Ghosts i: Did you mean...?

Medicine in ancient Mesopotamia was based on the belief that illness was caused by supernatural agencies and, although medicines were given and injuries treated, magical spells and incantations were also understood as effective. Among these...

There are records of ghouls and ghost stories dating from very early times, right back to the beginning of literature and with oral traditions going even further back in time. What we find absolutely amazing is that the fascination for the...

Did you know that the Romans believed ghosts returned in the dreams of the living? This video is all about Roman ghosts, how they appeared, and what they meant. the Romans believed in ghosts as just another aspect of daily life. Each person...

The Ghost Bride is a story from the Pawnee nation on the danger of interacting with ghosts but also emphasizes the importance of keeping one's word, whether with the living or the dead. The young man in the tale does not know he is dealing...

Daily life in ancient China changed through the centuries but reflected the values of the presence of gods and one's ancestors in almost every time period. Villages like Banpo show evidence of a matriarchal society, where there was a priestly...

The Magical Lullaby (popularly known as Charm for the Protection of a Child) is an inscription from the 16th or 17th century BCE. The poem exemplifies the ancient Egyptian's personal religious and spiritual practices as it is a spell which...

A Teton Ghost Story is a tale from the Native American Teton (Tetonwan) of the Oceti Sakowin (People of the Seven Council Fires), better known as the Sioux, on one of the possibilities of the state of the soul after death and how the living...

Richard III of England is tormented by the ghosts of his victims on the eve of his death at the Battle of Bosworth, in Act V Scene III of William Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Richard III (c.1594), watercolors by Alexandre Bida, 1893...

Image from a Japanese scroll which describes the realm of the hungry ghosts and how to placate them. Kyoto National Museum.

As part of the Hungry Ghosts Festival, incense is burned in front of homes in remembrance of one's ancestors and to give a pleasing scent to the spirits as they walk by.