For the longest time, if “separate verification” existed in a scientific study, then the theory was confirmed. If “separate verification” was found in tales of the paranormal, the obviously it was either  mass hallucination, cryptoamnesia, or a variety of flukes.

But really: if we do perceive things like ghosts, UFOs or such, has  more to do with our human minds than with any “fact” of their existence. Because myths and magic are human.

We seem to be living in a world with a curious double standard: If, much to his own amazement, someone reports that he has just perceived the ghost of his dead father giving instructions regarding the estate, we will say, “Oh, that isn’t real – that’s just that person’s experience.” But when we just hear, simply hear, of a rape or a murder or the agony of the homeless, we say, with great satisfaction, “Yes, that’s reality.”