Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

boo

2023-12-25 View on smbc-comics.com → 1 revision
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boo
Votey panel for boo
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Explanation

This comic shows a ghost haunting scenario. A translucent, skeletal ghost appears before a startled person, declaring: "I was murdered in this house! You must find my bones!" The living person responds with casual indifference: "Why? Just move or equity that."

The joke subverts the classic ghost story trope. In traditional haunted house narratives, ghosts are trapped in locations where they died, and the living must help them find peace by locating their remains, solving their murder, or completing some unfinished business. The humor comes from applying modern, pragmatic real-estate logic to a supernatural situation. Instead of being terrified or feeling compelled to help, the person essentially tells the ghost to stop complaining and either relocate or consider the equity they've built up by staying -- treating the haunting as a housing issue rather than a paranormal crisis.

This reflects the modern obsession with real estate and property values. The comic suggests that in today's housing market, even the afterlife is subject to economic thinking. A ghost being "stuck" in a house isn't a horrifying supernatural predicament -- it's just a bad living situation that could be solved with practical financial advice. The deadpan delivery makes the absurdity land even harder, as the living person treats a terrifying undead apparition with the same energy one might bring to giving a friend advice about their apartment lease.

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