Editing Ghost (section)

==Depiction in the arts==
{{main article|Ghost story|List of ghost films}}
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| caption1 = The Phantom on the Terrace from Shakespeare's ''[[Hamlet]]'' (engraving by [[Eugène Delacroix]], 1843)
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Ghosts are prominent in story-telling of various nations. The [[ghost story]] is ubiquitous across all cultures from oral [[folklore|folktales]] to works of literature. While ghost stories are often explicitly meant to be scary, they have been written to serve all sorts of purposes, from comedy to [[morality tale]]s. Ghosts often appear in the narrative as sentinels or [[prophet]]s of things to come. Belief in ghosts is found in all cultures around the world, and thus ghost stories may be passed down orally or in written form.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Darrell Schweitzer |author-link=Darrell Schweitzer |title=The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders |location=Westport, CT |publisher=Greenwood |year=2005 |pages=338–340}}</ref>

Spirits of the dead appear in literature as early as [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]'', which features a journey to the [[underworld]] and the hero encountering the ghosts of the dead,{{Sfn|Darrell Schweitzer|2005|p=338-340}} and the [[Old Testament]], in which the [[Witch of Endor]] summons the spirit of the prophet [[Samuel]].{{Sfn|Darrell Schweitzer|2005|p=338-340}}

===Renaissance to Romanticism (1500 to 1840)===
One of the more recognizable ghosts in [[English literature]] is the [[King Hamlet|shade of Hamlet's murdered father]] in Shakespeare's ''The Tragical History of [[Hamlet, Prince of Denmark]]''. In ''Hamlet'', it is the ghost who demands that [[Prince Hamlet]] investigate his "murder most foul" and seek revenge upon his usurping uncle, [[King Claudius]].

In [[English Renaissance theater]], ghosts were often depicted in the garb of the living and even in armor, as with the ghost of Hamlet's father. Armor, being out-of-date by the time of the Renaissance, gave the stage ghost a sense of antiquity.<ref>Ann Jones & Peter Stallybrass, ''Renaissance Clothing and the Materials of Memory'', Cambridge University Press, 2000.</ref> But the sheeted ghost began to gain ground on stage in the 19th century because an armored ghost could not satisfactorily convey the requisite spookiness: it clanked and creaked, and had to be moved about by complicated pulley systems or elevators. These clanking ghosts being hoisted about the stage became objects of ridicule as they became clichéd stage elements. Ann Jones and Peter Stallybrass, in ''Renaissance Clothing and the Materials of Memory'', point out, "In fact, it is as laughter increasingly threatens the Ghost that he starts to be staged not in armor but in some form of 'spirit drapery'."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Holland|first1=Peter|title=Shakespeare Survey: Volume 58, Writing about Shakespeare|date=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=40}}</ref>

===Victorian/Edwardian (1840 to 1920)===
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The "classic" ghost story arose during the Victorian period, and included authors such as [[M. R. James]], [[Sheridan Le Fanu]], [[Violet Hunt]], and [[Henry James]]. Classic ghost stories were influenced by the gothic fiction tradition, and contain elements of folklore and psychology. M. R. James summed up the essential elements of a ghost story as, "Malevolence and terror, the glare of evil faces, 'the stony grin of unearthly malice', pursuing forms in darkness, and 'long-drawn, distant screams', are all in place, and so is a modicum of blood, shed with deliberation and carefully husbanded...".<ref>James, M. R. "Some Remarks on Ghost Stories", The Bookman, December 1929.</ref> One of the key early appearances by ghosts was ''[[The Castle of Otranto]]'' by [[Horace Walpole]] in 1764, considered to be the first [[gothic novel]].{{Sfn|Darrell Schweitzer|2005|p=338-340}}<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30313775 "The Castle of Otranto: The creepy tale that launched gothic fiction"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703063419/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30313775 |date=2019-07-03 }}. BBC. Retrieved October 7, 2017</ref><ref name="Newman, pg. 135">Newman, Kim (ed.) ''BFI Companion to Horror'', Cassell: London, 1996, {{ISBN|0-304-33216-X}}, p. 135.</ref>

Famous literary apparitions from this period are the ghosts of ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'', in which [[Ebenezer Scrooge]] is helped to see the error of his ways by the ghost of his former colleague [[Jacob Marley]], and the ghosts of [[Ghost of Christmas Past|Christmas Past]], [[Ghost of Christmas Present|Christmas Present]], and Christmas Yet to Come.

===Modern era (1920 to 1970)===
[[File:Brown lady.jpg|left|upright|thumb|''[[Brown Lady of Raynham Hall]]'', a claimed ghost photograph by Captain Hubert C. Provand. First published in ''[[Country Life (magazine)|Country Life]]'' magazine, 1936]]
Professional parapsychologists and "ghosts hunters", such as [[Harry Price]], active in the 1920s and 1930s, and [[Peter Underwood (parapsychologist)|Peter Underwood]], active in the 1940s and 1950s, published accounts of their experiences with ostensibly true ghost stories such as Price's ''The Most Haunted House in England'', and Underwood's ''Ghosts of Borley'' (both recounting experiences at [[Borley Rectory]]). The writer [[Frank Edwards (writer and broadcaster)|Frank Edwards]] delved into ghost stories in his books of his, like ''Stranger than Science''.

Children's benevolent ghost stories became popular, such as [[Casper the Friendly Ghost]], created in the 1930s and appearing in comics, [[animated cartoon]]s, and eventually a [[Casper (film)|1995 feature film]].

With the advent of motion pictures and television, screen depictions of ghosts became common, and spanned a variety of genres; the works of Shakespeare, Dickens and Wilde have all been made into cinematic versions. Novel-length tales have been difficult to adapt to cinema, although that of ''[[The Haunting of Hill House]]'' to ''[[The Haunting (1963 film)|The Haunting]]'' in 1963 is an exception.<ref name="Newman, pg. 135"/>

Sentimental depictions during this period were more popular in cinema than horror, and include the 1947 film ''[[The Ghost and Mrs. Muir]]'', which was later adapted to television with a successful 1968–1970 [[The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (TV series)|TV series]].<ref name="Newman, pg. 135"/> Genuine [[psychological horror]] films from this period include 1944's ''[[The Uninvited (1944 film)|The Uninvited]]'', and 1945's ''[[Dead of Night]]''.

===Post-modern (1970–present)===
{{see also|List of ghost films}}{{Further|List of ghosts#Popular culture|Category:Fictional ghosts}}
The 1970s saw screen depictions of ghosts diverge into distinct genres of the romantic and horror. A common theme in the romantic genre from this period is the ghost as a benign guide or messenger, often with unfinished business, such as 1989's ''[[Field of Dreams]]'', the 1990 film ''[[Ghost (1990 film)|Ghost]]'', and the 1993 comedy ''[[Heart and Souls]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE3DE1339F93BA3575BC0A965958260|title=FILM; When It Comes to the Hereafter, Romance and Sentiment Rule|last=Chanko|first=Kenneth M.|date=August 8, 1993|website=The New York Times|access-date=2009-01-29}}</ref> In the horror genre, 1980's ''[[The Fog]]'', and the ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise)|A Nightmare on Elm Street]]'' series of films from the 1980s and 1990s are notable examples of the trend for the merging of ghost stories with scenes of physical violence.<ref name="Newman, pg. 135"/>

Popularised in such films as the 1984 comedy ''[[Ghostbusters]]'', [[ghost hunting]] became a hobby for many who formed ghost hunting societies to explore reportedly haunted places. The ghost hunting theme has been featured in [[Reality television|reality television series]], such as ''[[Ghost Adventures]]'', ''[[Ghosthunters (TV series)|Ghost Hunters]]'', ''[[Ghost Hunters International]]'', ''[[Ghost Lab]]'', ''[[Most Haunted]]'', and ''[[A Haunting]]''. It is also represented in children's television by such programs as ''[[The Ghost Hunter (TV series)|The Ghost Hunter]]'' and ''[[Ghost Trackers]]''. Ghost hunting also gave rise to multiple guidebooks to haunted locations, and ghost hunting "how-to" manuals.

The 1990s saw a return to classic "gothic" ghosts, whose dangers were more psychological than physical. Examples of films from this period include 1999's ''[[The Sixth Sense]]'' and ''[[The Others (2001 film)|The Others]]''.

[[Asian cinema]] has also produced [[horror film]]s about ghosts, such as the 1998 Japanese film ''[[Ring (film)|Ringu]]'' (remade in the US as ''[[The Ring (2002 film)|The Ring]]'' in 2002), and the Pang brothers' 2002 film ''[[The Eye (2002 film)|The Eye]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E1D61330F93BA35755C0A9659C8B63|title=Why Asian Ghost Stories Are the Best|last=Rafferty|first=Terence|date=June 8, 2003|website=The New York Times|access-date=2009-01-29|archive-date=2008-05-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080507205425/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E1D61330F93BA35755C0A9659C8B63|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[Indian ghost movies]] are popular not just in India, but in the Middle East, Africa, South East Asia, and other parts of the world. Some Indian ghost movies such as the comedy / horror film ''[[Chandramukhi]]'' have been commercial successes, dubbed into several languages.<ref name=behind>{{cite web
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 |author=Mohamed, Shoaib
 |date=September 24, 2007
 |website=Behindwoods
 |access-date=2010-03-17
 |archive-date=2010-07-31
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731165513/http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-articles/movies-06/24-09-07-rajini.html
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In fictional television programming, ghosts have been explored in series such as ''[[Supernatural (American TV series)|Supernatural]]'', ''[[Ghost Whisperer]]'', and ''[[Medium (TV show)|Medium]]''.

In animated fictional television programming, ghosts have served as the central element in series such as ''[[Casper the Friendly Ghost]]'', ''[[Danny Phantom]]'', and ''[[Scooby-Doo]]''. Various other television shows have depicted ghosts as well. <!-- please do not add a list of trivia.-->