Ghosts, Hauntings and Legends
QuestMagazine.com
A haunting is a recurring presence of a ghost, demon, or similar supernatural being at a specific place. Old houses, hotels, restaurants, pubs, jails, prisons, cemeteries and graveyards are the most common haunted places. The reports of these hauntings are often referred to as ghostlore. Belief in hauntings and ghosts spans the world geographically and is recorded throughout history in a culture's legends and ghost stories. Additionally, anthropological evidence indicates it was common in prehistoric societies.
Examples of hauntings, haunted places, and ghosts
* Battlefield
This is the appearance of ghosts on a battlefield, dressed in period clothing, reenacting an event.
* Poltergeist
A poltergeist is a ghost or spirit that is able produce sounds such as knockings. Its name is derived from German and means 'noisy ghost.' Some parapsychologists do not consider a poltergeist a ghost in the traditional sense, classifying it as a separate type of entity.
* Vanishing hitchhiker
The vanishing hitchhiker is an urban legend that has a ghost who appears as a hitchhiker. In fact, the vanishing hitchhiker is the archetypal urban legend. It combines history (somewhat recent), with modern devices (automobiles), the supernatural (a ghost), often horror, and fiction.
The essence of the story may be traced back several centuries to European folklore where it involved horses and carriages. The legend in its modern form began to emerge with the rise and dominance of the car in American culture. In the 1930s newspapers began carrying accounts of these ghosts of the highways.
This tale is the classic American legend of the road and there are many different versions. The haunting usually involves a particular stretch of road but in some cases the geographic area where the hitchhiker appears may be quite large. Some of the common themes and scenarios involve a tragic death or even murder, often connected in some manner to the road itself. The specter is usually seen hitchhiking along this area. The motorist in these tales may or may not stop to pick up the hitchhiker. Regardless, the spirit often ends up in the car of the driver, usually in the back seat if they were not picked up voluntarily. Sometimes death or harm befalls the motorist, but not always. There is also usually a garment or other object left behind. Oftentimes a member of the deceased's family or a close friend will appear in the tale and identify the object as belonging to their dead family member or friend. After riding for awhile, the hitchhiker will usually vanish, although sometimes they are just dropped off. Either way, the driver ultimately learns through some means that the hitchhiker as described has been dead for some time, usually for years. In a variation, sometimes the hitchhiker will prophesy future events for the driver.
Academic research
Research in hauntings is conducted by folklorists, historians, parapsychologists, paranormal investigators, and skeptics. Although there are a few academics in universities who research hauntings from a natural science perspective, these researchers are not mainstream. This is not true for the social sciences or humanities. The field of folklore considers the study of the legends and origins of hauntings a legitimate academic enterprise. Folklore is usually taught in the anthropology, history, or language departments, although at some universities it is its own separate field. Generally these folklorists are not interested in whether or not the haunting phenomenon actually occurs, but in how the belief system and the stories themselves actually arose. There have been some anthropologists who have also looked at the possibility as to the actual existence of ghosts but this is somewhat rare.
Primary types of hauntings
Intelligent
An intelligent haunting may be by a ghost or a demon. With an intelligent haunting the entity is aware of its surroundings, including living people who may be present. This entity may be either benevolent, malevolent, or benign. A haunting by a demon would always be considered malevolent.
Residual
A residual haunting is where the entity does not seem to be cognizant of any living beings and performs the same repetitive act. It often is the reenactment of a tragic event, although it may sometimes be a very mundane act that was repeated often in life. It is generally not considered an actual ghost but some form of energy that remains in a particular location.
Benevolent
A benevolent haunting is by a ghost that seeks to help or protect the living, sometimes from an evil spirit.
Malevolent
A malevolent haunting is by a ghost or demon that seeks to inflict harm on the living.
Benign
A benign haunting is by an entity that is either unconcerned about the living or unaware of their presence. This type may either be an intelligent or residual haunting.
Related terms
* Folklore
Folklore consists of the traditional beliefs, legends, myths, and customs of a culture that are transmitted orally. It is the lore of the folk, distinguishing it from formal and institutionalized practices and beliefs. Those who specialize in this field are known as folklorists.
* Legend
A legend is a story (often involving the supernatural) that usually combines elements of history and fiction, although it may be entirely historical or completely fictional. It is closely related to myth, although myths generally derive from ancient times and feature gods and goddesses.
The term originated in the 14th century with written tales of the lives of saints, or hagiographies. These combined large elements of the supernatural but at the time were viewed as historically accurate. By the 15th century the word had evolved to include oral stories. Legend gradually grew to mean primarily stories that originate in folklore.
Some prime examples of legends are the ones contained in the Arthurian cycle (Arthurian legend), ghost stories, tall tales, and fairy tales. A modern branch of legend is urban legend. Some favorite topics of legends are hauntings, mythical beasts, supernatural beings, and in recent times, UFOs and aliens.
* Urban legend
Although the vanishing hitchhiker is the story that was responsible for the term urban legend becoming popular, there are many others that include only some of the story aspects of the vanishing hitchhiker. There are the examples of fried rats served as chicken, waking up with a kidney having been removed, the hook from a murderer's arm in a car door, the list goes on. The urban legend, like the popular culture it is often based on, will continue to evolve.
Movies
* An American Haunting
* Poltergeist
* The Amityville Horror (1979)
* The Bell Witch Haunting
Television
* A Haunting
* Ghost Hunters
* Weird U.S.
Books
* Aliens, Ghosts, and Cults: Legends We Live by Bill Ellis. (2001). ISBN 978-1578063253
A college professor and folklorist, Dr. Bill Ellis argues that the study of alleged hauntings and similar phenomena is an important academic undertaking that provides cultural insight.
* The Vermont Ghost Guide by Joseph A. Citro. (2000). ISBN 978-1584650096
* Weird Hauntings by Joanne Austin, Mark Moran (Foreword), Mark Sceurman (Foreword). (2006). ISBN 978-1402742262
* Weird U.S.: Your Travel Guide to America's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets by Mark Moran, Mark Sceurman. (2004). ISBN 978-0760750438
See also
Hal Siemer is a historian, folklorist, religious researcher, writer, and the Editor of Quest Magazine. He has done extensive research on legends, the Knights Templar, Freemasonry, ancient mysteries and Halloween and Christmas customs, traditions, and folklore. He founded and was president of a public policy think tank. He previously has worked as a lobbyist for nonprofit organizations and has been a political consultant.
Hal Siemer frequently is a guest on radio talk shows. His writing has appeared in the Dallas Morning News, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Austin Review, and other newspapers.
Hal Siemer's professional society memberships include the:
* American Anthropological Association
* American Folklore Society
* Medieval Academy of America
* Society for the Anthropology of Religion
Copyright © 2007 Quest TM Magazine
