Tim I don't know if you are joking or trying to belittle those who believe these things. I've not experienced this stuff, but when one house has a turnover every six months or so, renters or purchasers, and the people who I know who've been in that house and won't go in again, and these people I know are normal (whatever that is), then I take what they say on face value.
You live in Brisbane. Let me organise that you stay the night in my friends house, where the young tough footballer refused to say. See you you go with your theories? I say, don't judge what other people see or feel.
We had a farm stay years ago and the old shearing shed was beside the original homestead. It was falling down, but the shearers slept in it to keep warm and dry. I cannot imagine many shearers 30 years ago being too namby pamby but they all refused to sleep in one room, and (from memory) stopped using the house.
A young shearer fell through a guard rail in the Blue Mountains and was haunting the house. He didn't die there, but dozens of tough, country men refused to sleep in the house. Riddle me that?
I say allow others to believe what they believe. I felt nothing in my friend's bathroom but her own family don't use it. Ridicule away, but I'll pay for you to spend the night in Boggo Road. A painter there a year or so ago when it was closed said none of the big, tough looking painters would stay after it started to get dark. Several saw a face at a particular window. So they all must be namby pamby hysterical blue collar painters?
Lets clarify something here. Smart people can believe stupid things. Strong people can believe stupid things.
Somehow trying to justify a claim because such and such is a tradie and that's what a tradie said or did or believed... I'm sorry that just doesn't count for ****.
Run me a falsifiable scientific based experiment with measurable variables that rules out all extraneous variables and finds consistent results proving something supernatural and I'll believe you.
Actually do that and you'll be an overnight millionaire because there are MANY atheist organizations putting up LOTS of money for any proof of anything supernatural. The reason James Randi still has his million dollars that he put forward and the reason why no one else has had to pay a cent...wait for it... it's because no one ever...EVER has EVER proved ANYTHING supernatural.
So yes the he said she said stuff is all well and good, but unfortunately a psychology degree and working full time for years with people with severe mental health conditions means that I don't just believe rubbish people claim with no evidence.
I wonder if any of you have actually even google searched scientific explanations for all these claims before blindly believing them.
I'm sure I sound like a *****. But you are all grown ups. This post is the equivalent of a bunch of kids talking about Santa Clause. "I saw Santa Clause last night" - "A friend of mine rode in Santa Clause's sleigh" - "Santa brought me so many presents and drank the milk and ate the cookies I left him".
That's all well and good to believe when you are 5 years old. But bloody hell if you heard a bunch of adults talking like that surely you'd roll your eyes.
Sure believe in ghosts but like any stupid beliefs don't be surprised if someone calls your belief stupid from time to time. This "rule" that everyone can believe whatever they want doesn't fly.
Do you know that 1 in 3 people will have a diagnosable mental health condition sometime in their life. Do you know how rubbish human perception is? Change blindness videos will hopefully enlighten. Do you know how easily human perception is manipulated by SO so many substances, drugs, gas leaks, lack of sleep, dehydration, blah blah blah blah. Yet you are trying to convince me to take people's second or third hand stories on face value.
And please let me clarify I'm not calling anyone here stupid. In fact extremely smart people can believe extremely stupid things. Superstitious beliefs and behavior is a result of pattern recognition which humans do so well, but evolution has made us see patterns when they are not there, because seeing a pattern that isn't there is more preferable to not seeing a pattern that is there. And pattern recognition ability is the foundation of the IQ test. So you can be well and truly seeing way too many patterns then are currently there as a result of having an incredibly high IQ. Which is why intelligence and appeals to authority based on such are rubbish. The only true test of a theory is the scientific method.
Skinner showed superstitious behaviour develop in pigeons years ago by randomly giving them food which they paired to certain behaviours while they received their food. So you had pigeons spinning in circles, jumping from perch to perch back and forth, and pecking at the same spot in the cage constantly. The difference here is we have language and we are able to point out to a fellow human when they have a belief that is simply superstitious nonsense.