Afraid of Ghosts No More

THERE WAS A TIME, there really was, when businesses hid their ghosts. At least, American businesses. Not thei financial, legal, and sexual skeletons, but rather their literal ghosts, their haunted buildings. The reason? They didn't wanna scare people off. Real estate and commercial property brokers in particular. Why, if a place was haunted, fugggetaboutit. No way you, the potential buyer, was going to find out about that little see through girl who keeps croppin' up on the landing 'bout once or twice a week, long about midnight. After all, you have to sell or rent this place, get that commission, and feed your family. None of this ghost nonsense. Why scare of clients? Well, those days are gone, long gone. We're changing fast, or we already have changed. Nowadays, people who are sufficiently fortunate to have haunted property on the market, first thing they do, often, is proclaim with all possible vigor the presence of said ghost, and offer to prove it. Maybe not so much in the housing market, but in commercial real estate, particularly hotels and vacation property, yes indeed, the live in ghost is a lure, a kill joy no more. Of course, there is a law requiring full spectral exposure, but still, its one of those laws that used to be ignored, law marijuana and speed limits, but now is often no longer - not for reasons of morality, but rather, relating to the profit motive. Property owners now want to sell their ghosts, because they know they can. that's how much America has changed. We now not only believe in ghosts, we love them, and that is a sea change. Chalk it up to the scientific spirit, or natural human inquisitiveness, or improved courage, whatever. Fact is, ghosts have come out of the closet, and we aint near as afraid of 'em no more. And that's got to be a good thing, aint it? Who knows. We seem to be getting smarter, in some ways. Maybe next thing you know, folks'll stop believing that God writes books, or that torturing someone to death brings salvation to everyone who approves of the torture.