In THE NEW YORK TIMES Book Review,
an
essay by Parul Sehgal was published Oct.
22, 2018 .
The topic is appropriate for Halloween: Why the ghost story
persists. I found a lot of thoughtful comments and information in this piece
and recommend it.
Sehgal observes: “Literature — the top-shelf, award-winning stuff — is
positively ectoplasmic these days, crawling with hauntings, haints and wraiths
of every stripe and disposition.” I myself have found much more of a demand for
stories with a supernatural edge than those set in the verisimilitude of
reality. Maybe people are looking for psychological escapes from the real world
more than ever.
Many of the
classics of literature such as Henry James’ “Turn of the Screw” or Shirley
Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House” provide us with eerie ghost stories.
Today’s ghost stories vary. They may be written in the classic mold or entirely
unique. They may reflect our modern society or hearken back to the past. Sehgal
observes: “ghost stories are never just reflections. They are social critiques…”
He further observes that ghosts in the modern American
novel protest the norms of social injustice. I don’t entirely agree with his
statement.
However, in my novel DARK MOON RISING, there are two ghosts, women
from two different centuries who haunt the family home of the men who wronged
them. These ghosts seek justice via revenge.
Some of my ghost stories have been published in various anthologies
and magazines. The ghosts remain earthbound because of unfinished business in their lives.
Sehgal comments that ghost stories are often drenched in sex and
violence. But obviously that is not the only thing that makes them appealing to
readers. I think that one strong appeal of ghost stories is the suggestion that
there is life after death. What is your opinion? Also, are there any ghost
stories that particularly have appeal to you?
