Ghost stories since the dawn of time seem to be filled with fear, scares, the haunting of malevolent spirits out to harm the living (or at least terrify them.) But why is there such a widespread tradition of ghosts as a fearful, bad thing? What if ghosts were friendly?
Not all cultures see the dead as a frightening thing. In Japan, for example, there is a tradition of lighting incense for the ancestors and sharing your life with them. During the festival of Obon, for example, the spirits of the family dead are invited into the home to share in a banquet. Rituals serve to make the deceased family member one of the ancestors. Family members will meet and talk about their loved ones, commemorating their lives. There is strong belief in spirits, but not in a harmful sense.
In Mexico, the Day of the Dead celebration (Dia de Los Muertos) is a three day festival that some say has its origin in Aztec times, though this is disputed. It takes place on 31 October to 2 November, All Saints and All Souls Day in the Christian calendar. On the first day the spirits of children are invited to visit, on the second day the spirits of adults, and on the third day families visit the graves of their family members, adorning the graves with flowers and other decorations. The dead souls are encouraged to visit and hear the prayers of their living descendants. Irrespective of its origin, it does not seem to include fear in the idea of the dead ancestors returning to visit their living descendants.
There are some who would say the idea of ghosts being frightening, or evil, is from the Christian tradition. The Christian church, if it accepted the existence of ghosts at all, would probably say this, as the souls of the departed should actually be departing, to heaven or hell. There is some disagreement between Christian thinkers, but the main gist is that the ghost of a dead person is most likely an evil spirit pretending to be a dead person, and therefore by its very existence not benign or helpful.
However, the origin of scary spirits is older than Christianity. In ancient Mesopotamia, the dead were supposed to go to the land of the dead and not return. The only exceptions would be if some wrong needed to be put right, and that usually meant the ghost’s descendants were not honouring them properly with offerings. Sickness was often considered the result of such a visitation, and doctors would insist the sick person confess their sins, as their illness must be a punishment from gods or ancestors.
In Ireland, Scotland and Wales (and other Celtic areas) the festival of Samhain also occurred around the same time as All Saints Day. The idea was that at this time the walls between the worlds would grow thin, and the dead could walk among the living. Families would prepare meals for the departed, and as it was harvest time the crops would be brought in, meat slaughtered and cured for the winter, and the bones burned, a practice which was known as bone fires, eventually bonfires. Ancestral spirits were welcomed and celebrated. However, malevolent spirits could also come, and this led to the practice of mask-wearing (to protect your identity from angry spirits). Over time this practice evolved into today’s Hallowe’en.
China has a tradition of ‘hungry ghosts’, essentially ghosts of ancestors who had been neglected by their descendants and are starving. The seventh month of the Chinese calendar is ghost month, and people perform rituals to appease the dead. The gates of both Heaven and Hell are said to be open, so ghosts, again, can be good or bad.
It seems to me that the main reason ghosts are seen as scary lies in the fact that people aren’t supposed to come back from the dead. The unnaturalness of it is seen as reason to be scared (why are they here? What do they want? etc.) In ancient times particularly, people were a lot closer to death, and could more easily imagine bones, rotting flesh, etc. (not a pleasant concept). Modern movies have helped this along by putting such things on screen, so you don’t have to imagine it. I think it is a pity that the people of the past often could not think of the departed in a way that was benevolent and kind. It seems nicer if, were we to see our loved ones again, that we could be overjoyed and pleased, not scared. I freely admit, though, if ghosts were real, and my late parents suddenly popped up in my living room, I’d probably run away screaming. The unknown and unexpected is always a scary thing, and we are hardwired to react to it by fight or flight. This makes sense from a survival perspective – you don’t know if it’s going to harm you so best react accordingly.
Do ghosts have to be scary? No, they don’t have to be. However, people over the centuries have found many good reasons to fear them. If ghosts are present, something is wrong. It is best to proceed with caution.
Bibliography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead
https://www.worldhistory.org/ghost
https://www.livescience.com/40745-ghost-traditions-around-the-world.html
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