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{{otheruses|Ghost (disambiguation)}}
{{otheruses|Ghost (disambiguation)}}
[[Image:Henry Fuseli- Hamlet and his father's Ghost.JPG|thumb|right|Image by [[Henry Fuseli]] depicting [[Hamlet]] in the presence of his father's ghost.]]
[[Image:Henry Fuseli- Hamlet and his father's Ghost.JPG|thumb|right|Image by [[Henry Fuseli]] depicting [[Hamlet]] in the presence of his father's ghost.]]
A '''ghost''' is said to be the [[apparitional experience|apparition]] of a dead person, frequently similar in appearance to that person, and usually encountered in places he or she frequented, or in association with the person's former belongings. The word "ghost" may also refer to the [[spirit]] or [[soul]] of a deceased person, or any spirit or [[demon]].<ref>http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/ghost Merriam Webster dictionary, retrieved December 24, 2007 "a disembodied soul"</ref><ref name="parasych">http://www.parapsych.org/glossary_e_k.html#g Parapsychological Association, glossary of key words frequently used in parapsychology, Retrieved December 13 2006</ref><ref name="thefrYo Mommaeedictionary">http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ghost Retrieved December 13 2006 "The spirit of a dead person, especially one believed to appear in bodily likeness to living persons or to haunt former habitats."</ref> Ghosts are often associated with hauntings, which is, according to the [[Parapsychological Association]], "the more or less regular occurrence of [[paranormal phenomena]] associated with a particular locality (especially a building) and usually attributed to the activities of a discarnate entity; the phenomena may include [[apparitional experience|apparitions]], [[poltergeist]] disturbances, cold drafts, sounds of footsteps and voices, and various odors."<ref name="parasych" />
A '''ghost''' is said to be the [[apparitional experience|apparition]] of a dead person, frequently similar in appearance to that person, and usually encountered in places he or she frequented, or in association with the person's former belongings. The word "ghost" may also refer to the [[spirit]] or [[soul]] of a deceased person, or any spirit or [[demon]].<ref>http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/ghost Merriam Webster dictionary, retrieved December 24, 2007 "a disembodied soul"</ref><bqalcnm yegi v r u gayFilms including or centering on ghosts are common, and span a variety of genres. Ghosts can also be found in various television programs.

Ghosts are a [[controversy|controversial]] [[anomalous phenomenon]]. According to a poll conducted in 2005 by the [[Gallup Organization]], about 32% of Americans believe in the existence of ghosts.<ref name=gallup> {{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_5_29/ai_n15400020 |title=Gallup poll shows that Americans' belief in the paranormal persists |accessdate=2007-09-19 |last=Musella |first=David park |date=Sept-Oct 2005 |publisher=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] }}</ref> The term ''ghost'' has been replaced by ''[[apparitional experience|apparition]]'' in [[parapsychology]], because the word ''ghost'' is deemed insufficiently precise.<ref>http://parapsych.org/glossary_a_d.html Parapsychological Association, Glossary of key words frequently used in parapsychology, Retrieved December 13 2006, see entries on ''ghost'' and ''apparition''</ref>

==Historical background==

The belief in ghosts as [[souls]] of the departed is closely related to the ancient concept of [[animism]], which attributed souls to everything in nature, including human beings, [[animal]]s, [[plant]]s, [[Rock (geology)|rock]]s, etc. <ref name="EncyOccult"> Some people believe the ghost or [[spirit]] never leaves [[Earth]] until there is no-one left to remember the one who died. Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology edited by [[J. Gordon Melton Gale Research]], ISBN 0-8103-5487-X</ref> As the nineteenth-century [[anthropologist]] [[James Frazer]] explained in his classic work, ''[[The Golden Bough]]'', souls were seen as the creature within that animated the body:

<blockquote>"If a man lives and moves, it can only be because he has a little man or animal inside, who moves him. The animal inside the animal, the man inside the man, is the soul. And as the activity of an animal or man is explained by the presence of the soul, so the repose of sleep or death is explained by its absence; sleep or trance being the temporary, death being the permanent absence of the soul... "<ref name="GoldenBough">[http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext03/bough11.txt The Golden Bough], [[Project Gutenberg]], accessed [[January 16]], [[2007]]</ref></blockquote>

Although the human soul was sometimes symbolically or literally depicted in ancient cultures as a bird or other animal, it was widely held that the soul was an exact reproduction of the body in every feature, even down to clothing the person wore. This is depicted in artwork from various ancient cultures, including such works as the ''[[Egyptian Book of the Dead]]'', which shows deceased people in the afterlife appearing much as they did before death, including the style of dress.

Another widespread belief concerning ghosts is that they were composed of a misty, airy, or subtle material. [[Anthropology|Anthropologists]] speculate that this may also stem from early beliefs that ghosts were the person within the person, most noticeable in ancient cultures as a person's breath, which upon exhaling in colder climates appears visibly as a white mist.<ref name="EncyOccult">Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology edited by J. Gordon Melton Gale Research, ISBN 0-8103-5487-X</ref> This belief may have also fostered the metaphorical meaning of "breath" in certain languages, such as the [[Latin]] ''[[spiritus]]'' and the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''[[pneuma]]'', which by [[analogy]] became extended to mean the soul. In the [[Bible]], [[God]] is depicted as animating [[Adam (Bible)|Adam]] with a breath.

[[Image:Ghostonstaircase.jpg|left|thumb|An artist's interpretation of a ghostly woman on a flight of stairs, based on common descriptions.]] Although the evidence for ghosts is largely [[anecdotal]], the belief in ghosts throughout history has remained widespread and persistent.

In many historical accounts, ghosts were thought to be deceased people looking for [[vengeance]], or imprisoned on earth for bad things they did during life. Most cultures have ghost stories in their [[mythology|mythologies]]. Many stories from the [[Middle Ages]] and the [[Romantic era]] rely on the [[macabre]] and the fantastic, and ghosts are a major theme in literature from those eras.

Ghost stories date back to ancient times, and can be found in many different cultures. The Chinese philosopher, [[Mozi|Mo Tzu]] (470-391 BC), is quoted as having said:

<blockquote>"The way to find out whether anything exists or not is to depend on the [[testimony]] of the ears and eyes of the multitude. If some have heard it or some have seen it then we have to say it exists. If no one has heard it and no one has seen it then we have to say it does not exist. So, then, why not go to some village or some district and inquire? If from antiquity to the present, and since the beginning of man, there are men who have seen the bodies of ghosts and spirits and heard their voices, how can we say that they do not [[exist]]? If none have heard them and none have seen them, then how can we say they do? But those who deny the existence of the spirits say: "Many in the world have heard and seen something of ghosts and spirits. Since they vary in testimony, who are to be accepted as really having heard and seen them?" Mo Tzu said: As we are to rely on what many have jointly seen and what many have jointly heard, the case of Tu Po is to be accepted."<ref>http://www.cic.sfu.ca/nacc/articles/legalmohist/mozi_mei/wadegiles/momei_31wg1.html ''The Ethical and Political Works of Motse [Mo-tzu]'' Book VIII, Chapter XXXI "On Ghosts (III) Electronic republication of the translation by W. P. Mei (London: Probsthain, 1929) Retrieved Dec 19, 2006</ref>
(note: King Hsuan (827-783 BC) executed his minister, Tu Po, on false charges even after being warned that Tu Po's ghost would seek revenge. Three years later, according to historical chronicles, Tu Po's ghost shot and killed Hsuan with a bow and arrow before an assembly of feudal lords.)
</blockquote>

One of the earliest known ghost "sightings" in the [[west]] took place in [[Athens]], Greece.<ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.siu.edu/news/ghosts.html |title=Classical ghost stories |accessdate=2007-09-19 |last=Jaehnig |first=K.C. |date=1999-03-11 |publisher= Southern Illinois University }}</ref> [[Pliny the Younger]] ([[circa|c.]] (50 AD) described it in a letter to Licinius Sura: [[Athenodoros Cananites]] (c. 74 BC – 7 AD), a [[Stoic]] [[philosopher]], decided to rent a large, Athenian house, to investigate widespread rumors that it was haunted. Athenodoros staked out at the house that night, and, sure enough, a disheveled, aged spectre, bound at feet and hands with rattling chains, eventually "appeared". The spirit then beckoned for Athenodoros to follow him; Athenodoros complied, but the ghost soon vanished. The philosopher marked the spot where the old man had disappeared, and, on the next day, advised the magistrates to dig there. The man's shackled bones were reportedly uncovered three years later. After a proper burial, the hauntings ceased.<ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/9/4/1083.html |title=LXXXIII. To Sura |accessdate=2007-09-19 |first=Pliny the Younger |work=bartleby.com }}</ref>

Many [[Eastern]] religious traditions also subscribe to the concept of ghosts. The Hindu [[Garuda Purana]] has detailed information about ghosts.<ref name="VedicCosmology">[http://veda.harekrsna.cz/planetarium/index.htm#15 Vedic cosmology], accessed [[February 27]], [[2007]]</ref>

The [[Hebrew]] [[Torah]] and the [[Bible]] contain few references to ghosts, associating spiritism with forbidden occult activities cf. [[Deuteronomy]] 18:11. The most notable reference is in the First [[Books of Samuel|Book of Samuel]] (I Samuel 28:7-19 KJV), in which a disguised [[Saul the King|King Saul]] has the [[Witch of Endor]] summon the spirit of [[Samuel (biblical figure)|Samuel]]. In the [[New Testament]], [[Jesus]] has to persuade the [[Twelve Apostles|Disciples]] that he is not a ghost following the [[Death and resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]], [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 24. In a similar vein, Jesus' followers at first believe him to be a ghost when they see him [[walking on water]].

The [[Child ballad]] ''[[Sweet William's Ghost]]'' recounts the story of a ghost returning to beg a woman to free him from his promise to marry her, as he obviously cannot being dead; her refusal would mean his damnation. This reflects a popular British belief that the dead would haunt their lovers if they took up with a new love without some formal release.<ref>[[Francis James Child]], ''The English and Scottish Popular Ballads'', v 2, p 227, Dover Publications, New York 1965</ref>

''[[The Unquiet Grave]]'' expresses a belief even more widespread, found in various location over Europe: ghosts can stem from the excessive grief of the living, whose mourning interferes with the dead's peaceful rest.<ref>Francis James Child, ''The English and Scottish Popular Ballads'', v 2, p 234, Dover Publications, New York 1965</ref>

In many folktales, about the world, the hero arranges for the burial of a dead man. Soon after, he gains a companion who aids him and, in the end, revals that he is the [[Grateful dead (folklore)|dead man]].<ref name="encybrit">{{Cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9037771/grateful-dead#23476.hook|title=Grateful dead|accessdate=2007-12-14|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|year=2007|work=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> Instances of this include the Italian [[fairy tale]] ''[[Fair Brow]]'' and the Swedish ''[[The Bird 'Grip']]''.

==Skeptical analysis==
Critics of "eyewitness ghost sightings" suggest that limitations of human perception and ordinary physical explanations can account for such sightings; for example, air pressure changes in a home causing doors to slam, or lights from a passing car reflected through a window at night.<ref name=visit> {{cite web|url=http://www.csicop.org/sb/2001-06/visit.html |title=The Visit |accessdate=2007-09-19 |last=Weinstein |first=Larry |date=June 2001 |publisher=[[ Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] }}</ref> [[Pareidolia]], an innate tendency to recognize patterns in random perceptions, can cause people to believe they have seen ghosts.<ref> {{cite web|url=http://skepdic.com/pareidol.html |title=pareidolia |accessdate=2007-09-19 |last=Carroll |first=Robert Todd |date=June 2001 |work=skepdic.com }}</ref> Reports of ghosts "seen out of the corner of the eye" may be accounted for by the sensitivity of human [[peripheral vision]]. According to skeptical investigator [[Joe Nickell]]:

<blockquote>...peripheral vision is very sensitive and can easily mislead, especially late at night, when the brain is tired and more likely to misinterpret sights and sounds.<ref name="visit"/></blockquote>

Nickell also states that a person's belief that a location is haunted may cause them to interpret mundane events as confirmations of a haunting:

<blockquote>Once the idea of a ghost appears in a household . . . no longer is an object merely mislaid. . . . There gets to be a dynamic in a place where the idea that it's haunted takes on a life of its own. One-of-a-kind quirks that could never be repeated all become further evidence of the haunting.<ref name="visit"/></blockquote>

[[Sound]] is thought to be another cause of supposed sightings. [[Frequencies]] lower than 20 [[hertz]] are called [[infrasound]] and are normally inaudible, but scientists Richard Lord and [[Richard Wiseman]] have concluded that infrasound can cause humans to experience bizarre feelings in a room, such as anxiety, extreme sorrow or even the chills.<ref name=sound> {{cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/08/1062901994082.html?oneclick=true |title=Sounds like terror in the air |accessdate=2007-09-19 |date=2003-09-09 |work=Reuters |publisher=smh.com.au }}</ref>

[[carbon monoxide poisoning#Carbon monoxide poisoning and "haunted houses"|Carbon monoxide poisoning]], which can cause changes in perception of the visual and auditory systems,<ref name="pmid11410684">{{cite journal|author=Choi IS|title=Carbon monoxide poisoning: systemic manifestations and complications|journal=J. Korean Med. Sci.|volume=16|issue=3|pages=253–61|year=2001|pmid=11410684|doi=|issn=}}</ref> was recognized as a possible explanation for [[haunted house]]s as early as 1921.

Another potential explanation of apparitions is that they are [[hypnagogia|hypnagogic]] hallucinations.

The traditional perception of ghosts wearing clothing is considered illogical by some researchers, given the supposed spiritual nature of ghosts, suggesting that the basis of what a ghost is said to look like and consist of is quite dependent on preconceptions made by society.<ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.csicop.org/sb/2006-12/i-files.html |title=Headless Ghosts I Have Known |accessdate=2007-09-19 |last=Nickell |first=Joe |date=December 2006 |publisher=[[ Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] }}</ref> Skeptics also say that, to date, there is no credible scientific evidence that any location is inhabited by spirits of the dead.<ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.csicop.org/si/2000-09/i-files.html |title=Haunted Inns Tales of Spectral Guests |accessdate=2007-09-19 |last=Nickell |first=Joe |date=Sept-Oct 2000 |publisher=[[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] }}</ref>

Some researchers, such as [[Michael Persinger|Professor Michael Persinger]] ([[Laurentian University]], [[Canada]]), have speculated that changes in [[geomagnetic]] fields (created, e.g., by tectonic stresses in the Earth's crust or solar activity) could stimulate the brain's temporal lobes and produce many of the experiences associated with hauntings. This theory has been tested in various ways. Some scientists have examined the relationship between the time of onset of unusual phenomena in allegedly haunted locations and any sudden increases in [[Earth's magnetic field|global geomagnetic activity]]. Others have investigated whether the location of alleged hauntings is associated with certain types of magnetic activity. Finally, a third strand of work has involved laboratory studies in which stimulation of the temporal lobe with transcerebral magnetic fields has elicited subjective experiences that strongly parallel phenomena associated with hauntings. All of this work is controversial and thus has attracted a large amount of debate and disagreement.<ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.richardwiseman.com/research/ghosts.html |title=Research of Professor Richard Wiseman |accessdate=2007-09-25 |last=Wiseman |first=Richard |date=0 |publisher=[[Journal of the Society for Psychical Research|Society for Psychical Research]] }}</ref>

==Popular culture==
[[Image:A Christmas Carol - Scrooge's Third Visitor.jpg|right|thumb|19th century [[etching]] by John Leech of the [[Ghost of Christmas Present]] as depicted in [[Charles Dickens]]' ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'']]
Ghosts are prominent in the popular cultures of various nations. The [[ghost story]] is ubiquitous across all cultures from oral [[folktales]] to works of literature.

Perhaps the most recognizable ghost in [[English literature]] is the [[King Hamlet|shade of Hamlet's father]] in the play ''The Tragical History of [[Hamlet, Prince of Denmark]].'' In ''Hamlet'', it is the ghost that encourages the [[Prince Hamlet|title character]] to investigate his "murder most foul" and seek revenge upon [[King Claudius]], the suspected murderer of Hamlet's father.

Possibly the next most famous apparitions are the ghosts of ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'', where the ghost of [[Jacob Marley]], [[The Ghost of Christmas Past]], [[The Ghost of Christmas Present]] and [[The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come]] help [[Ebenezer Scrooge]] see the error of his ways.

[[Oscar Wilde]]'s ''[[The Canterville Ghost]]'' has been adapted for film and television on several occasions. Henry James's ''[[The Turn of the Screw]]'' has also appeared in a number of adaptations, notably the film ''[[The Innocents (film)|The Innocents]]'' and [[Benjamin Britten]]'s [[opera]] ''[[The Turn of the Screw (opera)|The Turn of the Screw]]''. [[Noel Coward]]'s play ''[[Blithe Spirit]]'', later made into a [[Blithe Spirit (film)|film]], places a more humorous slant on the phenomenon of haunting of individuals and specific locations.

Films including or centering on ghosts are common, and span a variety of genres. Ghosts can also be found in various television programs.


The [[ghost hunting]] theme has also become prevalent in [[reality television series]] particularly ''[[Ghost Hunters]]'' and ''[[Ghost Hunters International]]'', but also ''[[Most Haunted]]'', and ''[[A Haunting]]''. It is also represented in children's television by such programmes as ''[[The Ghost Hunter]]''.
The [[ghost hunting]] theme has also become prevalent in [[reality television series]] particularly ''[[Ghost Hunters]]'' and ''[[Ghost Hunters International]]'', but also ''[[Most Haunted]]'', and ''[[A Haunting]]''. It is also represented in children's television by such programmes as ''[[The Ghost Hunter]]''.

Revision as of 10:33, 17 April 2008

For other uses, see Ghost (disambiguation).
File:Henry Fuseli- Hamlet and his father's Ghost.JPG
Image by Henry Fuseli depicting Hamlet in the presence of his father's ghost.

A ghost is said to be the apparition of a dead person, frequently similar in appearance to that person, and usually encountered in places he or she frequented, or in association with the person's former belongings. The word "ghost" may also refer to the spirit or soul of a deceased person, or any spirit or demon.[1]<bqalcnm yegi v r u gayFilms including or centering on ghosts are common, and span a variety of genres. Ghosts can also be found in various television programs.

The ghost hunting theme has also become prevalent in reality television series particularly Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International, but also Most Haunted, and A Haunting. It is also represented in children's television by such programmes as The Ghost Hunter.

The Grateful Dead adopted their name and iconography from a series of traditional ghost stories known as Grateful Dead (folktale).

See also

Part of a series on the
Paranormal
File:Ghostonstaircase.jpg
An artist's rendition of a ghost climbing a staircase.
Main articles

Reportedly haunted locations:

Skepticism
Parapsychology
Related
Related terms

References

  1. ^ http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/ghost Merriam Webster dictionary, retrieved December 24, 2007 "a disembodied soul"
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