![]() ![]() The ghost of a pirate, from Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates (1903)Ī widespread belief concerning ghosts is that they are composed of a misty, airy, or subtle material. Belief in ghosts is found in all cultures around the world, and thus ghost stories may be passed down orally or in written form. Ghosts often appear in the narrative as sentinels or prophets of things to come. While ghost stories are often explicitly meant to scare, they have been written to serve all sorts of purposes, from comedy to morality tales. It is a form of supernatural fiction and specifically of weird fiction, and is often a horror story. ![]() In a narrower sense, the ghost story has been developed as a short story format, within genre fiction. ![]() ![]() Ghost stories are commonly examples of ghostlore.Ĭolloquially, the term "ghost story" can refer to any kind of scary story. Linked to the ghost is the idea of a "haunting", where a supernatural entity is tied to a place, object or person. The "ghost" may appear of its own accord or be summoned by magic. FantasyĪ ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. James's story "Oh, Whistle, And I'll Come To You, My Lad". ![]()
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