--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nobody likes to see a body, but it's…" description: "\"Nobody likes to see a body, but it's better than seeing a ghost. Bodies just make you doubt the world and the people in it. Ghosts make you doubt every..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c8/michael-marshall-smith-18266_answers_nobody-likes-to-see-a-body-but-it-s-bett_890744.jpg" --- # Nobody likes to see a body, but it's better than seeing a… ![“Nobody likes to see a body, but it's better than seeing a ghost. Bodies just make you doubt the world and the people in it. Ghosts make you doubt everything, and to doubt it in a part of the mind that has no words to answer the question, where the comforting promises you make yourself are neither…” quote by Michael Marshall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c8/michael-marshall-smith-18266_answers_nobody-likes-to-see-a-body-but-it-s-bett_890744.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c8/michael-marshall-smith-18266_answers_nobody-likes-to-see-a-body-but-it-s-bett_890744.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c8/michael-marshall-smith-18266_answers_nobody-likes-to-see-a-body-but-it-s-bett_890744.jpg) > “Nobody likes to see a body, but it's better than seeing a ghost. Bodies just make you doubt the world and the people in it. Ghosts make you doubt everything, and to doubt it in a part of the mind that has no words to answer the question, where the comforting promises you make yourself are neither believed nor even really understood.” [Michael Marshall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-marshall-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observes that seeing a corpse is less unsettling than confronting intangible fears represented by ghosts. **In simple terms:** Physical death is clearer than abstract dread. Key Takeaway Face tangible realities to reduce existential anxiety. Themes mortality fear perception Mood somber introspective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - grief counseling - philosophical reflection - creative writing Key Concepts existential dread psychology symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How do concrete experiences shape our fears? - What role do metaphors play in coping? A Different Perspective Ghosts as metaphor may oversimplify complex emotions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Comforting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comforting/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost/) [Ghosts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghosts/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Oh, come on. People see ghosts all the time.” “That’s because people, by and large, are whacked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-robb/oh-come-on-people-see-ghosts-all-the-time-that-s-because-people-by/) [J.D. Robb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-robb/) > [While they're still alive, people can become ghosts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/while-they-re-still-alive-people-can-become-ghosts/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [When you're a child you're the center of everything. Everything happens for you. Other people? They're only ghosts furnished for you to talk to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/when-you-re-a-child-you-re-the-center-of-everything-everything/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“I'm convinced that people see the ghosts of themselves all the time, but most just chose to block them out. The words don't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/i-m-convinced-that-people-see-the-ghosts-of-themselves-all-the-time/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) > [We were all ghosts of yesterday, but only a few of us become the ghosts that make up yesterday for others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-were-all-ghosts-of-yesterday-but-only-a-few-of-us-become-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Frown not, old ghosts, if I be one of those Who make you utter things you did not say, And mould you all awry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-tennyson/frown-not-old-ghosts-if-i-be-one-of-those-who-make-you-utter-things/) [Alfred Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-tennyson/) > [“I wish. Seeing a ghost would rock!" I walked up to the doc as he turned and smiled at me. He already had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-starkey/i-wish-seeing-a-ghost-would-rock-i-walked-up-to-the-doc-as-he-turned/) [L.A. Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-starkey/) > [Women are surprised to see me on the street - like they're seeing a ghost. There's a lot of crying involved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dean-morgan/women-are-surprised-to-see-me-on-the-street-like-they-re-seeing-a/) [Jeffrey Dean Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dean-morgan/) > [Because Laura Palmer was dead... there was always this strange sense that people were seeing a ghost when they would see me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-lee/because-laura-palmer-was-dead-there-was-always-this-strange-sense/) [Sheryl Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-lee/) > [“We wanted to enjoy the afterglow and we were trying our best to bond, but it was difficult with so many people between us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-echols/we-wanted-to-enjoy-the-afterglow-and-we-were-trying-our-best-to-bond/) [Jennifer Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-echols/) > [I am less interested in ghosts than in people who see ghosts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/i-am-less-interested-in-ghosts-than-in-people-who-see-ghosts/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [If all people became ghosts my social life would be so over" - Suze Simon in the Mediator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-cabot/if-all-people-became-ghosts-my-social-life-would-be-so-over-suze/) [Meg Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-cabot/) > [In Eastern culture, people see ghosts, people talk about ghosts... it's just accepted. And in Western culture it's just not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-alba/in-eastern-culture-people-see-ghosts-people-talk-about-ghosts-it-s/) [Jessica Alba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-alba/) > [“When you're a child you're the center of everything. Other people? They're only ghosts furnished for you to talk to. But when you grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/when-you-re-a-child-you-re-the-center-of-everything-other-people-they/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“When you get lost in a really strange place, nothing is more comforting than found your friend whom you trust and can show the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-get-lost-in-a-really-strange-place-nothing-is-more/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) ## More by Michael Marshall Smith > [“I wash with the can of water I set aside the night before, and eat whatever I put next to it. The washing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-marshall-smith/i-wash-with-the-can-of-water-i-set-aside-the-night-before-and-eat/) [Michael Marshall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-marshall-smith/) > [You have to accept gifts occasionally, because there are some things you can’t give yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-marshall-smith/you-have-to-accept-gifts-occasionally-because-there-are-some-things/) [Michael Marshall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-marshall-smith/) > [“The greatest hazard of all, losing one’s self, can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all. 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You can send people letters, and show them photos, but they can never come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-marshall-smith/everyone-s-alone-in-their-world-because-everybody-s-life-is-different/) [Michael Marshall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-marshall-smith/) > [“If people knew that I really am what I say I am,' he said, 'you know they'd never forgive me.' 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I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. 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It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. 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