myself, I cannot think of any ritual that I do at the moment, at least. Except doing something all over again, hoping that it works this time even if I intellectually know it will not, I guess. Otherwise, no idea.

Edited by Risa123 on Dec 12th 2023 at 6:43:42 PM

I remember an experiment somewhere that first surveyed people regarding their supernatural beliefs. Then the person running the experiment offered people money if the would sell their soul to the researcher. Acceptance rates were very low, even among self-identified atheists.

I'd object regardless because I could not ensure delivery. If the soul exists I'd be unable to guarantee transfer, and if it doesn't my personal ethics prevent me from accepting a transaction on false pretenses on my part.

I think the most worrying about people who think they can sell their souls is that they think the value of their immortal soul (thus their life) can be traded away to begin with!

This is a bump of sorts related to 'spirit boards' I mentioned

Voodoo dolls,they're a surprising common gag in fiction but I don't think I've ever seen one in real life

Almost everything you think you know about "Voodoo" is a Hollywood myth. If you are interested, I would start here.

Is this even true, other than in the sense that for any random fear you might think of there's a small portion of the world that has that fear?

yes it is 100 percent true and I'm not using hyperbole,honest!