No way of determining, huh?

At first glance, this story looks like a victory for rationality. And, indeed, it is. But really...

The City Council says it will not be providing them with another property because it has no real way of determining if the claims are true.

I'd be a lot happier if this line read "The council told them not to be so fucking stupid, and to stop living in the middle ages."

They're right, of course; there is no way of proving the non-existence of ghosts. Just like there's no way of disproving the presence of gods, trolls or telepathic centipedes. But it'd be nice if they just told this hapless couple to cop the fuck on.