[Dictated]

[schrodingersghost]

So, just out of curiosity...  What do people think of ghosts around here?  Potentially nice guys or odd manifestations of ectoplasmic energy and post-human consciousness whose only goal in afterlife is to make all the living miserable?

...Also, anyone willing to fill me in on this loss stuff?

Comments

[schrodingersghost]

[Danny cuts himself off for a moment, and then continues carefully.]

A ghost-hunter?

[hellshaped]

More vampires and fairies, but sure. Some ghosts too.

[schrodingersghost]

...Right. What do you do to them?

[hellshaped]

Help them move on.

[schrodingersghost]

...Just a rhetorical question here, but what if they don't want to move on?

[hellshaped]

Well, that doesn't usually happen. The only times I can think of would be if they were haunting something or antagonizing someone. In which case you do what you can.

[schrodingersghost]

What is that?

[hellshaped]

Exorcisms, but you need a priest for that. But like I said, that doesn't usually happen.

[schrodingersghost]

Why not?

[hellshaped]

[A pause.] Things like that don't really belong among the living. So when they do stick around, it's pretty unusual, and they're always there for a reason.

I've never heard of a ghost staying just because it wanted to. That's not how hauntings work.

[schrodingersghost]

Yeah? Well I beg to differ.

[hellshaped]

[What... well, he's not going to be baited into an argument about... ghosts?? What even.] I don't know. That's just been my experience.

[schrodingersghost]

Yeah... me too.

[hellshaped]

You deal with ghosts a lot?

[schrodingersghost]

Unfortunately. [And Danny desperately wished he could lie about this.]

[hellshaped]

Then why all the questions?

[schrodingersghost]

I needed to know. There's ghost hunters and then there's ghost-hunters, you know.

[hellshaped]

I don't think I'm either. 'Paranormal investigator' is what it's called. So I don't go bothering ghosts who aren't hurting anybody, if that's what you're worried about.

[schrodingersghost]

Back home, its all the same. And most of them don't see much of a difference between ghosts.

[hellshaped]

Sure. There are the sad ones and the mean ones.