The persistence of visions
As we enter 2022, it may be asked just why ghost beliefs have persisted. For many, including many erudite academics in the northern hemisphere, this has long been a puzzle.
In his classic Religion and the Decline of Magic (1971), Sir Keith Thomas contrasted the relative survival of ghosts with apparent declines in the acceptance of witches, fairies and devils, admitting some questions were best left to the psychologist and psychic researcher. Ultimately, he felt what he viewed as irrational notions would diminish, but never disappear entirely. I believe the answer is simple. As I remarked to the Revd. Peter Laws for his book The Frighteners (2018), the reason ghost beliefs persist today is because people continue to see and experience them.
A recent example comes from the account penned by British journalist Jack Rear, who spent a night alone in a haunted wing of Chillingham Castle, Northumberland, in October. Of course, it could be said he was psychologically primed for experiences, having met Mr Mark Trotter, a ghost hunting guide at Chillingham (dubbed ‘Britain’s most haunted castle’), who believes a number of spectres frequent the ancient site. Mr Trotter claimed guests had seen “former resident Lady Mary,” stating that she stepped out of a painting, “but usually we just smell her” (Lady Mary’s scent being that of roses). Save that Mr Rear was justifiably sceptical about this, and equally unimpressed by divining rods that failed to twitch, and dismissed the squeaky output of a detuned radio presented as potential spirit voices merely as snatches of stray radio broadcasts. A cold breeze was rejected as “just a gust of wind” and “a draft through a crack in the wall”, and
