If you will merely unscrew the filter while viewing through an SLR and hold it in front of the lens and move it around, you can observe the movements of the reflected ghost highlights. You will see the image degradation that a filter creates. I've got one Pentax branded "ghostless" UV filter that doesn't cause these double-images. But all the flat ones do.
There's a thread here where a photograph was shown of a movie theater marquis where the name of the theater appeared shifted and upside-down.
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
In most photographs which have already been taken, the artifacts seem to be acceptable, since they are clearly visible but people keep using filters.
But at night, shooting scenes with bright lights and dark backgrounds, take the filter off if you don't want ghost images.