Explanations exist; they have existed for all time; there is always a well-known solution to every human problem — neat, plausible, and wrong.
— H. L. Mencken, 1917
If anyone listened to Jack Bauer, the show would be called 3.
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Anime and Manga
Kirie: So you believe what that clown said?
Shuichi: Tell me, how you can believe a toy clown said anything at all?
Shuichi: Tell me, how you can believe a toy clown said anything at all?
— Uzumaki
Oh come on, there's no such thing as crop circles! What it really was was a ghost. And that dinosaur the principal saw? Ghost dinosaur.
— Random fifth grader, Digimon Tamers
You can see ghosts, yet you do not believe in soul reapers?!
— Rukia Kuchiki, Bleach
Adolph: Evil spirits? You mean, what you said before was true?
Guts: You're sayin' you believe in God, but not in evil spirits?
Guts: You're sayin' you believe in God, but not in evil spirits?
— Berserk
It amuses me that you refuse to believe in curses when you have a devil for a servant and have come eye-to-eye with grim reapers.
— Sebastian Michaelis, Black Butler
Flat: Yeah. He turned from a mage to a Dead Apostle.
Jack the Ripper: Dead Apostle?
Flat: A bloodsucker... Oh, would you understand if I said ‘vampire’?
Jack the Ripper: It’s true that there are theories I was actually a vampire... but even for a mage, isn’t that a too B-grade occult?
Flat: Jack the Ripper resurrected in the modern day is way more B-grade occult, though.
Jack the Ripper: Dead Apostle?
Flat: A bloodsucker... Oh, would you understand if I said ‘vampire’?
Jack the Ripper: It’s true that there are theories I was actually a vampire... but even for a mage, isn’t that a too B-grade occult?
Flat: Jack the Ripper resurrected in the modern day is way more B-grade occult, though.
Koizumi: Oh! Perhaps invaders from a parallel dimension are playing a trick on you. You never know, they could pop up where you least expect it.
Kyon: Okay, now you're pulling my leg.
Koizumi: If I were you, I wouldn't rule out that possibility.
Kyon: Okay, now you're pulling my leg.
Koizumi: If I were you, I wouldn't rule out that possibility.
— The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, after seriously discussing the subjects of Time Travel, Psychic Powers, and Reality Warpers
I'm ninety-nine percent sure that Death Gun is a people mere rumor. Killing someone in the real world from a virtual one? I can't believe that's possible. But the remaining one percent chance has brought me here.
— Kirigiya Kazuto, Sword Art Online
Audio Plays
Lt. Sandoz: (at haunted piano) There must be a mechanism in the piano.
Doctor: You really never stop, do you, Lieutenant? But there's a limit to skepticism, you know. You end up cutting your own throat with Occam's Razor.
Doctor: You really never stop, do you, Lieutenant? But there's a limit to skepticism, you know. You end up cutting your own throat with Occam's Razor.
— Big Finish Doctor Who, Winter for the Adept
Comic Books
Hellboy: We're being set up for the real deal — William Grenier.
Kate Corrigan: That's crazy! If he was ever real, he'd be, what, 800 years old?!
Hellboy: Now listen to me. How is that any weirder than the stuff you've already seen today? Right?
Kate Corrigan: Right...
Kate Corrigan: That's crazy! If he was ever real, he'd be, what, 800 years old?!
Hellboy: Now listen to me. How is that any weirder than the stuff you've already seen today? Right?
Kate Corrigan: Right...
— Hellboy: The Wolves of Saint August
I've seen a haunted chair and a talking mongoose, but I'd have bet good money there were no dragons.
— Hellboy, Hellboy: The Nature of the Beast
Dum-Dum Dugan: Shoulda known you was one o' those weirdos who believe in the 'bom'nable Snowman.
Gabe Jones: Y'know, Dum-Dum, you take the cake. Here we are chasing Godzilla and a zillion-foot tall man-ape and you scoff at something only a few feet bigger than a gorilla.
Gabe Jones: Y'know, Dum-Dum, you take the cake. Here we are chasing Godzilla and a zillion-foot tall man-ape and you scoff at something only a few feet bigger than a gorilla.
Black Panther: Well, what then? Some "monster of the hidden temple"?
The Vision: Your skepticism ill befits a man who stands next to an android and a god, T'Challa.
The Vision: Your skepticism ill befits a man who stands next to an android and a god, T'Challa.
— The Avengers #124 (Marvel Comics)
There's mutants, Spider-Men, Captain America frozen in a block of ice for decades, Tony Stark is a human tank, but vampires is too much for you?
— Ben Urich, Ultimate Spider-Man #95
Funny how I accepted invisible fellas and mad inventors bringing back the dead, but I never really believed in you.
— Elijah Snow, Planetary #13
"I don't believe in that kind of miracle, o divine master. Flying carpets are one thing, but rain-making is sheer science fiction!"
— Owzat, Asterix and the Magic Carpet
Supergirl: Doctor, could the tissue you've been unable to identify be partially human?
Dr. Light: Human? That seems unlikely—
Gangbuster: Says the lady who watched alien insects erect a hive in the middle of the city in a matter of days.
Dr. Light: Human? That seems unlikely—
Gangbuster: Says the lady who watched alien insects erect a hive in the middle of the city in a matter of days.
Janine Melnitz: "Well, maybe you believe in that Santa Claus baloney, but I don't. So I've gone out and bought everyone a present... Just like last year!"
Ray Stantz: "You shouldn't be so skeptical, Janine. Some people don't even believe in ghosts, but we know they exist!"
— A licensed comic for The Real Ghostbusters
Fan Works
Dark Yagami: Do ghosts exits?
Blud: THEY DO NOT MY GOOD YOUNG FRIEND BECAUSE THAT SORT OF THING IS IMPOSABLE?
Dark: But ur a Shinigami aren't you imposable too?
Blud: NO COS THIS IS THE DEATH NOT WORLD WHERE SHINIGAMI ARE POSABLE
Blud: THEY DO NOT MY GOOD YOUNG FRIEND BECAUSE THAT SORT OF THING IS IMPOSABLE?
Dark: But ur a Shinigami aren't you imposable too?
Blud: NO COS THIS IS THE DEATH NOT WORLD WHERE SHINIGAMI ARE POSABLE
"Boy, kids these days. You tell people you're an emperor from beyond space and time, they just nod. You flap in on a pair of wings, and all of a sudden they forget how to talk."
He didn't see any point in wondering whether or not this was real; considering he'd been at least partly responsible for shattering the very fabric of reality and/or turning the entire human race — less himself, a two hundred-foot naked copy of his sister(?) and Asuka — into LCL to experience some rather nebulous transhumanist paradise, skepticism about mere mental time travel seemed rather silly.
— Shinji, Doing It Right This Time
Harry was no longer sure, at this point, whether this was the sort of thing he ought to be skeptical about, or the sort of thing he should just take in stride.
Light: You're not going to see a single ghost, not even the tiniest little spirit of a brutally murdered fly, because there are no such things.
L: Light-kun is right. Believing in ghosts is like claiming that you own a magical notebook or that you have a pet monster that only eats apples. Don't be ridiculous.
L: Light-kun is right. Believing in ghosts is like claiming that you own a magical notebook or that you have a pet monster that only eats apples. Don't be ridiculous.
— I Won't Say, a Death Note fanfic.
"Potions? Like – magic?" Lizzie said slowly, twisting up her mouth. "But magic's not re–" She stopped, staring down at her blue hands. "What am I saying – I'm dead and sitting in the burnt remains of my family home waiting to see which afterlife will have me. Why not magic?"
— Lizzie Liddell, Land of the Dead
They're not conspiracies when you live in a world where everyone has a secret agenda.
— Naruto Uzumaki, I Am NOT Going Through Puberty Again!
RS: and fortune telling? seems kinda farfetched
AT: .....................
AT: ryuji, last year you fought monsters with a pirate skeleton that lived in your brain
RS: yeah i know but fortune telling is
RS: it's like
RS: actually n/m there's no coming back from that
AT: .....................
AT: ryuji, last year you fought monsters with a pirate skeleton that lived in your brain
RS: yeah i know but fortune telling is
RS: it's like
RS: actually n/m there's no coming back from that
People had gotten used to aura and Semblances. They were an everyday part of life and no one raised an eyebrow when someone suddenly gained the ability to bench press a car or run faster than the eye could see. Even summoning circles like Weiss' glyphs were accepted. And yet when Ozpin revealed he had the power of magic, everyone freaked out.
Why? What was the difference between Qrow turning into a bird and Blake summoning clones of herself? They were both powers that changed the world around them. Both made no sense from a physics or biology point of view. Ruby's body should have crumpled under the force of her own movement and yet it never did. Semblances were as good as magic but never got called that. Because magic was stupid. Magic didn't exist.
Why? What was the difference between Qrow turning into a bird and Blake summoning clones of herself? They were both powers that changed the world around them. Both made no sense from a physics or biology point of view. Ruby's body should have crumpled under the force of her own movement and yet it never did. Semblances were as good as magic but never got called that. Because magic was stupid. Magic didn't exist.
Now here I was, in a world of imaginary creatures given life, and I felt like I was experiencing some twisted cosmic joke.
Where do I draw the line?
Did the existence of Dragons mean the same should be said for krakens and minotaurs? Did Leprechauns live under this Earth's rainbows and Tooth Fairies exchange currency for baby teeth? Does magic mean curses and good luck charms were common place? What about if little nonsense rhymes like stepping on a crack really could break a mom's back?
Where do I draw the line?
Did the existence of Dragons mean the same should be said for krakens and minotaurs? Did Leprechauns live under this Earth's rainbows and Tooth Fairies exchange currency for baby teeth? Does magic mean curses and good luck charms were common place? What about if little nonsense rhymes like stepping on a crack really could break a mom's back?
— Antares, Point Me at the Skyrim
You might not want to pull on that thread, John. None of this makes sense. She was also fucking embalmed. In case any of you have forgotten. But here she is. She's breathing. She bled. She crawled out of her grave. That's what happened. This is the supernatural. It's not about logic. Not the logic you've been taught anyway. It's about magic.
— Dean, How the Light Gets In
Mon-El: "Dog? White? Named Krypto?"
Sherri: "Yes. Supposedly he came from the same planet Superboy came from, though I find that hard to believe. It's hard enough to imagine that evolution followed similar paths with humanoids on other planets."
Mon-El: "Depends. If you give credence to the theory that many worlds were seeded with similar life forms, then it stands to reason that those life forms might evolve along similar paths."
Sherri: "Yes. Supposedly he came from the same planet Superboy came from, though I find that hard to believe. It's hard enough to imagine that evolution followed similar paths with humanoids on other planets."
Mon-El: "Depends. If you give credence to the theory that many worlds were seeded with similar life forms, then it stands to reason that those life forms might evolve along similar paths."
Valerie Payne: The Japanese demon slayer thought Japanese demons were a myth?
Nataline Homato: Yes, blondie. Irony isn't lost on me.
Nataline Homato: Yes, blondie. Irony isn't lost on me.
Ibis: "Ibistick! Restore this man to his normal size!"
Phantom Eagle: "I've seen a lot, but if I see that, I'll start believing in the Tooth Fairy."
(Ibis magically shrinks Red Crusher)
Mr. Scarlet: "Well?"
Phantom Eagle: (shrugging) "Guess I'll have to start leaving stuff under the pillows again. When I start losing 'em, that is."
Phantom Eagle: "I've seen a lot, but if I see that, I'll start believing in the Tooth Fairy."
(Ibis magically shrinks Red Crusher)
Mr. Scarlet: "Well?"
Phantom Eagle: (shrugging) "Guess I'll have to start leaving stuff under the pillows again. When I start losing 'em, that is."
Doyle: What happened? Ghosts not weird enough?
Doc: No we just wanted to focus more on actual science, not make believe.
Drew: This again? Didn't you see the ghost cat from earlier? And then there was the blob that had broken loose on their way here.
Doc: I have yet to see any solid evidence that they were ghosts. I am not about to let myself be fooled like last time.
Doyle: Did last time include glowing blue cats and a green blob monster?
Doc: No, but I'm taking my chances.
Drew: I guess we'll just have to wait for you to see enough proof then, but honestly, we've seen alternate dimensions, underwater civilizations, and sentient lakes. I find it even stranger that you could be so closed to the idea.
Doc: I didn't support it before, and I don't support it now.
Doc: No we just wanted to focus more on actual science, not make believe.
Drew: This again? Didn't you see the ghost cat from earlier? And then there was the blob that had broken loose on their way here.
Doc: I have yet to see any solid evidence that they were ghosts. I am not about to let myself be fooled like last time.
Doyle: Did last time include glowing blue cats and a green blob monster?
Doc: No, but I'm taking my chances.
Drew: I guess we'll just have to wait for you to see enough proof then, but honestly, we've seen alternate dimensions, underwater civilizations, and sentient lakes. I find it even stranger that you could be so closed to the idea.
Doc: I didn't support it before, and I don't support it now.
“According to my mom,” Marco tells them, “we’re best off following Las Canoas as far north as the edge of the national forest, and then going on foot to the hork-bajir valley from there.”
“Marco…” Jean twists around to look at him in concern. “Sweetheart, your mom died five years ago.”
Marco shares an incredulous look with Jake: that’s the detail about all this that seems unbelievable to her? “Uh, yeah, Mrs. Berenson,” he says. “And I died three months ago, remember?”
“Well, yes.” She shifts in her seat. “I thought it’d be rude to mention that, though.”
Marco gapes at her. “Jake,” he says, “buddy, I hate to break it to you. But it’s not just Rachel. Your entire family is nothing but whackos.”
“Marco…” Jean twists around to look at him in concern. “Sweetheart, your mom died five years ago.”
Marco shares an incredulous look with Jake: that’s the detail about all this that seems unbelievable to her? “Uh, yeah, Mrs. Berenson,” he says. “And I died three months ago, remember?”
“Well, yes.” She shifts in her seat. “I thought it’d be rude to mention that, though.”
Marco gapes at her. “Jake,” he says, “buddy, I hate to break it to you. But it’s not just Rachel. Your entire family is nothing but whackos.”
— "What if they saved Jake's family?", All Assorted Animorphs AUs
He wrapped an arm around her. “I gathered.” He said, “But what did you leave out?” He didn’t say it, but she could almost feel him asking, ‘and why didn’t you trust me with it?’
“Because you’ll think I’m crazy.” She said, answering the unsaid question instead.
“We’re sitting here.” Danny said, waving at the room. “You have a bunch of very pretty fox tails.” She blushed at her dad’s compliment in spite of herself. “And we’ve just discovered that the fox that has been hanging around all day talks. At this point I’m fairly open to ideas.”
“Because you’ll think I’m crazy.” She said, answering the unsaid question instead.
“We’re sitting here.” Danny said, waving at the room. “You have a bunch of very pretty fox tails.” She blushed at her dad’s compliment in spite of herself. “And we’ve just discovered that the fox that has been hanging around all day talks. At this point I’m fairly open to ideas.”
I get how as a scientist you feel the need to be opposed to magic, but we live in a universe where magic is demonstrably real, so being in denial of magic is in fact counter-scientific.
Marinette: "I just don't get it! How can they believe such- such- ridiculous stories!"
Chloe: "Stop taking my lines. Besides, her stories aren't quite that utterly ridiculous."
Marinette: "Right. Being Lady Luck's best friend, and friends with Prince Ali, and saving Jagged Stone's kitten. That's all entirely believable."
Mylene: "It kinda is when you think about it. I mean... I did fall for it and if I didn't know..."
Chloe: "Let's list off more ridiculous stories of our classmates. There's myself, daughter of the mayor and, unfortunately, Audrey 'Style Queen' Barreau. Adrien, son of famed fashion designer Gabriel Agreste and Emilie Graham de Vanily of Graham films. Alix's father is curator at the Louvre. Rose actually did befriend Prince Ali. Juleka's mother is one of Jagged's former bandmates. Those two, Ivan, Luka and Adrien are trying to get their own band off the ground, which will probably work through nepotism alone but they're also genuinely good so they'll stick around anyway. Alya created the Luckyblog, a top source of Hero news in Paris. Max created an AI robot. Nathaniel and Marc's comic took off pretty quick thanks to Alya boosting it too. Speaking of Marc, their class has our two weathergirls on TV, Aurore and Mireille. And though she's not in our class directly, Kagami is of the Tsurugi family and a champion fencer in her own right."
Marinette: "Okay when you put it that way but-"
Chloe: "And then there's you. Daughter of one of the best, if not the best, bakery in Paris. Designed an album cover for Jagged Stone, along with his favorite sunglasses he has yet to take off during his current tour. Designed things that had Gabriel Agreste let his son model them in a very important fashion show. The same design that had the Style Queen offer you an internship because she adored it so much. The only way the class could get more star-studded would be if one of us became a superhero, but what on earth are the chances of that?"
Chloe: "Stop taking my lines. Besides, her stories aren't quite that utterly ridiculous."
Marinette: "Right. Being Lady Luck's best friend, and friends with Prince Ali, and saving Jagged Stone's kitten. That's all entirely believable."
Mylene: "It kinda is when you think about it. I mean... I did fall for it and if I didn't know..."
Chloe: "Let's list off more ridiculous stories of our classmates. There's myself, daughter of the mayor and, unfortunately, Audrey 'Style Queen' Barreau. Adrien, son of famed fashion designer Gabriel Agreste and Emilie Graham de Vanily of Graham films. Alix's father is curator at the Louvre. Rose actually did befriend Prince Ali. Juleka's mother is one of Jagged's former bandmates. Those two, Ivan, Luka and Adrien are trying to get their own band off the ground, which will probably work through nepotism alone but they're also genuinely good so they'll stick around anyway. Alya created the Luckyblog, a top source of Hero news in Paris. Max created an AI robot. Nathaniel and Marc's comic took off pretty quick thanks to Alya boosting it too. Speaking of Marc, their class has our two weathergirls on TV, Aurore and Mireille. And though she's not in our class directly, Kagami is of the Tsurugi family and a champion fencer in her own right."
Marinette: "Okay when you put it that way but-"
Chloe: "And then there's you. Daughter of one of the best, if not the best, bakery in Paris. Designed an album cover for Jagged Stone, along with his favorite sunglasses he has yet to take off during his current tour. Designed things that had Gabriel Agreste let his son model them in a very important fashion show. The same design that had the Style Queen offer you an internship because she adored it so much. The only way the class could get more star-studded would be if one of us became a superhero, but what on earth are the chances of that?"
Films — Animation
Milo: You know, the weather hasn't let up since Hellstrom stole that spear. I wonder if…
Audrey: Coincidence, Milo. […] I mean, come on. The old gods affecting the weather?
Vinny: Well, there was that Indian wind god, spirit, whatever, Kraken. Yeah, the Kraken might have been a god. Maybe not. […] And that big Atlantis crystal… that was kind of like a god. All I'm saying, we see a lot of strange stuff. I'm, uh, just being open-minded.
Audrey: Coincidence, Milo. […] I mean, come on. The old gods affecting the weather?
Vinny: Well, there was that Indian wind god, spirit, whatever, Kraken. Yeah, the Kraken might have been a god. Maybe not. […] And that big Atlantis crystal… that was kind of like a god. All I'm saying, we see a lot of strange stuff. I'm, uh, just being open-minded.
Literature
Peter Hutchings: An alien? Oh, come on.
The Doctor: You're on the moon inside a sentient church, waiting to see if you have any part to play in the rescue of a woman's soul from the clutches of a near-omnipotent being. Broaden your mind.
The Doctor: You're on the moon inside a sentient church, waiting to see if you have any part to play in the rescue of a woman's soul from the clutches of a near-omnipotent being. Broaden your mind.
I never would have thought that a living skeleton would be such a skeptic.
— Stephanie, Skulduggery Pleasant
Some folks say the ghosts of the Skeptics Society still haunt these back roads; eternally debunking the supernatural.
— Twabble by Nowicki1283
Nico: A few months ago, I made contact with the troglodytes.
Apollo: Troglodytes are a myth.
Nico: A god is telling a demigod that something is a myth?
Apollo: Troglodytes are a myth.
Nico: A god is telling a demigod that something is a myth?
— The Trials of Apollo, The Tower of Nero
Oda: So what... idea is it that's due here in two minutes?
Matthew: The train that doesn't ever stop travelling, that goes round and round the Circle line forever.
Oda: That's absurd.
Matthew: For a woman who has dedicated her life to the eradication of mystic forces, you have a very limited comprehension of what you're dealing with.
Mark: We're not magic. Magic doesn't exist.
Sarah: Says the man keeping company with two literal sorcerers.
Mark: Sorcery is just physics gone feral. We're psionic. It's not the same thing.
Sarah: Says the man keeping company with two literal sorcerers.
Mark: Sorcery is just physics gone feral. We're psionic. It's not the same thing.
"She"— points to Apple— "is the anointed queen of a society of witches, chosen for the role by the ghost-goddess of a dead highway. She"— points to Rose— "is an urban legend without the sense God gave the little green apples. I"— points to herself— "am a bean sidhe, and the less you know of me, the better. And the existence of the Muses is where you can't keep up anymore? Boyo, you should have dropped out of this conversation a lifetime ago if this is what you couldn't handle."
— Emma to Gary, The Girl in the Green Silk Gown
Live-Action TV
I don't believe in ghosts. I know that may sound strange coming from a guy who shoots sparks out of his fingers, but that's what I believe.
— Ned, Pushing Daisies
'Cause the thing is, Doctor, I believe it all now. You opened my eyes. All those amazing things out there, I believe them all. Well, apart from that replica of the Titanic flying over Buckingham Palace on Christmas Day, I mean that's gotta be a hoax.
—Donna Noble, Doctor Who
Shadow Proclamation Leader: Time Lords are the stuff of legends! They belong in the myths and whispers of the higher species. You, Doctor, cannot possibly exist!
The Doctor: Yeeeeah, more to the point: I've got a missing planet!
The Doctor: Yeeeeah, more to the point: I've got a missing planet!
—Doctor Who, "The Stolen Earth"
Myka Bering: Cavorite doesn't exist... there's no such thing.
Peter Lattimer: Myka, on this job, there's no such thing as "no such thing."
Peter Lattimer: Myka, on this job, there's no such thing as "no such thing."
Arya: How did you find us?
Jaqen H'ghar: After all the things you have seen, this is your question?
Jaqen H'ghar: After all the things you have seen, this is your question?
We're wizards. Why does everyone think it's so crazy that there could be Martians?
—Max Russo, Wizards of Waverly Place
Scully, in six years, how often have I been wrong? No, seriously. Every time I bring you a new case we go through this perfunctory dance; you tell me I'm not scientifically rigorous and I'm off my nut. And then in the end, who turns out to be right 98.9% of the time?
— Agent Mulder, The X-Files, "Field Trip"
Sam: Dean, there's ten times as much lore about angels as there is about anything else we've ever hunted.
Dean: You know what, there's a ton of lore on unicorns too. In fact, I hear that they ride on silver moonbeams, and that they shoot rainbows out of their ass!
Sam: Wait, there's no such thing as unicorns?
Dean: You know what, there's a ton of lore on unicorns too. In fact, I hear that they ride on silver moonbeams, and that they shoot rainbows out of their ass!
Sam: Wait, there's no such thing as unicorns?
Dean: I thought Lucifer was just a story they told at demon sunday school. There’s no such thing.
Castiel: Three days ago, you thought there was no such thing as me.
They're not like the Loch Ness Monster, Dean - dragons aren't real.
— Bobby Singer, shortly before being proven wrong, Supernatural
Jeffrey: Is he Inhuman?
Coulson: Claims he made a Deal with the Devil.
Fitz: Which is nonsense.
Coulson: You know, the rationalist in me wants to agree, but the skull on fire presents a pretty compelling argument for "Hail Satan."
Coulson: Claims he made a Deal with the Devil.
Fitz: Which is nonsense.
Coulson: You know, the rationalist in me wants to agree, but the skull on fire presents a pretty compelling argument for "Hail Satan."
— Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (regarding the Ghost Rider)
Colleen Wing: All of [The Hand's] power stems from their ability to bring back the dead.
Luke Cage: Okay, I don't know how much of this I can take. This sounds insane!
Danny Rand: And so does being bulletproof.
Luke Cage: Okay, I don't know how much of this I can take. This sounds insane!
Danny Rand: And so does being bulletproof.
Weyoun: Pah-wraiths and Prophets. All this talk of gods strikes me as nothing more than superstitious nonsense.
Damar: You believe that the Founders are gods, don't you?
Weyoun: That's different.
Damar: [laughs] In what way?
Weyoun: The Founders are gods.
Damar: You believe that the Founders are gods, don't you?
Weyoun: That's different.
Damar: [laughs] In what way?
Weyoun: The Founders are gods.
Nandor: (to the camera) Ghosts are the stuff of fairytales. Stories we tell children to frighten out their excess energy so that they might slumber more peacefully.
Guillermo: Huh.
Nandor: (to Guillermo) ...Did you say something?
Guillermo: I'm sorry; vampires are real, but ghosts are not?
Nandor: (to the camera) He's heard too many fairy stories from Nadja.
Guillermo: No, I actually just want to make sure we're on the same page. Y'know, after years of working for you, a known vampire, I have seen werewolves, necromancers, a zombie, and several Babadooks... but a ghost, that's where we draw the line?
Guillermo: Huh.
Nandor: (to Guillermo) ...Did you say something?
Guillermo: I'm sorry; vampires are real, but ghosts are not?
Nandor: (to the camera) He's heard too many fairy stories from Nadja.
Guillermo: No, I actually just want to make sure we're on the same page. Y'know, after years of working for you, a known vampire, I have seen werewolves, necromancers, a zombie, and several Babadooks... but a ghost, that's where we draw the line?
Palace Guard: Is this supposed to be a joke? Morozova's stag is a myth.
Mal: A living Saint is in your palace right now, and you scoff at a myth?
Mal: A living Saint is in your palace right now, and you scoff at a myth?
Tabletop Games
"I'm lost," Lars spat into the flames. "What in hell are you talking about? Spaceships? Sons of Ether? Mechanical worlds?" He advanced on the wanderer. "You, lady, are full of shit! I'm a vampire, a goddamned immortal, and I have never heard of this crap and will never fall for it because its all in your fucking head!"
"How do you explain where you are now?" Grey Wolf remarked, watching the confrontation with interest.
"You callin' me crazy?"
"Not at all," the shaman replied. "Only remember that there are a good many things even immortals can never grasp."
"How do you explain where you are now?" Grey Wolf remarked, watching the confrontation with interest.
"You callin' me crazy?"
"Not at all," the shaman replied. "Only remember that there are a good many things even immortals can never grasp."
— Mage: The Ascension - Convention Book: Void Engineers
Also worthy of consideration is the difficulty that the supernatural world is vastly complicated and tangled in and of itself, to say the least. [...] Accordingly, many potential alliances never happen because hunters either don’t believe each other, or miss references because they don’t fit in their personal views of the supernatural: "I saw a vampire drinking someone’s blood. What? Werewolves? No, that’s stupid. I’ll bet some vampires can turn into wolves, though." (If you don’t believe people are this tunnel-visioned or arrogant, spend an hour on an unmoderated forum anywhere on the Internet).
— New World of Darkness: Antagonists
Video Games
What? You fought an army of vamps with magic; you've walked the shadow world in anima form; you've talked to statues and run with fairies. So what's so weird about a grown man talking to a teddy bear?
— Dragan Dzoavich, The Secret World
Skyrim is now host to giant, flying lizards and two-legged cat-men... And you're surprised by me? Yes. I just talked. And am continuing to do so.
Lynne: I don't believe in a "sixth sense". It's not scientific!
Sissel: (Says the ghost...)
Sissel: (Says the ghost...)
"A city... at the bottom of the ocean? Pfft, ridiculous."
— Booker DeWitt during his brief visit to Rapture, after having spent the entire game jumping between Alternate Universes in a city that flies in the air, BioShock Infinite
I only recently became aware of the existence of zombies. Like many fungi, I'd just assumed they were fairy tales or movie monsters. This whole experience has been a huge eye-opener for me.
— Puff-shroom, a sentient, English-speaking mushroom plant, Plants vs. Zombies
Well that was weird.
Beat
Alright, let's turn into chickens and find a way out of this prison hotel through the sewage system to meet the different timeline goat-men in the swamp town.
Beat
Alright, let's turn into chickens and find a way out of this prison hotel through the sewage system to meet the different timeline goat-men in the swamp town.
— Tostada (who, by the way, is the guardian spirit of a magical luchador mask) after first meeting the Chicken Illuminati, Guacamelee! 2
Hey, did you hear what that dude said? Come on... Hanako? In this day and age?
Wait... With demons popping up all over, why would I be surprised if she’s real? I gotta get with the program before it bites me in the ass.
Wait... With demons popping up all over, why would I be surprised if she’s real? I gotta get with the program before it bites me in the ass.
— Eikichi "Michel" Mishina, Persona 2: Innocent Sin
A ghost is telling me she doesn't believe in monsters.
— Yuna Toomi, Kindred Spirits on the Roof
True, I've seen stories on the news about robots looking uncannily like real humans... but isn't something like this far beyond those?
Still, I can't help but believe the evidence of my own eyes.
I mean, I've been hopping in and out of Tvs for the past year. Who am I to say what's strange or not?
Still, I can't help but believe the evidence of my own eyes.
I mean, I've been hopping in and out of Tvs for the past year. Who am I to say what's strange or not?
— Yu Narukami, on Aigis, Persona 4: Arena Ultimax
Atreus: How are Brok and Sindri supposed to build with... whatever they are?
Mimir: Don't count the Dwarves out, lad. They're right pricks, but they're resourceful. They once made an unbreakable chain out of little more than a cat's footstep and bird spit!
Atreus: That doesn't even make sense!
Mimir: Well, that's the legend. If you wanted sense, you shouldn't be talking to a severed head!
Mimir: Don't count the Dwarves out, lad. They're right pricks, but they're resourceful. They once made an unbreakable chain out of little more than a cat's footstep and bird spit!
Atreus: That doesn't even make sense!
Mimir: Well, that's the legend. If you wanted sense, you shouldn't be talking to a severed head!
"The Guardians of Time are real? Does that mean faeries that steal your teeth are real, too?"
— Serafienote , World of Final Fantasy
Web Animation
Ruby Rose: Stop it! This isn't real!
Roman Torchwick: "Isn't real"? You're the one following a talking cat around a fairy tale. Reality's getting fuzzier by the minute, kid.
Roman Torchwick: "Isn't real"? You're the one following a talking cat around a fairy tale. Reality's getting fuzzier by the minute, kid.
— RWBY
Webcomics
GM: The ship has a cooling system.
Obi-Wan: So where does the heat it generates go? It's a closed system; you can't just magically pump it out into space. We're trying to be realistic, right?
GM: Yeah...
Obi-Wan: In fact, didn't you say the hull is polished silver? The thermal emissivity of polished metal is—
GM: This ship hovers with no visible means of propulsion and travels through hyperspace, and you're worried about the air conditioning?
Obi-Wan: So where does the heat it generates go? It's a closed system; you can't just magically pump it out into space. We're trying to be realistic, right?
GM: Yeah...
Obi-Wan: In fact, didn't you say the hull is polished silver? The thermal emissivity of polished metal is—
GM: This ship hovers with no visible means of propulsion and travels through hyperspace, and you're worried about the air conditioning?
I cannot fathom why a telepath is so skeptical, but if you are not satisfied...
— The Sorrow (a ghost) to Psycho Mantis, The Last Days of FOXHOUND
Antimony: You see, I also think Jones is a robot.
Kat: Whaaaaa... Come on! First off, a human looking robot is called an "android" and second, there is no way you could make an android that looks that good.
Antimony: We have seen stranger. Remember that cursed teapot?
Kat: Yeahhhhh... But that was... I don't even know what that was about...
Kat: Whaaaaa... Come on! First off, a human looking robot is called an "android" and second, there is no way you could make an android that looks that good.
Antimony: We have seen stranger. Remember that cursed teapot?
Kat: Yeahhhhh... But that was... I don't even know what that was about...
TG: skepticism is the crutch of cinematic troglodytes
TG: like hey mom dad theres a dinosaur or a ghost or whatever in my room. "yeah right junior go back to bed"
TG: fuck you mom and dad how many times are we going to watch this trope unfold it wasnt goddamn funny the first time i saw it
TG: just once id like to see dad crap his pants when a kid says theres a vampire in his closet
TG: "OH SHIT EVERYONE IN THE MINIVAN"
TG: be fuckin dad of the year right there
TG: like hey mom dad theres a dinosaur or a ghost or whatever in my room. "yeah right junior go back to bed"
TG: fuck you mom and dad how many times are we going to watch this trope unfold it wasnt goddamn funny the first time i saw it
TG: just once id like to see dad crap his pants when a kid says theres a vampire in his closet
TG: "OH SHIT EVERYONE IN THE MINIVAN"
TG: be fuckin dad of the year right there
— Dave Strider, Homestuck
Optimism through stalwart skepticism is a defect not everyone is lucky enough to be cursed with.
— Rose Lalonde, Homestuck
"But this is set in the 1930s! Hitler's still alive!"
A guy has just been brought back to life after dying because he picked the wrong cup as the Holy Grail, and you're worried about historical accuracy?
A guy has just been brought back to life after dying because he picked the wrong cup as the Holy Grail, and you're worried about historical accuracy?
(The half-cryptid Callie managed to fool Christy and Casey by shapeshifting into a stray cat)
Christy: I thought I had a hold on the whole Cryptid thing. But clearly I'm just as easily duped as the next human.
Callie: Christy I understand but Casey, you don't seem surprised in the slightest?
Casey: Nothing surprises me after seeing my roommate's date turn into a giant dragon.
Christy: I thought I had a hold on the whole Cryptid thing. But clearly I'm just as easily duped as the next human.
Callie: Christy I understand but Casey, you don't seem surprised in the slightest?
Casey: Nothing surprises me after seeing my roommate's date turn into a giant dragon.
Like all good comic book scientists, Doctor Shark is willing to ignore massive swaths of his own inexplicable universe.
Fox: How is this ridiculous to you!? You are dating a literal witch!
Fido: Hey, just because I have direct evidence of ghosts, spirits, prophecies of the future, magic(k)al control over time and space- Okay, maybe you have a point.
Fido: Hey, just because I have direct evidence of ghosts, spirits, prophecies of the future, magic(k)al control over time and space- Okay, maybe you have a point.
"I won't be so open-minded my brains fall out. I can be a talking dog who lives in a giant robot and still think your thing is weird."
—Sweetheart, Skin Horse
Web Original
Killer monsters that were made through actual science, most likely. Dreams are just thoughts you have while you're sleeping that can be influenced by what was going on around you before you fell asleep. Sorry, but unless I see some proof, I'm just gonna keep rolling with the idea that his dream was influenced by what he saw before he fell asleep.
Now, if you or I saw a naked man drop through a hole in reality and walk through 50 bullets to put his fist through our stomach, we'd die knowing that we've made a robot from the future very happy. A guy in a movie, though, he has no idea what happened. He'll use his dying words to argue how robots don't exist, and even if they did, they wouldn't be able to smile!
I just love that no one in the police department has heard of the Triad except for White and consider him some conspiracy nut. It’s as if White was trying to put out the theory that Bigfoot is a heroin peddler or there is some reptilian conspiracy.
Matt: Despite the fact they were JUST TALKING ABOUT A VAMPIRE ARMY, (Michelle) Rodriguez suggests they’ve “wasted enough time on fairy tales.”
Chris: She’s pretty skeptical for someone who is the actual daughter of a vampire and literally kills monsters for a living.
Chris: She’s pretty skeptical for someone who is the actual daughter of a vampire and literally kills monsters for a living.
—Chris Sims and Matt Wilson on Bloodrayne
BloodrayneOh, sorry, did we forget to mention that the most rational response in the whole movie to millions of people suddenly vanishing is definitely that guy trying to jump out of the airplane at 30,000 feet to go look for them? Nobody else seems to care much, and they certainly don't remember word one [sic; one word] from the Bible about any of this; even the goddamn preacher who likes to get into shouting matches with the Almighty needs a fucking mail-order "So You've Been Left Behind" infomercial VHS tape to figure it out.
"Several aspects of this case remain unexplained suggesting the possibility of paranormal phenomena, but I am convinced that to accept such conclusions is to abandon all hope of understanding the scientific events behind them…" says Scully. Are you fucking kidding me? This is the story where she witnessed an alien bounty hunter metamorphosing and alien fetuses wiggling about in cocoons and all this evidence forces her to conclude that science is definitely the thing to believe in. Give me strength.
—Joe Ford on The X-Files, "End Game"
on The X-Files, "End Game""'Superstitious' is a word never to be used while seriously saying 'I want to go looking for Atlantis!' It's rather like saying 'Aliens? What a preposterous notion! Now, help me draw the summoning circle for the demon.'"
There's also a few of these guys who're like "King Lycaon of Arcadia was turned into a wolf by the gods, which is a real thing that historically happened, but people supposedly turn into wolves every year at the festival he founded, which is silly peasant superstition"
—This tweet, on where ancient writers chose to draw the line between "ridiculous superstition" and "perfectly factual information."
, on where ancient writers chose to draw the line between "ridiculous superstition" and "perfectly factual information."THE STORY HAS DRAGONS IN IT!
But Jews? That's where you draw the line?
But Jews? That's where you draw the line?
short-wooloo on some people's reactions to A Thing of Vikings having Jewish characters.
on some people's reactions to A Thing of Vikings having Jewish characters. Web Video
Kakyoin: By the way, Polnareff.
Polnareff: What is it?
Kakyoin: You said he's in the world inside the mirror...but there's no world inside the mirror. This isn't fantasy or the Anime version.
Illuso: Shake my hand at the Pompeii Ruins!
Polnareff: Understood, but let's go for now!
Polnareff: What is it?
Kakyoin: You said he's in the world inside the mirror...but there's no world inside the mirror. This isn't fantasy or the Anime version.
Illuso: Shake my hand at the Pompeii Ruins!
Polnareff: Understood, but let's go for now!
Hinagiku: Stop ignoring me! I am totally serious about this day repeating itself!
Momoko: Don't be stupid, that can't happen.
Hinagiku: We're magical transforming girls who fight devils with love waves and take orders from a mirror! I think this is within the realm of possibility here!
Momoko: Don't be stupid, that can't happen.
Hinagiku: We're magical transforming girls who fight devils with love waves and take orders from a mirror! I think this is within the realm of possibility here!
Plinkett: So Count Dooku is rallying star systems to align against the Republic. They say he's just "a political idealist."
Padme: I think that Count Dooku is behind it.
Plinkett: (as Mace Windu) Whoa-hooooooh, hold on, lil' lady! You don't know what yer talkin' about! So shut your mouth, little girl..Jus' SHUT YER FACE. But seriously, though, Yoda's glad you're o.k. Now get back in the kitchen.
Padme: I think that Count Dooku is behind it.
Plinkett: (as Mace Windu) Whoa-hooooooh, hold on, lil' lady! You don't know what yer talkin' about! So shut your mouth, little girl..Jus' SHUT YER FACE. But seriously, though, Yoda's glad you're o.k. Now get back in the kitchen.
"This is the only show I know of where apathy is a constant threat."
"Among your team members is a super-speedster, a living bug-woman, someone with invisible armor, a clone of Superman, and a guy who can create purple energy constructs! What is so unbelievable about being from the future?!"
— Linkara, Atop the Fourth Wall: The Culling, Part 1: Teen Titans Annual #1
"Anyway, Mephisto, as the woman in red, explains how different cultures believe that people have 'dream selves...each living alternate lives' and et cetera, and we only encounter them when we're sleeping. (Reading as Spider-Man) 'Sorry, never believed in that sort of thing.' You live in the Marvel Universe! Alternate realities are an established scientific fact for you people! In fact, I'm pretty sure you've been to alternate universes before!"
— Linkara, Atop the Fourth Wall review of One More Day
Burai: Are you kidding me? Who will believe such a silly story?
Linkara: You are a 170 million year old guy who lived alongside dinosaurs before moving in with gnomes and fairies, AND you were just exiled from the moon by an evil pop singer witch, AND you transform into a spandex clad superhero, who sometimes grows giant sized to fight robots! This is not the weirdest thing that's happened to you lately!
Linkara: You are a 170 million year old guy who lived alongside dinosaurs before moving in with gnomes and fairies, AND you were just exiled from the moon by an evil pop singer witch, AND you transform into a spandex clad superhero, who sometimes grows giant sized to fight robots! This is not the weirdest thing that's happened to you lately!
"Lorca is presented as delusional, because he believes in destiny... In a world that insists that all life and the forces of life are connected to fungus. This is like saying that organised religion is backwards and hopeless, because you know that God is a guy named 'Kim', who works at the Chinese laundry. 'I will wash their robes and make them white.' 'I know you will, man! I know it!'"
— Chuck Sonnenburg, SF Debris on Star Trek: Discovery
"Danny being ridiculed for claiming to be the Iron Fist makes no sense! This is the same universe where a hole opened up in the sky, aliens spoured out, and we were saved by a billonaire in gravity-defying armor, a big green monster, a guy with a magic hammer and a dude in blue pajamas armed with a metal frisbee that always comes back! So, that is perfectly normal, but a guy comes to you and tells you that he's the Iron Fist, and that merits throwing him in an insane asylum?!"
— ERod's Honest Review of Iron Fist (2017)
"So, Dr Good&Sexy's boss takes a look at the evidence of the Inhumans' existence, treats her like she's insane, and then suspends her for a few weeks- Okay stop! Just stop! Believe it or not, this is actually the second time in a Scott Buck Marvel show where someone points out something weird, and they're treated like they're insane! [...] Hey, News Flash, Buck: that doesn't work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe! This is the same place where a hole opened in the sky and aliens poured out! This is the same place where a robot made a whole city fly up in the air! Skepticism no longer makes sense in this universe!
"Secondly- and this is the thing that bothers me the most about [Jessica Jones] being so stubbornly skeptical, is that SHE LIVES IN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE! Why would she be so incredulous about bizarre occurrences? She has superheroes on her speed dial! She lived with a supervillain for month! She herself has powers! But people come to her office asking her for help with eccentric problems, and they're full of shit?!"
"Weird bit of trivia here for you, but that scene of two men falling through a forcefield was actually added to appease the test audiences, who were concerned about why the entire city wasn't sucked out into space. I love the fact that in a movie about memory-swapping alien parasites in dead bodies and shifting cityscapes, that's what they had issue with."
— Deusdaecon Reviews on Dark City
The dragon-man who believes in the sky cow doesn't believe in ghosts, everybody.
— Prudence/Jane Douglas, Oxventure, "Mind Your Manors"
"Producer: The guy made out of rocks doesn't believe that his flying fire friend saw another flying guy?
Screenwriter: Apparently not.
Screenwriter: Apparently not.
This goddamn lizard just metabolized- and I calculated this by the way, I took an average slaughter-sized 250 lb hog- and he ate THREE of those, which in a span of 15 seconds, he has DIGESTED completely. That's over half a million calories reabsorbed into his body. And still, we're asking stupid questions like "why can he breathe fire?". Here's a question: Why wouldn't he?
Despite the ageless being in the basement who doesn't eat or sleep, Paul apparently doesn't believe in magic. Paul is an idiot.
— Linkara reviewing The Sandman (1989).
Caduceus: Fairies is one thing, but a protruding growth on the head of a horse, that's just madness.
Beau: It's a horn. It's a horn, Caduceus.
Caduceus: It's just weird. I don't think that's possible. Neither man or nature.
Beau: It's a horn. It's a horn, Caduceus.
Caduceus: It's just weird. I don't think that's possible. Neither man or nature.
— Critical Role, "Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained"
Also, quick note here. Is it weird to these kids that unicorns might be real? They have magic powered girls in their class who were created in a test tube, like, who have literal magical abilities. Is- is that not wild enough to make you think that maybe wilder stuff is out there?
— Lily Simpson on The Powerpuff Girls (2016), The Trans Powerpuff Girls Episode
Western Animation
Pffffffft! Facts are meaningless! You can use "facts" to prove anything even remotely true!
— Homer, The Simpsons ("Lisa the Skeptic")
You're pretty close-minded for someone who can break the sound barrier in his sneakers.
— Artemis, Young Justice (2010)
Gimmick: No! There is no such thing as a woodsprite!
Leota: Oh? And I suppose there's no such thing as a big bag of air stuck in my tree! But there it is, big as life!
Leota: Oh? And I suppose there's no such thing as a big bag of air stuck in my tree! But there it is, big as life!
— The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin — The Airship (book)
Bruce: These people believe anything they can't explain is magic.
Terry: Naturally, you don't believe in those kinda things.
Bruce: Of course I do. I've seen it all. Demons, witch-boys, immortals, zombies... but this thing? I don't know, it just feels so... So high-school.
Terry: Naturally, you don't believe in those kinda things.
Bruce: Of course I do. I've seen it all. Demons, witch-boys, immortals, zombies... but this thing? I don't know, it just feels so... So high-school.
— Batman Beyond — Revenant
Laura Carrot: You're a talking weed!
Rumor Weed: I'm a talking weed, you're a talking carrot. Your point is?
Rumor Weed: I'm a talking weed, you're a talking carrot. Your point is?
— VeggieTales, "Larry-Boy and the Rumor Weed"
Flash: Let's see, after I caught the gorilla, he told me that...
Green Lantern: He talked to you.
Flash: Yeah, right after I stopped his car.
Green Lantern: I'm supposed to believe this?
Flash: Hey, we've both got a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt here.
Green Lantern: He talked to you.
Flash: Yeah, right after I stopped his car.
Green Lantern: I'm supposed to believe this?
Flash: Hey, we've both got a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt here.
— Justice League — The Brave and the Bold, Part 1
Senator Stampingston: Dethklok has summoned a troll.
General Crozier: That's impossible. There's no such thing as trolls.
Senator Stampingston: Then how do you explain the dead unicorns? (Monitors behind him shows fields of dead Unicorns)
General Crozier: That's impossible. There's no such thing as trolls.
Senator Stampingston: Then how do you explain the dead unicorns? (Monitors behind him shows fields of dead Unicorns)
— Metalocalypse — Dethtroll
"I don't believe in curses! Sure, ancient Chinese spirits, Dream Beavers, interdimensional aliens... but curses? Puh-lease!"
— Casey Jones, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012) — "The Tale of Tiger Claw"
"Look, Arcadia's a strange place, but it's strange with creeps and Trolls, not blue E.T.s and magic houses."
— Steve Palchuck, 3Below
Dewey: Oh, maybe he was frozen in an iceberg-
Webby: And the iceberg melted, and he was washed ashore with the storm!
Scrooge: "Frozen in an iceberg." Preposterous.
Webby: It happened to you twice.
Webby: And the iceberg melted, and he was washed ashore with the storm!
Scrooge: "Frozen in an iceberg." Preposterous.
Webby: It happened to you twice.
Buford: I don't believe in spaceships.
Isabella: But, Buford, you've been in a spaceship. Several actually!
Buford: I'm a skeptic.
Isabella: But, Buford, you've been in a spaceship. Several actually!
Buford: I'm a skeptic.
—Phineas and Ferb, "Sci-Fi Pie Fly"
This tape is from the future! But that's impossible! On the other hand, I'm a spaceman working at Elaine's, so maybe I should open my mind a bit.
—Roger, American Dad!, "The Best Christmas Story Never"
Twilight Sparkle: You guys! There's no such thing as curses!
Rainbow Dash: Well, that's interesting to hear, coming from Miss Magic Pants herself.
Twilight Sparkle: My magic, real magic, comes from within. It's a skill you're born with. Curses are artificial, fake magic. It's conjured with potions and incantations; all smoke and mirrors meant to scare. But curses have no real power, they're just an old pony tale.
Applejack: Just you wait, Twilight. You're gonna learn that some pony tales really are true.
— My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, "Bridle Gossip"
"Look, ghosts, spectres, phantoms, I can believe in. But the Boogieman? That's a little harder."
— Peter Venkman, The Real Ghostbusters, "The Boogieman Cometh"
Frostbite: Your central core reading indicates extreme cold, as if your body is self-generating it. I sensed it within you the last time we met.
Danny: How is that possible?
Frostbite: Ha ha ha! You become invisible, pass through solid objects, and emit beams of energy from your hands, and you ask how is this possible?
Danny: How is that possible?
Frostbite: Ha ha ha! You become invisible, pass through solid objects, and emit beams of energy from your hands, and you ask how is this possible?
Hop Pop: Anne, the Moss Man's a myth. Only crazy people and gullible tadpoles believe in it.
Anne: Wait. You're telling me you guys have giant fire-breathing beavers and mutant centipedes, but you don't believe in this?
Sprig: Well, yeah, we've seen those. Look, your world might have stuff like flying machines and magic memory boxes. But we don't have weird stuff like that here. This is just a normal town.
Anne: You're talking frogs!
Anne: Wait. You're telling me you guys have giant fire-breathing beavers and mutant centipedes, but you don't believe in this?
Sprig: Well, yeah, we've seen those. Look, your world might have stuff like flying machines and magic memory boxes. But we don't have weird stuff like that here. This is just a normal town.
Anne: You're talking frogs!
— Amphibia, "Wally and Anne"
