Superstitions

Tmoo

Red Mage
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Just some musing on the concept of the paranormal. This might be better off in Costa del Sol.

Many of us profess fear to possession by demons or apparitions making their presence known, mostly late at night/early morning. I want to list some reasons why this fear is, in my opinion, irrational, and unfounded.

1) They can only act during a certain time of day, for a certain period. They're extremely inefficient beings, aren't they? If I was a ghost/demonic thing with murderous intent, I sure as hell wouldn't waste my precious energy moving inanimate objects around to spook someone, I would just off them or possess them immediately to sustain myself, assuming they need to possess to stay in tact.

2) Mother nature > ghosts/demons. Let's presume they succeed in finishing off humanity. Then what will they do? Possess squirrels? They have nothing. They have no ability to create or progress, or even copulate. They'll just sit here on the Earth, bored, until the sun decides to die and then they'll be incinerated when the planet's surface is razed.

3) Let's assume they enjoy spooking humans and it's not just about the killing. What happens when a demon encounters a target who isn't at all afraid, or gathers the courage to face it head on, knowing full well that he or she probably won't survive the encounter? What happens if it encounters a ghandi-like man who decides to reach out to it with kindness instead of cowering in fear? They're powerless. Up against someone who isn't afraid of it, the only power the demon has left is the ability to kill, something that all humans already possess, in a far wider variety, and in far more menacing ways.

4) They're stupid. As mentioned, they waste energy moving inanimate objects to spook people. In every movie I see of this happening, the action looks strained, like it's taking a fair bit of effort. By law of nature, all actions require energy, and ghosts being incorporeal beings, they're literally wasting themselves away, all for a scare.

5) Humans are more evil than any demon could ever hope to be. Introduce mr. evil spirit to Hitler or Stalin, their actions, and it will cry itself to sleep in self-pity and shame.

6) They appear to be prideful. This means they can be baited and manipulated, like anyone else, and be lured into traps and other nefarious plots set up by man.

And lastly, they would never win an all-out war against humanity. They are incapable of creating new technology, whereas, with enough R&D, humanity will overcome that pesky ability of being impervious to physical weapons. To be frank, their chances of survival, even without the presence of humans, is abysmal.

Fear of the paranormal seems to be more commonplace among younger folk. I suppose the elderly have witnessed enough horrible events in their lifetimes that some immaterial thing just isn't threatening.
 
Perhaps it should be also considered that when it's 3am and you're having your picnic in the pet cemetery and get creeped out, chances are a demonic being is not trying to make you defecate all over yourself, but it's rather a natural trait to fear. You (as in, most humans) in general, learn to fear the dark because you can't see. You also learn to fear strange noises, because you can't distinguish with hearing what they are. In time, you'll learn it isn't a pack of rabid polar bears coming to kill you, that is if you have the luxury of sleeping in a bedroom, in a geographical location where rabid polar bears are scarce.

People, like animals, are genetically coded to ..., well, fear stuff. No use about talking rudimentary survival of the fittest anymore since you can get food out of shops and buy an assault rifle on the internet, but fear is what keeps things that are alive, just that. Alive.
 
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