Real Fear and Imaginary Ghosts

I have always enjoyed tales of the paranormal even though I have never been a believer, in any real sense. Something about those types of stories appeals to me and I tend to find them endlessly entertaining. That being the case, I was delighted to learn that several of my coworkers believe that the building, in which we labor away through the wee hours of the morning, is haunted by some disembodied spirit. They point to strange noises that come out of dark and empty parts of the largely deserted structure. Two of the older ladies say that they have seen weird "things" and one flat-out refuses to go inside by herself. In the few months that I have been at that location, I have often been asked to unlock the gates and open for the day so I have spent some time alone with the "ghost." I can't say that I have experienced anything that convinces me of it's existence; however, my coworkers' fears do appear to be quite real and I believe that is a sufficient cause to pay them some passing respect.

In fairness, some weird things seem to happen in that building but it takes more than a few strange occurrences to push me over the line of accepting that ghosts are a real thing that we need to concern ourselves with. Sometimes, there are unidentified noises that don't have a readily apparent cause but it is an "oldish" industrial building and its doors are poorly sealed. Sounds from the outside, the plumbing, and the soda and ice machines in the break room all distort and become more ominous as they echo through the brick and concrete structure. Many of the lights are wired to motion sensors and they do come on in seemingly empty parts of the building. Are they tripped by a wandering entity or could it be a moth or the vibrations of a passing truck that activate them? As for the shadowy sightings, I have never experienced them but when I heard about them, I could not help but to remember that most of the people who work there are chronically sleep deprived and at least one takes painkillers for an injury that she suffered (both of those things can cause hallucinations) so there are other explanations that seem more likely.

Despite the unconvincing evidence of a ghostly presence at work, I choose to respect the fears held by the others. For them, it does not matter if the building is haunted or not. They still experience the same dread when they walk in even if there is nothing to be afraid of and that is a pretty shitty feeling, if you ask me. When I work with the believers, I try to get there a little early to turn the lights on and drive the "specters" and "boogiemen" away like some sort of "pseudo supernatural guard dog." It doesn't actually do anything but it makes the old ladies feel a little safer and that seems like the right thing to do. Plus, sometimes, they bring me a doughnut so it's a fair trade.

It is pretty easy to allow ourselves to disregard or mock the feelings of others because they have silly causes but I think that doing this ignores an important distinction. Even if the source of an emotion is ridiculous, the emotion feels every bit as real as one that was generated by something serious. If we fail to recognize that, we can come off as cold or pompous and we make others feel invalidated which ultimately alienates us from them. Sometimes, its fine to humor people. It may not accomplish anything tangible, but it will make them feel better and often that is all it takes to improve their day.

Peace.

All the images in this post are sourced from the free image website, unsplash.com.