Spooky Ways
by Kelly Sallaway - LincsMag Writer.
Date: 30 October 2010
As the autumn winds blow eerily through the trees we are reminded of dark tales from long ago. Stories of demons, ghosts, goblins and all the things that go bump in the night. Under the Harvest moon or around a summer campfire these tales are told and retold with one purpose only, to frighten us to our core!
Ghost Stories that have been passed down are common in the oral history of every culture. Every generation has a story of some spirit; someone or something undead that has made its it mission to stay around a community and scare everyone.
Ancient Times
In ancient times ghost stories were a way to explain the afterlife. A place to put Gods and goddesses to worship. In pagan rituals much is made of making sacrifices to the spirits of the afterlife and underworld.
In more modern times some feel that ghost stories were perpetuated to keep sinners at bay and children in line. Many promised that those who stepped over the line between good and evil would wind up in the demon's dark world.
Classical Literature and Modern
Classical literature is full of ghost stories from Homer to Steven King. Popular writers of their time produced tales that have been reprinted, reworked and produced as plays and films: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, even one of English literature's most applauded works is a ghost story; Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Novels from Frankenstein to Harry Potter have captured the imagination of reader who want to be transported to a place where the hairs on the back of their neck stand on end. First-hand accounts of ghostly sightings are crowd-pleasers. Tales like Ghost Stations™, that deal specifically with the airfields in England and Europe, rooted in historical events present a more plausible depiction of the presence of spirits are extremely popular. Brimming with World War II facts, Ghost Stations™, contains a ten books series, many titles of the new series already in their second or third printing.
Films and Television
Horror and slasher films, Science Fiction and monster movies are all designed to bring some version of these classic ghost stories to life Hollywood has figured out scores of prequels and sequels to classics like Dracula. These have been reworked so many time people may not remember the original story. But no matter, people love a good character and a creepy monster. Cliché scenes and locations like a decrepit mansion, or a grave yard are used over and over and the audience doesn't mind. They have come to expect and revel in formula horror flicks.
Television has had a great tradition of scaring people in their own homes with The Twilight Zone to The X Files. Currently there are half-a dozen Ghost Hunters shows running on cable television. In these shows experts visit haunted locations where their encounters with ghostly figures are videotaped.
People Love Ghost Stories
We wonder why people go to such lengths to be scared. Why do people love ghost stories? Why do audiences shell out money to be terrorized for two hours? One theory is that will endure the fright just so they can enjoy a sense of relief when it's all over.
A recent study says people actual like the sensation of being scared as much as they enjoy the relief and that people can coincidently experience both negative and positive feelings.
Most psychologists agree humans like the adrenaline rush we get from responding to a threat or a crisis. This chemical change happens whether or not the challenge is a real danger. The capacity we have for heightened strength and emotion is a hormonal, primal instinct. We humans like horror movies for the same reason we like roller coasters, triathlons and extreme sports.
So go ahead and get scared! It is perfectly natural to line up for the latest Friday The 13th film or to the curl up with the latest Ghost Stations™ book, the frightening experience is fun and your encounter with the dead will make you feel more alive!
