Episode 81: We’re finally back! And we’re starting off on a topic we’re really excited about – the history of ghosts! In this episode, we’ll start in prehistoric times and talk about what archaeological evidence might suggest about belief in ghosts, and then make our way through ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China.
Episode 82: In the second episode of our series on the history of ghosts, we start in Ancient Greece and Rome (where you’ll hear one of the most famous haunted house stories of all time), then make our way through the Americas, before heading back to medieval Europe.
Episode 84: In the final episode of this series, we discuss the Victorians and their supposed fascination with death. We also review some statistics about modern day belief in ghosts. Also, neither Paige or Meagan can tell you how electricity works.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Pandora, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and more.
Want to listen without the ads? Check out our Patreon, where you can get ad-free episodes & more! https://www.patreon.com/spookyscipod
Here are our sources:
Prehistoric
Alex, Bridget. “How We Know Ancient Humans Believed In the Afterlife.” Discover Magazine, October 5, 2018. https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/how-we-know-ancient-humans-believed-in-the-afterlife.
Feehly, Conor. “Grave Goods Reveal Beliefs About the Afterlife.” Discover Magazine, June 8, 2023. https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/grave-goods-reveal-beliefs-about-the-afterlife.
Finkel, Irving L. The First Ghosts. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2019.
Kasi, Eswarappa, and Gladis S. Mathew. “Ancestor Worship.” In Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion, edited by David A. Leeming, 75–79. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24348-7_200237.
Peoples, Hervey C., Pavel Duda, and Frank W. Marlowe. “Hunter-Gatherers and the Origins of Religion.” Human Nature (Hawthorne, N.y.) 27 (2016): 261–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-016-9260-0.
Steadman, Lyle B., Craig T. Palmer, and Christopher F. Tilley. “The Universality of Ancestor Worship.” Ethnology 35, no. 1 (1996): 63–76. https://doi.org/10.2307/3774025.
Surugue, Lea. “Why This Paleolithic Burial Site Is So Strange (and So Important).” SAPIENS, February 22, 2018. https://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/paleolithic-burial-sunghir/.
Swan, Thomas, Jesse Bering, Ruth Hughes, and Jamin Halberstadt. “The Role of Implicit and Explicit Beliefs in Grave-Good Practices: Evidence for Intuitive Afterlife Reasoning.” Cognitive Science 47, no. 4 (2023): e13263. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.13263.
Around the World
Alberge, Dalya. “Figures of Babylon: Oldest Drawing of a Ghost Found in British Museum Vault.” The Observer, October 16, 2021, sec. Culture. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/oct/16/figures-of-babylon-oldest-drawing-of-a-ghost-found-in-british-museum-vault.
Chadwick, N. K. “Norse Ghosts (A Study in the Draugr and the Haugbúi).” Folklore 57, no. 2 (1946): 50–65.
Daniel Ogden. Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds : A Sourcebook. OUP E-Books. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. https://ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid&db=nlebk&AN=120999&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Felton, D. Haunted Greece and Rome: Ghost Stories from Classical Antiquity. University of Texas Press, 1999. https://doi.org/10.7560/725072.
Finkel, Irving L. The First Ghosts. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2019.
Gassaway, William T. “Cihuateotl | Aztec.” The Met. Accessed March 24, 2024. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/307634.
Ghost City Tours. “The Ghosts of the St. Augustine Lighthouse | Haunted Lighthouse.” Accessed July 15, 2024. https://ghostcitytours.com/es/st-augustine/lugares-embrujados/st-augustine-lighthouse/.
Hillerman, Tony. “Chindi.” e-Hillerman. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://ehillerman.unm.edu/node/1457#sthash.xXiUXJ11.dpbs.
Hirschfelder, Arlene B., and Paulette Fairbanks Molin. The Encyclopedia of Native American Religions. New York: MJF Books, 1996.
Huang, Minwen. “From Cultural Ghosts to Literary Ghosts – Humanisation of Chinese Ghosts in Chinese Zhiguai.” In Ghosts – or the (Nearly) Invisible, edited by Maria Fleischhack and Elmar Schenkel, 147–60. Spectral Phenomena in Literature and the Media. Peter Lang AG, 2016. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv2t4d7f.17.
Huntley, Andrew. “The Jack-O-Lantern’s Origins.” Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Accessed May 11, 2024. https://carnegiemnh.org/the-jack-o-lanterns-origins/.
Jackson, Eleanor. “Byland Abbey Ghost Stories: A Guide to Medieval Ghosts – Medieval Manuscripts Blog,” October 20, 2020. https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2020/10/byland-abbey-ghost-stories.html.
Jones, Benji. “The Swamp Science That Lured Travelers to Their Doom—and Inspired the Jack-o’-Lantern,” October 31, 2018. https://www.popsci.com/jack-o-lanterns-marsh-lights/.
Konstan, David. “Epicurus,” January 10, 2005. https://plato.stanford.edu/ENTRIES/epicurus/.
Magazine, Smithsonian, and Jackie Mansky. “Halloween Owes Its Tricks and Treats to the Ancient Celtic New Year’s Eve.” Accessed March 26, 2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/halloween-owes-its-tricks-and-treats-celtic-new-years-eve-180960944/.
Mark, Joshua J. “Ghosts in Ancient Egypt – World History Encyclopedia.” World History Encyclopedia, October 30, 2016. https://www.worldhistory.org/Ghosts_in_Ancient_Egypt/.
———. “Ghosts in Ancient Mesopotamia.” World History Encyclopedia. Accessed January 12, 2024. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2101/ghosts-in-ancient-mesopotamia/.
———. “Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld.” World History Encyclopedia. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2128/gilgamesh-enkidu-and-the-netherworld/.
Morton, Lisa. Ghosts: A Haunted History. London: Reaktion Books, 2015.
Olberding, Amy, and Philip J. Ivanhoe. Mortality in Traditional Chinese Thought. State University of New York Press, 2012.
Polome, Edgar Charles, and E.O.G. Petre-Turville. “Germanic Religion and Mythology | Gods, Norse, Map, Polytheism, & Christianity | Britannica.” Brittanica, March 19, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Germanic-religion-and-mythology.
Puett, Michael. “The Offering of Food and the Creation of Order: The Practice of Sacrifice in Early China.” In Of Tripod and Palate: Food, Politics, and Religion in Traditional China, edited by Roel Sterckx, 75–95. New York: Palgrave Macmillan US, 2005. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403979278_5.
Smith, Kiona N. “This Is the World’s Oldest Image of a Ghost.” Ars Technica, October 31, 2021. https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/10/this-is-the-worlds-oldest-image-of-a-ghost/.
The Ancient Egyptian Akh [3 Essentials], 2018. https://youtube.com/watch?v=koD2KwzstZI.
The British Museum. “How to Write Cuneiform | British Museum,” January 21, 2021. https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/how-write-cuneiform.
The Chinese Ghost Festival Explained, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-KQNoDmz8A.
Zumel, Nina. “Mexican Monstresses: The Cihuateteo,” July 26, 2015. https://multoghost.wordpress.com/2015/07/26/mexican-monstresses-the-cihuateteo/.
Victorian
Abbott, Karen. “The Fox Sisters and the Rap on Spiritualism.” Smithsonian Magazine, October 30, 2012. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-fox-sisters-and-the-rap-on-spiritualism-99663697/.
BBC – Religions. “History of Modern Spiritualism,” October 28, 2009. https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/spiritualism/history/history.shtml.
Blakemore, Erin. “How Victorian Mansions Became the Default Haunted House,” October 16, 2018. https://daily.jstor.org/how-victorian-mansions-became-the-default-haunted-house/.
Greene, Bryan. “For Harry Houdini, Séances and Spiritualism Were Just an Illusion.” Smithsonian Magazine, October 28, 2021. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/for-harry-houdini-seances-and-spiritualism-were-just-an-illusion-180978944/.
Hunter, D. Lyn. “A Victorian Obsession With Death,” April 5, 2000. https://newsarchive.berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/2000/04/05/death.html.
Morton, Lisa. Ghosts: A Haunted History. London: Reaktion Books, 2015.
Tucker, Neely. “Hollywood, Houdini and the Halloween Seance of 1936.” Webpage. Library of Congress Blogs, October 30, 2020. https://doi.org/10/hollywood-houdini-and-the-halloween-seance-of-1936.
Today
Ballard, Jamie. “Two in Five Americans Say Ghosts Exist — and One in Five Say They’ve Encountered One | YouGov.” YouGov, October 21, 2021. https://today.yougov.com/entertainment/articles/38919-americans-say-ghosts-exist-seen-a-ghost?redirect_from=%2Ftopics%2Fentertainment%2Farticles-reports%2F2021%2F10%2F21%2Famericans-say-ghosts-exist-seen-a-ghost.
Magnier, Mark. “In Taiwan, Those Who Believe in Ghosts (Just about Everyone) Brace for Long Spirit Month,” July 23, 2006. https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/In-Taiwan-those-who-believe-in-ghosts-just-2492391.php.
Morton, Lisa. Ghosts: A Haunted History. London: Reaktion Books, 2015.
New Orleans. “History of Voodoo In New Orleans – New Orleans & Company.” Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.neworleans.com/things-to-do/multicultural/traditions/voodoo/.
Pew Research Center. “Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa,” April 15, 2010. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2010/04/15/executive-summary-islam-and-christianity-in-sub-saharan-africa/.
“Shadowlands Haunted Places Index.” Accessed March 8, 2024. http://www.theshadowlands.net/places/.
Sullivan, Corinne. “The Do’s and Dont’s of the Hungry Ghost Festival.” Woman’s Day, July 7, 2023. https://www.womansday.com/life/a40379279/hungry-ghost-festival-celebrations/.
The Voice of Wilkinson. “Paranormal America 2018 – Chapman University Survey of American Fears,” October 16, 2018. https://blogs.chapman.edu/wilkinson/2018/10/16/paranormal-america-2018/.
The Washington Post. “The Ghosts of Japan,” August 2, 2019. http://www.washingtonpost.com/brand-studio/amc/the-ghosts-of-japan/.
Thompson, Mitra. “Ghost Encounters: Nearly Half of Canadians (46%) Believe in Supernatural Beings; 13% Have Stayed at Haunted Hotel.” Ipsos, June 9, 2021. https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/news-polls/ghost-encounters-nearly-half-canadians-46-believe-supernatural-beings-13-have-stayed-haunted-hotel.
Tures, Daniel. “Supernatural Summer: Hungry Ghosts of China and Japan.” Los Angeles Public Library, July 24, 2023. https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/supernatural-summer-hungry-ghosts-china-and-japan.Wen, Tiffanie. “Why Do People Believe in Ghosts?” The Atlantic (blog), September 5, 2014. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/why-do-people-believe-in-ghosts/379072/.