WAS THAT A G-G-GHOST?!?!

“Ghosts” have changed over time. This is a clue that ghosts have more to do with the beliefs of the living than mysterious supernatural forces. But why have so many people over so many centuries accepted ghost stories as true? And why do so many people today—18 percent of American adults!— believe they’ve seen or been in the presence of a ghost?

Part of the answer must be the way humans think. People find it natural to suppose that the dead live on in some way. In this issue of JUNIOR SKEPTIC we’ve explored haunted house stories in Western culture, but most cultures have their own versions of ghosts.

We’re filled with ghostly imaginings at a very young age. Almost two thousand years ago, Lucian of Samosata criticized adults who tell spine tingling “true” ghost stories around kids. He thought grown ups should “remember who is present” when “talking this trash,” saying, “do not accustom them to listen to a tangle of superstitious stuff that will cling to them for the rest of their lives, and make them start at their own shadows.” But from campfires to dinner parties, swapping scary stories is as common now as it was in Lucian’s day. Adults tell spooky “true” tales around kids. Kids share scary stories with each other.