Can we PLEASE stop calling every shadow a ghost?

Right, I've been lurking on this forum for about six months now and I've got to say something. Every other post is "I saw a dark figure in my kitchen at 3am, is it a poltergeist?" No, mate. It's your kitchen at 3am. Your eyes are knackered.

I'm genuinely interested in the paranormal - I've got three proper unexplained experiences under my belt - but we're doing ourselves a disservice by accepting every bit of pareidolia as evidence. The skeptics on Reddit are having a field day with us.

Can we establish some basic criteria? Like, "Did you rule out carbon monoxide?" before we start contacting medium?

Thank you! Someone needed to say it. I spent £200 on a "ghost investigation kit" last year because I was convinced my flat was haunted. Turned out my boiler was leaking slightly and making weird noises. Cost me £50 to fix. I'm still embarrassed.

Can we establish some basic criteria? Like, "Did you rule out carbon monoxide?"

OP's got a point though. I was that person two years ago, seeing ghosts everywhere. Then I got proper sleep and stopped drinking coffee at 9pm. Weird how that works innit.

The problem is people confuse "unexplained" with "paranormal." There's a massive gap between those two things. I'm happy to discuss both, but let's be honest about which is which.