I've heard enough odd stories from people I respect to be agnostic about ghosts - there are certainly some strange things that happen that resist scientific explanation, but I have no particularly strong views on what the cause might be (actually, mostly I lean towards 'funny things happening with time'). Though as I said to carlanime, if I had a malevolent black entity smelling of blood lurking in my spare room, I wouldn't hang about speculating about what was really going on, but would be dragging in the nearest priest willing to come and splash holy water about...
I don't mind Halloween, but I don't particularly get excited about it, though I do enjoy All Saints' Day, if only because it's a great excuse to sing one of my favourite hymns and have a party.
I don't think I'd at all care to have a malevolent blood-drenched entity in my spare room. Or any other room if it comes to that! You are quite right to take such an uncompromising stance on this issue.
So go on then - what's your favourite hymn? I've been trying to guess...
"For All the Saints", partly because of the words, but mostly because it's such a wonderful tune which is brilliant fun to sing (and you get a whole seven verses of it!)
Maybe it's just a desire to see the world as that little bit more interesting, but, though I suspect an awful lot of stories about ghosts can be put down to bad light, or wanting to be spooked (in haunted or gothic-feeling places) or whatever, I am more than happy to accept that there are instances which can't be explained away, and it's just that we don't know enough to provide explanations
( ... )
I tend to agree that we definitely do see stuff sometimes because we want to see it. As one of the non-sensitive people who never picks up on atmospheres, I find this hard to understand, but otherwise sensible people have told me stories they plainly believe, so... *shrugs*
There's a lot of stuff being sold for Halloween, but I don't personally feel any connection to it at all. I don't know how kids feel.
I don't celebrate Halloween as such, but because it is my Mother's birthday we have always had vaguely themed parties. I do believe in ghosts, or at least I believe that sometimes people leave a sort of memory behind them which can be an almost physical presence. I saw my Nan once, which threw me utterly. I also believe in the power of mass suggestion, mass hysteria, and persuasion. I suppose I believe in ghosts, but not in all ghost sightings...
When I answered yes for cultural significance, I wanted to probably say other but had a hard time explaining it yesterday. I think that the US as a whole has taken something with a certain amount of reverence and importance and used it as an excuse to eat junk and behave badly. As a child, I loved halloween, more because I got to carve pumpkins with my dad than because of the candy. I have a hard time reconciling my distaste for the way that Halloween is in the US (kids going store to store in malls for candy b/c the neighbors can't be trusted) with my childhood love of the holiday.
It's frustrating, isn't it, to watch traditions you used to love become commercialised and sanitised?
Over here Halloween is definitely less of a big deal. The manufacturers of sweeties and cheap novelty toys would like us to buy into it a lot more than we do, I think, judging by the advertising. Though a lot of my students seem keen too.
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I don't mind Halloween, but I don't particularly get excited about it, though I do enjoy All Saints' Day, if only because it's a great excuse to sing one of my favourite hymns and have a party.
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So go on then - what's your favourite hymn? I've been trying to guess...
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Maybe it's just a desire to see the world as that little bit more interesting, but, though I suspect an awful lot of stories about ghosts can be put down to bad light, or wanting to be spooked (in haunted or gothic-feeling places) or whatever, I am more than happy to accept that there are instances which can't be explained away, and it's just that we don't know enough to provide explanations ( ... )
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I tend to agree that we definitely do see stuff sometimes because we want to see it. As one of the non-sensitive people who never picks up on atmospheres, I find this hard to understand, but otherwise sensible people have told me stories they plainly believe, so... *shrugs*
There's a lot of stuff being sold for Halloween, but I don't personally feel any connection to it at all. I don't know how kids feel.
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*reminds*
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(glad the business with your mum is sorted out, by the way...)
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I think that the US as a whole has taken something with a certain amount of reverence and importance and used it as an excuse to eat junk and behave badly. As a child, I loved halloween, more because I got to carve pumpkins with my dad than because of the candy. I have a hard time reconciling my distaste for the way that Halloween is in the US (kids going store to store in malls for candy b/c the neighbors can't be trusted) with my childhood love of the holiday.
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Over here Halloween is definitely less of a big deal. The manufacturers of sweeties and cheap novelty toys would like us to buy into it a lot more than we do, I think, judging by the advertising. Though a lot of my students seem keen too.
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