A
ghost story may be any piece of
fictionFiction is a branch of literature which deals, in part or in whole, with temporally contrafactual events...
, or
dramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective...
, or an account of an experience, that includes a
ghostA ghost has been defined as the disembodied spirit or soul of a deceased person, although in popular usage the term refers only to the apparition of such a person...
, or simply takes as a
premisePremise can refer to:* Premise, a claim that is a reason for, or an objection against, some other claim as part of an argument...
the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. Colloquially, the term can refer to any kind of scary story. In a narrower sense, the ghost story has been developed as a
short storyA short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format or medium tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels or books...
format, within
genre fictionGenre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre...
. It is a form of
supernatural fictionSupernatural fiction is a classification of literature used to describe fiction exploiting or requiring as plot devices or themes some contradictions of the commonplace natural world and materialist assumptions about it...
, and is often a horror story. While ghost stories are often explicitly meant to be scary, they have been written to serve all sorts of purposes, from comedy to morality tales.
A
ghost story may be any piece of
fictionFiction is a branch of literature which deals, in part or in whole, with temporally contrafactual events...
, or
dramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective...
, or an account of an experience, that includes a
ghostA ghost has been defined as the disembodied spirit or soul of a deceased person, although in popular usage the term refers only to the apparition of such a person...
, or simply takes as a
premisePremise can refer to:* Premise, a claim that is a reason for, or an objection against, some other claim as part of an argument...
the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. Colloquially, the term can refer to any kind of scary story. In a narrower sense, the ghost story has been developed as a
short storyA short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format or medium tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels or books...
format, within
genre fictionGenre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre...
. It is a form of
supernatural fictionSupernatural fiction is a classification of literature used to describe fiction exploiting or requiring as plot devices or themes some contradictions of the commonplace natural world and materialist assumptions about it...
, and is often a horror story. While ghost stories are often explicitly meant to be scary, they have been written to serve all sorts of purposes, from comedy to morality tales. Ghosts often appear in the narrative as sentinels or
prophetsProphets may refer to:*Nevi'im, which is the second of the three major sections in the Tanakh *Prophets of Islam - 124,000 in total, beginning with Adam and ending with Muhammad.*Prophet, an interpreter or spokesperson of a deity...
of things to come. Whatever their uses, the ghost story is in some format present in all cultures around the world, and may be passed down orally or in written form.
Types
Jack SullivanJack Sullivan is an American literary scholar, essayist, author, editor, musicologist, and short story writer. He is one of the leading modern figures in the study of the horror genre, particularly the ghost story....
's 1978 book
Elegant Nightmares: The English Ghost Story from Le Fanu to Blackwood presented several sub-classifications of English-language ghost stories:
- The traditional ghost story has its roots in folklore, but its prose style is characteristic of the romanticised writers of the gothic tradition that preceded it. Authors include Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens FRSA , pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular of all time. He created some of literature's most memorable characters. His novels and short stories have never gone out of print...
, Sheridan Le FanuJoseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. He was the premier ghost story writer of the nineteenth century and had a seminal influence on the development of this genre in the Victorian era.-Biography:Sheridan Le Fanu was born at 45 Lower Dominick Street,...
, Mary Elizabeth BraddonMary Elizabeth Braddon was a British Victorian era popular novelist. She is best known for her 1862 sensation novel Lady Audley's Secret.- Life :...
, Mrs. Henry Wood, F. Marion Crawford, Charlotte RiddellCharlotte Riddell aka Mrs J.H. Riddell was a one of the most popular and influential writers of the Victorian period. The author of 56 books, novels and short stories, she was also part owner and editor of the St...
, Margaret Oliphant, Sarah Orne JewettSarah Orne Jewett was an American novelist and short story writer, best known for her local color works set in or near South Berwick, Maine, on the border of New Hampshire, which in her day was a declining New England seaport.-Biography:Jewett's family had been residents of New England for many...
, Rhoda BroughtonRhoda Broughton was a novelist.-Life:Rhoda Broughton was born in Denbigh in North Wales on the 29th November 1840. She was the daughter of the Rev. Delves Broughton youngest son of the Rev. Sir Henry Delves-Broughton, 8th baronet. She developed a taste for literature, especially poetry, as a...
, Amelia EdwardsAmelia Ann Blandford Edwards was an English novelist, journalist, lady traveller and Egyptologist.Born in London to an Irish mother and a father who had been a British Army officer before becoming a banker, Edwards was educated at home by her mother, showing considerable promise as a writer at a...
, and Elizabeth GaskellElizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson , often referred to simply as Mrs. Gaskell, was an English novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era. She is perhaps best known for her biography of Charlotte Brontë...
. Sheridan Le FanuJoseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. He was the premier ghost story writer of the nineteenth century and had a seminal influence on the development of this genre in the Victorian era.-Biography:Sheridan Le Fanu was born at 45 Lower Dominick Street,...
's Green Tea is an example from his collection In a Glass DarklyIn a Glass Darkly is a collection of five short stories by Sheridan Le Fanu, first published in 1872, the year before his death. The second and third are revised versions of previously published stories, and the fourth and fifth are long enough to be called novellas.The title is taken from 1...
, which also includes the vampireVampires are legendary creatures said to subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, generally by drinking their blood. Although typically described as undead, some minor traditions believed in vampires that were living people....
story Carmilla"Carmilla" is a Gothic novella by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. First published in 1872, it tells the story of a young woman's susceptibility to the attentions of a female vampire named Carmilla...
. Another example is Mary Elizabeth BraddonMary Elizabeth Braddon was a British Victorian era popular novelist. She is best known for her 1862 sensation novel Lady Audley's Secret.- Life :...
's At Crighton Abbey.
- In the psychological ghost story, the emphasis is on the perceiving consciousness of the victim, instead of the actions of the ghost. These tales frequently call into question the reliability and mental stability of the protagonist, and may investigate social issues. Authors include Henry James
Henry James, O.M. was an American author who expatriated to England, and who acquired British nationality near the end of his life. One of the key figures of 19th century literary realism, James was born in the United States, the son of theologian Henry James, Sr., and brother of the philosopher...
, Oliver OnionsGeorge Oliver Onions, was a significant English novelist who published over forty novels and story collections...
, Walter De La MareWalter John de la Mare , OM CH was an English poet, short story writer and novelist, probably best remembered for his works for children and "The Listeners"....
, Edith WhartonEdith Wharton was an American novelist, short story writer and designer.- Early life :Wharton was born Edith Newbold Jones to parents George Frederic Jones and Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander. She had two brothers, Frederic Rhinelander and Henry Edward. The saying "Keeping up with the Joneses" is...
, L.P. Hartley, Vernon LeeVernon Lee was the pseudonym of the British writer Violet Paget . She is now known mostly for her supernatural fiction; she wrote also essays and poetry; she contributed to The Yellow Book. She was a follower of Walter Pater.-Biography:...
, Violet HuntIsobel Violet Hunt was a British writer, now best known for her supernatural fiction. Her father was the artist Alfred William Hunt, her mother the novelist Margaret Raine Hunt. Her younger sister Venetia married the designer William Arthur Smith Benson .She was born in Durham; the family moved to...
, and Robert AickmanRobert Fordyce Aickman was an English conservationist and writer of fiction and nonfiction. As a writer, he is best known for his short supernatural fiction, which he described as "strange stories".-Life:...
. Examples include Henry JamesHenry James, O.M. was an American author who expatriated to England, and who acquired British nationality near the end of his life. One of the key figures of 19th century literary realism, James was born in the United States, the son of theologian Henry James, Sr., and brother of the philosopher...
' The Turn of the ScrewThe Turn of the Screw is a short novel or a novella written by U.S.-born British author Henry James. Originally published in 1898, it is ostensibly a ghost story that has lent itself well to operatic and film adaptation...
, Oliver OnionsGeorge Oliver Onions, was a significant English novelist who published over forty novels and story collections...
' The Beckoning Fair One, and Vernon LeeVernon Lee was the pseudonym of the British writer Violet Paget . She is now known mostly for her supernatural fiction; she wrote also essays and poetry; she contributed to The Yellow Book. She was a follower of Walter Pater.-Biography:...
's Amour Dure. Charles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens FRSA , pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular of all time. He created some of literature's most memorable characters. His novels and short stories have never gone out of print...
' The Signalman is notable for exploiting the fear of new technology in the form of the railways, and the likelihood of an accident. Dickens' central character experiences foreknowledge of an impending accident three times from a spectre, the last ending with his own demise.
- The antiquarian ghost story was born from more folkloric origins and in this sense is more closely tied to the traditional ghost story. Many of its practitioners were scholars or clergymen, and they discarded the romanticised prose of the traditional school, favoring realism and gentle escalation of the supernatural within the narrative, typically after some ancient medieval relic has been disturbed in some way. Authors include M.R. James, Arthur Gray, A.N.L. Munby, E.G. Swain, Christopher Woodforde
The Very Rev Dr Christopher Woodforde was an eminent Anglican clergyman and noted author in the mid Twentieth Century. He was born on 29 November 1907 and educated at King's School, Bruton and Peterhouse, Cambridge. Ordained in 1932 he began his ecclesiastical career with curacies at King's...
, Cynthia Asquith and R.H. Malden. The genre influenced on writers such as Russell KirkRussell Kirk was an American political theorist, historian, social critic, literary critic, and fiction author known for his influence on 20th century American conservatism. His 1953 book, The Conservative Mind, gave shape to the amorphous post-World War II conservative movement...
, E.F. Benson, H. Russell WakefieldHerbert Russell Wakefield was an English short story writer, novelist, publisher, and civil servant chiefly remembered today for his ghost stories.-Life:Wakefield was the third of four children of Henry Russell Wakefield, Bishop of Birmingham...
and Ramsey CampbellJohn Ramsey Campbell is an English horror fiction author.Since he first came to prominence in the mid-1960s, critics have cited Campbell as one of the leading writers in his field: T. E. D. Klein has written that "Campbell reigns supreme in the field today", while S. T...
. An example is M.R. James' Oh, whistle and I'll come to you, my ladOh, whistle and I'll come to you, my lad is the title and refrain of a poem and song by Robert Burns.In 1904 it was used as the title of a ghost story in the book Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by Montague Rhodes James.- External links :...
from his book Ghost Stories of an AntiquaryGhost Stories of an Antiquary is the title of M. R. James' first collection of ghost stories, published in 1904...
.
England
In "Some Remarks on Ghost Stories" (1929),
M. R. JamesMontague Rhodes James, OM, MA, , who used the publication name M. R. James, was a noted British mediaeval scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge and of Eton College . He is best remembered for his ghost stories which are widely regarded as among the finest in English literature...
identifies five key features of the
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
ghost story, as summarized by Prof. Frank Coffman for a course in popular imaginative
literatureLiterature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means "acquaintance with letters" , and therefore the academic study of literature is known as Letters...
:
- The pretense of truth
- "A pleasing terror
Fear is an emotional response to a threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger. Some psychologists such as John B. Watson, Robert Plutchik, and Paul Ekman have suggested that fear is one of a small set of basic or...
"
- No gratuitous bloodshed or sex
- No "explanation of the machinery"
- Setting: "those of the writer's (and reader's) own day"
Japan
The Tale of Genjiis a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early eleventh century, around the peak of the Heian Period...
contains ghost stories. In English Victorian society, Lafcadio Hearn published his collection of Japanese folktales,
Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, often shortened to Kwaidan, is a book by Lafcadio Hearn that features several Japanese ghost stories and a brief study on insects. It was later used as the basis for a movie called Kwaidan by Masaki Kobayashi in 1965....
.
Arabia
The
Arabian Nights contains a number of ghost stories, often involving
jinnsIn Islam, a Djinn is a supernatural creature which occupies a parallel world to that of mankind, and together with humans and angels makes up the three sentient creations of Allah...
,
ghoulA ghoul is a mythological monster from ancient Arabian folklore that dwells in burial grounds and other uninhabited places. The English word comes from the Arabic name for the creature: الغول al-ghūl, which literally means "demon"...
s and corpses. Other medieval
Arabic literatureArabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by writers of the Arabic language. It does not usually include works written using the Arabic alphabet but not in the Arabic language such as Persian literature and Urdu literature...
such as the
Encyclopedia of the Brethren of PurityThe Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity was a large encyclopedia in 52 treatises written by the mysterious Brethren of Purity of Basra, Iraq sometime in...
also contain ghost stories.
See also
- Horror story
- Ghost movies
This is a list of ghost films — films about ghosts, or films which prominently feature ghosts. Generally ghost films belong to the horror genre, but films of other genres also have ghosts.* Carnival of Souls - English...
- Haunted house
A haunted house is defined as a house that is believed to be a center for supernatural occurrences or paranormal phenomena. A haunted house may allegedly contain ghosts, poltergeists, or even malevolent entities such as demons....
- List of allegedly haunted locations
- Ghost
A ghost has been defined as the disembodied spirit or soul of a deceased person, although in popular usage the term refers only to the apparition of such a person...
Texts
- Felton, D. Haunted Greece and Rome: Ghost Stories from Classical Antiquity, University of Texas Press, 1999.
- Medieval ghost stories : an anthology of miracles, marvels and prodigies / comp. and ed. by Andrew Joynes, Woodbridge: Boydell press, 2003.
External links
- 1919