It All Ghost to Show

You may know that one of the first characters to appear, in what is generally considered to be Shakespeare’s greatest play, is the Ghost of Hamlet’s Father. He has not been dead for long, and Hamlet is still fuming at the callousness of his mother for having remarried (and to his Father’s brother!) so soon after his Father’s demise. With a kind of dark humor, Hamlet explains the brevity of the interval as practicing economy, which he calls “thrift.” So brief an interval between the two events enables serving from the same cache of refreshments at both occasions. As Hamlet very sarcastically puts it, “The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.”

But Hamlet has not yet seen the Ghost himself. When he does, the Ghost tells of how he, the King, was murdered by his brother Claudius, who now wears his crown and is married to his wife.

Hamlet is only one of five Shakespeare plays in which a Ghost appears.

But the idea of some kind of Ghost has been popular right up to the present day. Of course, it all stems from questions regarding an afterlife. In the 19^th century, when modern Medicine was in its infancy, “Spiritualism” became a widespread notion, in some quarters virtually a religion. It was very appealing to believe that it was possible, often with the help of “mediums,” to communicate with “spirits” of those who had died. There are still-unexplained stories of people who claim to have lived in previous eras and can supply details of their own earlier lives. This type of interest ranges from the religious to the at least pseudo-scientific.

The classic spiritual investigation has a group of people, including one who claims to be a medium, sitting around a table attempting to contact one or more dead persons whom they knew in life. Sometimes the messages supposedly come in the form of table-rappings. If there is an actual voice, it will probably be heard only by the medium.

Charles Dickens inserted ideas about Ghosts into many of his stories. Probably one of the best-remembered is A Christmas Carol, in which the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by his deceased former business partner, Jacob Marley, who is evidently suffering from his own greedy practices, being condemned to dragging with him a heavy suit of chains and money-boxes, which he incurred in life.

But in modern times, some societies, especially American, have turned one old religious festival, originally based on belief in ghosts, into a time for wild fun. Supposedly honoring the memory of people who were so good when alive that they were recognized as Saints – a special day called “All Hallows” (November 1) – had, long before been dedicated to them. But the previous night – that Evening, or “E’en,” became transmogrified into “Halloween”. This was an occasion, like Mardi Gras, for letting off steam, putting on costumes, and lowering inhibitions. In our part of the world, practical jokes and a little vandalism (called “tricks”) were to some extent tolerated – but the culprits could be bought off by an offering of candy (a tolerated form of blackmail called “Trick or Treat?”)

Different religions process these concepts in different ways. Christianity is almost based on them, since there is strong belief in the resurrection of its Founder following  his execution. Some sects worship what they consider a sacred Trinity – consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 

I was brought up in the Jewish tradition, and I can remember only one supposed appearance of a ghost – but it was harmless, and, if anything, benevolent.

It was part of the ritual meal at Passover called the “Seder.” I didn’t learn enough to give you an explanation, but what I remember is that, no matter how many people were present at the table, there was always an unseen guest – the Prophet Elijah. A place was always left for him, and a glass of wine was poured there. I don’t know who eventually drank the wine – but I can assure you it wasn’t wasted.

Nowadays, in regular life and culture ghosts are extremely popular. An amazing number of movies have featured them, in themes ranging from comedy to horror. The audience of children has not been neglected. Even in comic books there are now characters like Casper, the Friendly Ghost.

As for my own contributions to this discussion, I will leave you with this sample:

“Don’t ask me what happens after life –

I’m not even sure what happens after dinner.”