Comment by DV82XL on Striving to Accept · 2009-03-10T03:15:14.592Z · LW · GW

What I don't see mentioned is the fact that roots of the fear of 'bump-in-the-dark' is an instinctive reaction that is programmed deep in our genes from a time when it was a survival trait. Ghosts, spirits and other supernatural explanations are only a cultural veneer.

While one can use reason to dismiss those explanations, it's not necessarily going to convince one's limbic system that there is nothing to worry about.