A ghost story is a type of fictional story or play that includes a ghost or explores the idea of ghosts or people believing in them. The ghost may appear on its own or be called by magic. The concept of a "haunting" is closely related, where a ghostly presence is connected to a place, object, or person. Ghost stories are often examples of ghostlore, which is the study of beliefs about ghosts.

In everyday language, the term "ghost story" can mean any scary tale. However, in a more specific way, a ghost story is a short story format found in genre fiction. It is a type of supernatural fiction and a form of weird fiction, which often includes elements of horror.

Although ghost stories are often meant to frighten, they have also been written for other purposes, such as humor or to teach lessons. In stories, ghosts may appear as watchers or as figures who warn about future events.

History

A common belief about ghosts is that they are made of a misty or airy substance. Experts connect this idea to early thoughts that ghosts were a person's spirit, often seen in ancient cultures as a person's breath. When people exhale in cold weather, their breath becomes visible as a white mist. Belief in ghosts exists in all cultures worldwide, so ghost stories are shared through spoken words or written texts.

Campfire storytelling, a way of telling stories by speaking, often includes ghost stories or other frightening tales. Some stories are many years old and have different versions in various cultures. Many schools and educational places support ghost storytelling as part of literature lessons.

In 1929, five main characteristics of the English ghost story were described in "Some Remarks on Ghost Stories" by M. R. James. As summarized by Frank Coffman for a class on popular literature, these features were:

The introduction of pulp magazines in the early 1900s offered new ways for ghost stories to be published. They also began appearing in magazines like Good Housekeeping and The New Yorker.

Literature

In the classical world, ghosts were often described as appearing as vapor or smoke, but sometimes they were shown as solid figures, looking exactly as they had at the time of their death, including any wounds that caused their death. Early examples of ghost stories appear in literature, such as Homer’s Odyssey, which includes a journey to the underworld and a meeting with the spirits of the dead. The Old Testament also has a story about the Witch of Endor calling the spirit of the prophet Samuel.

The Roman playwright Plautus wrote a play called Mostellaria, sometimes translated as The Haunted House, which is the earliest known work to include a haunted dwelling. Another early account of a haunted place comes from Pliny the Younger, who described a house in Athens haunted by a ghost wearing chains. This image became a common one in later stories.

Ghosts also appeared in the tragedies of the Roman writer Seneca, whose works later influenced Renaissance plays, such as those by Thomas Kyd and Shakespeare. The collection of stories known as One Thousand and One Nights, or Arabian Nights, includes ghost stories involving jinn, ghouls, and corpses. One story, Ali the Cairene and the Haunted House in Baghdad, tells of a house haunted by jinn. Other medieval Arabic works, like the Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity, also contain ghost stories.

In the 11th century, the Japanese work The Tale of Genji included ghost stories, with characters being possessed by spirits. In the mid-16th century, Seneca’s works were rediscovered by Italian humanists, and they inspired Renaissance plays, such as The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kyd and Hamlet by Shakespeare. These plays share themes like revenge, ghosts, and scenes with corpses. The ghost of Hamlet’s father in Hamlet is one of the most famous ghosts in English literature. In Macbeth, the ghost of Banquo appears to the title character.

During the English Renaissance, ghosts were often dressed like people from the living world, sometimes in armor. Armor was outdated by the Renaissance, so it gave ghosts a sense of old-fashioned style. By the 1800s, sheeted ghosts became more common on stage because armor was hard to move with pulleys or lifts. Scholars like Ann Jones and Peter Stallybrass noted that as ghosts became less believable, they were shown in "spirit drapery" to emphasize their immaterial nature, a shift from earlier Renaissance and classical depictions.

In Spain, the story of Catalina Lercaro, a 16th-century woman who committed suicide to avoid marriage, became the subject of ghost legends. Ghosts also appeared in traditional British ballads from the 16th and 17th centuries, such as The Unquiet Grave and Sweet William’s Ghost, which often told stories of dead lovers or children returning. One ballad, King Henry, describes a ghost that eats the king’s horse and hounds before transforming into a beautiful woman. The legend of the Flying Dutchman, a ghost ship, also became famous.

The first gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole (1764), included ghosts, though ghost stories and gothic fiction differ in that ghost stories usually take place in times and places familiar to the audience. The modern short story form began in Germany in the early 19th century, with works like The Beggar Woman of Locarno by Kleist and stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann. In Russia, ghost stories were called bylichka, with examples like Viy by Gogol and The Queen of Spades by Pushkin. French writers Erckmann-Chatrian often set their ghost stories in the Vosges mountain range.

Sir Walter Scott was one of the first English writers to create ghost stories, such as Wandering Willie’s Tale and The Tapestried Chamber. Historian Jack Sullivan noted that the "Golden Age of the Ghost Story" occurred between the 1830s and the start of World War I, influenced by writers like Edgar Allan Poe and Sheridan Le Fanu. Le Fanu’s stories, such as those in In a Glass Darkly, helped make the short story a popular format for ghost fiction.

During the Victorian period, ghost stories became more refined, with authors like M. R. James, Sheridan Le Fanu, Violet Hunt, and Henry James. These stories often included elements from gothic fiction, folklore, and psychology. M. R. James described ghost stories as involving "malevolence and terror," "evil faces," and "long-drawn, distant screams."

Famous ghost stories from the Victorian era include A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, which features the ghost of Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Dickens also wrote The Signal-Man, another story with a ghost. David Langford called M. R. James "the 20th century’s most influential canon of ghost stories," noting his unique storytelling style that moved away from traditional gothic elements.

Film

During the late 1890s, films began to show ghosts and supernatural events. As motion pictures and television developed, ghost stories became common in movies and covered many different types of stories. Works by Shakespeare, Dickens, and Wilde were made into films, as were stories from other writers. One famous early film was Haunted Castle, directed by Georges Méliès in 1896. This film is considered the first silent short movie to show ghosts and supernatural events.

In 1926, a book called Topper by Thorne Smith was published. This book created the modern idea of an American ghost. When the book was turned into a movie in 1937, it started a new type of film and influenced television. After World War II, movies began showing ghosts in a more emotional way than in horror stories. An example is the 1947 film The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, which was later made into a successful TV show from 1968 to 1970. Other serious horror films from this time include The Uninvited (1944) and Dead of Night (1945). A film called Blithe Spirit, based on a play by Noël Coward, was also made during this time. In 1963, a movie called The Haunting was released, based on the book The Haunting of Hill House.

In the 1970s, ghost stories in films split into two main types: romantic and horror. Romantic stories often showed ghosts as kind guides or messengers with unfinished tasks. Examples include Field of Dreams (1989), Ghost (1990), and Heart and Souls (1993). Horror films from this time combined ghost stories with scenes of physical violence, such as The Fog (1980) and the A Nightmare on Elm Street series from the 1980s and 1990s. In the 1990s, ghost stories returned to a style called "gothic," which focused more on psychological fears than physical dangers. Examples include Ghostbusters (1984), The Sixth Sense (1999), and The Others (1999). A friendly ghost character named Casper, first popular in cartoons in the 1950s and 1960s, was also made into a movie in 1995.

Asian films have also shown ghost stories. A 1998 Japanese film called Ringu was later remade in the United States as The Ring (2002). Another example is The Eye (2002), made by the Pang brothers. Indian ghost movies are popular in many countries, including the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Some Indian films, like Manichitrathazhu, have been successful and translated into many languages. These films usually tell stories about modern people who meet ghosts and often use traditional Indian stories or folklore. Some Indian films are remakes of Western movies, such as Anjaane, which is based on the ghost story The Others by Alejandro Amenábar.

Television

In fictional TV shows, ghosts have been shown in series like The Television Ghost, Ghost Whisperer, Medium, Supernatural, the TV version of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased). In animated TV shows, ghosts have been the main focus in series such as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Danny Phantom, and Scooby-Doo. Ghosts also appear in smaller roles in other TV programs.

The hobby of ghost hunting became popular after the 1984 comedy Ghostbusters. This hobby involves visiting places said to be haunted. TV shows about the paranormal, such as A Haunting, Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters International, Ghost Lab, and Most Haunted, have focused on ghost hunting. Children's TV shows, like The Ghost Hunter (based on a book series) and Ghost Trackers, also include ghost hunting themes.

The Indian TV series Aahat included ghost and supernatural stories written by B. P. Singh. It first aired on October 5, 1995, and ran for over 10 years, ending on November 25, 2010. The series had more than 450 episodes.