Ghost Stories Galore, So Leave The Light On

Is there anything scarier than a ghost?

I mean, if ghosts were real (they're not, by the way) could there be anything more frightening than a spirit from beyond who's come back to haunt the living?

Put simply, a ghost is the spirit of a dead person with the ability to communicate with the living. However, there have been many variation of this theme, making it impossible to definitively classify all ghosts.

A common idea with ghosts, is their propensity to haunt the living. Ghosts generally do this by appearing as apparitions, making strange noises, creating all sorts of mischief, and in some stories, even causing physical harm.

Most ghost stories suggest that the ghosts in question haunt for a reason. Sometimes it's because living persons have occupied their home and the dead spirits want them gone, for example the movie Beetlejuice.

Sometimes it's to send a message to someone they love, like the television series Ghost Whisperer. Sometimes it's for revenge against their killer or enemies, like Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. In other stories, the ghosts are trying to help a stranger, such as A Christmas Carol. And in some stories, the ghost is haunting just because they don't know they're dead, like The Sixth Sense.

As mentioned earlier, there are several variations to the classic ghost story.

Ghost stories have made a larger impact on our society and culture than any other fictional horror creatures. One of the most far-reaching ghost stories was the movie Ghostbusters. This movie was a blockbuster in itself, but it also spawned a number one single, a cartoon, a line of toys, a sequel, and various promotional items. Not to mention a famous slogan: "Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!"

As I've mentioned before, ghosts are not real. It is impossible for the human body to be reconstituted after death. Furthermore, none of the major religions practiced on earth today suggest that the human spirit can walk amongst the living and communicate with them after death. Despite these facts, over one third of all Americans say they believe in ghosts!

But just because ghosts are not real, doesn’t mean we can enjoy reading ghost stories and watching movies about ghosts. The difficult thing about classifying ghosts is that there are so many varying ideas about them. However, this flexibility makes ghosts prime fodder for horror and fiction stories of all genres.

HORROR – This is the obvious genre. Since ghosts are spiritual representations of the dead, and no one living knows much about the world of the dead, ghosts have been used in countless horror stories. Ghosts and ghost stories go back eons and are present in virtually every culture on earth. Death is scary, ghosts are dead, and therefore ghosts are scary.

ROMANCE – Not surprisingly, ghosts have found their way into countless romance stories. There are ghost stories going back to ancient Greece and Rome of maidens being haunted by the ghosts of their dead lovers. More recently, there are examples of ghost romances like the movie “Ghost” starring Whoopi Goldberg and Patrick Swayze.

Science-Fiction and Fantasy - Here’s another example of a genre being twisted and bent out of shape. I can only vividly recount one author who used ghosts very boldly in true science fiction stories. That would be Piers Anthony and his wonderful INCARNATIONS OF IMMORTALITY series. This series very often dealt with ghosts and the dead, but also featured advanced technology that we don’t have today.

THRILLER-SUSPENSE – Ghosts have figured prominently in this genre also. It would be only natural, as ghosts generally seem to intend harm to someone, thus the story should center on avoiding said ghost. This would certainly lead to thrilling and suspenseful ghost stories. From the classics like “The Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow” and “A Christmas Carol” to modern ghost stories like Stephen King’s “Bag of Bones.”

As mentioned earlier, I don’t believe in ghosts. I just don’t believe anyone can come back after death. Experience and common sense tell me that. I do believe that there are other spiritual, or supernatural, creatures that can take on forms very similar to our modern idea of ghosts.

These creatures are known as Jinn, and are very prominent in Islamic and Middle Eastern cultures. The Jinn are not ghosts. In fact, the jinn are a completely separate race of beings. However, they have many qualities that we associate with ghosts such as being invisible and being mischievous towards humans. However, this page is about ghosts not the Jinn. I’ve devoted an entire page to the Jinn.

The evolution of ghost stories is very similar to most other horror creatures. Ghosts were first spoken of in oral legend. Eventually some of these ghost stories were inscribed in written form. These ghost stories and ghost legends became very popular and ghost characters have taken on many new shapes, and appear in several types of media.

In addition to oral and written ghost stories, and movies, ghosts are also very prominent in comic books and cartoons. Some of the most liberal interpretation of ghosts can be found in these media. For example, Casper the Friendly Ghost, a very popular children’s cartoon spawning several movies, most recently a live action movie in 1995.

Also Marvel has a character known as Ghost Rider. Ghost Rider is somewhat different from most ghost characters because Ghost Rider is not actually dead. Johnny Blaze, Ghost Rider’s alter ego, was actually cursed by the demon Mephisto. Despite his gruesome appearance, Ghost Rider is actually a good hero. He fights evil with his enchanted chain while riding his motorcycle.

The following are examples of popular ghost stories in various media.

Books:
A Christmas Carol
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Bag of Bones

Television:
The Real Ghostbusters
Ghost Whisperer
Ghost Hunters (reality series)
Danny Phantom (cartoon)

Movies:
Ghostbusters I & II
Ghost Rider
The Haunting
The Ring
The Sixth Sense

Return to Horror-Suspense home page