by Editor
on September 12, 2014
Demons Carry A Damned Soul In Hell. 13th Century Fresco From The Basilica Of St. Julien in Brioude. Photo: Marie-Lan Nguyen
What’s The Difference Between Ghosts, Demons, And Spirits?
Are ghosts and demons the same? Is every spirit a ghost? If not, what are the differences? And what about angels?
First off, a spirit is any supernatural, usually incorporeal (bodiless, massless) being. Ghosts, demons, and angels all are types of spirits. Clearly, then, not all spirits are ghosts. In fact, in the set of ancient belief systems known collectively as animism, everyone and everything has a spirit, including animals, birds, trees, and rocks.
Nor are demons and ghosts the same. While both are spirits, there is one important distinction. [continue reading…]
by Editor
on September 11, 2014
The Ring: The Ghost From The Well
One of the scariest ghosts scenes in all of cinema occurs toward the end of The Ring—a 2002 remake of the 1998 Japanese horror movie, Ring, which was based on a novel by the same name.
Most of the chills in The Ring arise from the disorienting combination of an old-school ghost-story theme—a haunted well—with Twentieth-Century electronic technology in the form of a television and a cursed videotape. [continue reading…]
by Editor
on September 11, 2014
A Simple Spirit House In Udon Thani Province, Thailand. Photo: Mattes.
People In Thailand Provide Shelter To Ghosts
In Southeast Asia, particularly in Thailand, the Buddhist religion mixes more or less comfortably with a much more ancient belief in spirits, known in the West as animism. Many, if not most, people in this region believe that ghosts and other invisible disembodied spirits move among them constantly. These spirits can be good or evil, and they can cause mischief or serve as protectors.
In order to stay on the good side of these ghostly visitors—and perhaps even to enlist their unseen assistance—families and businesses alike erect and maintain miniature dwellings where the spirits can rest. These spirit houses can be found in front of homes, shops, factories, office buildings, and company headquarters. They also overlook places in need of special protection, such as fish ponds and gardens. [continue reading…]
by Editor
on September 10, 2014
Will-O’-Tthe-Wisp And Snake. 1823 Painting by Hermann Hendrich.
Ghost Lights Are The Original Jack-O-Lanterns
IIn European folklore, will-o’-the-wisps, or ghosts lights, appear at night in desolate places to lure lonely travelers off their paths and into swamps and other dangers. According to most folkloric accounts, ghosts lights resemble flickering lanterns that constantly recede before the person pursuing them, so that no one ever gets a close look.
Also called ignis fatuus (“foolish fire” in Latin), these eerie illuminations are said to be the caused by malevolent spirits of the dead or the spirits of unbaptized children. In Europe, the first jack-o-lanterns were created from turnips or pumpkins in imitation of will-o’-the-wisps. In fact, “jack-o-lantern” was another name for ghost fire before it came to be associated with the carved, candle-kindled vegetables with which we are all familiar. [continue reading…]
