Minions from Despicable Me
These questions stem from something I saw late last week. There were the usual pre-Halloween posts about ghosts, which I like reading. I made the mistake of going into the comments to find a slew of people trying to get others to ‘disbelieve’ the existence of ghosts. Many times the comments were aggressive and insulting. Almost like a total stranger believing in ghosts was a problem. Makes me think of all the times people take it upon themselves to tear down the curtain for no other reason than they refuse to believe an innocuous thing and feel everybody should follow suit. So here we go:
- What is the positive side of believing in things like ghosts, aliens, Loch Ness Monster, etc.?
- Even if you know it’s untrue, does it really hurt to hold onto the dream that something unknown is out there? Why or why not?
- How does your belief in the unproven/unknown affect your writing and/or reading of fiction?
Legends of Windemere 
Since I am new to blogging, I am naive regarding the insults and aggressive commentary on posts. Avoiding that type of garage is the very reason I abandoned social media. People should learn to respect the opinions of others.
What is the positive side of believing in things like ghosts, aliens, Loch Ness Monster, etc.?
Belief in the existence of ghosts is a belief in the after-life. Many people need this to overcome powerful fears of death and the grief of losing a loved one. I know one such person. She allows this fear to consume her to the point she isn’t enjoying her life. For her, the idea that ghosts exists reaffirms her beliefs in the after-life and her faith in God.
Even if you know it’s untrue, does it really hurt to hold onto the dream that something unknown is out there? Why or why not? I respect and support my friend so she can find within herself. Does it do harm? We won’t know if it is true or not until we are dead, so I think it is harmless if it helps her worried soul during life.
How does your belief in the unproven/unknown affect your writing and/or reading of fiction?
I have considered writing about the paranormal. What better way to present a story about undying love.
Great post. Loved your questions. Anxious to see what discussion follows.
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I fully agree. There’s a lot of negativity on social media and I’ve never really understand why total strangers would do that to each other. Especially over something like believing in ghosts or unicorns even if it’s just a silly whim.
That does sound like a situation where the belief gets to a point where it has a major impact on a person’s life. As you said, there’s no way to tell with ghosts and it can be helpful to those who are mourning. I’m neutral on the ghost thing myself because who really knows until they die. I do find it hard to entirely believe that once we die, we simply ‘turn off’ and every piece of our existence vanishes. That’s just me though.
That would be an interesting way to take the paranormal story. I hope the discussions are good too, but I always have my fingers crossed that it’s open. The catalyst for this post was seeing a major fight on a fun article about ‘ghosts’. People were so angry that there are others who believe ghosts are possible and it struck me as disturbing.
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Charles, that disturbs me too. I also find it hard to believe that the end of life turns off our souls. I like to think we go to a better place where there is no bullying. Hopefully, your post will help keep the conversation open and positive,
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Thanks. Be interesting to go to a place with no bullying, egotistical gesturing, or whatever else has the human race in such a disappointing spot. Though I’d wonder how much of us our departing soul would take to make sure that was maintained. I can think of a few people that would take their bully tendencies with them.
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Sad but true.
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Wow! Another tough group of questions. I don’t see a positive side of believing in paranormal/cryptid type things. It’s fun sometimes, sometimes not fun. Your second question requires a fact specific answer. Most of the time there is no harm at all. It’s just a bit of whimsy, like putting things out for the leprechauns. Other times it can become mental illness, like extreme paranoia. I don’t believe my non-beliefs effect my fiction. I still write about this stuff, and do research to keep it realistic.
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1. Not sure I follow exactly. It’s just fun and neither positive nor negative?
2. Honestly, I wasn’t going with the mental illness side. That is where things get rather dangerous. Yet many times I think we treat some harmless whimsy (like putting out cookies for Santa) on the same level as the damaging stuff.
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I guess I don’t see a positive in these beliefs. Meaning something that enhances a true believer’s life. Some people have gone the opposite direction. Mortgaging the farm to go chasing bigfoot doesn’t enhance life. There is a place for free thinkers though. Flat Earth societies and such play devil’s advocate to keep scientific egos in check. My comments are purposely excluding religion, because that is a can of worms.
All of these thoughts, and the discussion that goes along with them can lead to some great fiction. This can be in the form of the extreme character, a living cryptid, and many other things. I post occasionally about “what if” as the basis of my stories. I don’t have to actually believe in superheroes in order to write about them. On this side of the discussion, you could write about a guy who mortgaged the farm to chase bigfoot, and found himself along the way – thereby a positive outcome.
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Religion is definitely in a world by itself here. We’ll pretend it was never mentioned and stuff it in the rocket to Mars along with politics and opinions on the greatest pizza topping. 🙂
I can see what you’re saying with someone believing to the point where they mess up their life or do harm. There should be some type of restraint or limit to how far a person will go. Yet, I do see one ‘positive’ for a fiction author when it comes to even remotely believing in these kinds of things. At least from personal experience, it maintains some level of curiosity and imagination that many people lose upon being convinced that adulthood is all rainbows and rum. One can even see how such things can lead a person to enhance their research skills.
For example, I have a friend who is all science and proof. He proudly declares that he doesn’t believe in ghosts, Bigfoot, aliens, etc. No imagination or sense of what if, so he can never think out of the box. It also has proven to make it difficult for him to enjoy fictional books and movies. He rips them to shreds if there is anything that is remotely out of place or requires a suspension of disbelief. Is this caused by him not believing even an iota in the unknown? No idea, but I definitely think it’s a factor.
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It certainly could be his reason for not enjoying speculative stuff. I retained my imagination by locking the left side of my brain away. Sometimes I can’t stop it. Right now I’m imagining what the best pizza topping is on Mars according to their politicians. It’s almost like there are two of me. One is the wage slave who worries about covering bills and reality. The other is imaginative and flexes that muscle on occasion.
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I always forget the left side/right side brain definitions. I’ve never turned off the imagination and indulged whenever I could, so I rely on that more than the other side. As far as best pizza topping on Mars, it’s a divisive situation. One side claims green peppers because the color is different than the rest of their world. The other side demands that it be pepperoni because red was good enough for their ancestors and it’s good enough for modern Martians. They’re a very color-focused society.
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I love it.
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1. What is the positive side of believing in things like ghosts, aliens, Loch Ness Monster, etc.? I think those that believe in the unknown have a more developed imagination.
2. Even if you know it’s untrue, does it really hurt to hold onto the dream that something unknown is out there? Why or why not? I don’t think it hurts. It gives a person something to have as a possibility and a reason to look forward.
3. How does your belief in the unproven/unknown affect your writing and/or reading of fiction? I think it allows me to create a situation without worrying too much about the practicality. I figure I can dream it and then make it work in the writing,
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1. I agree. Though I can see where other people come from that moderation is key here.
2. True. I think it’s also fun to consider the possibility that you might be gone, but not really gone. We always have that fear of leaving everyone behind, so there’s a strange comfort to the idea that we merely move to observer.
3. Perfectly said. 🙂
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This is a subject we could spend hours discussing. Like the question, “If you have no beliefs in anything but the here and now can you still write fiction?”
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Tough one. Maybe the answer to that one is present tense. 😀 Think you’re right that we’d need hours and a few drinks to get the true discussion going.
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My thoughts:
1. What is the positive side of believing in things like ghosts, aliens, Loch Ness Monster, etc.?
I think belief is part of having an imagination. It also shows that you think the universe is bigger than what we see. I would add werewolves and vampires to that list. When I was a kid, I believed they existed. By the way, I believe in the after life.
2. Even if you know it’s untrue, does it really hurt to hold onto the dream that something unknown is out there? Why or why not?
There are some things I’ve let go—belief in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. But that doesn’t mean I fail to enjoy a story involving Santa Claus. I loved Rise of the Guardians—a movie in which Santa and the Bunny starred.
3. How does your belief in the unproven/unknown affect your writing and/or reading of fiction?
It fuels my imagination for fantasy stories. I can easily sink into a story and let it carry me away.
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1. I’ve never been entirely behind werewolves because I feel they’re more difficult to hide then others. Then again, they could be more wolf than man and live in the woods.
2. Good movie. I’m surprised they haven’t done a sequel. Good point on growing up, but not entirely out of a belief.
3. Fully agree. 🙂
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Great questions, Charles. With regard to question 1, I have my doubts that things like the Loch Ness monster exist, but it’s sort of like believing in Santa Claus – we come to a point where we learn he isn’t real but the wonder of it persists and gives flight to fancy. Two, I think it actually expands your mental horizons to hold onto the dream that something unknown is out there – it’s that sense of wonder that is just around the corner, out of sight, but possible. And 3, it allows you to read genres other than your own in a non-judgmental way and enjoy what you’re reading – really connect with other writers.
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Sometimes it’s fun to believe even when we know the truth. Like when we were kids and played make believe. Great point on the sense of wonder.
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1. Hmm, okay. If you’re willing to believe in ghosts and all the other weird and wonderful anomalies then you’re willing to believe in anything. To me, that means you’re open-minded enough to think outside the box.
2. There’s no harm enjoying things that are unseen. It’s that faith in the unknown that carries us to do great things–even if it might fail in the future.
3. This is a good question. I think it takes a special kind of person to imbue their writing with their beliefs. I haven’t gotten there yet although I’ve tried with my last novel. Maybe more in the future–you never know!
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1. Which can be a positive or negative depending on who is categorizing it. I’ve met people that love out of the box thinking and others that despise it. I tend to get along better with the first group.
2. I’m chuckling at this because I’m thinking of how the same can happen with the ‘seen’ things. Some plans fail and that’s just how it is. Doesn’t matter if a ghost or toaster is responsible. (Yes, my morning Poptart was burned beyond recognition this morning.)
3. I’ve found that my beliefs slip in from time to time. Other times it’s the opposite of them in order to get contrast. Curious to see what you cook up in the future. 🙂
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2. It’s not a ghost or a toaster. It’s gremlins. 🙂
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And me without bright lights.
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