Ghosts are different things depending on who you ask. While 32% of Americans believe in ghosts, according to a 2005 Gallup poll, there is a divergence of opinion as to what constitutes a ghost. Parapsychologists are in favor of the term, apparition, because it’s purportedly more precise. An apparition is considered immaterial, but it can seem real and tangible. There are a variety of entities that qualify for the catch-all term, ghost, and here they are, in no particular order.

The spirit of a deceased person could make itself known in its former habitat, i.e., a home or office. In this case, the ghost is said to have a likeness to the deceased either in appearance, behavior, or vocal imitation. Of course, it may not be an imitation!

Other common uses of the term refer to angels or demons, or even as a synonym for a person’s immaterial spirit, whether or not they’re presenting themselves to others.

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Ghosts are portrayed as having a semi-transparent, unspecific form, loosely resembling the person they once were. Their motives are helpful, ominous, or treacherous. Their motions are transient because they pop in and out. They’re often seen fleeing or scurrying. Of course, reports abound, and these are only a few examples of the alleged behavior of ghosts.

Ghost mythology is common in every ancient culture – from the Egyptians, to the Chinese, to the Europeans of the Middle Ages Ghosts were thought to be the disembodied soul of the person they once inhabited.
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Ghosts are different things depending on who you ask. While 32% of Americans believe in ghosts, according to a 2005 Gallup poll, there is a divergence of opinion as to what constitutes a ghost. Parapsychologists are in favor of the term, apparition, because it’s purportedly more precise. An apparition is considered immaterial, but it can seem real and tangible. There are a variety of entities that qualify for the catch-all term, ghost, and here they are, in no particular order.

The spirit of a deceased person could make itself known in its former habitat, i.e., a home or office. In this case, the ghost is said to have a likeness to the deceased either in appearance, behavior, or vocal imitation. Of course, it may not be an imitation!

Other common uses of the term refer to angels or demons, or even as a synonym for a person’s immaterial spirit, whether or not they’re presenting themselves to others.

[ad#ad-1]

Ghosts are portrayed as having a semi-transparent, unspecific form, loosely resembling the person they once were. Their motives are helpful, ominous, or treacherous. Their motions are transient because they pop in and out. They’re often seen fleeing or scurrying. Of course, reports abound, and these are only a few examples of the alleged behavior of ghosts.

Ghost mythology is common in every ancient culture – from the Egyptians, to the Chinese, to the Europeans of the Middle Ages Ghosts were thought to be the disembodied soul of the person they once inhabited.
(more…)

by Juliana Rincón Parra

The mythology in Latin America is quite rich: some tales have been passed onto us from the Incas, Mayas or Aztecs, and others are colonial imports from Europe. On this first part of the multinational Latin American post, we’ll visit some of the most popular myths and legends like the Llorona, the Cegua, the Cadejos and the Evil Light.

Legends and myths are part of our culture. Nina Maguid mentions in her post “Of Fear and Frights”, that these stories were told in first person and usually around some source of fire, and I couldn’t agree more. I used to hear local versions of some of these stories during my holidays, sitting around dining room tables at rural farmhouses, our faces lit up by a flickering kerosene lamp. All it took for a story to be recalled was the unexplained baying of dogs or a horse galloping by in the dead of the night. Nina mentions three specific frights famous in her mother’s Argentinean hometown: The bad light, the widow and the pig.

According to Comodín at El Blog de Oro, this light would be used to hunt for treasure: if it was a white light, it would signal gold and silver treasure, if it was red, they had to run away, since it was the devil at work. This myths is by no means unique to Argentina: all over the world people have tried to explain the meaning of these mysterious lights which appear at twilight, like in Spain and Chile.

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The Widow was a woman slighted in love, who died when she discovered her husband was unfaithful. She signed a deal with the devil to remain forever in this world and get her revenge. She would jump on single men’s horses and ride pillion with them, and if they got frightened, she would kill them. The only way to remain unscathed was by carrying a rosary or crucifix and not getting scared. This myth is so fixed in Argentinean folklore that the expression “getting visited by the Widow” is a synonym for an unexpected or disagreeable event.

El Loco Bender (Crazy Bender) also writes about the Black Widow, and adds a bit more flair to the hair-raising story by promising a lonely, slow and painful death to those fickle or unfaithful men she meets.
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