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Many ghosts are malevolent. That is, they try to do harm. But some ghosts are friendly. A malevolent ghost is usually the spirit of a person who was murdered or otherwise harmed by relatives or friends. Such a ghost may try to reveal who murdered it - as in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet - or try to frighten the murderer - as in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Most malevolent ghosts haunt the place where, in their real form, they died or were buried. A ghost that haunts a place by making strange noises and causing doors, furniture, and other objects to move by themselves is sometimes called a poltergeist. Friendly ghosts include Marley in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Marley helps Ebenezer Scrooge, the main character, become a better person.
In many stories and reports, a ghost returns from the dead without being contacted by anyone. In others, a medium (a person with special powers) calls the ghost back to earth. Ghosts - which are associated with darkness and night--usually end their visits by dawn. Some ghosts refuse to leave. Methods used to get rid of them include reburying the corpse, piercing the corpse or its grave with a stake, and praying.
Ghosts play an important role in some religions. Many American Indians and tribes people in Africa and the Pacific Islands believe in spirits that influence the living world. They perform rites to please the spirits in order to assure success. Many peoples fear the dead and observe special funeral customs to make sure that ghosts do not return.
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In essence, the basis behind the beliefs of ghosts lies in the foundations of spiritualism. Spiritualism is the belief that spirits of the dead can communicate with the living. This belief exists in various forms throughout the world. In the United States, the modern spiritualist movement began in 1848. In that year, Katherine and Margaret Fox, two sisters from Hydesville, New York, near Rochester, heard knocking in their home. They could not attribute the knocking to any material source. The sisters devised a code to interpret the noises in order to communicate with the spirit they believed was sending them messages. The events at Hydesville led to the formation of many independent churches and philosophical organizations to advance the ideas of spiritualism.
Spiritualists believe that human beings are made up of body, soul, and spirit. At death, the body ceases to exist, but the spirit continues to exist because it is encased in the soul. According to spiritualists, communication between the physical and spiritual world does not end with physical death. Spiritualists also claim that after death the spirit moves through several extraterrestrial levels of existence-that is, levels outside of the earth. These levels range from purgation (punishment) for the wicked to freedom from all suffering for the good. During this extraterrestrial state, the spiritual being can improve and move upward toward the highest plane of existence.
To communicate with departed spirits, spiritualists sometimes meet in small gatherings called seances. During a seance, several persons sit at a table and touch hands. Some seances take place in semidarkness. Others are held in well-lighted rooms. An individual, usually called a medium but sometimes called an instrument or a channel, leads the seance. The medium helps the group concentrate their thoughts on the person they wish to contact, usually a deceased friend or relative. The spirit of the deceased supposedly shows its presence by making rapping sounds, by moving objects in the room, or by speaking through the medium. A medium also may meet with one person to channel communication between a particular spirit and that person.
Some mediums claim to speak in the voice of the disembodied person or to interpret sounds produced by the spirit. Others offer healing prayers for people attending the seance. Mediums who communicate the words of the spirit sometimes use such devices as a Ouija board or a board called a planchette to spell out messages. Materializing mediums claim that their powers can make the spirit appear in solid form. Physical manifestation mediums supposedly enable the spirit to move objects or to play musical instruments. Physical manifestation mediums and materializing mediums were common in spiritualist meetings from about 1900 to 1950. However, today this type of communicating usually is seen only at spiritualist centers.
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Although many scientists dispute spiritualist claims, spiritualists defend their beliefs. They claim that communication between the living and the dead has been scientifically verified. Spiritualists regard their beliefs as an authentic religion based on moral and philosophical principles. Many attend churches that belong to the National Spiritualist Association of Churches. Some spiritualists also consider themselves in agreement with Christian tradition. But most forms of Christianity do not agree with spiritualism's main teaching that the spirits of the dead communicate with people on earth.
