I absolutely love the horror and supernatural genres of entertainment. Alfred Hitchcock, Vincent Price, George Romero, Quentin Tarantino, Boris Karloff, Stephen King, and Peter Cushing? Cannot get enough. I love the macabre art inspired by all things dark and taboo when I go to horror-themed events. Little coffins decorated with favorite movie characters. Crafted earrings with baby squid tentacles in formaldehyde. Scary baby doll head sculptures and Silent Hill cosplay. Spookiness has everything my heart pumps adrenaline for and throws my mind into the sweet release of escapist fantasies.

But like other fictional genres, I completely reject many aspects of horror because it’s fantasy. Yet, many make a business out of claiming some aspects are real and that these claims are backed up by actual science. I’m speaking on things like paranormal investigation, aura photography, and psychic readings. And, weirdly, this trend is rife throughout a lot of atheist communities.

In fact, the Understanding UnBelief Project (check out pages 13-14 of the report with a shot of something strong…you’ll need it) decided to find out just how rampant belief in the supernatural actually was in atheism, discovering that almost 17% of atheists and agnostics buy into some form of ghosts existing. Further, even in the U.S., the amount of atheists who take a naturalist attitude toward supernatural phenomena doesn’t hit 50%! Even belief in good versus evil supernatural presences (hauntings, demons, bad energy vibes), is over 20% for atheists and 33% for agnostics.

What does this all mean?!?

Back to My Supernaturalist Roots

I was probably about nine or ten years old, it was Halloween night and a televised séance hosted by William Shatner (T.J. Hooker, Captain Kirk) attempted to contact Harry Houdini. I don’t remember why I got to see it that night, maybe it was the fact Shatner was hosting and my dad was a die-hard Trekkie—yes, he was all about the original series. But, this was a really impressionable moment for me, especially since my parents and I usually spent two hours of Halloween sitting quietly in the dark of our living room as trick-or-treaters came and went. Such is the life of an evangelically raised Pentecostal in Southwest Ohio. But, here was this program

Up until I’d watched that Halloween special, I didn’t even know what a séance was. I’d read many books at that point at the library up at the corner of my block, but I’d always favored martians, Sasquatch, and all forms of urban and mythological legends. Ghosts, telekinesis, and dark rituals were new to me and became a quick addiction for several years after. The idea of life after death outside the realm of religious belief was enthralling. Of course, I was viewing supernatural phenomena from a more science-fiction fantasy point of view. After all, it was 1987, Captain Picard had quickly become my sci-fi heartthrob and Q helped me realize, albeit subconsciously, how ridiculous the concept of gods is.

So, my ten-year-old brain had already begun rationalizing the idea of ghosts, not so much as dead people snooping in our lives, but as a potential other dimension to visit. Just look at all the world-bizarro episodes that Star Trek exposed me to. God clearly had nothing to do with ghosts and hauntings at all. Thanks to my overexposure to all things science fiction since toddlerhood, I firmly believed that scientists were working on ways to manipulate and access this other dimension, and I wanted the first ticket there.

I can’t tell you how often I’d think of Alice’s experience in Through the Looking-Glass and stand in front of my dresser mirror, staring intently into the reflection for any sign of the story being true. After all, I’d learned that many urban legends had a few truths buried in their stories. My mind constantly wandered into these escapist fantasies, much like Walter Mitty, and for good reason. I was dealing with a lot of trauma in my household.

Fortunately, I’d fallen out of love with the idea of escapist fantasy by the time I reached twenty, and dove headlong into just the urban myth section of supernatural lore. To this day, I love a good supernatural show that features urban legends and famous monsters, but that’s where my enjoyment stops.

Because, I’m a naturalist, 100%.

Why Not All Atheists are Naturalists

I should note the majority of my friends on socials are atheist/agnostic, and proudly so. Seeing a planned trip to investigate Waverly Hills Sanitarium in Kentucky or a local graveyard to capture spirits on voice recorders, spirit boxes, EMF detectors, and thermal imaging sounds like fun until I realize they aren’t going on a group Supernatural LARPing event. They’ve literally spent hundreds of dollars on junk equipment to pursue evidence of hauntings. It reminds me of the Violet Ray fad of the 1920s.

But I am astounded at how taken in many skeptics are when it comes to life after death and ghostly evidence. I realize that atheism only pertains to a god figure, but..... Read the rest here on my Substack.