Thoughts On Ghosts
9/26/20263 min read
Well, spooky season is just around the corner. Time to start thinking about cozy sweaters, fall foliage, pumpkin lattes, and … ghosts. Let’s talk a bit about ghosts—and ghost stories.
But first things first. A brief etymology lesson. The word ghost came from the Old English gast, meaning “breath” or “spirit” or “soul” and pointed toward the not-so-spooky notion of life force, as in Holy Ghost. We now recognize the root in more ominous words, such as aghast and ghastly, and even poltergeist.
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t firmly believe in the spirit world. I have always loved to read ghost stories, and since childhood I’ve had a passionate curiosity about ghosts (not to mention aliens and other unexplained phenomena). I’m not alone. According to the research I’ve come across, at least 40% of Americans believe in ghosts, and about half that many claim to have had an encounter with one. Descriptions range from unseen or translucent figures to shadowy shapes to clear, visible forms of humans or even animals. A few other terms for these physical manifestations are apparitions, phantoms, and, in southern folklore, haints.
I’ve never actually seen any ghosts. But I have felt their presence, particularly during the past decade, since we bought our cursed house. Almost daily I hear unexplained noises. And I’m not the only one; even the cat notices them. In fact, I’ve often heard the clear sound of a cat from another part of the house while our cat is in the same room with me. There have been a number of other strange occurrences here, but I won’t go into detail, as many of the incidents served as inspiration for Unwelcome, and I don’t want to include any spoilers.
About twenty years ago I worked as a housekeeper at a Victorian bed and breakfast in Old Louisville. (For those unfamiliar with Old Louisville, it’s the largest Victorian neighborhood in America and is legendary for its haunted houses. To learn more, see author David Domine, the foremost authority on hauntings in this area.) The owner of the mansion often related his experiences with the paranormal, and I experienced a few eerie ones myself, almost all of which took place on the third floor. But the spookiest incident I can recall happened on the second floor. While changing the sheets in the “Romantica Room,” I distinctly felt a hand touch my hair and back. I was never at ease in that room again.
But we can’t just confine the spirit world to houses. Where I live, in Kentucky, we have our fair share of haunted sites, from the state penitentiary in Eddyville to Waverly Hills Sanatorium, a Victorian-era tuberculosis hospital. Even some of our famed bourbon distilleries are rumored to be plagued by the paranormal. (Kentucky boasts of two very different types of spirits.)
Whether fact or fiction, I’ve always been eager for a good ghost story. Or a good haunted house film. Incidentally, the explicitly gory books and movies do nothing for me. Psychological horror is what I find really unnerving. Think The Turn of the Screw and The Others. Dark tales that keep one guessing whether the protagonist is truly facing a malevolent spirit, or they’re simply mad. After all, isn’t insanity always a possibility, particularly in the Gothic genre of literature and film? The uncertainty itself is what fills the reader or viewer with a sense of dread because, in the end, nothing is more frightening than the unknown.
So this spooky season, slip into a cozy sweater and sip your favorite fall drink while you indulge in a chilling read or film, a ghost tour, or whatever best gives you the heebie-jeebies.
Happy Haunting!
George Roux Spirite (1885)
