Everything Goes: Our Fascination with Ghosts

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From Hamlet to Casper, Why are Ghosts so Fascinating?

What is it about ghosts that scare us and entertain us so much? I can't answer that question (unless it's that we think of it as a way to keep our loved ones in our hearts) but I find it interesting that they show up in a variety of roles, scary and funny.

Ghostly Entertainment

Hamlet's father was a ghost. Topper's housemates were ghosts. Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit was a ghost of the protagonist's wife. (And, of course, many of us grew up with Caspar the Friendly Ghost).

Ghost Riders in the Sky

I grew up with TV. My first exposure to ghosts was cartoons of Casper the Friendly Ghost. I also was a huge fan of the TV show Topper. These ghosts were not scary.

I suppose that because I don't like scary movies, I have mostly only been exposed to ghosts as amusing, entertaining, lighthearted figures. The ghosts in Blithe Spirit, the Ghost and Mrs. Muir and Harry Potter are part of this pattern.

I also used to like a program called "My Partner the Ghost" that was a British import about a private detective who gets murdered and comes back as a ghost to help his partner find the man who murdered him. But he stays around to help his partner after that.

So as long as people continue to write about friendly, nice ghosts, I'll continue watching.

Compugraph Designs' Printfection site

We have a store on "Printfection" which includes cutting boards (good wedding or housewarming gifts), mugs and cups, tees, etc.

This cutting board is only one of several Halloween themed items at our store:

Compugraphd Printfection site

(Click on the picture to go directly to this product's page)