#HistFicThursdays - Ghosts: A Brief Timeline

Macbeth Seeing the Ghost of Banquo
by Théodore Chassériau

 Following on from last week, I'm sticking with the topic of the supernatural and looking at the history of ghosts. I've lived in a few haunted houses over the years (you can find some of These Experiences here), and I've found that there are few things which capture a peaked emotion or imagination quick like tales of the paranormal. So, for today's #HistFicThursdays blog, here's a story or two of real ghosts in history... Who knows, perhaps I'll be reading some of your books inspired by them in the not-too-distant future.

1. According to historians, the oldest portrayal of a ghost is from a Babylonian tablet. As someone who loves studying stones (check out my book about the carved stones of Stempster here), I love the vague promise of this image. According to those in the know, Babylonian ghosts existed because they suffered from a deficiency - in this case: company. Ghosts are exorcised by following the ritual written on the back of the tablet, but the best snippet of all is that the instructions issue a caution: Don't look behind you. Interestingly, this trickles into many myths (such as Orpheus in the Underworld) and right into modern horror films today.
   As a literary point, one of the most clever, subconscious twists to this is in A Christmas Carol when Scrooge questions not whether Marley was behind him, but whether the spectre had gone ahead.
   Interestingly, Mesopotamian ghosts appear to have been sent as warnings.
   
   
2. Unsurprisingly, the Ancient Greeks had a very sophisticated and logical system of ghosts. Their ghosts fitted into one of three category: those not correctly buried; those who died prematurely; those who died in battle. Eidolon were Greek ghosts who were images of an individual - interestingly, these could also exist as ghosts of the living, a little bit like the idea of a doppelganger.
   
   
3. The Romans also seem to have believed in similar sorts of ghosts. One of the most spectacular sightings of a Roman ghost was in a beer cellar in York. A phantom legion was seen walking through the basement at approximately a foot below floor level (where the Roman road would have been). This suggests that ghosts are - at least sometimes - images which are trapped in time rather than the spirits or souls of individuals.
   Also, what a great idea for a ghost story looking at a civilisation lost to the ocean or intentionally flooded like in the case of Derwent, now below Ladybower Reservoir. What would a diver see there..?
   
   
4. In the Aztec culture, women who died in childbirth returned as Cihuātēteoh. Those were generally absent from the world, but five times a year they would return to earth and haunt crossroads, hoping to kidnap children. Interestingly, the Aztecs rated these women on an equal footing to men who died in battle, both heroic in their own way.
   Crossroads have often been seen as haunted places. In English culture, criminals were often hanged and gibbeted at crossroads as it was believed their ghost would not be able to find its way back.
   
   
5. In Chinese culture, ghosts often inhabited objects. Typically, a spirit form returning to Earth does so for negative or nefarious reasons. Possession is by far the most common form of spirit, many as a result of immoral worldly lives, and this is a theme which has infiltrated into may artistic forms across the world.
   As a literary point: Haunted objects were intrinsic to the work of Edgar Allan Poe, often making for some of the greatest - and creepiest - short stories.
   There is also a term "Hero among ghosts" which is someone who dies a heroic death, such as warrior.
   
   
6. While apparitions of individuals seem to have been present in ancient cultures, the most famous and recurring ones seem to have started making an appearance a little later. Was this because people compared their stories more? Or perhaps the more multicultural a society became the more acceptance there was of different types of ghosts. Whatever the reason, the middle ages saw a sharp increase of female ghosts who were either falsely or unfairly accused by their husbands. These are often non-engaging spirits. Most European castles seem to be haunted by a lady who was killed on the grounds of adultery. This was perhaps a cautionary tale to everyone that even the upper classes were answerable for such crimes, but it could just as likely be that there was growing sympathy for these women and, by accepting the presence of their ghosts, they became sad and sorry subjects... Just look at Anne Boleyn.
   
   
7. There are many stories of haunted battlefields, sometimes as the battle is re-enacted, sometimes of individuals. On sites of such brutality and death, it can hardly be surprising that this is a case. Battlefields of civil wars across the globe are particularly likely to be haunted, probably because there would have been a deep confusion and heightened emotion at the prospect of brother against brother - again, another great topic for historical fiction writers! In the UK, Edgehill is thought to be one of the most haunted, while Gettysburg wins out in the USA.
   Weird fact: The Edgehill Phantoms, first reported in 1643, remain the only ghosts to have been officially recognised by the British Public Records Office.
   
   
8. While science has leapt ahead of the supernatural curve in relation to marshlights, they are nonetheless a worthwhile mention as there remains as many apparitions of this type which are still unexplained. The transient appearance of Will-o'-the-wisps led to a belief that these were spirits without form. While stories abound - usually involving the devil or the fight of good and evil - one belief was that marshlights were babies who were stillborn. They were unable to enter heaven but neither were they condemned to hell. Instead, they had a formless existence and their soul disappears as rapidly as the spirit as they had as a child.
   In addition to marshlights, this type of haunting appears to have existed as trapped souls in other locations, including castles and caves. They are always seen in the dark.
   
   
9. Of course, there is no reason why there should be human ghosts without there also being animal ghosts. Throughout history, people have viewed certain animals as omens, such as owls, tigers, or black dogs. But there are also instances of individual animals returning. One of the most famous of these was Guy Gibson's Labrador, who made a surprising appearance on a group photograph years after he'd died. He had also been seen by staff in the officer's mess several times.
   
   
10. And the last one on my list - although there are obviously thousands more out there! - are the ghosts we don't see. There are poltergeist who are formless, there are smells which are trapped in locations and time, there are sounds which are unexplained no matter how hard we try to pass them off as something tangible, and then there are the ones which create a reaction without people even understanding why.  "Someone walked over my grave" was included in Jonathan Swift's writings in 1738, but it comes from a much older saying. This speaks of the connection between the living and the dead, and the understanding that the living will one day become the dead, but still connected to the living... A continuous circle!
    

This seems like a good place to round off as the cycle of ancestors and descendants can be seen as the best example of ghosts, something which has been throughout history and across continents. As writers, we can never overestimate the significance of beliefs in the supernatural. Ghosts exist on many levels and, while the ones listed here are more paranormal, it has not explored the haunting of an individual... that type of ghost also makes for fabulous stories!