I ain't afraid of no ghosts

> Lack of scientific evidence indicates ghosts are not real

Jessica Berget
Opinions Editor

 

D: you believe in ghosts? If so, you're
not alone. Ghosts and spirits are

a common superstition among many
societies and cultures. Stories of such
supernatural phenomena are passed down
from generation to generation around
campfires, sleepovers, or as warnings to
keep kids from walking in the forest after
dark. Consequently, ghosts are one of
the most widely-believed supernatural
forces, with almost half of Canadians

(47 per cent) being firm believers, and
one in five (8 per cent) claiming they’ve
been in the presence of a ghost.

The idea that our deceased friends
and relatives continue to live among us in
the spirit world is an old and frivolous one.
There has been no scientific evidence to
back up the fact that ghosts do exist, yet
about half the population claims they do...
but how, and why? Some people entertain
the idea of ghosts purely because they want
to get spooked. For others, it provides a
sense of comfort and support that their
lost loved ones aren't really gone, but are
instead watching over and guiding them.
Unfortunately, this also is a cause for a lot
of fear in peoples’ lives, with every creakof
the floor and trick of the eyes being
immediately cited as a ghostly encounter.

But let’s get real (unlike ghosts). The
strange happenings people attribute to
ghostly or paranormal activities, such as a
door opening on its own, something falling,
or seeing a dead relative when you wake
up in the middle of the night, can all be
explained by one crazy concept: Science.

A door opening on its own most likely
means your house doesn't have very heavy
doors, or there was a draft. Things falling
are just a by-product of gravity, and seeing
your dead relative in the middle of the

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night is a classic case of sleep paralysis, or
just your mind playing tricks on you. People
forget how powerful the mind can be. It can
make you see or believe anything, especially
if you're scared. It’s basic psychology.

Ihave a hard time believing in
ghosts for several reasons. For one, there
isa sufficient lack of scientific evidence
that proves they are real in any way. If
paranormal investigation is in fact a
science—and there are so many shows

 

 

nowadays that focuses on this very field
of science—how is it that we have not
found anything that proves their existence?
And why does every spirit I hear about
come from the Victorian era? If ghosts
really exist, surely there must be spirits
from at least the last 20 years. Another
thing I cannot understand is the basis
of what can, or cannot bea ghost. The
very earth we stand on is teeming with
life, and if everything that is alive has a

Boxing Day 1s here to stay

> Despite Black Friday's popularity, Boxing Day is not going anywhere

Jerrison Oracion
Senior Columnist

 

Bug Day has been a popular
tradition in the past few decades. It’s
the day after Christmas where everyone
lines up in front of a store and waits
until they can go inside to get deals on
popular and normally expensive items—
mainly electronics. Despite Boxing

Day and Black Friday having a lot of
similarities, they are some differences
between the two shopping holidays.
Boxing Day is the Canadian equivalent
of Black Friday, in terms of shopping
holidays. They are relatively the same

in terms of sales and advertisements
except on Boxing Day you do not have
everyone running inside the store and
fighting crowds to get good deals.

Since the beginning of online
shopping with Amazon and Black Friday
coming to Canada, the lineups on Boxing
Day have started to get smaller. Many
people have thought that this would
be the end of the Canadian shopping

 

holiday, with Black Friday or online
shopping taking its place. However,
online shopping does not have the same
experience as physically going into a
store. Also, a lot of people continue to
go to stores and malls to get items on
sale, showing that Boxing Day is still a
popular shopping holiday, and will still
be be around in the distant future.

Photo via NBC News

Over the past few years when I go
to stores on Boxing Day, I usually wait
outside the store for at least an hour
and the lineup is so long that it goes
all the way to the back of the store.
Recently, I’ve noticed that many stores
are less busy because they do not have
a lot of deals to offer, and many people
are purchasing things online instead.

Illustration by Cara Seccafien

soul, how is it that there are no animal,
or even plant ghosts? If ghosts can
communicate with psychics, why aren't
more murders being solved? These are
the questions that haunt me, not ghosts.
In the end, the evidence for
paranormal existence is as lacking
as it was a century ago. If there turns
out to be evidence of ghosts in the
future, I would welcome it with open
arms, but for now, no such luck.

However, many malls including
Metrotown and Eaton Centre in Toronto
were very busy because people love
good deals and they like to see the
product before they buy it; something
you can't do with online shopping.
Furthermore, when | looked on Amazon
to see what sales they had on Boxing
Day, I didn’t see anything interesting.

The disadvantages of getting deals
online are that you might have to wait for
a few weeks for the items to be shipped,
or the item that you want might be sold
out in a few seconds. Compared to going
to the store on Boxing Day where you can
get the item immediately and they have
a stock of their products so that by lining
up early, you have an increased chance of
getting your product at a reduced cost.

Fewer sales happen on Boxing
Day because of Black Friday coming to
Canada years ago, but it is still a popular
day to shop. The disadvantages of online
shopping led to more people to shop
in stores on Boxing Day and because
of this, Boxing Day will continue as a
tradition for generations to come.