Why do people burn haunted things?

Last night I watched a couple of episodes of "Dead Files" on the Travel Channel.  In one of the episodes the duo were investigating a prison in New Mexico.  The had been contacted by an actress who had done a short film or something there in the past and had found a hat in the prison and for some reason had taken it home to her children.  Since the time she brought it home, she's been having problems with paranormal activity of the most negative kind in her home.  When she realized that it could very well have been the hat that had started the activity, she decided to burn it in her fireplace.

My question:  Why do people think that burning things is the answer to solving paranormal problems?  Do they think that fire is just so purifying that it will solve all of their problems with the nether worlds?  If so they are sadly mistaken!  I mean really folks, think about your actions for a minute...

You've inadvertently brought an unwanted entity into your home by taking in an artifact that you may think is cool.  The entity is now roaming in your home.  It's connected to the artifact, but it's not living in the artifact!! I had a friend who brought an unwanted entity home via a leather Harley-Davidson Jacket during the first decade of the new millenium.  They burned the jacket because they were being terrorized, yet the haunting continued to the point where the girl committed suicide.  She did this because the entity convinced her that ending it all was the right thing to do...and she told me that straight to my face.  She took a bottle of Tylenol. her death was very slow and caused by cessation of liver function.

This actress on "Dead Files" last night did the same thing.  She burned the hat she found, but her haunting continues and grows.  She's now sick all the time, fears for her childrens safety, and could be dying.

When you burn a haunted artifact, you are in essence FREEING the entity from it's ties to the artifact, thus giving it more freedom to roam and grow.  It can even become more powerful after losing it's tether to the artifact.  It's really a simple thought process...so why don't people put two and two together?

I've heard stories of people doing the same thing with Ouija Boards.  They use the board, which opens a portal to another world...be it heaven, hell, another dimension...whatever.  When you burn the board, your destroying the passageway that was created by it, and whatever you brought through that is answering your questions is now trapped in our world with no way to return to where it came from.  If you've somehow managed to bring through a powerful demon, then you've created one helluva problem for yourself!

My final word on this:  If you encounter an artifact that you think is haunted or you have a friend who is experiencing something like this, I encourage you to contact an experienced reputable paranormal group or some sort of medium and ask them how it is best to take care of this problem..  There are usually no simple answers for taking care of something like this.  One thing that I can assure you of though....burning it is NOT EVER the way to go.

Peace.