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A very rare and retired, vintage Walt Disney World exclusive souvenir

2002 DISNEY THE HAUNTED MANSION "GOTHIC GIRL" LOCKET NECKLACE

DETAILS:

👻A macabre-chic wearable that holds a memento!👻

Are you ready to add a touch of macabre-chic to your wardrobe? Look no further than this enchanting vintage 2002 Walt Disney World exclusive locket pendant necklace, featuring the one and only "Gothic Girl" from The Haunted Mansion!

This lovely Victorian style locket necklace is more than just a pretty face - it's a wearable keepsake holder that allows you to store a cherished photo or memento inside its ornate design. The front of the locket pendant features "Gothic Girl" herself, dressed in her iconic mansion hand attire and holding a beautiful red rose. When you open the locket, you'll find a simple yet elegant image of a three-leaf rose with thorns, along with a space to insert a small photo or memento (approximately 5/8" x 7/8"). A unique memento holder for the ages!

This limited edition locket necklace was part of a short-lived The Haunted Mansion collection that was sold exclusively at Walt Disney World in 2002. Unfortunately, it was retired soon after and has become extremely rare to find - making it a true treasure for any Disney fan or collector of all things The Haunted Mansion and Disney macabre. As a vintage item, it's now almost over 22 years old, adding to its charm and historical significance.

Whether you're a die-hard fan of The Haunted Mansion or just love all things spooky, this necklace is sure to delight. Wear it on Halloween night to add some extra charm to your costume, or keep it on all year round for a touch of Disney macabre flair.

Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to own a piece of Disney history. Add this rare find to your collection today! Whether you're buying for yourself or as a gift for someone special, this Victorian style locket necklace is sure to be treasured for years to come.

Dimensions: (inches)

Chain Length: approx. 15-3/4" (15.75")
Locket (Closed): approx. 31/36" x 1" x 5/36" (0.861" x 1" x 0.138")
Locket (Opened): approx. 1-5/8" x 1" x 3/36" (1.625" x 1" x 0.083")

CONDITION:

Like-new: unused with storage wear. The original tag is still attached. Though unused the necklace has acquired some visible storage wear and age. Please see photos.

To ensure safe delivery all items are carefully packaged before shipping out.

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"The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride attraction located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. The haunted house attraction features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called "Doom Buggies", and a walk-through show is displayed to riders waiting in the queue line. Each location differs slightly in design, utilizing a range of technology from centuries-old theatrical effects to modern special effects, including spectral Audio-Animatronics. The Haunted Mansion inspired two similarly-themed attractions, Phantom Manor and Mystic Manor, which exist at Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland, respectively....
History
Development

The idea for the Mansion precedes Disneyland and WED Enterprises, dating to when Walt Disney hired the first of his Imagineers.[1] At the time, the park they were developing the attraction for was supposed to be located across from the studios. In 1951, the first known illustration of the park showed a main street setting, green fields, western village and a carnival.[2] Disney Legend Harper Goff developed a black-and-white sketch of a crooked street leading away from main street by a peaceful church and graveyard, with a run-down manor perched high on a hill that towered over main street.[1]

Disney assigned Imagineer Ken Anderson to create a story using Goff's idea.[1] Plans were made to build a New Orleans-themed land in the small transition area between Frontierland and Adventureland. Weeks later, New Orleans Square appeared on the souvenir map and promised a thieves market, a pirate wax museum, and a haunted house walk-through.[3] Anderson studied New Orleans and old plantations, landing on an image of the Shipley-Lydecker House in Baltimore, Maryland. He came up with a drawing of an antebellum manor with features from the Baltimore house, overgrown with weeds, dead trees, swarms of bats and boarded doors and windows topped by a screeching cat as a weather vane.[1][4]

Disney, however, rejected the idea of having a run-down building in his park.[1] He visited the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California, and was captivated by the massive mansion with its stairs to nowhere, doors that opened to walls and holes, and elevators.[2] Anderson envisioned stories for the mansion, including tales of a ghostly sea captain who killed his nosy bride and then hanged himself, a mansion home to an unfortunate family, and a ghostly wedding party with well-known Disney villains and spooks.[1] Imagineers Rolly Crump and Yale Gracey recreated Ken Anderson's stories in a studio at WED Enterprises.

In 1961, handbills announcing a 1963 opening of the Haunted Mansion were given out at Disneyland's main entrance.[5] Construction began a year later, and the exterior was completed in 1963.[3] The attraction was previewed in a 1965 episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color,[5] but the attraction itself did not open until 1969. The six-year delay owed heavily to Disney's involvement in the New York World's Fair in 1964–1965 and to an attraction redesign after Walt's death in 1966.[1]

After the fair, many Imagineers such as Marc Davis, X Atencio and Claude Coats contributed ideas to the project.[3] By this time, Ken Anderson had left the project. Rolly Crump showed Walt some designs for his version, which included bizarre objects like coffin clocks, candle men, talking chairs, man-eating plants, tiki-like busts, living gypsy wagons and a mirror with a face.[2] Walt accepted these ideas and wanted to make the proclaimed "Museum of the Weird", a restaurant side to the now-named Haunted Mansion, similar to the Blue Bayou at Pirates of the Caribbean.[1] Though this concept was never realized, some of its aspects were implemented into the final attraction.

When Walt put Imagineers Rolly Crump and Yale Gracey in charge of creating illusions for the attraction, they intended to make the "Museum of the Weird" into a separate section that guests could walk through, where they could see transparent ghosts and other apparitions utilizing the Pepper's Ghost technique used in the theater since the early 1800s.[1] Crump and Gracey were eventually given a large workshop to develop their ideas. One night, the two Imagineers decided to play a prank on the night cleaning crew. As Crump explained: "…We got a call from personnel saying that the janitors requested that we leave the lights on in there due to the creepiness of all the audio-animatronic ghosts and such. We complied, but put motion sensors in the room that would extinguish the lights and turn on all the ghost effects when triggered. The next morning, we came in and found all the ghost effects still running and a broom lying in the center of the floor. Personnel called and said that the janitors would not be back."[6]

Marc Davis and Claude Coats, two of the Mansion's main designers,[7] disagreed on whether the ride should be frightening or enjoyable. Coats, originally a background artist, wanted a scary adventure, and produced renditions of moody surroundings like endless hallways, corridors of doors, and bleakly spooky environments. Davis, an animator and character designer, proposed a variety of mostly comical characters, and thought the ride should be silly and full of gags. In the end, both artists got their ways when X Atencio combined their approaches and ideas, creating a transition from dark foreboding to "spirited" entertainment. The ride narration was performed by Paul Frees in the role of the Ghost Host. The attraction's theme song, "Grim Grinning Ghosts", was composed by Buddy Baker with lyrics by Atencio.[1] Different versions of it can be heard in nearly every area of the ride.[2]

After Disney's death in December 1966, the project evolved significantly. The Museum of the Weird restaurant idea was abandoned. The Imagineers objected to a walk-through attraction's low capacity, going so far as suggesting building two identical attractions to accommodate twice as many guests.[1] A solution appeared with the development of the Omnimover system for Adventure Thru Inner Space.[2] Renamed the Doom Buggy, the system's continuous chain of semi-enclosed vehicles offered high capacity. The cars could be set to rotate in any direction at any point, allowing the Imagineers to control what guests saw and heard.[2] Because each car held from one to three people, it was a convenient way to divide guests into smaller groups—a better fit with the story of people wandering "alone" through a haunted house.[3]
Debut
Attraction's exterior at Disneyland in the evening.

Employee previews of the Mansion were held August 6, 7, and the 8th, followed by "soft" openings on August 9 and 10 where limited numbers of park guests were allowed to ride. A "Midnight" Press Event was held on the evening of August 11. The Mansion opened to all guests on August 12, 1969,[1] announced in full-page newspaper ads. It was an immediate success, attracting record crowds and helping the Disney Company recover from Walt's untimely death.

In around 1977, WDI considered utilizing the unused designs, creatures and effects that Rolly Crump had originally created for the Haunted Mansion and the Museum of the Weird as part of Professor Marvel's Gallery—"a tent show of mysteries and delights, a carousel of magic and wonder," to be built as part of Disneyland's Discovery Bay expansion area. The idea was dropped when the expansion's plans fell through.[8]

The attraction opened at Magic Kingdom in 1971 and Tokyo Disneyland in 1983. In 1999, a retrospective, "Art of The Haunted Mansion", was featured at The Disney Gallery above the entrance to Pirates of the Caribbean. When the 2003 film The Haunted Mansion was released, a retrospective of its art was featured in the gallery.
Updates

In 1994, Disneyland's Haunted Mansion was updated. A phantom piano player sat at a run-down piano in the attic scene,[1] just like the music room at Walt Disney World's Mansion. However, instead of the sinister Rachmaninoff-esque version of "Grim Grinning Ghosts", a dark version of Richard Wagner's Bridal March plays.

In 2001, a newer, more detailed safety spiel was added to the Doom Buggies' onboard audio as they left the loading area. Recorded by voice-over artist Joe Leahy recreating the character of original actor Paul Frees' Ghost Host, the bilingual spiel was part of a park-wide campaign to increase safety at attractions. The seasonal overlay Haunted Mansion Holiday also premiered that October in Disneyland, featuring characters from the 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas.[3]

In 2004, the Seance Room was updated so the crystal ball with the talking head of Madame Leota floated above its table rather than sitting stationary on it, with the original projection-mapped effect replaced by a rear-projection effect within the ball.[9]

In 2006, the unnamed bride with a visibly beating heart in the Attic was replaced by the bride character Constance Hatchaway, a villainess who married wealthy men and killed them for their wealth. The character was added to Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion in 2007.

In 2007, the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World was reopened to the public. Included in the update was a more elaborate transformation of the foyer portrait; new visual and audio effects in the Stretching Room; and a new M.C. Escher-inspired Endless Staircase scene, replacing the two rubber spiders seen just before the Endless Hallway.
The extended queue line at Magic Kingdom.

In March 2011, a new "interactive queue" debuted at the Walt Disney World location, with new crypts and tombstones honoring Imagineers; a murder mystery for guests to solve featuring the sinister Dread Family; the Composer Crypt, which features musical instruments that play variations of "Grim Grinning Ghosts" when touched; the Mariner's brine-filled sepulcher, whose ghost sings and sneezes from within, and a crypt for Prudence Pock the poetess, which features haunted moving books & Prudence's ghost writing invisibly in her poem book. Guests can solve the unfinished poems by speaking into microphones located on the crypt. The FastPass+ line skips the queue altogether and leads guests straight to the Foyer doors.[10] There is also an extended queue line that uses the former Mike Fink Keel Boats dock.[11]

On April 10, 2015, it was officially confirmed that an iconic Haunted Mansion character, The Hatbox Ghost, would return to Disneyland's Haunted Mansion. The character returned on May 9, 2015. The Hatbox Ghost was originally a part of the attraction when it opened in 1969,[12] but was removed when the illusion involving the specter's head was not convincing enough.[1] The character wll be added to Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion in 2023.

On April 2, 2019, PhotoPass ride photography was added to the attraction at Magic Kingdom. A hidden camera takes pictures of the riders as the doom buggy passes the final portrait in the portrait gallery, with the flash disguised as flickering lightning. A black and white photo featuring the riders framed by several of the ghosts surrounding the photo is automatically added to the guests' PhotoPass account by reading the RFID data from the guest's second-generation MagicBand.[13]

On January 21, 2020, Disneyland's Haunted Mansion was closed for an extensive refurbishment to add lighted steel panels, improved lighting, mechanical touch ups, and new paint and trims to the exterior of the attraction. The changes were originally scheduled for completion in Spring 2020, but an extended park closure due to the created uncertainty.[14] It was later confirmed that the refurbished attraction would reopen with the park on April 30, 2021. This refurbishment came with a refreshed pet cemetery, now with new greenery and plants. The portrait gallery was given new drapes curtains and the loading area is much more decorative with wallpaper and the return of one of the Haunted Mansion's original portraits being "April to December". Also featuring a statue of the one-eyed cat. The rest of the attraction was given repairs and new lighting.[15][16] In addition, new secret entrance was added to the ride by using the chicken exit. Once the crypt door opened, visitors would be directed down a flight of stairs and through a utility passageway usually used by cast members.[17]
Attractions
Disneyland
the hall of portraits that guests see as they exit the elevator. Photo by Mike Johansen.

Guests enter the queuing area through a garden containing a pet cemetery and a carriage led by an invisible horse, which occasionally nickers. This leads into the Haunted Mansion, where the deep voice of the invisible Ghost Host (Paul Frees) delivers a short opening monologue. After that, guests enter the elevator room: a portrait gallery containing four paintings, each depicting a person from the chest up. While the Ghost Host challenges guests to find a way out, the room "stretches" vertically, and the portrait frames appear to elongate, revealing how three of the characters died and suggesting that the fourth is an axe murderer. As the Ghost Host states that the guests can take "his way" out, the room goes dark, the ceiling vanishes, and lightning flashes to reveal the cupola, in which hangs the Ghost Host's skeletal corpse from the rafters by a noose, implying that he committed suicide to try to escape. A shriek is then heard, falling from the ceiling to the floor, ending with the sound of the corpse hitting the floor. This prompts the Ghost Host to apologize to the guests. A wall opens, exposing a long portrait corridor leading to the Loading Area, where black carriages called Doom Buggies descend one staircase and ascend another to the second floor. The corridor contains portraits on the right whose subjects change into horror-themed versions of themselves as lighting flashes from the windows on the left. At the end of the corridor are two busts who appear to "follow" the guests with their gazes.

The Doom Buggies pass by a candelabra floating down an endless hallway. Near the hallway's entrance is a moving suit of armor and a chair with an abstract face. The Doom Buggies then turn to view a glass conservatory filled with dead, withered plants and flowers. A casket is also seen, and its occupant is heard calling out for help to escape. The Doom Buggies then travel down the Corridor of Doors. The sounds of pounding, shrieking, calls for help, screams, knocking, and maniacal laughter can be heard from behind the doors. Knockers and handles move independently, and some doors appear to be "breathing." Guests then pass by a demonic grandfather clock striking thirteen as the big hand turn backwards with devil's tail swings back and forth as a pendulum, while the shadow of a claw passes over it.

Guests enter a dark Séance Room full of floating objects. Madame Leota, a blue-haired witch/medium whose disembodied head appears within a misty crystal ball, summons the Mansion's spirits. Floating objects and instruments respond in turn.

After leaving the Séance Circle, guests move onto a ballroom where ghosts are enjoying a party. Ghosts fly in and out of the room via the walls and windows. Several ghosts have a tea party where one blows out the candles of a deathday cake. Six ghost couples waltz to the wedding music. One ghost is seen playing a pipe organ.

Guests enter the attic, an irregularly-shaped room with gifts, items, mementos, and wedding portraits. In each portrait, the same bride is seen with a different groom, whose heads disappear only to reappear a moment later. They then see the bride, Constance Hatchaway, reciting wedding vows. As she raises her arms, a hatchet appears and disappears in her hands between vows.

The Doom Buggies drift out of an attic window and onto the balcony towards the Hatbox Ghost amidst a starry night sky. Reaching the ground, they turn towards the gate of the Graveyard, where guests see a frightened caretaker and his dog. Around the corner, the spirits of the dead have risen from their graves and are partying enthusiastically. Ghouls also pop up from behind the gravestones, some of which appear to move. Guests also pass by a group of five busts singing the song "Grim, Grinning Ghosts". As the Doom Buggies approach the entrance of a large crypt, the Ghost Host warns them about hitchhiking ghosts as the Doom Buggies pass a group of three ghosts thumbing for a ride. Around the corner, in large mirrors, the guests see that one of the ghosts from the trio is in the buggy with them. The guests then disembark their Doom Buggies and ascend back to the "living world." A small version of the Ghost Hostess encourages them to return.
Magic Kingdom
The Magic Kingdom version features a Gothic revival-style.

The Haunted Mansion was an opening-day attraction at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, where it is part of Liberty Square. During the production and assembly of the props and audio-animatronics for Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, duplicates of everything were being made for Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion. It was decided that the Florida version of the attraction would be slightly longer and more elaborate than its California counterpart featuring a Library stocked with "ghost stories" and staring marble busts of great ghost writers, a Music Room where the shadow of the invisible pianist can be seen in the floor, and an Endless Staircase inspired by M. C. Escher's "Relativity". Paul Frees recorded additional voice-overs, including the "Ghost Host" to accompany the extra scenes in the ride.[18] Because of the ample space within the park, the attraction's show building is much larger and not restricted by any railroad berm. When passing the graveyard gates on line, six head busts, two on one stand, that contain the Dread Family: a family that killed each other for wealth. The members are Uncle Jacob, Bertie, Aunt Florence Dread (née McGriffin), twins Wellington and Forsythia, and Cousin Maude. Bertie killed Jacob with poison from his snake, Florence killed Bertie for revenge with her gun, Wellington and Forsythia killed Florence as revenge for Florence doing a rogue shot and killing their pet canary, and Maude killed the twins with her croquet mallet. Maude accidentally killed herself by forgetting that she put matches in her hair to hold her bun together and setting a fire that killed her.
Tokyo Disneyland

The Haunted Mansion was an opening day attraction at Tokyo Disneyland, where it is part of Fantasyland. The Tokyo Disneyland version is largely a duplicate of the Magic Kingdom version, although it features some updated lighting, and did not receive the changes made in the 2007 refurbishment of the Magic Kingdom version.
Other versions

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Haunted Mansion Holiday
Main article: Haunted Mansion Holiday
Disneyland's Haunted Mansion Holiday

Due to the success of attractions that feature holiday overlays such as The Country Bear Christmas Special and It's a Small World Holiday, the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland is transformed into Haunted Mansion Holiday during the Halloween and Christmas seasons and has been since 2001, inspired by Tim Burton's 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas. The Haunted Mansion is closed in mid to late August for a few weeks as they revamp the attraction before opening again in September, replacing many of the props and Audio-Animatronics with characters and themes from the movie. The Haunted Mansion Holiday closes in early January to restore the attraction back to the original Haunted Mansion and reopens late January.

The Magic Kingdom does not have its own holiday edition of the Haunted Mansion and the regular ride operates continuously through the holiday season. The Magic Kingdom was initially supposed to have the overlay as sets, props, and animatronics were created for Magic Kingdom, but they rejected the overlay because Walt Disney World gains more tourists than Disneyland due to being a vacation destination unlike Disneyland being more of a regional theme park with reoccurring guests, so keeping the original ride year-round felt more appropriate. The sets, and props were sent to Tokyo Disneyland as their Haunted Mansion is a duplicate of Magic Kingdom's version.
Related attractions
See also: Phantom Manor and Mystic Manor

Disneyland Paris features Phantom Manor, a "re-imagined" version of the Haunted Mansion. The house is a Western Victorian, in the Second Empire architectural style, based on the look of the Fourth Ward School House in Virginia City, Nevada. Along with the Western architectural style, the attraction uses a Western plot to fit in with the Thunder Mesa and Frontierland backdrop.

Mystic Manor, spiritually inspired by the Haunted Mansion,[citation needed] opened at Hong Kong Disneyland in spring 2013. Unlike the Haunted Mansion, however, it does not include references to departed spirits or the afterlife, due to differences in traditional Chinese culture. Continuing the Society of Explorers and Adventurers theme of Tokyo DisneySea, the attraction tells the story of Lord Henry Mystic and his monkey Albert. Having recently acquired an enchanted music box with the power to bring inanimate objects to life, Albert opens the box and brings all of the house's artifacts to life. The attraction's exterior is that of a large Victorian mansion in an elaborate Queen Anne architectural style, and the experience features a trackless "ride" system and a musical score by Danny Elfman.
In popular culture

    In 1970, The Wonderful World of Disney featured Disneyland Showtime hosted and narrated by Kurt Russell with appearances by The Osmond Brothers and E. J. Peaker after their concert at Disneyland, they visited the Haunted Mansion at the end.
    Walt Disney Pictures produced a theatrical feature film adaptation based on the attraction and starring Eddie Murphy on November 26, 2003.[7]

        In July 2010, Guillermo del Toro announced that he was set to write and produce a darker film adaptation also based on the attraction, promising that it would be both scary and fun.[7] The film was officially confirmed in July 2021,[19][20] with Tiffany Haddish playing a hired psychic that attempts to commune with the dead and LaKeith Stanfield playing a lackluster tour guide in New Orleans's French Quarter.[21] The film is scheduled to be released on March 10, 2023.[22]

    In October 2005, Slave Labor Graphics began publishing a bimonthly Haunted Mansion comic book anthology, with the main recurring story (Mystery of the Manse) centered around "Master Gracey" and inspired by the sea captain concepts proposed for the attraction by Ken Anderson in the 1950s.[citation needed]
    In the Mickey Mouse episode "Potatoland", Mickey and Donald build a theme park called Potatoland to fulfil Goofy's lifelong dream to go to the park, even though it never existed. One of the attractions featured was a version of The Haunted Mansion, based on potato horror stories.
    In January 2014, Marvel Comics began publishing Seekers of the Weird, a five-issue miniseries and first under the Disney Kingdoms imprint. The miniseries was based on the Museum of the Weird, Rolly Crump's unused precursor designs for the attraction.[23] In March 2016, Marvel Comics began publishing a five-issue miniseries based on the attraction, released under the Disney Kingdoms imprint.[24]
    A video game produced by Disney Interactive, TDK, and High Voltage Software was released in 2003, primarily based on the attraction but using some of the set designs from the film. The attraction appears and is referenced in other video games, including Epic Mickey and Kinect: Disneyland Adventures. In Epic Mickey, the mansion serves as a level in the game, and borrows elements from each mansion except for Mystic Manor.
    In July 2014, it was announced that a cartoon special based on the attraction, animated by Gris Grimly, was being developed in honor of the 45th anniversary, to be aired on the Disney Channel and Disney XD.[25]
    Madame Leota appears in the second half of the seventh season of ABC's Once Upon a Time, portrayed by Suzy Joachim.[26]
    In the horror video game Bendy and the Ink Machine, the haunted house attraction that appears in the game's fourth chapter is based on the ride.[citation needed]
    In the 2018 film The Predator, the characters enter a large elevator room and a security guard recites part of the Haunted Mansion script "is this haunted room actually stretching?" [27]
    In October 2018, it was reported that the Magic Kingdom was turning into a popular place for families to deposit ashes of their deceased loved ones, with the Haunted Mansion picked as their favorite location. The behavior of depositing ashes of dead family members at the attraction is considered unacceptable and unlawful, and anyone caught doing that behavior will be escorted from the park.[28]
    The Bride, the Hatbox Ghost and the Hitchhiking Ghosts appear as playable characters in the video game Disney Magic Kingdoms, as limited time characters to unlock during Halloween Events.[29][30]
    In 2020, Funko Games partnered with Disney to release the family strategy board game "Disney: The Haunted Mansion-- Call of the Spirits."
    In 2021, a Muppets special, Muppets Haunted Mansion, was released on Disney+ on October 8, 2021.[31][32]
    The Haunted Mansion will appear in a "Chibi Tiny Tale" centered on the Disney TV series The Ghost and Molly McGee.[33]

In 2022, a Lego set based on the Haunted Mansion was released." (wikipedia.)

Ride summary
Disneyland
The hall of portraits that guests see as they exit the stretching room at Disneyland

Guests enter the mansion's grounds through the front gate and walk through a garden containing a pet cemetery and a carriage led by an invisible horse. Once inside, the deep voice of the invisible Ghost Host (Paul Frees) introduces himself in the foyer. Guests enter the mansion's art gallery, which contains four paintings, each depicting a person from the chest up:

    An elderly woman holding a rose.
    A bearded man with a piece of paper in his hand
    A young woman holding a parasol
    A man with his arms crossed.

While the Ghost Host challenges guests to find a way out, the room stretches vertically, and the portrait frames appear to elongate, revealing the following grim fates depicted in humorous fashion:

    The elderly woman is sitting on a tombstone with a bust of a man named “George” with a hatchet in his head, implying that the woman was an axe murderer.
    The bearded man is not wearing any pants and is standing on a dynamite keg with a candle lighting the fuse.
    The young woman is on a fraying tightrope over an alligator who wants to eat her.
    The man with the crossed arms is being carried by another man, who a third man is carrying, and they are sinking into quicksand.

As the Ghost Host states that the guests can take "his way" out, the room goes dark, the ceiling vanishes, and lightning flashes to reveal the cupola, in which hangs the Ghost Host's skeletal corpse from the rafters by a noose, implying that he committed suicide by hanging to try to escape. A shriek is then heard, followed by the sound of bones shattering. After the Ghost Host apologizes to the guests, a wall opens, exposing the portrait corridor leading to the loading area. The subjects of the portraits on the right flicker briefly into macabre versions of themselves when lighting flashes from the windows on the left. At the end of the corridor are two busts who appear to "follow" the guests with their gazes.

In the load area, black carriages called "Doom Buggies" descend one staircase and ascend another to the second floor.

Guests pass by a candelabra floating down an endless hallway. Near the hallway's entrance is a moving suit of armor and a chair with an abstract face. The Doom Buggies then turn to view a glass conservatory filled with dead flora surrounding a casket whose occupant (X Atencio) is heard calling out for help to escape; his bony hands are seen trying to pry the casket lid open. The Doom Buggies then travel down a hallway of doors where sounds of pounding, calls for help, screams, knocking, and maniacal laughter can be heard from behind the doors. Knockers and handles move independently, and some doors appear to be "breathing." Guests then pass by a demonic grandfather clock, while a shadow of a claw passes over it.

Guests enter a dark séance room that contains occult objects. Madame Leota (Eleanor Audley as her voice, Leota Toombs as her face), a blue-haired medium whose disembodied head appears within a levitating crystal ball, summons the Mansion's spirits. Floating musical instruments respond in turn to her spell.

After leaving the séance circle, guests move onto a mezzanine overlooking a massive ballroom where many ghosts are enjoying a birthday party (or a deathday one, in this case). Ghosts fly into the room from a crashed hearse and the windows. Several ghosts sit at the table where one blows out the candles of a birthday cake. When she blows out the candles, the other ghosts seated at the table disappear to then reappear when she "inhales" again. Playing on the chandelier over the dining table are several drunken ghosts holding glasses of red wine. Six ghost couples waltz to music played by a gentleman's spirit on a pipe organ, several wraiths fly out of its pipes as the haunting refrain echoes throughout the scene. Hanging on the wall are the portraits of two duelists who come to life and fire their revolvers at each other. Guests enter the attic filled with wedding gifts and portraits. In each portrait, the same bride is seen with a different groom, whose heads disappear only to reappear a moment later. They then see an invisible pianist playing a sinister version of the Bridal March and the ghost of the bride, Constance Hatchaway (Kat Cressida), the latter reciting wedding vows. As she raises her arms, a hatchet appears in her hands.

The Doom Buggies drift out of an attic window and onto a balcony towards the Hatbox Ghost (Corey Burton) amidst a starry night sky. The Doom Buggies then fall backward underneath dead trees that have humanoid faces. Reaching the ground, they turn towards the gate of a private graveyard, where guests see a frightened caretaker holding a lantern and a shovel with his dog cowering at his feet. Around the corner, ghosts have risen from their graves and are partying enthusiastically. Ghouls also pop up from behind the gravestones, some of which appear to move. In the graveyard are multiple comical sights, such as the following:

    The Singing Minstrels: A group of five ghost musicians playing the attraction's theme song, with a group of cats and a family of owls joining in "with spooky harmony".
    The Stuck Hearse and the Cycling Ghosts: A horse-drawn hearse stuck in the mud; multiple ghosts on a hill riding bicycles.
    The Beheaded Knight and the Executioner: A masked executioner (Candy Candido) clutching an axe singing a duet with a decapitated knight who holds his severed head in his extended hand.
    The Mummy and the Deaf Guy: A seemingly deaf elderly man (X Atencio) trying to get a mummy, who's risen from its grave and is muffeldly singing the theme song through its grave wrappings, to speak up.

Other sights in the graveyard are a skeleton's hand popping out of a hole in a tomb, a duo of ghosts singing opera, a king and queen balancing a seesaw on a gravestone and a duchess (Betty Taylor) sipping a cup of tea. Guests also pass by a group of five busts (Verne Rowe, Thurl Ravenscroft, Chuck Schroeder, Jay Meyer, and Bob Ebright) singing the attraction's theme song Grim, Grinning Ghosts. As the Doom Buggies approach the entrance of a large crypt, the Ghost Host warns them about hitchhiking ghosts as the Doom Buggies pass a group of three ghosts thumbing for a ride. Around the corner, in large mirrors, the guests see that one of the ghosts from the trio is in the buggy with them. The guests then disembark their Doom Buggies and begin to leave the mansion. A small ghost known as Little Leota (Leota Toombs) encourages them to return and to bring their "death certificates."[1]
Magic Kingdom
The Magic Kingdom version features a Gothic revival-style.

The Haunted Mansion was an opening-day attraction at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, where it is part of Liberty Square. During the production and assembly of the props and audio-animatronics for Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, duplicates of everything were being made for Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion. It was decided that the Florida version of the attraction would be slightly longer and more elaborate than its California Counterpart with extra scenes such as the library and the music room. Paul Frees recorded additional voice-overs, including the "Ghost Host" to accompany the extra scenes in the ride.[2] Because of the ample space within the park, the attraction's show building is much larger and not restricted by any railroad berm.

In the Foyer, there is a portrait of the Aging Man from the Disneyland version. The stretching rooms are not elevators; instead the ceiling rises. After this, the door opens to the Doom Buggy loading area.

Upon boarding, guests pass under the staircase, with a candelabra floating above, then pass the changing portraits as seen in the queue at Disneyland. Then the guests go through the library where busts of ghost writers stare and follow them when they pass by as also seen in the queue at Disneyland. Once they enter the music room, a pianist plays a sinister version of “Grim Grinning Ghosts” and into the Endless Staircase, where footprints can be seen and candelabras are blown out occasionally by unseen ghosts.

Passing by bat-eyed wallpaper that glows in the dark, the guests see the Endless Hallway, but the Hatbox Ghost appears next to it from a blue door, his footprints visible in front of the Hallway. Passing through the conservatory where a corpse tries to get out while crying for help, the guests travel through the corridor of doors. A demonic grandfather clock chimes 13.

Guests then enter the seance room, where Madame Leota is seen floating and reciting her spell as instruments play. A green specter floats alongside the instruments. The Doom Buggies enter the ballroom, where ghosts have gathered for a party.

The Doom Buggies then proceed to the attic. The piano player can be heard, but not seen. The bride is now blue and white and has a stained hatchet.

The Doom Buggies pass through the cemetery, where many of the ghosts are singing Grim Grinning Ghosts and into the crypt, where the Hitchhiking Ghosts are playing around in the mirrors. Little Leota appears above the vehicles as guests disembark and pass a mausoleum and then a pet cemetery.

In 2011, the queue's graveyard was reworked and expanded into an interactive experience, consisting of a Composer's Crypt designed after the Ballroom's pipe organ, the water-spouting crypt of Captain Culpepper Clyne (originally created by Ken Anderson for the ride), a library inspired mausoleum for a poet named Prudence Pock (related to Phineas Pock) that asks for help with rhyming couplets, and a set of busts with a murder mystery attached to them.[3] When passing the graveyard gates in the queue, guests see six head busts, two on one stand, that contain the Dread Family: a family that killed each other for wealth. The members are Uncle Jacob, Bertie, Aunt Florence Dread (née McGriffin), twins Wellington and Forsythia, and Cousin Maude. Bertie killed Jacob with poison from his snake, Florence killed Bertie for revenge with her gun, Wellington and Forsythia killed Florence as revenge for Florence doing a rogue shot and killing their pet canary, and Maude killed the twins with her croquet mallet. Maude accidentally killed herself by forgetting that she put matches in her hair to hold her bun together and setting a fire that killed her, a solution that is shown in a painting added to the Hitchhiking Ghost vignette. At this time, the Hitchhiking Ghosts mirror effect was also updated to replace the physical figures with computer animated ghosts playing around with the images of riders reflections.
Tokyo Disneyland

Like the Magic Kingdom version, the Tokyo Disneyland version of the Haunted Mansion was an opening day attraction, but is relocated to Fantasyland rather than Liberty Square. This version is largely a duplicate of the Magic Kingdom version, although it has some minor differences, such as a haunted painting of a man vaguely resembling Peter Lorre whose face pops out and stretches, a tall, legless ghost in the Séance Room, and more advanced lighting. The attraction did not receive the changes made in the 2007 refurbishment of the Magic Kingdom version.
History
Development

The idea for the Mansion precedes Disneyland and WED Enterprises, dating to when Walt Disney hired the first of his Imagineers.[4] At the time, the park they were developing the attraction for was supposed to be located across from the studios. In 1951, the first known illustration of the park showed a main street setting, green fields, western village and a carnival.[5] Disney Legend Harper Goff developed a black-and-white sketch of a crooked street leading away from main street by a peaceful church and graveyard, with a run-down manor perched high on a hill that towered over main street.[4]

Disney assigned Imagineer Ken Anderson to create a story using Goff's idea.[4] Plans were made to build a New Orleans-themed land in the small transition area between Frontierland and Adventureland. Weeks later, New Orleans Square appeared on the souvenir map and promised a thieves market, a pirate wax museum, and a haunted house walk-through.[6] Anderson studied New Orleans and old plantations, landing on an image of the Shipley-Lydecker House in Baltimore, Maryland. He came up with a drawing of an antebellum manor with features from the Baltimore house, overgrown with weeds, dead trees, swarms of bats and boarded doors and windows topped by a screeching cat as a weathervane.[4][7]

Disney, however, rejected the idea of having a run-down building in his park.[4] He visited the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California, and was captivated by the massive mansion with its stairs to nowhere, doors that opened to walls and holes, and elevators.[5] Anderson envisioned stories for the mansion, including tales of a ghostly sea captain who killed his nosy bride and then hanged himself, a mansion home to an unfortunate family, and a ghostly wedding party with well-known Disney villains and spooks.[4]

In 1961, handbills announcing a 1963 opening of the Haunted Mansion were given out at Disneyland's main entrance.[8] Construction began a year later, and the exterior was completed in 1963.[6] The attraction was previewed in a 1965 episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color,[8] but the attraction itself did not open until 1969. The six-year delay owed heavily to Disney's involvement in the New York World's Fair in 1964–1965 and to an attraction redesign after Walt's death in 1966.[4]

After the fair, many Imagineers such as Marc Davis, X Atencio and Claude Coats contributed ideas to the project.[6] By this time, Ken Anderson had left the project. Rolly Crump showed Walt some designs for his version, which included bizarre objects like coffin clocks, candle men, talking chairs, man-eating plants, tiki-like busts, living gypsy wagons and a mirror with a face.[5] Walt accepted these ideas and wanted to make the proclaimed "Museum of the Weird", a restaurant side to the now-named Haunted Mansion, similar to the Blue Bayou at Pirates of the Caribbean.[4]

When Walt put Imagineers Rolly Crump and Yale Gracey in charge of creating illusions for the attraction, they intended to make the "Museum of the Weird" into a separate section that guests could walk through, where they could see transparent ghosts and other apparitions utilizing the Pepper's Ghost technique used in the theater since the early 1800s.[4] Crump and Gracey were eventually given a large workshop to develop their ideas. One night, the two Imagineers decided to play a prank on the night cleaning crew. As Crump explained: "…We got a call from personnel saying that the janitors requested that we leave the lights on in there due to the creepiness of all the audio-animatronic ghosts and such. We complied, but put motion sensors in the room that would extinguish the lights and turn on all the ghost effects when triggered. The next morning, we came in and found all the ghost effects still running and a broom lying in the center of the floor. Personnel called and said that the janitors would not be back."[9]

Marc Davis and Claude Coats, two of the Mansion's main designers,[10] disagreed on whether the ride should be frightening or funny. Coats, originally a background artist, wanted a scary adventure, and produced renditions of moody surroundings like endless hallways, corridors of doors, and bleakly spooky environments. Davis, an animator and character designer, proposed a variety of mostly comical characters, and thought the ride should be silly and full of gags. In the end, both artists got their ways when X Atencio combined their approaches and ideas, creating a transition from dark foreboding to "spirited" entertainment. The ride narration was performed by Paul Frees in the role of the Ghost Host. The attraction's theme song, "Grim Grinning Ghosts", was composed by Buddy Baker with lyrics by Atencio.[4] Different versions of it can be heard in nearly every area of the ride.[5]

After Disney's death in December 1966, the project evolved significantly. The Museum of the Weird restaurant idea was abandoned. The Imagineers objected to a walk-through attraction's low capacity, going so far as suggesting building two identical attractions to accommodate twice as many guests.[4] A solution appeared with the development of the Omnimover system for Adventure Thru Inner Space.[5] Renamed the Doom Buggy, the system's continuous chain of semi-enclosed vehicles offered high capacity. The cars could be set to rotate in any direction at any point, allowing the Imagineers to control what guests saw and heard.[5] Because each car held from one to three people, it was a convenient way to divide guests into smaller groups—a better fit with the story of people wandering "alone" through a haunted house.[6]
Debut
Attraction's exterior at Disneyland in the evening.

Employee previews of the Mansion were held August 6, 7, and the 8th, followed by "soft" openings on August 9 and 10 where limited numbers of park guests were allowed to ride. A "Midnight" Press Event was held on the evening of August 11. The Mansion opened to all guests on August 12, 1969.[4]

In around 1977, WDI considered utilizing the unused designs, creatures and effects that Rolly Crump had originally created for the Haunted Mansion and the Museum of the Weird as part of Professor Marvel's Gallery—"a tent show of mysteries and delights, a carousel of magic and wonder," to be built as part of Disneyland's Discovery Bay expansion area. The idea was dropped when the expansion's plans fell through.[11]
Updates

In 1994, Disneyland's Haunted Mansion was updated. A phantom piano player sat at a run-down piano in the attic scene, whereas the original faceless bride was given a full-fleshed appearance.[4] In 2001, a newer, more detailed safety spiel was added to the Doom Buggies' onboard audio as they left the loading area. Recorded by voice-over artist Joe Leahy in English and Fabio Rodriguez in Spanish, in a recreation of the character of original actor Paul Frees' Ghost Host, the bilingual spiel was part of a park-wide campaign to increase safety. The seasonal overlay Haunted Mansion Holiday also premiered in October, featuring characters from the 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas.[6]

In 2004, the Seance Room was updated so the crystal ball with the talking head of Madame Leota floated above its table rather than sitting stationary on it, with the original projection-mapped effect replaced by a rear-projection effect within the ball. In 2006, the original attic bride was replaced by Constance Hatchaway and a storyline for the new character.[12]
The extended queue line at Magic Kingdom.

In 2007, the attraction was renovated, with changes including the installation of the changing portraits and lightning-filled windows from the Disneyland version, and new vocals for most of the ghosts in the graveyard. In the Walt Disney World location, an endless staircase was added after being previously a dark space with spider webs. The portrait hall was originally decorated with portraits, known as the Sinister 11, situated on both sides and on a doorway, all of which have eyes that stared at guests as they pass through; these were later transferred to the load area during the refurbishment and their eyes no longer followed guests.

In March 2011, a new "interactive queue" debuted at the Walt Disney World location, with new crypts and tombstones honoring Imagineers; a murder mystery for guests to solve featuring the sinister Dread Family; the Composer Crypt, which features musical instruments that play variations of "Grim Grinning Ghosts" when touched; the Mariner's brine-filled sepulcher, whose ghost sings and sneezes from within, and a crypt for Prudence Pock the poetess, which features haunted moving books and Prudence's ghost writing invisibly in her poem book. Guests can solve the unfinished poems by speaking into microphones located on the crypt. The FastPass+ line skips the queue altogether and leads guests straight to the Foyer doors.[13] There is also an extended queue line that uses the former Mike Fink Keel Boats dock.[14]

On April 10, 2015, it was officially confirmed that an iconic Haunted Mansion character, The Hatbox Ghost, would return to Disneyland's Haunted Mansion. The character returned on May 9, 2015. The Hatbox Ghost was originally a part of the attraction when it opened in 1969,[15] but was removed when the illusion involving the specter's head was not convincing enough.[4] The Hatbox Ghost was added to Disney World's Haunted Mansion on November 30, 2023, as part of The Walt Disney Company's 100th Anniversary celebration.[16]

On April 2, 2019, PhotoPass ride photography was added to the attraction at Magic Kingdom. A hidden camera takes pictures of the riders as the doom buggy passes the final portrait in the portrait gallery, with the flash disguised as flickering lightning. A black and white photo featuring the riders framed by several of the ghosts surrounding the photo is automatically added to the guests' PhotoPass account by reading the RFID data from the guest's second-generation MagicBand.[17]

On January 21, 2020, Disneyland's Haunted Mansion was closed for an extensive refurbishment to add lighted steel panels, improved lighting, mechanical touch ups, and new paint and trims to the exterior of the attraction. The changes were originally scheduled for completion in spring 2020, but an extended park closure due to the created uncertainty.[18] It was later confirmed that the refurbished attraction would reopen with the park on April 30, 2021. This refurbishment came with a refreshed pet cemetery, now with new greenery and plants. The portrait gallery was given new drapes curtains and the loading area is much more decorative with wallpaper and the return of one of the Haunted Mansion's original portraits being "April to December". Also featuring a statue of the one-eyed cat. The rest of the attraction was given repairs and new lighting.[19][20] In addition, new secret entrance was added to the ride by using the chicken exit. Once the crypt door opened, visitors would be directed down a flight of stairs and through a utility passageway usually used by cast members.[21]

Beginning in January 2024, the Disneyland Haunted Mansion began another extensive refurbishment to reform and expand the outdoor queue, modify the nearby Magnolia Park in New Orleans Square, and add a gift shop at the ride's exit.[22]
Other versions
Haunted Mansion Holiday
Main article: Haunted Mansion Holiday
Disneyland's Haunted Mansion Holiday

The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland is transformed into Haunted Mansion Holiday during the Halloween and Christmas seasons and has been since 2001, inspired by Tim Burton's 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas.[23] The Haunted Mansion is closed in mid to late August for a few weeks as they revamp the attraction before opening again in September, replacing many of the props and Audio-Animatronics with characters and themes from the movie. The Haunted Mansion Holiday closes in early January to restore the attraction back to the original Haunted Mansion and reopens late January.

The Magic Kingdom does not have its own holiday edition of the Haunted Mansion and the regular ride operates continuously through the holiday season. The Magic Kingdom was initially supposed to have the overlay as sets, props, and animatronics were created for Magic Kingdom, but they rejected the overlay because Walt Disney World gains more tourists than Disneyland due to being a vacation destination unlike Disneyland being more of a regional theme park with reoccurring guests, so keeping the original ride year-round felt more appropriate. The sets, and props were sent to Tokyo Disneyland as their Haunted Mansion is a duplicate of Magic Kingdom's version.
Related attractions
See also: Phantom Manor and Mystic Manor

Disneyland Paris features Phantom Manor, a "re-imagined" version of the Haunted Mansion. The house is a Western Victorian, in the Second Empire architectural style, based on the look of the Fourth Ward School House in Virginia City, Nevada. Along with the Western architectural style, the attraction uses a Western plot to fit in with the Thunder Mesa and Frontierland backdrop.[24]

Mystic Manor opened at Hong Kong Disneyland in spring 2013. Unlike the Haunted Mansion, however, it does not include references to departed spirits or the afterlife, due to differences in traditional Chinese culture. Continuing the Society of Explorers and Adventurers theme of Tokyo DisneySea, the attraction tells the story of Lord Henry Mystic and his monkey Albert. Having recently acquired an enchanted music box with the power to bring inanimate objects to life, Albert opens the box and brings all of the house's artifacts to life. The attraction's exterior is that of a large Victorian mansion in an elaborate Queen Anne architectural style, and the experience features a trackless "ride" system and a musical score by Danny Elfman.[24]
Adaptations

Walt Disney Pictures produced two standalone theatrical live-action feature film adaptations based on the attraction:

The first adaptation, The Haunted Mansion, was directed by Rob Minkoff and starred Eddie Murphy was released on November 26, 2003.[10]

The second adaptation, Haunted Mansion, was directed by Justin Simien and released on July 28, 2023.[25] In July 2010, Guillermo del Toro announced that he was set to write and produce a darker film adaptation also based on the attraction, promising that it would be both scary and fun.[10] The film was officially confirmed in July 2021,[26][27] with Tiffany Haddish playing a hired psychic that attempts to commune with the dead and LaKeith Stanfield playing a lackluster tour guide in New Orleans's French Quarter.[28]
In popular culture

It has been suggested that this article should be split into a new article titled The Haunted Mansion (franchise). (discuss) (February 2024)

    In January 2014, Marvel Comics began publishing Seekers of the Weird, a five-issue miniseries and first under the Disney Kingdoms imprint. The miniseries was based on the Museum of the Weird, Rolly Crump's unused precursor designs for the attraction.[29] In 2016 another miniseries was published under the same imprint, based on the haunted mansion itself.[30]
    In July 2014, it was announced that Disney Television Animation was developing a animated special based on the attraction, the project originally was going to be helm by Phineas and Ferb writters Joshua Prett and Scott D. Peterson with Gris Grimly as art director and executive producer, the project was later re-developed as a potential mini-series for Disney XD with Shannon Tindle as executive producer but executive changes at Disney Branded Television in 2017 shelved the production.[31][32]
    Madame Leota appears in the second half of the seventh season of ABC's Once Upon a Time, portrayed by Suzy Joachim.[33]
    From 2016 to 2019, Disney Press released Tales from the Haunted Mansion, a four volume children's horror anthology series presented as selections from the Mansion's library. Narrated by Mansion librarian Amicus Arcane, the stories ranged from homages to classic horror to origin stories for different members of the Mansion's ensemble.
    In the 2018 film The Predator, the characters enter a large elevator room and a security guard recites part of the Haunted Mansion script "is this haunted room actually stretching?" [34]
    In October 2018, it was reported that the Magic Kingdom was turning into a popular place for families to deposit ashes of their deceased loved ones, with the Haunted Mansion picked as their favorite location. Disney considers this to be unacceptable and unlawful, and stated that anyone caught doing so will be escorted from Disney property.[35]
    The Bride, the Hatbox Ghost and the Hitchhiking Ghosts appear as playable characters in the video game Disney Magic Kingdoms, as limited time characters to unlock during Halloween Events.[36][37]
    Funko Games partnered with Disney to release family strategy board game The Haunted Mansion – Call of the Spirits in 2020.
    Disney+ released the Muppets Halloween special Muppets Haunted Mansion in October 2021.[38][39]
    The Haunted Mansion is part of Disney Television Animation short series Chibi Tiny Tales, the first one is a crossover with The Ghost and Molly McGee. The ghosts making an appearance in this Tiny Tale are Madame Leota, the blondette ghost girl from the ballroom scene, the Hatbox Ghost and Constance Hatchaway. Along with them are two specter waltzers, the ghost organist, the dueling portraits and the five marble busts from the graveyard finale scene. [40]
    Another Tiny Tale, released in 2023, revolves around the Mansion's groundskeeper (alongside his dog, who tries to tell him about the Happy Haunts after seeing one of them through a window whilst on the front porch). The Hatbox Ghost and the singing busts make another appearance in this Tiny Tale, along with the King and Queen, the Duke and Duchess, the singing minstrels, one of the cycling ghosts and the duo of opera singers.
    In 2023, Disney Television Animation released another The Ghost and Molly McGee crossover short, this time within the Random Rings shorts series using the show's artstyle, the short features Scratch calling the Mansion to see if there's space for him as part of the 999 Happy Haunts ghosts while getting rejected on the process, the short features the current voice actors of the attraction reprising their roles.[41]
    A Lego set based on the Haunted Mansion was released in 2022." (wikipedia.)

"Haunted Mansion Holiday is a seasonal overlay of The Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland that blends the settings and characters of the original Haunted Mansion with those of the 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas.[1] Taking inspiration from "The Night Before Christmas", the attraction retells the story of Jack Skellington (as "Sandy Claws") visiting the Haunted Mansion on Christmas Eve, leaving holiday chaos in his wake.[2]

The Haunted Mansion typically closes for two and half weeks in late August so it can be converted into the Haunted Mansion Holiday. The overlaid attraction is then open to guests from September through early January before being closed again to remove the overlay.
History

Two similar overlays – Country Bear Christmas Special (1984) and It's a Small World Holiday (1997) – had already been successful for some time when Haunted Mansion Holiday was developed.[3] Initially, Disney considered doing a retelling of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, but decided against it due to the attraction's setting in New Orleans Square and the incongruity of bringing Santa Claus into the eerie environment of the Haunted Mansion.[4] Instead, they decided to base it on The Nightmare Before Christmas after considering which Disney character would celebrate Christmas in the Haunted Mansion, should Santa Claus ever land there on his journey. Steve Davison took the idea and worked with Walt Disney Creative Entertainment to develop the overlay.[4]

One issue Disney had to deal with was the fact that many of the key performers in the original attraction – Paul Frees, Leota Toombs, Eleanor Audley, most of the singing busts, and almost all of the original voice actors – had died years earlier. Frees was replaced in his role as the Ghost Host by Corey Burton, who had done voiceover work with Disney before and had also served as Frees' protege prior to the latter's death. Toombs' daughter, Kim Irvine, resembled her mother and was thus chosen to perform in her place as Madame Leota, with Susan Blakeslee (impersonating Audley and whom she once trained under), providing the character's voice. The singing busts were topped with Jack-O-Lanterns and given computer-animated singing projections. New voice actors were picked for the graveyard ghosts that sound similar to the originals.

Haunted Mansion Holiday opened October 3, 2001, and quickly became popular with guests,[5] leading to the attraction's FastPass machines being activated during the overlay (they are now always active). On September 13, 2013 (Friday the 13th), the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland opened to the public outfitted with new effects and set pieces in celebration of its 13th year. Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Paris do not have seasonal overlays. Outside of Phantom Manor, guests can get their photo taken with Jack and Sally.

The overlay was not presented in 2020 at either Disneyland or Tokyo Disneyland due to the Disneyland remained closed from March 2020 to early 2021, while the since-reopened Tokyo Disneyland opted not to offer certain seasonal offerings through at least March 2021.[6]
Storyline

The Haunted Mansion Holiday takes place shortly after the events of the film it conjoins with, The Nightmare Before Christmas, where Jack Skellington, who tried to create his very own twisted Christmas in a Halloween-style overlay in the movie, now discovers the Haunted Mansion, home to 999 Happy Haunts. Deciding to spread joy to the mansion's gloomy residents for the holidays, Jack and his creepy crew from Halloween Town bring hundreds of Jack's original evil Christmas presents and decorations to the manor and deck the haunting grounds for a thrilling and chilling holiday for the Grim Grinning Ghosts inhabiting the abandoned house, setting the stage for the ride itself.
Attraction

The outside of the mansion has been covered in both jack-o-lanterns and Halloween-style Christmas decorations. On the roof is Jack Skellington's coffin sleigh and stretched from the roof to the ground is his comical "Christmas Equation". There is also the countdown clock from Halloween Town that tells how many days are left until Christmas. A music box track from Disneyland Paris' Phantom Manor plays in the outdoor areas. At Tokyo Disneyland, the mansion does not have a countdown clock or a Christmas Equation hanging from the roof because of the design differences between the mansions. Instead, pumpkin snowmen can be seen and orchestrations from the movie and ride play in the queue area.

Guests are then ushered into the foyer, which has been decorated with skull wreaths and such. The Ghost Host begins to tell the story of the attraction in rhyme. From there, guests proceed into one of the two portrait chambers. At Tokyo, a painting of Jack transforming from the Pumpkin King to his Santa Claus guise replaces the Aging Man changing portrait.

Guests then enter the portrait gallery. The stretching portraits have been replaced with stained-glass pictures depicting innocent Christmas scenes with wreaths as their frames. When the doors close, the chamber goes dark and begins to stretch. The pictures burst into shards, and luminescent paintings of Halloween Town's Christmas vision emerge, depicting Jack as Santa Claus riding his coffin sleigh high above the Mansion, a man-eating wreath, scary toys, Santa Claus opening a giant sack as ghosts rise up and a giant carnivorous snake. The Ghost Host begins reciting a dark variation of the poem Twas the Night Before Christmas poem as eerie music plays, extensively featuring a choir. The suspense builds until lightning crashes and Jack's face appears in the ceiling above, cackling, "Happy Holidays, everyone!"; this replaces the hanging body of the Ghost Host. His laughter fills the room, a woman screams and everything goes pitch black. In 2013, Jack's face is replaced by a new animated projection of him and Zero and the hanging body of the Ghost Host remains intact.

As the lights return to normal, the doors open, leading into the portrait hallway. The changing portraits here have also been replaced with ones depicting:

    Sally holding a small Christmas Tree that burns making Sally sad.
    The Haunted Mansion turning into Haunted Mansion Holiday.
    Jack Skellington dressed as Santa Claus holding a present and turning into the way he normally looks holding a jack-o-lantern.
    A Snowman that turns into a snowman made of pumpkins.
    Santa Claus in his sleigh who turns into Jack Skellington dressed as Santa Claus flying a sleigh that's pulled by the Skeletal Reindeer from the film.

The choir returns as the song Kidnap the Sandy Claws begins to play. A snowstorm appears to be taking place outside the windows and the three musicians from the movie are also standing outside. The staring busts have spider-webs in front of them that glisten with the words "NOEL" and "HO-HO-HO." The loading area is decorated with even more Halloween and Christmas décor and there is a huge animated Christmas card with many of the characters from the movie celebrating the season. The card is much of a treat to the eyes itself, featuring the words "MERRY CHRISTMAS" at the bottom of the card, where the message changes to "SCARY CHRISTMAS" intermittently. At Tokyo, there is no portrait hall like Disneyland's. Instead, immediately after the portrait chamber, the guests enter the loading area, which is decorated with orange Christmas lights and Halloween pumpkins. After boarding, the guests glide underneath a landing from where Jack, Sally, and the Vampire Teddy greet guests. The ride-through Portrait Corridor features portraits of the film's characters performing various activities and watching as the guests go by. Orange Christmas lights wrap around the staring busts in the library as Zero wraps a floating tree made out of books with tinsel garland. In the music room, guests see a life-size audio-animatronic Sally, seeming depressed and sitting in the chair next to the ghostly piano that the Vampire Teddy plays. The Doom Buggies then move up the stairs, passing terrified green cockroaches in cages with gift tags that read "For Oogie." At the top of the stairs, Oogie Boogie's shadow appears and turns into a Christmas tree shape in the full moon above. The original black-lighted rubber spiders remain.

At Anaheim Disneyland, upon boarding the Doom Buggies (referred to as Black Christmas Sleighs in the overlay), guests ascend the staircase. At the top, there are piles of presents with the Vampire Teddy sitting on them, fishing for humans. As the Ghost Host continues telling the story, Zero is now seen floating in the endless hallway in place of the candelabra. The moving suit of armor wears a pumpkin mask and has garland wrapped around it. A pile of dog bones in front of the hallway and a wreath made of dog bones adorns the top of the hall. On one floating bone, a tag reads "To Zero". Presents sit in the chair and poinsettias reside next to that chair.

The corpse trapped in the coffin in the conservatory is unchanged, but the Vampire Teddy now sits on it, hammering nails back in. A tag reading "Do Not Open Till Xmas" hangs from the lid. The dead funeral flowers have sprung to life and now perform the song "Kidnap the Sandy Claws". The corridor of doors is now filled with the same comically vicious flowers, all singing loudly, although the doors and the sound effects that they play are still the same. Guests then pass underneath a large yellow-eyed man-eating wreath with teeth, which all the flowers seem to be connected to. The demonic grandfather clock and shadow claw remain the same but now has a tag that says "To Leota, Special Gifts for you - Sandy Claws".

Guests then enter the séance room. Madame Leota is in a Christmas ornament and floats along with several glowing bottles surrounding her and now chants "The 13 Days of Christmas" while the Vampire Teddy sits on the top of the chair behind Leota's table, ringing two tiny bells with the séance. A bewitched nutcracker with eyes glowing green moves its mouth in unison with Leota. The floating instruments are replaced with huge floating tarot cards, depicting Leota's 13 Christmas gifts of which she is chanting. In Tokyo, the raven remains in this scene and Leota is not in a Christmas ornament and is covered in candles with Lock, Shock, and Barrel looking at her through a window in the back of the room.

The Sleighs then move into the ballroom. The ghosts here are the same, but the decorations have changed. The table is set for a Christmas party and a huge gingerbread house sits in the center of the table. An immense dead Christmas tree (with one live branch at the top) covered in candles and spiders with lights now sits in the middle of the dance floor, but the ghosts waltz right through it. Zero floats above the scene near the tree as the duelists shoot at him. The curtains at the top of the staircase in the back of the hall have opened, revealing the mansion's library, complete with a floating tree made of books. In Tokyo, Jack and Sally's shadows are seen exchanging presents under the mistletoe behind that curtain instead. Also, instead of a gingerbread house, a giant cake is in the middle of the table.

The guests are then taken to the attic, where most of the usual props and characters have been replaced with a clutter of all sorts of creepy toys and presents. A huge snake coils around the room with a "naughty and nice" list in its mouth. Throughout the room, some of the evil toys come to life as the guests pass by, including three jack-in-the-boxes (one featuring a stylized skull, another a black cat's head, and another a jack-o-lantern using the old attic pop-up ghosts from the original ride), a bullet hole-ridden duck, a cymbal-crashing Oogie Boogie doll, and a monstrous train on tentacle-like tracks.

As the guests leave the attic and head out onto the balcony, The Hatbox Ghost has adorned the top of his top hat with a decorative Christmas Skull pin and puts a Santa Claus hat on top of the nearby stack of Hatbox. Snowflakes are seen falling instead of ghosts rising as guests go down the stairs next to the balcony and into the graveyard, the guests witness the Vampire Teddy chewing on Christmas lights, threatening to blow a fuse. As the Doom Buggies reach the ground level, they pass by a towering audio-animatronic figure of Jack in his Sandy Claws outfit, wishing the guests a Merry Christmas as a replacement for the wide-eyed caretaker that usually stands in his place during most of the year, with Zero accompanying him in place of the caretaker's dog. The graveyard is now covered in snow and the spiral hill from Halloween Town is featured as a centerpiece covered in glowing pumpkins. The Pop-up ghosts still pop-up and scare guests as they pass, but now they are wearing Santa hats. In 2016, an animatronic Sally is added to the graveyard. The music combines What’s This?, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, Grim Grinning Ghosts, Jolly Old St. Nicholas, and Jingle Bells. The Skeletal reindeer from the film are shown enjoying time in the graveyard with one playing tug-of-war with the howling hellhound, another having tea with other ghosts, and the last one is racing with ghosts on bicycles replacing one of them. The vehicles pass under huge snow angels with pumpkin heads playing trumpets. The singing busts have been topped with jack-o-lanterns at the base of the spiral hill. Before entering the crypt, guests see the Vampire Teddy one last time, playing a trumpet with another pumpkin-headed snow angel above.

The Black Sleighs then enter the crypt, where an audio-animatronic Oogie Boogie stands next to a roulette wheel under black light, offering the guests a game with some strange gifts. Prior to 2003, there was originally an animated mural of Lock, Shock and Barrel. The guests see those bizarre presents instead of the Hitchhiking Ghosts when they go by the mirrors. If the present is a coffin imprinted with a question mark, Lock, Shock and Barrel will pop out from behind each of the three mirrors.

The guests then arrive at the unload area, which is also filled with snow and jack-o-lanterns. As the guests travel up the speed ramp to the exit, a tiny version of Sally (taking the place of Little Leota) is seen thanking Jack as he flies away in his sleigh and tells the guests to hurry back. In Tokyo's version of the final scene, the crypt features Lock, Shock, and Barrel inside some presents, hitching a ride with the guests. Sally bids goodbye and then the guests disembark in a wreath-adorned mausoleum.
Additions

During the 2003 season, Disneyland offered an "Oogie Boogie's Holiday Tricks and Treats" scavenger hunt. Oogie was given hidden cameos throughout the mansion, which guests are asked to look for. For instance, Oogie can be found in shrubbery in the gardens, a shadow on the Christmas card, a doll in the attic, etc.[citation needed]
Soundtrack
The attraction's musical score was originally composed by Gordon Goodwin. It was replaced in 2002 with an adapted score by John Debney, based on themes from the film's soundtrack composed by Danny Elfman.[3] Since 2003, Goodwin's original music has been used in the stretching rooms and the exit crypt (where Goodwin's attic music is used), while the rest of Elfman's score remains. Several characters in the ride are voiced by the original actors from the film, and the various sound effects are a mixture of tracks from the original attraction and new ones." (wikipedia.)

"A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride on which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain animation, sound, music and special effects.[1] Appearing as early as the 19th century, such exhibits include tunnels of love, scary themes and interactive stories. Dark rides are intended to tell stories with thematic elements that immerse riders, which unfold throughout course of the attraction.
Terminology
Symbolica is the most expensive attraction in the largest amusement park in the Netherlands, the Efteling

In its most traditional form, the term dark ride refers to ride-through attractions with scenes that use black lights, whereby visible light is prevented from entering the space, and only show elements that fluoresce under ultraviolet radiation are seen by the riders. The size of each room containing a scene or scenes is thus concealed, and the set designer can use forced perspective, Pepper's ghost and other visual tricks to create the illusion of distance. Typically, these experiences also use a series of opaque doors between scenes to further control riders' views within a space-constrained building. Prominent examples include Disneyland's Snow White's Scary Adventures, Pinocchio's Daring Journey, Peter Pan's Flight, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Alice in Wonderland, which all rely on the use of blacklights in almost every scene.[2]
History

The first dark rides appeared in the late 19th century and were called "scenic railways" and "pleasure railways".[3] A popular type of dark ride commonly referred to as an old mill or tunnel of love used small boats to carry riders through water-filled canals. A Trip to the Moon began operation at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. Marvin Rempfer and Leon Cassidy of the Pretzel Amusement Ride Company patented the first single-rail electric dark ride in 1928. Historically notable dark rides include Futurama at the 1939 New York World's Fair, and Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.

Modern attractions in this genre vary widely in technical sophistication. Smaller-scale rides often feature the same sorts of simple animation and sounds used since the genre's early days, while more ambitious projects feature complex animatronics, special effects and ride vehicles utilizing cutting-edge technology.[4]

To improve the effect and give a sense of journey, passages in dark rides frequently change direction. Sudden curves give a sense of disorientation and allow new scenes to surprise the rider. The rides may also feature sudden ascents or descents to further the excitement.
Empirical research

Although ever increasing investments are made in dark rides, empirical research in this area is relatively scarce. Based on a systematic literature review, a team of researchers from the University of Liechtenstein developed a model that illustrates the underlying effect mechanism that attendees of Dark Rides experience. The model suggests that "Storytelling" in Dark Rides influences an attendee's "emotional attachment" to the ride through the mediator of "Immersion". It is assumed that a person's prior knowledge about the ride's story and a person's cultural background have moderating effects on the relationship between "storytelling" and "immersion".[5]
Variations

Dark rides have a number of variations that are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
Ghost train
Ghost train

In the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, China and Australia, dark rides with a scary theme are called ghost trains.[citation needed]

The first ride to use the name "Ghost Train" was that of Blackpool Pleasure Beach.[6] The ride was imported in 1930 and originally called The Pretzel (due to the curving shape of its track layout); but as pretzels were little-known in Britain, it was soon renamed after The Ghost Train, a play which ran for a year in London, a film adaptation of which was showing in 1931.[7] It was rebuilt in 1936 and has remained unchanged since. Blackpool Pleasure Beach is also home to Valhalla, a large indoor dark ride.

In Australia, a dark ride is named The Ghost Train at Luna Park, Melbourne,[8] and a similarly-named ride was destroyed by fire in 1979 at Luna Park Sydney.

The concept is also popular in the United States. One notable ghost train from the country is The Haunted Mansion, first opened in Disneyland in Anaheim, California, on August 9, 1969.[9]
Interactive dark ride

Interactive dark rides feature a component that allows riders to be involved in the attraction's story. The first interactive dark ride ever built is El Paso at the Belgium theme park Bobbejaanland.[10][11]

The vast majority of interactive dark rides are shooting dark rides,[12] which require riders to aim and shoot at targets throughout the ride using handheld or vehicle-mounted light guns. Successfully shooting a target usually triggers special animation, such as flashing lights or moving the target. The more targets riders hit, the higher their scores at the end of the ride. The use of light guns varies between rides, from killing aliens on Men in Black: Alien Attack at Universal Studios Florida to calling turkeys on Gobbler Getaway at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari.[13][14] The ride systems of conventional dark rides can be easily converted into shooting dark rides. Such conversions include Duel: The Haunted House Strikes Back! at Alton Towers and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin at Disney's Magic Kingdom. The latter uses facilities that previously housed If You Had Wings, Delta Dreamflight, and Take Flight. A recent dark ride, Wonder Mountain's Guardian at Canada's Wonderland, has the world's longest interactive screen at over 500 feet (150 m).

Among non-shooting interactive dark rides, Etnaland's[15] award-winning[16] Haunted School[17] is described by Park World magazine as "one of the most idiosyncratic dark rides". It is themed to a school exam, with riders individually answering multiple-choice questions throughout it. Riders are graded on their responses, and each receives a school report at the end of the ride.[12] While technically a coaster, the Gekion Live coaster at Joypolis had elements of a dark ride. It used to have a shooting element, only for it to be refurbished with a dance element (tapping buttons on the restraints) later.
Trackless dark ride
Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland

The Walt Disney Company is the first to develop a trackless ride system for its dark ride attractions. This technological breakthrough has kept its guests consistently visiting to experience the one-of-a-kind technology. Trackless dark rides utilize automated guided vehicles that do not require guide rails, and thus are able to cross existing paths, reverse, and rotate. Some trackless dark rides, such as the Big Red Car Ride at Dreamworld, rely on a buried wire for navigation. Others, such as Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disneyland Park, Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland or Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy at Disneyland Paris and Epcot, use Wi-Fi and RFID-based local positioning systems.[18] The system provides more versatility for the vehicles to move in randomized patterns.[19] The magnets in the attractions’ floor keep the vehicles “on track” with a guiding master computer system telling the vehicles where to go.[20] The earliest form of this technology existed in warehouses, where electric box lifts robotically moved across the floor to transport boxes. In addition, the technology has been used in autonomous vacuum robots that rely on motion sensors to freely roam the floor since 1996.[21] The trackless dark ride system as it is known today, debuted in 2000 at Tokyo Disneyland's “Pooh's Hunny Hunt” attraction– a dark ride based on Disney's 1977 hit animated feature film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. However, while Pooh's Hunny Hunt pioneered the trackless ride system, it was Hollywood Studio's Tower of Terror and Epcot's Universe of Energy attractions that first utilized the technology.[22]

The use of virtual reality in the development of trackless technology is often overlooked. The Disney VR Studio, founded in 1992, allowed the exploration of virtual reality technology for theme park rides. Before its role in the development of the trackless system, the VR Studio used virtual prototypes to model attractions such as California Screamin’ at Disney's California Adventure Park. Disney has used virtual simulations to allow designers to experience roller coasters before they are built and as a means of previewing complex new ride vehicles such as the free-ranging vehicles used in "Pooh's Hunny Hunt".[23] Moreover, this computer visualization is a powerful tool for transcending language barriers. Showing a virtual prototype of "Pooh's Hunny Hunt" to Japan was a cause of the implementation of the ride at Tokyo Disneyland due to its use of imaging over speech....Enclosed roller coaster

Main article: Enclosed roller coaster

While some roller coasters may be indoors, simply enclosing a roller coaster does not make it a dark ride. Dark coasters are roller coasters that feature heavily themed layouts, special effects (such as animated characters, fire, smoke, and sound/lighting effects), and a dark ride portion that abruptly transitions into a roller coaster-style layout with heavily banked turns, sharp turns, steep drops, and helices. Some of them include backward motion, and many have launch mechanisms rather than lifts. Examples include:

    Flight of Fear at Kings Island and Kings Dominion
    Blazing Fury at Dollywood
    Revenge of the Mummy at many of the Universal Destinations & Experiences (themed to The Mummy film franchise, featuring a launch from the dark ride section into the coaster section)
    Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at the Magic Kingdom and Shanghai Disneyland
    Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster at Warner Bros. Movie World (a wild mouse roller coaster with a ghost-train section, vertical lift and backwards drop)
    Space Mountain at Disney World, Disneyland Park, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, and Hong Kong Disneyland
    Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain at Disneyland Park (Paris)
    Verbolten at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (themed to an escape from the haunted Bavarian Black Forest, with a free-fall track section)
    Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT

Test Track at Epcot, Journey to the Center of the Earth at Tokyo DisneySea, and Radiator Springs Racers at Disney California Adventure each use a slot car track rather than that of a roller coaster, but they provide a similar pairing of dark ride scenes with a high-speed thrill ride.

Saw – The Ride at Thorpe Park features an enclosed dark section with strobe lighting and special effects, before the car enters the outdoor section of the ride.
Other attractions incorporating dark ride elements

Particularly in Disney-built or -influenced parks, a number of attractions use traditional dark-ride features, such as animatronics and theatrical lighting, but are not "dark rides" in that patrons do not board vehicles. Examples include the walk-through dioramas in Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle, and theater-based Disney attractions like Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, The Hall of Presidents, The American Adventure and Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room. Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress (and its now-closed Disneyland replacement America Sings) had four auditoriums that rotated audiences around a stationary core with show scenes.

The Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World and the Disneyland Railroad both include brief dark-ride scenes, but for the most part transport guests outdoors. Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom, Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Space Mountain at several Disney parks, and Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars at Hong Kong Disneyland likewise include some dark-ride elements, but function primarily as indoor/outdoor roller coasters." (wikipedia.)

"A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property. Parapsychologists often attribute haunting to the spirits of the dead who have suffered from violent or tragic events in the building's past such as murder, accidental death, or suicide.[1]

In a majority of cases, upon scientific investigation, alternative causes to supernatural phenomenon are found to be at fault, such as hoaxes, environmental effects, hallucinations or confirmation biases. Common symptoms of hauntings, like cold spots and creaking or knocking sounds, can be found in most homes regardless of suspected paranormal presences. People are more likely to experience a haunting when they are about to fall asleep, when waking, or if they are intoxicated or sleep-deprived. Carbon monoxide poisoning has been cited as a cause of suspected hauntings. If there is an expectation of a preternatural encounter, it is more likely that one will be perceived or reported.
History

According to Owen Davies, a paranormal historian, hauntings in the British Isles were usually attributed to fairies, but today hauntings are usually associated with ghostly or supernatural encounters.[2] In other cultures around the world, various spirits are said to haunt vacant homes and locations. In Middle Eastern countries, for example, jinn are said to haunt such areas.[3] Historically, since most people died in their homes, whether they were mansions or hovels, these homes became natural places for ghosts to haunt, with bedrooms being the most common rooms to be haunted. Many houses gained a reputation for being haunted after they were empty or derelict.[4] Davies explains that "if people were to fail to occupy a human space, then external forces would move in."[5]
Cultural attitudes to haunted houses

Haunting is one of the most common paranormal beliefs around the world, according to Benjamin Radford in his book Investigating Ghosts: The Scientific Search for Spirits. He says that almost every town and city has at least one "haunted" place;[6] and that, despite over 100 years of investigation, there has not been a "single verifiable fact about ghosts having been established."[7]

In the first century A.D., the Roman author and statesman Pliny the Younger recorded a ghost story in his letters, which became famous for their vivid account of life during the heyday of the Roman Empire. Pliny reported that the specter of an old man with a long beard, and rattling chains, was haunting his house in Athens. The Greek writer Lucian and Pliny’s fellow Roman Plautus also wrote memorable ghost stories.[8]

In a 2005 Gallup poll, 37% of Americans, 28% of Canadians, and 40% of Britons believed that houses could be haunted.[9][10] In a 2009 Pew Research Center survey, about 29% of Americans believed they had been in touch with someone who had died.[11] According to a Research Co. poll released in 2020, 40% of Canadian women and 25% of Canadian men stated they believed in haunted houses.[12]

In Japan, there is a tradition, linked to Buddhism, of creating obakeyashiki (Japanese: お化け屋敷) (ghost houses) in August, when it is believed that ancestral spirits may visit. People go to ghost houses to listen to frightening stories or seek elaborate decorations and costumes to experience shivers as a way to feel cooler in the hot summer temperatures.[13]

The Shanghai Disneyland Park planners decided against building The Haunted Mansion because of the local cultural beliefs about ghosts and hauntings. Building the house would have been considered a mockery of their fear.[14]

In Wuhan, China, the police have built a haunted house to train their police force by testing their nerves. They filled a dilapidated house with faked severed limbs, bones, skulls and a frightening atmosphere that includes lightning and rain. The house is also open to the public.[15]

During the , in 2020, Indonesian lawmakers of the Sragen region on the island of Java decided to lock people who did not follow quarantine guidelines in abandoned and supposedly haunted houses. It was an attempt to motivate a superstitious population when science failed to do so.[16]
Proposed causes

According to Owen Davies's book, The Haunted: a Social History of Ghosts, "[e]ven the most devout believers in ghosts over the centuries recognized that many hauntings were frauds."[17] In an interview with USA Today, Davies states that "[f]or skeptics in the past and present, the house was obviously the center of hauntings because it was where people slept and dreamed of the dead, or where people lay drunk, drugged or hallucinating in their sickbeds."[5] Such basic poltergeist phenomena as rapping or knocking were very easy to orchestrate with the help of accomplices or a variety of ploys. According to science writer Terence Hines, cold spots, creaking sounds, and odd noises are typically present in any home, especially older ones, and "such noises can easily be mistaken for the sound of footsteps by those inclined to imagine the presence of a deceased tenant in their home."[18]

A sensed-presence effect, the feeling that there is someone else present in a room, is known to happen when people experience monotony, darkness, cold, hunger, fatigue, fear, and sleep deprivation.[19]

Skeptical investigator Joe Nickell writes that in most cases he investigated, he found plausible explanations for haunting phenomena, such as physical illusions, waking dreams, and the effects of memory. According to Nickell, the power of suggestion along with confirmation bias plays a large role in perceived hauntings. He states that as a house, inn, or other place becomes thought of as haunted, more and more ghostly encounters are reported and that when people expect paranormal events, they tend to notice conditions that would confirm their expectations.[20] Many places deemed to be haunted are purposefully left in a decrepit condition, with wall paper peeling off, old carpeting, and antique decor....Famous haunted houses

A house in Amityville, on Long Island, New York, became the subject of books and films after apparent hauntings following the murder of the DeFeo family. The Lutz family purchased the home for a greatly reduced price but shortly after moving in claimed that doors were ripped open, damaging hinges and bending locks, windows were suddenly opened, green slime oozed from the ceiling and cloven-hooved footprints were left in the snow. The Lutzes remained in the home for only 28 days. In a court case where the Lutzes were sued, they admitted that almost everything in the 1977 book The Amityville Horror was fictional.[34]

Borley Rectory, in England, was considered the most haunted house in the world, but its notoriety was deemed to have been created (or at least exaggerated) by Harry Price, an expert magician and proven hoaxer.[35]

Corvin Castle in Romania is considered one of the world's top five haunted places. According to locals, it has been haunted by its former occupant, Vlad the Impaler, ever since he was killed in an ambush.[36] It is also said to be haunted by the spirits of people killed within its walls.[37]

Casa Loma in Toronto, Canada, was completed in 1914. There have been rumors of ghosts there for many years. It is now a historic house museum and landmark that is decorated as a haunted house at Halloween.

The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California is considered one of the most haunted houses in America, although there are no primary sources for the many ghost stories about it. They were most likely inspired by Sarah Winchester, who had her strange, complex, often illogical designs incorporated into the house for almost four decades.[38]

Wukang Mansion, a historical house in Shanghai, has a reputation for being haunted because of the large number of suicides of celebrities, intellectuals, and state-persecuted people there.[39]

Government House and Phitsanulok Mansion in Bangkok. Two nearby government buildings, these two Neo-Gothic style buildings have a history dating back to the reign of King Rama VI (early 20th century). They were all buildings given by the king to his two favorite pages who were brothers. During World War II, they became government property. There are rumors that they are haunted houses, especially Phitsanulok Mansion which is known as "Thailand's White House".

Halloween-themed haunted houses

Halloween themed "haunted houses" began appearing around the same time as "trick or treat", during the Great Depression, as a way to distract young people whose Halloween pranks had escalated to vandalism and harassment of passersby.[where?] These first exhibits were low quality, being put together by groups of families in their basements. People would travel from home to home to experience a variety of frightening situations, such as hearing weird moans and howls, cardboard cutouts of black cats, damp sponges and hair nets hanging from the ceiling to touch people's faces, hanging fur on the walls of darkened hallways, and having to crawl through long dark tunnels.[43]

In 1972 Jerry Falwell and Liberty University introduced one of the first "hell houses" as an anti-Halloween attraction.[43] Some Christian churches run these, which while being haunted houses, also promote their interpretation of the Christian gospel message. According to USA Today, in hell houses, "participants walk through several 'scenes' depicting the consequences of things like abortion, homosexuality and drunkenness."[44]
Commercial haunted houses

The concept of the haunted house was capitalized on as early as 1915 with the Orton and Spooner Haunted House in the Hollycombe Steam Collection (England).[45] The haunted house became a cultural icon when Disneyland's Haunted Mansion was opened in 1969.[43] By the 1970s, commercial haunted houses had sprung up all over the United States in cities like Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio.[46] These houses are stereotypically Gilded Age homes because changing tastes of the nouveau riche left these homes abandoned or poorly maintained.[47]

Hollywood slasher films such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th had a large influence on commercial haunted houses in the 1980s and 1990s. Many of these houses included characters such as Freddy Krueger and Jason. A less popular film titled Monster House suggests the idea of a spirit actually taking control of a house and transforming it into an almost human body.[43] By 2005, an estimated 3,500 to 5,000 professional haunted attractions operated in the United States.[48]

Japanese commercial haunted houses, or obakeyashiki, are considered to be some of the best in the world. Experiences include being chased by gore-covered zombies, specially themed attractions, such as schools or hospital wards, and houses from which one must escape within 60 minutes or be found by "slaughtering criminals". Claiming to be the world's largest and most frightening haunted house, the Super Scary Labyrinth of Fear at Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park, in Yamanashi Fujiyoshida-shi Shinnishihara, depicts horrific visual scenes, shrill cries, moans, and smells. It has been visited by over four million people.[49]

Haunted Attractions come in several different types from hayrides, indoor haunted houses to outdoor screamparks. Many amusement parks now host large Halloween events featuring haunted houses." (wikipedia.)

"Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. Victorian refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian were used in construction. However, many elements of what is typically termed "Victorian" architecture did not become popular until later in Victoria's reign, roughly from 1850 and later. The styles often included interpretations and eclectic revivals of historic styles (see Historicism). The name represents the British and French custom of naming architectural styles for a reigning monarch. Within this naming and classification scheme, it followed Georgian architecture and later Regency architecture and was succeeded by Edwardian architecture.

Although Victoria did not reign over the United States, the term is often used for American styles and buildings from the same period, as well as those from the British Empire." (wikipedia.)

"In Great Britain and former British colonies, a Victorian house generally means any house built during the reign of Queen Victoria. During the Industrial Revolution, successive housing booms resulted in the building of many millions of Victorian houses which are now a defining feature of most British towns and cities.[1]

In the United Kingdom, Victorian houses follow a wide range of architectural styles. Starting from the early classicism inherited from Regency architecture, the Italianate style gained influence in the 1840s and 1850s, and the Gothic Revival style became prevalent by the 1880s. Later in the Victorian era, the Queen Anne style and the Arts and Crafts movement increased in influence, resulting in the transition to styles typically seen in Edwardian houses. Victorian houses are also found in many former British colonies where the style might be adapted to local building materials or customs, for example in Sydney, Australia and Melaka, Malaysia.

The Victorian Society is a membership charity which campaigns for Victorian architecture.

In the United States, Victorian house styles include Second Empire, Queen Anne, Stick (and Eastlake Stick), Shingle, Richardsonian Romanesque, and others.[2]
Great Britain

Early in the Victorian era (up to the 1840s) houses were still influenced by the classicism of Regency styles. However the simplicity of Regency classicism fell out of favour as affluence increased and by the 1850s the Italianate style influenced domestic architecture which now incorporated varying quantities of stucco. From the 1850s domestic buildings also became increasingly influenced by the Gothic Revival, incorporating features such as pointed, projecting porches, bay windows, and grey slate.[3]
Typical features
In addition to general architectural influences, this progressive change in style resulted from several other factors. In the 1850s, the abolition of tax on glass and bricks made these items cheaper yet a suitable material and the coming of the railway allowed them to be manufactured elsewhere, at low cost and to standard sizes and methods, and brought to site. There was also progressive introduction from the 1850s of various building regulations.[1] There are a number of common themes in Victorian housing:...North America

Victorian-era homes in eastern American cities tend to be three stories and those in western American cities tend to be two-story houses or one-story cottages. This is not representative of a typical Victorian-era home in all regions.[citation needed]

Although the general public often incorrectly refers to a Victorian-era house as a Victorian-style house, Victorian era refers to a time period and not to a style. Although architectural historians generally agree that about eight primary architectural styles were prominent in the United States and Canada during the Victorian era, Victorian-era residential architecture in the United States and Canada was a procession of styles borrowed from countries and historical styles.[citation needed]

One feature that became popular in the Victorian era was the use of wooden gingerbread trims to create ornate embellishments to decorate their homes. This was a reinterpretation of European Gothic Revival architecture using timber that was abundantly available in North America. With the invention of steam-powered scroll saw, the gingerbread trims could be produced en masse.[7] The popularity started in the east in 1870 and spread to the west five to ten years later." (wikipedia.)

""In German folklore and ghostlore, a poltergeist (/ˈpoʊltərˌɡaɪst/ or /ˈpɒltərˌɡaɪst/; German: [ˈpɔltɐɡaɪ̯st] ⓘ; 'rumbling ghost' or 'noisy spirit') is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descriptions of poltergeists show them as being capable of pinching, biting, hitting, and tripping people. They are also depicted as capable of the movement or levitation of objects such as furniture and cutlery, or noises such as knocking on doors. Foul smells are also associated with poltergeist occurrences, as well as spontaneous fires and different electrical issues such as flickering lights.[1]

These manifestations have been recorded in many cultures and countries, including Brazil, Australia, the United States, Japan and most European nations. The first recorded cases date back to the 1st century.
Etymology

The word poltergeist comes from the German language words poltern 'to make sound, to rumble' and Geist 'ghost, spirit' and the term itself translates as 'noisy ghost', 'rumble-ghost' or a 'loud spirit'. A synonym coined by René Sudre is thorybism, from the Ancient Greek θορυβείν (thorubeín) 'to make noise or uproar, to throw into confusion'.
Suggested explanations
Hoax
Part of a series on the
Paranormal
Main articles
Skepticism
Parapsychology
Related

    vte

Many claims have been made that poltergeist activity explains strange events (including those by modern self-styled ghost hunters), however their evidence has so far not stood up to scrutiny.[2] Many claimed poltergeist events have been proven upon investigation to be hoaxes.[3]

Psychical researcher Frank Podmore proposed the 'naughty little girl' theory for poltergeist cases (many of which have seemed to centre on an adolescent, usually a girl).[4] He found that the centre of the disturbance was often a child who was throwing objects around to fool or scare people for attention.[4][5] Skeptical investigator Joe Nickell says that claimed poltergeist incidents typically originate from "an individual who is motivated to cause mischief".[6] According to Nickell:

    In the typical poltergeist outbreak, small objects are hurled through the air by unseen forces, furniture is overturned, or other disturbances occur—usually just what could be accomplished by a juvenile trickster determined to plague credulous adults.

Nickell writes that reports are often exaggerated by credulous witnesses.[7]

    Time and time again in other "poltergeist" outbreaks, witnesses have reported an object leaping from its resting place supposedly on its own, when it is likely that the perpetrator had secretly obtained the object sometime earlier and waited for an opportunity to fling it, even from outside the room—thus supposedly proving he or she was innocent.

Unsubstantiated claims:

    Stockwell ghost (1772) - since 1825 [8]
    Ballechin House (1876)
    The Enfield poltergeist claim (1977) - John Beloff, a former president of the Society for Psychical Research and Anita Gregory concluded that the claimants were playing tricks on the investigators.[9]
    Columbus poltergeist case (1984)

Psychological

A claim of activity at Caledonia Mills (1899–1922) was investigated by Walter Franklin Prince, research officer for the American Society for Psychical Research in 1922. Prince concluded that the mysterious fires and alleged poltergeist phenomena were because of a psychological state of dissociation.[10]

Nandor Fodor investigated the Thornton Heath poltergeist claim (1938). His conclusion of the case were a psychoanalytical explanation and in a subsequent publication: "The poltergeist is not a ghost. It is a bundle of projected repressions,".[11]

According to research in anomalistic psychology, claims of poltergeist activity can be explained by psychological factors such as illusion, memory lapses, and wishful thinking.[12] A study (Lange and Houran, 1998) wrote that poltergeist experiences are delusions "resulting from the affective and cognitive dynamics of percipients' interpretation of ambiguous stimuli".[13] Psychologist Donovan Rawcliffe has written that almost all poltergeist cases that have been investigated turned out to be based on trickery, whilst the rest are attributable to psychological factors such as hallucinations.[14]

Psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung was interested in the concept of poltergeists and the occult in general. Jung believed that a female cousin's trance states were responsible for a dining table splitting in two and his later discovery of a broken bread knife.[15]

Jung also believed that when a bookcase gave an explosive cracking sound during a meeting with Sigmund Freud in 1909, he correctly predicted there would be a second sound, speculating that such phenomena were caused by 'exteriorization' of his subconscious mind. Freud disagreed, and concluded there was some natural cause. Freud biographers maintain the sounds were likely caused by the wood of the bookcase contracting as it dried out.[16][17]
Unverified natural phenomena

Attempts have also been made to scientifically explain poltergeist disturbances that have not been traced to fraud or psychological factors. Skeptic and magician Milbourne Christopher found that some cases of poltergeist activity can be attributed to unusual air currents, such as a 1957 case on Cape Cod where downdrafts from an uncovered chimney became strong enough to blow a mirror off a wall, overturn chairs and knock things off shelves.[18]

In the 1950s, Guy William Lambert proposed that reported poltergeist phenomena could be explained by the movement of underground water causing stress on houses.[19] He suggested that water turbulence could cause strange sounds or structural movement of the property, possibly causing the house to vibrate and move objects. Later researchers, such as Alan Gauld and Tony Cornell, tested Lambert's hypothesis by placing specific objects in different rooms and subjecting the house to strong mechanical vibrations.[19] They discovered that although the structure of the building had been damaged, only a few of the objects moved a very short distance. The skeptic Trevor H. Hall criticized the hypothesis claiming if it was true "the building would almost certainly fall into ruins."[20] According to Richard Wiseman the hypothesis has not held up to scrutiny.[19]

Michael Persinger has theorized that seismic activity could cause poltergeist phenomena.[21] However, Persinger's claims regarding the effects of environmental geomagnetic activity on paranormal experiences have not been independently replicated and, like his findings regarding the God helmet, may simply be explained by the suggestibility of participants.[22][23]

David Turner, a retired physical chemist, suggested that ball lightning might cause the "spooky movement of objects blamed on poltergeists."[24]

    Sampford Peverell (1810–1811) - poltergeistal noises were determined made by smugglers from behind a false wall [25]

Paranormal

Parapsychologists Nandor Fodor and William G. Roll suggested that poltergeist activity can be explained by psychokinesis.[26][27]

Historically, actual malicious spirits were blamed for apparent poltergeist-type activity, such as objects moving seemingly of their own accord.[28] According to Allan Kardec, the founder of Spiritism, poltergeists are manifestations of disembodied spirits of low level, belonging to the sixth class of the third order. Under this explanation, they are believed to be closely associated with the elements (fire, air, water, earth).[29] In Finland, somewhat famous are the case of the "Mäkkylä Ghost" in 1946, which received attention in the press at the time,[30] and the "Devils of Martin" in Ylöjärvi in the late 19th century, for which affidavits were obtained in court.[31] Samuli Paulaharju has also recorded a memoir of a typical poltergeist — the case of "Salkko-Niila" — from the south of Lake Inari in his book Memoirs of Lapland (Lapin muisteluksia). The story has also been published in the collection of Mythical Stories (Myytillisiä tarinoita) edited by Lauri Simonsuuri." (wikipedia.)

"The fear of ghosts in many human cultures is based on beliefs that some ghosts may be malevolent towards people and dangerous (within the range of all possible attitudes, including mischievous, benign, indifferent, etc.). It is related to fear of the dark. The fear of ghosts is a very common fear.

A persistent fear of ghosts is sometimes called phasmophobia, a type of specific phobia.[1][2] It derives from Greek φάσμα, phásma, meaning "apparition" and -φοβία, -phobía, meaning "fear".[3] It is often brought about by experiences in early childhood and causes sufferers to experience panic attacks.
Typical character

The fear of ghosts is widespread even in post-industrial societies. Philosopher Peter van Inwagen wrote:[4]

"...I am perfectly aware that the fear of ghosts is contrary to science, reason and religion. If I were sentenced to spend a night alone in a graveyard, <...> I should already know that twigs would snap and the wind moan and that there would be half-seen movements in the darkness. And yet, after I had been frog-marched into the graveyard, I should feel a thrill of fear every time one of these things happened..."

In many traditional accounts, ghosts are often thought to be deceased people looking for vengeance, or imprisoned on earth for bad things they did during life. The appearance of a ghost has often been regarded as an omen or portent of death. Seeing one's own ghostly double or doppelgänger is a related omen of death.[5]
Wari'

Wari', an Amazon rainforest tribe, believe that the spirits of dead people may appear as scaring specters called jima. The jima is said to grab a person with very strong, cold and poisonous hands and try to pull the person's spirit away.[6]
Papuans

A 19th-century missionary describes the fear of ghosts among Papuans as follows:[7]

"That a great fear of ghosts prevails among the Papuans is intelligible. Even by day they are reluctant to pass a grave, but nothing would induce them to do so by night. For the dead are then roaming about in their search for gambier and tobacco, and they may also sail out to sea in a canoe. Some of the departed, above all the so-called Mambrie or heroes, inspire them with especial fear. In such cases for some days after the burial you may hear about sunset a simultaneous and horrible din in all the houses of all the villages, a yelling, screaming, beating and throwing of sticks; happily the uproar does not last long: its intention is to compel the ghost to take himself off: they have given him all that befits him, namely, a grave, a funeral banquet, and funeral ornaments; and now they beseech him not to thrust himself on their observation any more, not to breathe any sickness upon the survivors, and not to kill them or "fetch" them, as the Papuans put it."

Japanese

Onryō (怨霊) is a Japanese ghost (yurei) who is able to return to the physical world in order to seek vengeance. While male onryō can be found, mainly in kabuki theatre, the majority are women, powerless in the physical world, they often suffer at the capricious whims of their male lovers. In death they become strong. Goryō are vengeance ghosts from the aristocratic classes, especially those who have been martyred.
Literature and arts
Fear of ghosts, their vengeance and mischief is a common base for a plot in the ghost story literary genre and in ghost movies. In cartoons and comics, Casper's efforts to make friends is hampered by humans, animals and even inanimate objects irrationally panicking, screaming and running away at the sight of him. It may be said that the characters Shaggy and Scooby from the TV and movie franchise Scooby-Doo suffer from phasmophobia, with the added joke that the ghosts they encountered were usually criminals masquerading as ghosts, specifically preying on people's phasmophobia as a cover for their criminal activities." (wikipedia.)

"Hauntology (a portmanteau of haunting and ontology, also spectral studies, spectralities, or the spectral turn) is a range of ideas referring to the return or persistence of elements from the social or cultural past, as in the manner of a ghost. The term is a neologism first introduced by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in his 1993 book Specters of Marx. It has since been invoked in fields such as visual arts, philosophy, electronic music, anthropology, politics, fiction, and literary criticism.[1]

While Christine Brooke-Rose had previously punned "dehauntological" (on "deontological") in Amalgamemnon (1984),[2] Derrida initially used "hauntology" for his idea of the atemporal nature of Marxism and its tendency to "haunt Western society from beyond the grave".[3] It describes a situation of temporal and ontological disjunction in which presence, especially socially and culturally, is replaced by a deferred non-origin.[1] The concept is derived from deconstruction, in which any attempt to locate the origin of identity or history must inevitably find itself dependent on an always-already existing set of linguistic conditions.[4] Despite being the central focus of Spectres of Marx, the word hauntology appears only three times in the book, and there is little consistency in how other writers define the term.[5]

In the 2000s, the term was applied to musicians by theorists Simon Reynolds and Mark Fisher, who were said to explore ideas related to temporal disjunction, retrofuturism, cultural memory, and the persistence of the past. Hauntology has been used as a critical lens in various forms of media and theory, including music, aesthetics, political theory, architecture, Africanfuturism, Afrofuturism, Neo-futurism, Metamodernism, anthropology, and psychoanalysis.[1][failed verification][6][page needed] Due to the difficulty in understanding the concept, there is little consistency in how other writers define the term.[5]
Development
Precursors
Main article: Ghost

Haunting and ghost stories have existed for millennia, and reached a heyday in the West during the 19th century.[7] In cultural studies, Terry Castle (in The Apparitional Lesbian) and Anthony Vidler (in The Architectural Uncanny) predate Derrida.[8]
Spectres of Marx
Main article: Spectres of Marx

"Hauntology" originates from Derrida's discussion of Karl Marx in Spectres of Marx, specifically Marx's proclamation that "a spectre is haunting Europe—the spectre of communism" in The Communist Manifesto. Derrida calls on Shakespeare's Hamlet, particularly a phrase spoken by the titular character: "the time is out of joint".[4] The word functions as a deliberate near-homophone to "ontology" in Derrida's native French (cf. "Hantologie", [ɑ̃tɔlɔʒi] and "ontologie", [ɔ̃tɔlɔʒi]).[9]

Derrida's prior work on deconstruction, on concepts of trace and différance in particular, serves as the foundation of his formulation of hauntology,[1] fundamentally asserting that there is no temporal point of pure origin but only an "always-already absent present".[10] Derrida sees hauntology as not only more powerful than ontology, but that "it would harbor within itself eschatology and teleology themselves".[11] His writing in Spectres is marked by a preoccupation with the "death" of communism after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, in particular after theorists such as Francis Fukuyama asserted that capitalism had conclusively triumphed over other political-economic systems and reached the "end of history".[4]

Despite being the central focus of Spectres of Marx, the word hauntology appears only three times in the book.[5] Peter Buse and Andrew Scott, discussing Derrida's notion of hauntology, explain:

Ghosts arrive from the past and appear in the present. However, the ghost cannot be properly said to belong to the past.... Does then the 'historical' person who is identified with the ghost properly belong to the present? Surely not, as the idea of a return from death fractures all traditional conceptions of temporality. The temporality to which the ghost is subject is therefore paradoxical, at once they 'return' and make their apparitional debut [...] any attempt to isolate the origin of language will find its inaugural moment already dependent upon a system of linguistic differences that have been installed prior to the 'originary' moment (11)." (wikipedia.)

"The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's stream of consciousness or identity continues to exist after the death of their physical body.[1] The surviving essential aspect varies between belief systems; it may be some partial element, or the entire soul or spirit, which carries with it one's personal identity.

In some views, this continued existence takes place in a spiritual realm, while in others, the individual may be reborn into this world and begin the life cycle over again, known as reincarnation, likely with no memory of what they have done in the past. In this latter view, such rebirths and deaths may take place over and over again continuously until the individual gains entry to a spiritual realm or otherworld. Major views on the afterlife derive from religion, esotericism and metaphysics.

Some belief systems, such as those in the Abrahamic tradition, hold that the dead go to a specific place (e.g. Paradise or Hell) after death, as determined by their God, based on their actions and beliefs during life. In contrast, in systems of reincarnation, such as those in the Indian religions, the nature of the continued existence is determined directly by the actions of the individual in the ended life.
Different metaphysical models

Theist immortalists generally believe some afterlife awaits people when they die. Members of some generally non-theistic religions believe in an afterlife without reference to a deity.

Many religions, whether they believe in the soul's existence in another world like Christianity, Islam, and many pagan belief systems, or reincarnation like many forms of Hinduism and Buddhism, believe that one's status in the afterlife is a consequence of one's conduct during life.[citation needed]
Reincarnation
Main article: Reincarnation

Reincarnation is the philosophical or religious concept that an aspect of a living being starts a new life in a different physical body or form after each death. This concept is also known as rebirth or transmigration and is part of the Saṃsāra/karma doctrine of cyclic existence. Samsara refers to the process in which souls (jivas) go through a sequence of human and animal forms. Traditional Hinduism teaches that each life helps the soul (jivas) learn until the soul becomes purified to the point of liberation.[2] All major Indian religions, namely Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism have their own interpretations of the idea of reincarnation.[3] The human idea of reincarnation is found in many diverse ancient cultures,[4][5] and a belief in rebirth/metempsychosis was held by historic Greek figures, such as Pythagoras and Plato.[6] It is also a common belief of various ancient and modern religions such as Spiritism, theosophy, and Eckankar. It is found as well in many tribal societies around the world, in places such as Australia, East Asia, Siberia, and South America.[7]
This Bhavachakra mural depicts the six realms of existence for reincarnation in Buddhism, with Yama holding the Wheel of Life.

Although the majority of denominations within the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam do not believe that individuals reincarnate, particular groups within these religions do refer to reincarnation; these groups include the mainstream historical and contemporary followers of Kabbalah, the Cathars, Alawites, the Druze,[8] and the Rosicrucians.[9] The historical relations between these sects and the beliefs about reincarnation that were characteristic of neoplatonism, Orphism, Hermeticism, Manicheanism, and Gnosticism of the Roman era as well as the Indian religions have been the subject of recent scholarly research.[10] Unity Church and its founder Charles Fillmore teach reincarnation.

Rosicrucians[9] speak of a life review period occurring immediately after death and before entering the afterlife's planes of existence (before the silver cord is broken), followed by a judgment, more akin to a final review or end report over one's life....Heaven, the heavens, seven heavens, pure lands, Tian, Jannah, Valhalla, or the Summerland, is a common religious, cosmological, or transcendent place where beings such as gods, angels, jinn, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or live. According to the beliefs of some religions, heavenly beings can descend to earth or incarnate, and earthly beings can ascend to heaven in the afterlife, or in exceptional cases, enter heaven alive.

Heaven is often described as a "higher place", the holiest place, a paradise, in contrast to hell or the underworld or the "low places", and universally or conditionally accessible by earthly beings according to various standards of divinity, goodness, piety, faith or other virtues or right beliefs or the will of God. Some believe in the possibility of a heaven on Earth in a world to come.

In Hinduism, heaven is considered as Svarga loka. There are seven positive regions the soul can go to after death and seven negative regions.[12] After completing its stay in the respective region, the soul is subjected to rebirth in different living forms according to its karma. This cycle can be broken after a soul achieves Moksha or Nirvana. Any place of existence, either of humans, souls or deities, outside the tangible world (heaven, hell, or other) is referred to as otherworld.

Hell, in many religious and folkloric traditions, is a place of torment and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell as an eternal destination, while religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations. Typically, these traditions locate hell in another dimension or under the Earth's surface and often include entrances to hell from the land of the living. Other afterlife destinations include purgatory and limbo.

Traditions that do not conceive of the afterlife as a place of punishment or reward merely describe hell as an abode of the dead, the grave, a neutral place (for example, Sheol or Hades) located under the surface of Earth.....Philosophy
Modern philosophy

There is a view based on the philosophical question of personal identity, termed open individualism by Daniel Kolak, that concludes that individual conscious experience is illusory, and because consciousness continues after death in all conscious beings, you do not die. This position has allegedly been supported by physicists such as Erwin Schrödinger and Freeman Dyson.[139]

Certain problems arise with the idea of a particular person continuing after death. Peter van Inwagen, in his argument regarding resurrection, notes that the materialist must have some sort of physical continuity.[140] John Hick also raises questions regarding personal identity in his book, Death and Eternal Life, using an example of a person ceasing to exist in one place while an exact replica appears in another. If the replica had all the same experiences, traits, and physical appearances of the first person, we would all attribute the same identity to the second, according to Hick.[141]
Process philosophy
In the panentheistic model of process philosophy and theology the writers Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne rejected the idea that the universe was made of substance, instead saying reality is composed of living experiences (occasions of experience). According to Hartshorne people do not experience subjective (or personal) immortality in the afterlife, but they do have objective immortality because their experiences live on forever in God, who contains all that was. However other process philosophers such as David Ray Griffin have written that people may have subjective experience after death." (wikipedia.)

"In philosophy and religion, spirit is the vital principle or animating essence within humans or, in some views, all living things. Although views of spirit vary between different belief systems, when spirit is contrasted with the soul, the former is often seen as a basic natural force, principle or substance, whereas the latter is used to described the organized structure of an individual being's consciousness, in humans including their personality. Spirit as a substance may also be contrasted with matter, where it is usually seen as more subtle, an idea put forth for example in the Principia Mathematica.[1]
Etymology

The word spirit came into Middle English via Old French esperit. Its source is Latin spīritus, whose original meaning was "breath, breathing" and hence "spirit, soul, courage, vigor";[2] its ultimate origin is a Proto-Indo-European root *(s)peis.

In Latin, spīritus was distinct from Latin anima, whose etymological meaning was also "breathing" (PIE root *h₂enh₁-),[3] yet which had taken a slightly different meaning, namely "soul".

The distinction between "soul" and "spirit" in English mirrors that between "psykhē" and "pneuma" in Classical Greek, with both words having a connection to breathing:

    psykhē (ψυχή), originally "cold air", hence "breath of life" and "soul"[2] (PIE root *bhes- "to breathe").[4]
    pneuma (πνεῦμα) "breath, motile air, spirit", from verb pnéō (πνέω) "to breathe".

A distinction between soul and spirit also developed in the Abrahamic religions: Arabic nafs (نفس) opposite rūḥ (روح); Hebrew neshama (נְשָׁמָה‎ nəšâmâh) or nephesh (נֶ֫פֶשׁ‎ nép̄eš) (in Hebrew neshama comes from the root NŠM or "breath") opposite ruach (רוּחַ‎ rúaħ). (Note, however, that in Semitic just as in Indo-European, this dichotomy has not always been as neat historically as it has come to be taken over a long period of development: Both נֶ֫פֶשׁ‎ (root נפשׁ‎) and רוּחַ‎ (root רוח‎), as well as cognate words in various Semitic languages, including Arabic, also preserve meanings involving miscellaneous air phenomena: "breath", "wind", and even "odour".[5][6][7])
Related terms
See also: Ruach HaKodesh

Similar concepts in other languages include Chinese Ling and hun (靈魂) and Sanskrit akasha / atman[2] (see also prana). Some languages use a word for spirit often closely related (if not synonymous) to mind. Examples include the German Geist (related to the English word ghost) or the French l'esprit.[8] English versions of the Bible most commonly translate the Hebrew word ruach (רוח; wind) as "the spirit."[9]

Alternatively, Hebrew texts commonly use the word nephesh. Kabbalists regard nephesh as one of the five parts of the Jewish soul, where nephesh (animal) refers to the physical being and its animal instincts. Similarly, Scandinavian, Baltic, and Slavic languages use the words for breath to express concepts similar to "the spirit".[2]
Views
Ancient Greece
Main article: Pneuma

In Ancient Greek medicine and philosophy generally, the spirit (pneuma, literally "breath") was thought to be the animating force in living creatures.

In Stoicism, spirit is an all-pervading force frequently identified with God. The soul (psyche) was thought to be a particular kind of pneuma, which was present in humans and animals, but not in plants.[10]
Christianity
See also: Pneuma § Christian philosophy, and Unclean spirit § The concept of pneuma

The Christian New Testament uses the term pneuma to refer to "spirit", "spiritual" and specifically to the Holy Spirit.[11] The relationship between the Holy Spirit in Christianity and spirit in other religions is unclear. The distinction between psyche and pneuma may be borrowed from the Hellenistic religions through Hellenistic Jews such as Philo, a view held by the so-called History of religions school.[12]

However, others think that the Holy Spirit may actually resemble the Stoic concept of the anima mundi, or world soul, more than the pneuma. According to theologian Erik Konsmo, there is no relationship between the pneuma in Greek philosophy and the pneuma in Christianity beyond the use of the word itself.[12]

The new religious movement Christian Science uses "Spirit" as one of seven synonyms for God, as in: "Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love"[13]

Latter Day Saint prophet Joseph Smith Jr. (1805-1844) rejected the concept of spirit as incorporeal or without substance: "There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes."[14] Regarding the soul, Joseph Smith wrote "And the Gods formed man from the dust of the ground, and took his spirit (that is, the man’s spirit), and put it into him; and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul."[15] Thus, the soul is the combination of a spirit with a body (although most members of the Church use "soul" and "spirit" interchangeably). In Latter-Day Saint scripture, spirits are sometimes referred to as "intelligences".[16] However, other LDS scriptures teach that God organized the spirits out of a pre-existing substance called "intelligence" or "the light of truth".[17] While this may seem confusing, compare how a programmer writes an algorithm by organizing lines of logical code. The logic always existed, independent of the programmer, but it is the creator who organizes it into a living spirit / intelligence / soul.
17th century Europe

As recently as 1628 and 1633 respectively, both William Harvey and René Descartes still speculated that somewhere within the body, in a special locality, there was a "vital spirit" or "vital force", which animated the whole bodily frame, just as the engine in a factory moves the machinery in it.[18]
Animism

Various forms of animism, such as Japan's Shinto and African traditional religion, focus on invisible beings that represent or connect with plants, animals, or landforms (in Japanese: kami): translators usually employ the English word "spirit" when trying to express the idea of such entities.[19] Compare the concepts of ancestral spirits and of spirit animals.
Chinese culture
Main article: Qi
See also: Hun and po

The traditional Chinese concept of qi is a kind of vital force forming part of any living being. The exact meaning of the term morphed over the course of the development of Chinese philosophy. The literal meaning of the Chinese language term qi (气), like many analogous concepts in other cultures, derives from the word for "breath";[2] this may have been the meaning of the word in the Analects of Confucius.[20]

Gods, especially anthropromorphic gods, are sometimes thought to have qi and be a reflection of the microcosm of qi in humans.[21] Qi also was in natural forces, where it could be controlled by gods and harnessed by magicians.[22]
Jung

According to C. G. Jung (in a lecture delivered to the literary Society of Augsburg, 20 October 1926, on the theme of “Nature and Spirit”):

    The connection between spirit and life is one of those problems involving factors of such complexity that we have to be on our guard lest we ourselves get caught in the net of words in which we seek to ensnare these great enigmas. For how can we bring into the orbit of our thought those limitless complexities of life which we call "Spirit" or "Life" unless we clothe them in verbal concepts, themselves mere counters of the intellect? The mistrust of verbal concepts, inconvenient as it is, nevertheless seems to me to be very much in place in speaking of fundamentals. "Spirit" and "Life" are familiar enough words to us, very old acquaintances in fact, pawns that for thousands of years have been pushed back and forth on the thinker's chessboard. The problem must have begun in the grey dawn of time, when someone made the bewildering discovery that the living breath which left the body of the dying man in the last death-rattle meant more than just air in motion. It can scarcely be an accident onomatopoeic words like ruach (Hebrew), ruch (Arabic), roho (Swahili) mean 'spirit' no less clearly than πνεύμα (pneuma, Greek) and spiritus (Latin).[23]

Islam
Main article: Rūḥ
See also: Dichotomy of soul and spirit in Islamic philosophy

People have frequently conceived of spirit as a supernatural being, or non-physical entity; for example, a demon, ghost, fairy, or angel.[2] In ancient Islamic terminology however, the term spirit (rūḥ), applies only to "pure" spirits, but not to other invisible creatures, such as jinn, demons and angels.[24][need quotation to verify]
Psychical research

Psychical research, "In all the publications of the Society for Psychical Research the term 'spirit' stands for the personal stream of consciousness whatever else it may ultimately be proved to imply or require" (James H. Hyslop, 1919).[25]
Death
Main article: Afterlife

The concepts of spirit and soul often overlap,[26] and some systems propose that both survive bodily death.[27]

In some belief systems, the "spirit" may separate from the body upon death and remain in the world in the form of a ghost, i.e. a manifestation of the spirit of a deceased person." (wikipedia.)

"In many religious and philosophical traditions, the soul is the non-material essence of a person, which includes one's identity, personality, and memories, an immaterial aspect or essence of a living being that is believed to be able to survive physical death. The concept of the soul is generally applied to humans, although it can also be applied to other living or even non-living entities, as in animism.[1]
Etymology

The Modern English noun soul is derived from Old English sāwol, sāwel. The earliest attestations reported in the Oxford English Dictionary are from the 8th century. In King Alfred's translation of De Consolatione Philosophiae, it is used to refer to the immaterial, spiritual, or thinking aspect of a person, as contrasted with the person's physical body; in the Vespasian Psalter 77.50, it means "life" or "animate existence". The Old English word is cognate with other historical Germanic terms for the same idea, including Old Frisian sēle, sēl (which could also mean "salvation", or "solemn oath"), Gothic saiwala, Old High German sēula, sēla, Old Saxon sēola, and Old Norse sāla. Present-day cognates include Dutch ziel and German Seele.[2]
Religious views
In Judaism and in some Christian denominations, only human beings have immortal souls. Although immortality is disputed within Judaism and the concept of immortality was most likely influenced by Plato.[3] For example, Thomas Aquinas, borrowing directly from Aristotle's On the Soul, attributed "soul" (anima) to all organisms but argued that only human souls are immortal.[4] Other religions (most notably Hinduism and Jainism) believe that all living things from the smallest bacterium to the largest of mammals are the souls themselves (Atman and jiva) and have their physical representative (the body) in the world. The actual self is the soul, while the body is only a mechanism to experience the karma of that life. Thus, if one sees a tiger then there is a self-conscious identity residing in it (the soul), and a physical representative (the whole body of the tiger, which is observable) in the world. Many people believe that non-biological things, such as rivers and mountains, also possess souls. This belief is called animism.....Philosophical views

Greek philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, understood that the soul (ψυχή, psykhḗ) must have a logical faculty, the exercise of which was the most divine of human actions. At his defense trial, Socrates even summarized his teachings as nothing other than an exhortation for his fellow Athenians to excel in matters of the psyche since all bodily goods are dependent on such excellence (Apology 30a–b). Aristotle reasoned that a man's body and soul were his matter and form respectively: the body is a collection of elements and the soul is the essence. Soul or psyche (Ancient Greek: ψυχή psykhḗ, of ψύχειν psýkhein, "to breathe", cf. Latin anima) comprises the mental abilities of a living being: reason, character, free will, feeling, consciousness, qualia, memory, perception, thinking, and so on. Depending on the philosophical system, a soul can either be mortal or immortal.[100]

The ancient Greeks used the term "ensouled" to represent the concept of being alive, indicating that the earliest surviving Western philosophical view believed that the soul was that which gave the body life.[101] The soul was considered the incorporeal or spiritual "breath" that animates (from the Latin anima, cf. "animal") the living organism. Francis M. Cornford quotes Pindar by saying that the soul sleeps while the limbs are active, but when one is sleeping, the soul is active and reveals "an award of joy or sorrow drawing near" in dreams.[102] Erwin Rohde writes that an early pre-Pythagorean belief presented the soul as lifeless when it departed the body, and that it retired into Hades with no hope of returning to a body.[103] Plato was the first thinker in antiquity to combine the various functions of the soul into one coherent conception: the soul is that which moves things (i.e., that which gives life, on the view that life is self-motion) by means of its thoughts, requiring that it be both a mover and a thinker....Psychology

Soul belief prominently figures in Otto Rank's work recovering the importance of immortality in the psychology of primitive, classical and modern interest in life and death. Rank's work directly opposed the scientific psychology that concedes the possibility of the soul's existence and postulates it as an object of research without really admitting that it exists. He says: "Just as religion represents a psychological commentary on the social evolution of man, various psychologies represent our current attitudes toward spiritual belief. In the animistic era, psychologizing was a creating of the soul; in the religious era, it was a representing of the soul to one's self; in our era of natural science it is a knowing of the individual soul."[129] Rank's "Seelenglaube" translates to "Soul Belief". Rank's work had a significant influence on Ernest Becker's understanding of a universal interest in immortality. In The Denial of Death, Becker describes "soul" in terms of Søren Kierkegaard use of "self" when he says that "what we call schizophrenia is an attempt by the symbolic self to deny the limitations of the finite body."[130]

    † Kierkegaard's use of "self" may be a bit confusing. He uses it to include
    the symbolic self and the physical body. It is a synonym really for "total
    personality" that goes beyond the person to include what we would now call
    the "soul" or the "ground of being" out of which the created person sprang.

Science

According to Julien Musolino, the scientific consensus holds that the mind is a complex machine that operates on the same physical laws as all other objects in the universe.[131] According to Musolino, there is currently no scientific evidence whatsoever to support the existence of soul.[131] The search for the soul is seen to have been instrumental in driving the understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the human body, particularly in the fields of cardiovascular and neurology.[132] In the two dominant conflicting concepts of the soul – one seeing it to be spiritual and immortal, and the other seeing it to be material and mortal, both have described the soul as being located in a particular organ or as pervading the whole body.[132]
Neuroscience

As an interdisciplinary field and its branch of cognitive neuroscience particularly, neuroscience operates under the ontological assumption of physicalism. In other words, it assumes that only the fundamental phenomena studied by physics exist. Thus, neuroscience seeks to understand mental phenomena within the framework according to which human thought and behavior are caused solely by physical processes taking place inside the brain, and it operates by the way of reductionism by seeking an explanation for the mind in terms of brain activity.[133][134]

To study the mind in terms of the brain, several methods of functional neuroimaging are used to study the neuroanatomical correlates of various cognitive processes that constitute the mind. The evidence from brain-imaging indicates that all processes of the mind have physical correlates in brain function;[135] however, such correlational studies cannot determine whether neural activity plays a causal role in the occurrence of these cognitive processes (correlation does not imply causation) and they cannot determine if the neural activity is either necessary or sufficient for such processes to occur. Identification of causation, and of necessary and sufficient conditions, requires explicit experimental manipulation of that activity. If manipulation of brain activity changes consciousness, then a causal role for that brain activity can be inferred.[136][137]

Two of the most common types of manipulation experiments are loss-of-function and gain-of-function experiments. In a loss-of-function (also called "necessity") experiment, a part of the nervous system is diminished or removed in an attempt to determine if it is necessary for a certain process to occur, and in a gain-of-function (also called "sufficiency") experiment, an aspect of the nervous system is increased relative to normal.[138] Manipulations of brain activity can be performed with direct electrical brain stimulation, magnetic brain stimulation using transcranial magnetic stimulation, psychopharmacological manipulation, optogenetic manipulation, and by studying the symptoms of brain damage (case studies) and lesions. In addition, neuroscientists are also investigating how the mind develops with the development of the brain.[139]
Near-death experience

Neuroscience research hypothesizes that a near-death experience (an NDE) is a subjective phenomenon resulting from "disturbed bodily multisensory integration" that occurs during life-threatening events.[140] Some researchers of near-death experiences consider such a phenomenon as a challenge to the materialist assumptions about the relationship between mind and brain.[141][142] Sam Parnia and others have suggested that a mind that is mediated by, but not produced by, the brain is a possible way to explain NDE.[143][144]
Physics
Physicist Sean M. Carroll has written that the idea of a soul is incompatible with quantum field theory (QFT). He writes that, for a soul to exist, "[n]ot only is new physics required, but dramatically new physics. Within QFT, there can't be a new collection of 'spirit particles' and 'spirit forces' that interact with our regular atoms, because we would have detected them in existing experiments."[145] Quantum indeterminism has been invoked as an explanatory mechanism for possible soul/brain interaction. Neuroscientist Peter Clarke found errors with this viewpoint, observing there is no evidence that such processes play a role in brain function; Clarke concluded that a Cartesian soul has no basis from quantum physics." (wikipedia.)

"Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are purportedly haunted by ghosts. The practice has been heavily criticized for its dismissal of the scientific method. No scientific study has ever been able to confirm the existence of ghosts.[1][2] Ghost hunting is considered a pseudoscience by the vast majority of educators, academics, science writers and skeptics.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Science historian Brian Regal described ghost hunting as "an unorganized exercise in futility".[3]

Typically, a ghost-hunting team will attempt to collect "evidence" supporting the existence of paranormal activity. Ghost hunters also refer to themselves as paranormal investigators.[11] Ghost hunters use a variety of electronic devices, including EMF meters, digital thermometers, both handheld and static digital video cameras, including thermographic and night vision cameras, night vision goggles, and digital audio recorders. Other more traditional techniques are also used, such as conducting interviews and researching the history of allegedly haunted sites.....Belief statistics

According to a survey conducted in October 2008 by the Associated Press and Ipsos, 34 percent of Americans say they believe in the existence of ghosts.[13] Moreover, a Gallup poll conducted on June 6–8, 2005, showed that about one-third (32%) of Americans believe that ghosts exist, with belief declining with age.[40][41] Having surveyed three countries (the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom), the poll also mentioned that more people believe in haunted houses than any of the other paranormal items tested, with 37% of Americans, 28% of Canadians, and 40% of Britons believing.[41][42]

In 2002, the National Science Foundation identified haunted houses, ghosts, and communication with the dead among pseudoscientific beliefs.[4]
Skepticism

Critics question ghost hunting's methodology, particularly its use of instrumentation, as there is no scientifically proven link between the existence of ghosts and cold spots or electromagnetic fields. According to skeptical investigator Joe Nickell, the typical ghost hunter is practicing pseudoscience.[43] Nickell says that ghost hunters often arm themselves with EMF meters, thermometers that can identify cold spots, and wireless microphones that eliminate background noise, pointing out the equipment being used to try to detect ghosts is not designed for the job. "The least likely explanation for any given reading is it is a ghost," maintains Nickell. Orbs of light that show up on photos, he says, are often particles of dust or moisture. "Voices" picked up by tape recorders can be radio signals or noise from the recorder, EMF detectors can be set off by faulty wiring, microwave towers,[13] iron, recording equipment, or cell phones, and heat sensors can pick up reflections off of mirrors or other metal surfaces. Nickell has also criticized the practice of searching only in the dark, saying that since some ghosts are described as "shadows or dark entities," he conducts searches in lighted rather than darkened conditions.[44]

According to investigator Benjamin Radford, most ghost-hunting groups including The Atlantic Paranormal Society make many methodological mistakes. According to Radford, "[a]fter watching episodes of Ghost Hunters and other similar programs, it quickly becomes clear to anyone with a background in science that the methods used are both illogical and unscientific". Anyone can be a ghost investigator, "failing to consider alternative explanations for anomalous… phenomena", considering emotions and feelings as "evidence of ghostly encounters". "Improper and unscientific investigation methods" for example "using unproven tools and equipment", "sampling errors", "ineffectively using recording devices" and "focusing on the history of the location... and not the phenomena". In his article for Skeptical Inquirer Radford concludes that ghost hunters should care about doing a truly scientific investigation: "I believe that if ghosts exist, they are important and deserve to be taken seriously. Most of the efforts to investigate ghosts so far have been badly flawed and unscientific – and, not surprisingly, fruitless."[7]

Although some ghost hunters believe orbs are of supernatural origin, skeptic Brian Dunning says that they are usually particles of dust that are reflected by light when a picture is taken, sometimes it may be bugs or water droplets. He contends that "there are no plausible hypotheses that describe the mechanism by which a person who dies will become a hovering ball of light that appears on film but is invisible to the eye." He does not believe there is any science behind these beliefs; if there were then there would be some kind of discussion of who, what and why this can happen. In his investigations he can not find any "plausible hypothesis" that orbs are anything paranormal.[45]

Science writer Sharon Hill reviewed over 1,000 "amateur research and investigation groups" (ARIGs), writing that "879 identified with the category of 'ghosts'". Hill reports that many groups used the terms "science" or "scientific" when describing themselves; however they overwhelmingly display neither understanding of nor adherence to scientific norms. Hill writes:

    ARIGs often promote their paranormalist viewpoint as scientifically based, especially in community presentations or lectures at educational facilities. While scientifically minded observers can readily spot the anemic and shoddy scholarship of popular paranormal investigation, the public, unaware of the fundamental errors ARIGs make, can be persuaded by jargon and "sciencey" symbols.[46]

Hill sees the supernatural bias of such groups as an indication of how "far removed ARIG participants really are from the established scientific community".[6]

In Hill's 2017 book Scientifical Americans reviewed by historian Brian Regal for Skeptical Inquirer magazine, Regal writes that this is a timely book as it comes during an era when many question science. Regal wonders why believers think that "untutored amateurs know more (and are more trustworthy) than professional scholars". He asks why there is little discussion on "philosophical and theological aspects of their work". For example, the theoretical questions such as "what is a ghost?" and "does one's religion in life determine if they can become a ghost in death?" Hill gives a historiography of the field of "modern paranormal interest: monsters, UFOs, and ghosts." Hill does not insult or ridicule the people she writes about, but explains their stories through case studies. Regal feels that this book will not deter believers in the paranormal, but it is an important part of a "growing literature on amateur paranormal research". Regal states that paranormal researchers are not engaging in scientific discovery but are engaging "blithely in confirmation bias, selective evidence compiling, and the backfire effect while all the time complaining that it is the other side doing it… They, like all of us, are ultimately not searching for ghosts… they are looking for themselves."[47]

Kenny Biddle is the Chief Investigator for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and writes a column for Skeptical Inquirer called A Closer Look (2018–present), on his use of scientific skepticism to investigate paranormal claims, which include ghost photography, ghost hunting equipment and psychic ability. Biddle is a former ghost hunter turned scientific skeptic.[48] In May 2018, Kenny Biddle, a skeptical investigator of paranormal claims, spent a night in the White Hill Mansion in Fieldsboro, New Jersey, along with a group of fellow skeptics. The mansion, built in 1757, has traditionally been visited by many ghost hunting teams who claim to have experienced paranormal activity and communicate with spirits via EVPs while there. According to Biddle, many of the ghost hunters claimed that the EVPs they obtained "were not just random responses; they were direct, intelligent responses to specific questions". To challenge these claims, Biddle's group conducted a controlled experiment: the group recorded audio while asking any spirits in the Mansion to help them in locating a small foam toy hidden somewhere on the premises by a third party. They asked direct questions, but no responses were detected during review of the audio. Biddle subsequently reset the experiment and has offered a prize to ghost hunters for proof of their claim that they can obtain direct answers from spirits via EVP.[49]

Biddle has also criticized what he calls "paranormal gadgets" that are popular with ghost hunters, such as the Ovilus, a device designed to respond to electromagnetic field variations with words from a pre-programmed dictionary, which, according to Popular Mechanics resemble a "demonic Speak & Spell" whose "phrases often sound like they were cherry picked from a John Carpenter flick"....Depiction in media
Television
Ghost Hunters
Main article: Ghost Hunters (TV series)

Ghost Hunters features the activities of a Warwick, Rhode Island, ghost hunting group called The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS). Since 2004, the program has garnered some of the highest ratings of any Syfy network programming, presenting a mix of paranormal investigation and interpersonal drama. It has since been syndicated on NBCUniversal sister cable channel Oxygen and also airs on the Canadian cable network, OLN. In addition to their television venture, TAPS hosts a three-hour weekly radio show called Beyond Reality, operates a website where they share their stories, photographs, and ghost hunting videos with members. TAPS cast members also appear at lectures, conferences and public events.[citation needed]
Ghost Adventures
Main article: Ghost Adventures

Ghost Adventures premiered in 2008 on the Travel Channel. The TV series features ghost hunters Zak Bagans, Nick Groff (seasons 1–10), Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley, and Jay Wasley as they investigate reportedly haunted locations hoping to collect visual or auditory evidence of paranormal activity.[citation needed]
The Haunted Collector
Main article: Haunted Collector

Haunted Collector features a team of paranormal investigators led by demonologist John Zaffis who investigate allegedly haunted locations in hopes of identifying and removing objects they believe can trigger supernatural activity. The objects are transported for eventual display in Zaffis's museum. The series premiered in 2011 on the Syfy cable television channel and was cancelled in 2013.[citation needed]
Films
Poltergeist
Main article: Poltergeist (film series)

Poltergeist is the original film in the Poltergeist trilogy, directed by Tobe Hooper, co-written by Steven Spielberg and released on June 4, 1982. The story focuses on the Freeling family, which consists of Steven (Craig T. Nelson), Diane (JoBeth Williams), Dana (Dominique Dunne), Robbie (Oliver Robins), and Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke), who live in a California housing development called Cuesta Verde, which comes to be haunted by ghosts. The film depicts a group of paranormal investigators, parapsychologists, and a spiritual medium named Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein) in their efforts to assist the family. A reboot of the series, Poltergeist, was directed by Gil Kenan and released on May 22, 2015, that features the host of a paranormal-themed TV show who comes to the aid of the family.[citation needed]
Ghostbusters
Main article: Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters is a 1984 American fantasy comedy film produced and directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler, eccentric parapsychologists who start a ghost-catching business in New York City. Ghostbusters was released in the United States on June 8, 1984, and grossed 242 million USD in the United States and more than 295 million USD worldwide, making it the highest-grossing comedy film of its time. It launched a media franchise, which includes two sequels (Ghostbusters II and Ghostbusters: Afterlife), two animated television series (The Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters), video games, and a 2016 reboot. The Ghostbusters concept was inspired by Aykroyd's fascination with the paranormal.[citation needed]
The Conjuring
Main article: The Conjuring

The Conjuring is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan and written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes. It is the inaugural film in The Conjuring Universe franchise, in which Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Their purportedly real-life exploits inspired The Amityville Horror story and film franchise. In The Conjuring, the Warrens come to the assistance of the Perron family, who experience increasingly disturbing events in their farmhouse in Rhode Island in 1971. The Conjuring was released in the United States and Canada on July 19, 2013, and grossed over 319 million USD worldwide. A sequel, The Conjuring 2, was released on June 10, 2016, and a prequel, Annabelle, directed by John R. Leonetti, written by Gary Dauberman and produced by Peter Safran and James Wan was released in 2014...Tourism
Interest in ghost hunting has driven tourism to historical sites and locations claimed to be haunted. A study published in the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly in 2020 stated that "haunted tourism has allowed attractions like historic house museums as well as abandoned hospitals, schools and prisons 'to remain intact' or bring in the money needed to make necessary improvements".[69][70][71] According to architectural historian Jen Levstik, revenues from haunted tourism can help fund historic preservation, "so long as the tours are also providing historically accurate information related to the property [and] the humanity of the people at those properties, and not just the salacious things that can't be backed up beyond hearsay or rumor." (wikipedia.)

"In parapsychology, an apparitional experience is an anomalous experience characterized by the apparent perception of either a living being or an inanimate object without there being any material stimulus for such a perception.

In academic discussion, the term "apparitional experience" is preferred to the term "ghost" because:

    The term ghost implies that some element of the human being survives death and, at least under certain circumstances, can make itself perceptible to living human beings. There are other competing explanations of apparitional experiences.
    Firsthand accounts of apparitional experiences differ in many respects from their fictional counterparts in literary or traditional ghost stories and films (see below).
    The content of apparitional experiences includes living beings, both human and animal, and even inanimate objects.[1]

History

Attempts to apply modern scientific or investigative standards to the study of apparitional experiences began with the work of Edmund Gurney, Frederic W. H. Myers and Frank Podmore,[2] who were leading figures in the early years of the Society for Psychical Research (founded in 1882). Their motive, as with most of the early work of the Society,[3] was to provide evidence for human survival after death. For this reason they had a particular interest in what are known as "crisis cases". These are cases in which a person reports having a hallucinatory experience, visual or otherwise, which apparently represents someone at a distance, this experience subsequently being considered to have coincided with that person's death, or a significant life event of some kind. If the temporal coincidence of the crisis and the distant apparitional experience cannot be explained by any conventional means, then in parapsychology the presumption is made that some as yet unknown form of communication, such as telepathy (a term coined by Myers[4]) has taken place.

While it may be said that the work of Gurney and his colleagues failed to provide convincing evidence for either telepathy or survival of death, the large collection of firsthand written accounts which resulted from their methods may nevertheless be regarded as providing a valuable body of data concerning the phenomenology of hallucinations in the sane.

A later discussion of apparitional experiences was that of G. N. M. Tyrrell,[5] also a leading member of the Society for Psychical Research of his day. He accepted the hallucinatory character of the experience, pointing out that it is virtually unknown for firsthand accounts to claim that apparitional figures leave any of the normal physical effects, such as footprints in snow, that one would expect of a real person.[6] He develops the idea that the apparition may be a way for the unconscious part of the mind to bring to consciousness information that has been paranormally acquired – in crisis cases, for example. He introduces an evocative metaphor of a mental "stage-carpenter",[7] behind the scenes in the unconscious part of the mind, and constructing the quasi-perceptual experience that eventually appears on the stage of consciousness, so that it embodies paranormal information in a symbolic way, a person drowning at a distance appearing soaked in water, for example.

The study and discussion of apparitions developed in a different direction in the 1970s, with the work of Celia Green and Charles McCreery.[8] They were not primarily interested in the question of whether apparitions could shed any light on the existence or otherwise of telepathy, or in the survival question; instead they were concerned to analyse a large number of cases with a view to providing a taxonomy of the different types of experience, viewed simply as a type of anomalous perceptual experience or hallucination.

One of the points that was highlighted by their work was point (2) listed above, namely that "real-life" accounts of apparitional experiences differ markedly from the traditional or literary ghost story. These are some of the more notable differences, at least as indicated by their own collection of 1800 firsthand accounts:

    Subjects of apparitional experiences are by no means always frightened by the experience; indeed they may find them soothing or reassuring at times of crisis or ongoing stress in their lives.[9]
    Spontaneous apparitional experiences tend to happen in humdrum or everyday surroundings, and under conditions of low central nervous system arousal, most often in the subject's own home – while doing housework, for example. By contrast, subjects who visit reputedly haunted locations in hopes of "seeing a ghost" are more often than not disappointed.[10]
    Apparitions tend to be reported as appearing solid and not transparent; indeed they may be so realistic in a variety of ways as to deceive the percipient as to their hallucinatory nature; in some cases the subject only achieves insight after the experience has ended.[11]
    It is unusual for an apparitional figure to engage in any verbal interaction with the percipient; this is consistent with the finding that the majority of such experiences only involve one sense (most commonly the visual).[12]

Psychological implications
Psychological theories of perception

Apparitional experiences have relevance to psychological theories of perception, and in particular to the distinction between top-down and bottom-up approaches (cf. article on Top-down and bottom-up design). Top-down theories, such as that of Richard Langton Gregory, who conceives of perception as a process whereby the brain makes a series of hypotheses about the external world,[13] stress the importance of central factors such as memory and expectation in determining the phenomenological content of perception; while the bottom-up approach, exemplified by the work of James J. Gibson, emphasises the role of the external sensory stimulus.[14]

Apparitional experiences would seem to lend support to the importance of central factors, since they represent a form of quasi-perceptual experience in which the role of external stimuli is minimal or possibly non-existent, while the experience nevertheless continues to be phenomenologically indistinguishable from normal perception, at least in some cases....Philosophical implications
Direct realism

Apparitional experiences also have implications for the philosophy of perception. The occurrence of hallucinations, that is, perceptual experiences 'having the character of sense perception, but without relevant or adequate sensory stimulation [...]',[19] have long been one of the standard objections to the philosophical theory of direct realism. According to this theory we are in some sense in direct contact with the external world when we seem to be perceiving it, and not merely in direct contact with some mediating representation in our mind, such as a sense-datum or an image, which may or may not correspond to external reality. The psychologist J.J. Gibson, referred to above, became an advocate of the philosophical theory of direct realism.[20]

Hallucinatory experiences reported by sane people do not pose any new problem in principle for the theory of direct realism, other than that posed already by the more widely discussed hallucinations reported by people in a state of psychosis or under other abnormal conditions such as sensory deprivation. They pose the problem in a particularly stark way, for the following reasons:
Scepticism about the status of verbal reports

In the case of hallucinations reported to have occurred in pathological or abnormal states there is some scope for uncertainty about the accuracy, or even the meaning, of the percipient's verbal report. Horowitz,[21] for example, summarising his experience of questioning patients with chronic schizophrenia about their visual experiences during painting sessions, wrote:

'It was necessary to persist beyond initial verbal descriptions of their hallucinations, and insist that the patient describe and draw what he had seen. Initial descriptions of "vicious snakes" might then be drawn and redescribed as wavy lines. "Two armies struggling over my soul" arose from the subjective experience of seeing moving sets of dots. "Spiders" might be reduced, when the patient stated and drew what he actually saw, to a few radiating lines. In drawings of their hallucinations patients could often distinguish between those forms which duplicated what they saw with their eyes from those forms which were what they "made out of it".'[22]

Such difficulties of interpretation are much less obvious in the case of written reports by ostensibly normal subjects, in good health and not medicated at the time of the experience.
Extreme realism of the experience

At least some of the apparitional experiences reported by normal subjects appear to mimic normal perception to such a degree that the subject is deceived into thinking that what they are experiencing actually is normal perception. Similar close mimicking of normal perception is reported by some of the subjects of a lucid dream[23] and out-of-body experiences,[24] which therefore pose similar problems for the theory of direct realism.
Representationalism

Apparitional experiences appear prima facie more compatible with the philosophical theory of representationalism. According to this theory, the immediate objects of experience when we are perceiving the world normally are representations of the world, rather than the world itself. These representations have been variously called sense-data or images. In the case of an apparitional experience one might say that the subject is aware of sense-data or images which happen not to correspond to, or represent, the external world in the normal way.

The philosophical implications of hallucinatory experiences in the sane are discussed by McCreery.[25] He argues that they provide empirical support for the theory of representationalism rather than direct realism." (wikipedia.)

"Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature.[1] The term is derived from Medieval Latin supernaturalis, from Latin super- (above, beyond, or outside of) + natura (nature).[1] Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanings since the ancient world, the term "supernatural" emerged in the Middle Ages[2] and did not exist in the ancient world.[3]

The supernatural is featured in folklore and religious contexts,[4] but can also feature as an explanation in more secular contexts, as in the cases of superstitions or belief in the paranormal.[5] The term is attributed to non-physical entities, such as angels, demons, gods, and spirits. It also includes claimed abilities embodied in or provided by such beings, including magic, telekinesis, levitation, precognition, and extrasensory perception.
Etymology and history of the concept

Occurring as both an adjective and a noun, antecedents of the modern English compound supernatural enter the language from two sources: via Middle French (supernaturel) and directly from the Middle French's term's ancestor, post-Classical Latin (supernaturalis). Post-classical Latin supernaturalis first occurs in the 6th century, composed of the Latin prefix super- and nātūrālis (see nature). The earliest known appearance of the word in the English language occurs in a Middle English translation of Catherine of Siena's Dialogue (orcherd of Syon, around 1425; Þei haue not þanne þe supernaturel lyȝt ne þe liȝt of kunnynge, bycause þei vndirstoden it not).[6]

The semantic value of the term has shifted over the history of its use. Originally the term referred exclusively to Christian understandings of the world. For example, as an adjective, the term can mean "belonging to a realm or system that transcends nature, as that of divine, magical, or ghostly beings; attributed to or thought to reveal some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature; occult, paranormal" or "more than what is natural or ordinary; unnaturally or extraordinarily great; abnormal, extraordinary". Obsolete uses include "of, relating to, or dealing with metaphysics". As a noun, the term can mean "a supernatural being", with a particularly strong history of employment in relation to entities from the mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas.[6]
History of the concept
The ancient world had no word that resembled "supernatural".[3] Dialogues from Neoplatonic philosophy in the third century AD contributed to the development of the concept the supernatural via Christian theology in later centuries.[7] The term nature had existed since antiquity, with Latin authors like Augustine using the word and its cognates at least 600 times in City of God. In the medieval period, "nature" had ten different meanings and "natural" had eleven different meanings.[2] Peter Lombard, a medieval scholastic in the 12th century, asked about causes that are beyond nature, in that how there could be causes that were God's alone. He used the term praeter naturam in his writings.[2] In the scholastic period, Thomas Aquinas classified miracles into three categories: "above nature", "beyond nature", and "against nature". In doing so, he sharpened the distinction between nature and miracles more than the early Church Fathers had done.[2] As a result, he had created a dichotomy of sorts of the natural and supernatural.[7] Though the phrase "supra naturam" was used since the 4th century AD, it was in the 1200s that Thomas Aquinas used the term "supernaturalis" and despite this, the term had to wait until the end of the medieval period before it became more popularly used.[2] The discussions on "nature" from the scholastic period were diverse and unsettled with some postulating that even miracles are natural and that natural magic was a natural part of the world.....Cross cultural studies

Anthropological studies across cultures indicate that people do not hold or use natural and supernatural explanations in a mutually exclusive or dichotomous fashion. Instead, the reconciliation of natural and supernatural explanations is normal and pervasive across cultures.[16] Cross cultural studies indicate that there is coexistence of natural and supernatural explanations in both adults and children for explaining numerous things about the world, such as illness, death, and origins.[17][18] Context and cultural input play a large role in determining when and how individuals incorporate natural and supernatural explanations.[19] The coexistence of natural and supernatural explanations in individuals may be the outcomes two distinct cognitive domains: one concerned with the physical-mechanical relations and another with social relations.[20] Studies on indigenous groups have allowed for insights on how such coexistence of explanations may function.[21]
Supernatural concepts
See also: Religion and Magic and religion
Deity
Main article: Deity

A deity (/ˈdiːəti/ ⓘ or /ˈdeɪ.əti/ ⓘ)[22] is a supernatural being considered divine or sacred.[23] The Oxford Dictionary of English defines deity as "a god or goddess (in a polytheistic religion)", or anything revered as divine.[24] C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater than those of ordinary humans, but who interacts with humans, positively or negatively, in ways that carry humans to new levels of consciousness, beyond the grounded preoccupations of ordinary life."[25] A male deity is a god, while a female deity is a goddess.

Religions can be categorized by how many deities they worship. Monotheistic religions accept only one deity (predominantly referred to as God),[26][27] polytheistic religions accept multiple deities.[28] Henotheistic religions accept one supreme deity without denying other deities, considering them as equivalent aspects of the same divine principle;[29][30] and nontheistic religions deny any supreme eternal creator deity but accept a pantheon of deities which live, die, and are reborn just like any other being.[31]: 35–37 [32]: 357–358

Various cultures have conceptualized a deity differently than a monotheistic God.[33][34] A deity need not be omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, omnibenevolent or eternal,[33][34][35] The monotheistic God, however, does have these attributes.[36][37][38] Monotheistic religions typically refer to God in masculine terms,[39][40]: 96 while other religions refer to their deities in a variety of ways – masculine, feminine, androgynous and gender neutral.[41][42][43]

Historically, many ancient cultures – such as Ancient India, Ancient Egyptian, Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman, Nordic and Asian culture – personified natural phenomena, variously as either their conscious causes or simply their effects, respectively.[44][45][46] Some Avestan and Vedic deities were viewed as ethical concepts.[44][45] In Indian religions, deities have been envisioned as manifesting within the temple of every living being's body, as sensory organs and mind.[47][48][49] Deities have also been envisioned as a form of existence (Saṃsāra) after rebirth, for human beings who gain merit through an ethical life, where they become guardian deities and live blissfully in heaven, but are also subject to death when their merit runs out.[31]: 35–38 [32]: 356–359
Angel

An angel is generally a supernatural being found in various religions and mythologies. In Abrahamic religions and Zoroastrianism, angels are often depicted as benevolent celestial beings who act as intermediaries between God or Heaven and Earth.[50][51] Other roles of angels include protecting and guiding human beings, and carrying out God's tasks.[52] Within Abrahamic religions, angels are often organized into hierarchies, although such rankings may vary between sects in each religion, and are given specific names or titles, such as Gabriel or "Destroying angel". The term "angel" has also been expanded to various notions of spirits or figures found in other religious traditions. The theological study of angels is known as "angelology".

In fine art, angels are usually depicted as having the shape of human beings of extraordinary beauty;[53][54] they are often identified using the symbols of bird wings,[55] halos,[56] and light.
Prophecy
Main article: Prophecy

Prophecy involves a process in which messages are communicated by a god to a prophet. Such messages typically involve inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of divine will concerning the prophet's social world and events to come (compare divine knowledge). Prophecy is not limited to any one culture. It is a common property to all known ancient societies around the world, some more than others. Many systems and rules about prophecy have been proposed over several millennia.
Revelation
Main article: Revelation

In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.

Some religions have religious texts which they view as divinely or supernaturally revealed or inspired. For instance, Orthodox Jews, Christians and Muslims believe that the Torah was received from Yahweh on biblical Mount Sinai.[57][58] Most Christians believe that both the Old Testament and the New Testament were inspired by God. Muslims believe the Quran was revealed by God to Muhammad word by word through the angel Gabriel (Jibril).[59][60] In Hinduism, some Vedas are considered apauruṣeya, "not human compositions", and are supposed to have been directly revealed, and thus are called śruti, "what is heard". Aleister Crowley stated that The Book of the Law had been revealed to him through a higher being that called itself Aiwass.

A revelation communicated by a supernatural entity reported as being present during the event is called a vision. Direct conversations between the recipient and the supernatural entity,[61] or physical marks such as stigmata, have been reported. In rare cases, such as that of Saint Juan Diego, physical artifacts accompany the revelation.[62] The Roman Catholic concept of interior locution includes just an inner voice heard by the recipient.

In the Abrahamic religions, the term is used to refer to the process by which God reveals knowledge of himself, his will, and his divine providence to the world of human beings.[63] In secondary usage, revelation refers to the resulting human knowledge about God, prophecy, and other divine things. Revelation from a supernatural source plays a less important role in some other religious traditions such as Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism.
Reincarnation
Main article: Reincarnation

Reincarnation is the philosophical or religious concept that an aspect of a living being starts a new life in a different physical body or form after each biological death. It is also called rebirth or transmigration, and is a part of the Saṃsāra doctrine of cyclic existence.[64][65] It is a central tenet of all major Indian religions, namely Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism.[65][66][67] The idea of reincarnation is found in many ancient cultures,[68] and a belief in rebirth/metempsychosis was held by Greek historic figures, such as Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato.[69] It is also a common belief of various ancient and modern religions such as Spiritism, Theosophy, and Eckankar, and as an esoteric belief in many streams of Orthodox Judaism. It is found as well in many tribal societies around the world, in places such as Australia, East Asia, Siberia, and South America.[70]

Although the majority of denominations within Christianity and Islam do not believe that individuals reincarnate, particular groups within these religions do refer to reincarnation; these groups include the mainstream historical and contemporary followers of Cathars, Alawites, the Druze,[71] and the Rosicrucians.[72] The historical relations between these sects and the beliefs about reincarnation that were characteristic of Neoplatonism, Orphism, Hermeticism, Manicheanism, and Gnosticism of the Roman era as well as the Indian religions have been the subject of recent scholarly research.[73] Unity Church and its founder Charles Fillmore teaches reincarnation.

In recent decades, many Europeans and North Americans have developed an interest in reincarnation,[74] and many contemporary works mention it.
Karma
Main article: Karma

Karma (/ˈkɑːrmə/; Sanskrit: कर्म, romanized: karma, IPA: [ˈkɐɽmɐ] ⓘ; Pali: kamma) means action, work or deed;[75] it also refers to the spiritual principle of cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect).[76] Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and future suffering.[77][78]

With origins in ancient India's Vedic civilization, the philosophy of karma is closely associated with the idea of rebirth in many schools of Indian religions (particularly Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism[79]) as well as Taoism.[80] In these schools, karma in the present affects one's future in the current life, as well as the nature and quality of future lives – one's saṃsāra.[81][82]
Christian theology
Main article: Supernatural order

In Catholic theology, the supernatural order is, according to New Advent, defined as "the ensemble of effects exceeding the powers of the created universe and gratuitously produced by God for the purpose of raising the rational creature above its native sphere to a God-like life and destiny."[84] The Modern Catholic Dictionary defines it as "the sum total of heavenly destiny and all the divinely established means of reaching that destiny, which surpass the mere powers and capacities of human nature."[85]
Process theology
Main article: Process theology

Process theology is a school of thought influenced by the metaphysical process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) and further developed by Charles Hartshorne (1897–2000).

    It is not possible, in process metaphysics, to conceive divine activity as a "supernatural" intervention into the "natural" order of events. Process theists usually regard the distinction between the supernatural and the natural as a by-product of the doctrine of creation ex nihilo. In process thought, there is no such thing as a realm of the natural in contrast to that which is supernatural. On the other hand, if "the natural" is defined more neutrally as "what is in the nature of things," then process metaphysics characterizes the natural as the creative activity of actual entities. In Whitehead's words, "It lies in the nature of things that the many enter into complex unity" (Whitehead 1978, 21). It is tempting to emphasize process theism's denial of the supernatural and thereby highlight that the processed God cannot do in comparison what the traditional God could do (that is, to bring something from nothing). In fairness, however, equal stress should be placed on process theism's denial of the natural (as traditionally conceived) so that one may highlight what the creatures cannot do, in traditional theism, in comparison to what they can do in process metaphysics (that is, to be part creators of the world with God).[86]
    — Donald Viney, "Process Theism" in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Heaven
Main article: Heaven

Heaven, or the heavens, is a common religious, cosmological, or transcendent place where beings such as gods, angels, spirits, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or live. According to the beliefs of some religions, heavenly beings can descend to Earth or incarnate, and earthly beings can ascend to heaven in the afterlife, or in exceptional cases enter heaven alive.

Heaven is often described as a "higher place", the holiest place, a Paradise, in contrast to hell or the Underworld or the "low places", and universally or conditionally accessible by earthly beings according to various standards of divinity, goodness, piety, faith, or other virtues or right beliefs or simply the will of God. Some believe in the possibility of a heaven on Earth in a world to come.

Another belief is in an axis mundi or world tree which connects the heavens, the terrestrial world, and the underworld. In Indian religions, heaven is considered as Svarga loka,[87] and the soul is again subjected to rebirth in different living forms according to its karma. This cycle can be broken after a soul achieves Moksha or Nirvana. Any place of existence, either of humans, souls or deities, outside the tangible world (Heaven, Hell, or other) is referred to as otherworld.
Underworld
Main article: Underworld

The underworld is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions, located below the world of the living.[88] Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld.

The concept of an underworld is found in almost every civilization and "may be as old as humanity itself".[89] Common features of underworld myths are accounts of living people making journeys to the underworld, often for some heroic purpose. Other myths reinforce traditions that entrance of souls to the underworld requires a proper observation of ceremony, such as the ancient Greek story of the recently dead Patroclus haunting Achilles until his body could be properly buried for this purpose.[90] Persons having social status were dressed and equipped in order to better navigate the underworld.[91]

A number of mythologies incorporate the concept of the soul of the deceased making its own journey to the underworld, with the dead needing to be taken across a defining obstacle such as a lake or a river to reach this destination.[92] Imagery of such journeys can be found in both ancient and modern art. The descent to the underworld has been described as "the single most important myth for Modernist authors".[93]
Spirit
Main articles: Spirit (animating force) and Spirit (supernatural entity)

A spirit is a supernatural being, often but not exclusively a non-physical entity; such as a ghost, fairy, jinn, or angel.[94] The concepts of a person's spirit and soul, often also overlap, as both are either contrasted with or given ontological priority over the body and both are believed to survive bodily death in some religions,[95] and "spirit" can also have the sense of "ghost", i.e. a manifestation of the spirit of a deceased person. In English Bibles, "the Spirit" (with a capital "S"), specifically denotes the Holy Spirit.

Spirit is often used metaphysically to refer to the consciousness or personality.

Historically, it was also used to refer to a "subtle" as opposed to "gross" material substance, as in the famous last paragraph of Sir Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica.[96]
Demon
Main article: Demon

A demon (from Koine Greek δαιμόνιον daimónion) is a supernatural and often malevolent being prevalent in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology and folklore.

In Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered a harmful spiritual entity, below the heavenly planes[97] which may cause demonic possession, calling for an exorcism. In Western occultism and Renaissance magic, which grew out of an amalgamation of Greco-Roman magic, Jewish Aggadah and Christian demonology,[98] a demon is believed to be a spiritual entity that may be conjured and controlled.
Magic
Main article: Magic (supernatural)

Magic or sorcery is the use of rituals, symbols, actions, gestures, or language with the aim of utilizing supernatural forces.[99][100]: 6–7 [101][102]: 24 Belief in and practice of magic has been present since the earliest human cultures and continues to have an important spiritual, religious, and medicinal role in many cultures today. The term magic has a variety of meanings, and there is no widely agreed upon definition of what it is.

Scholars of religion have defined magic in different ways. One approach, associated with the anthropologists Edward Tylor and James G. Frazer, suggests that magic and science are opposites. An alternative approach, associated with the sociologists Marcel Mauss and Emile Durkheim, argues that magic takes place in private, while religion is a communal and organised activity. Many scholars of religion have rejected the utility of the term magic and it has become increasingly unpopular within scholarship since the 1990s.

The term magic comes from the Old Persian magu, a word that applied to a form of religious functionary about which little is known. During the late sixth and early fifth centuries BC, this term was adopted into Ancient Greek, where it was used with negative connotations, to apply to religious rites that were regarded as fraudulent, unconventional, and dangerous. This meaning of the term was then adopted by Latin in the first century BC. The concept was then incorporated into Christian theology during the first century AD, where magic was associated with demons and thus defined against religion. This concept was pervasive throughout the Middle Ages, although in the early modern period Italian humanists reinterpreted the term in a positive sense to establish the idea of natural magic. Both negative and positive understandings of the term were retained in Western culture over the following centuries, with the former largely influencing early academic usages of the word.

Throughout history, there have been examples of individuals who practiced magic and referred to themselves as magicians. This trend has proliferated in the modern period, with a growing number of magicians appearing within the esoteric milieu.[not verified in body] British esotericist Aleister Crowley described magic as the art of effecting change in accordance with will.
Divination
Main article: Divination

Divination (from Latin divinare "to foresee, to be inspired by a god",[103] related to divinus, divine) is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual.[104] Used in various forms throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency.[105]

Divination can be seen as a systematic method with which to organize what appear to be disjointed, random facets of existence such that they provide insight into a problem at hand. If a distinction is to be made between divination and fortune-telling, divination has a more formal or ritualistic element and often contains a more social character, usually in a religious context, as seen in traditional African medicine. Fortune-telling, on the other hand, is a more everyday practice for personal purposes. Particular divination methods vary by culture and religion.

Divination is dismissed by the scientific community and skeptics as being superstition.[106][107] In the 2nd century, Lucian devoted a witty essay to the career of a charlatan, "Alexander the false prophet", trained by "one of those who advertise enchantments, miraculous incantations, charms for your love-affairs, visitations for your enemies, disclosures of buried treasure, and successions to estates".[108]
Witchcraft
Main article: Witchcraft

Witchcraft or witchery broadly means the practice of and belief in magical skills and abilities exercised by solitary practitioners and groups. Witchcraft is a broad term that varies culturally and societally, and thus can be difficult to define with precision,[109] and cross-cultural assumptions about the meaning or significance of the term should be applied with caution. Witchcraft often occupies a religious divinatory or medicinal role,[110] and is often present within societies and groups whose cultural framework includes a magical world view.[109]
Miracle
Main article: Miracle

A miracle is an event not explicable by natural or scientific laws.[111] Such an event may be attributed to a supernatural being (a deity), a miracle worker, a saint or a religious leader.

Informally, the word "miracle" is often used to characterise any beneficial event that is statistically unlikely but not contrary to the laws of nature, such as surviving a natural disaster, or simply a "wonderful" occurrence, regardless of likelihood, such as a birth. Other such miracles might be: survival of an illness diagnosed as terminal, escaping a life-threatening situation or 'beating the odds'. Some coincidences may be seen as miracles.[112]

A true miracle would, by definition, be a non-natural phenomenon, leading many rational and scientific thinkers to dismiss them as physically impossible (that is, requiring violation of established laws of physics within their domain of validity) or impossible to confirm by their nature (because all possible physical mechanisms can never be ruled out). The former position is expressed for instance by Thomas Jefferson and the latter by David Hume. Theologians typically say that, with divine providence, God regularly works through nature yet, as a creator, is free to work without, above, or against it as well. The possibility and probability of miracles are then equal to the possibility and probability of the existence of God.[113]
Skepticism
Main article: Skepticism

Skepticism (American English) or scepticism (British English; see spelling differences) is generally any questioning attitude or doubt towards one or more items of putative knowledge or belief.[114][115] It is often directed at domains such as the supernatural, morality (moral skepticism), religion (skepticism about the existence of God), or knowledge (skepticism about the possibility of knowledge, or of certainty).[116]
In fiction and popular culture
Main article: Supernatural fiction

Supernatural entities and powers are common in various works of fantasy. Examples include the television shows Supernatural and The X-Files, the magic of the Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings series, The Wheel of Time series and A Song of Ice and Fire series." (wikipedia.)

"A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them.[1][2] The "ghost" may appear of its own accord or be summoned by magic. Linked to the ghost is the idea of a "haunting", where a supernatural entity is tied to a place, object or person.[1] Ghost stories are commonly examples of ghostlore.

Colloquially, the term "ghost story" can refer to any kind of scary story. In a narrower sense, the ghost story has been developed as a short story format, within genre fiction. It is a form of supernatural fiction and specifically of weird fiction, and is often a horror story.

While ghost stories are often explicitly meant to scare, they have been written to serve all sorts of purposes, from comedy to morality tales. Ghosts often appear in the narrative as sentinels or prophets of things to come.[1]
History

A widespread belief concerning ghosts is that they are composed of a misty, airy, or subtle material. Anthropologists link this idea to early beliefs that ghosts were the person within the person (the person's spirit), most noticeable in ancient cultures as a person's breath, which upon exhaling in colder climates appears visibly as a white mist.[3] Belief in ghosts is found in all cultures around the world, and thus ghost stories may be passed down orally or in written form.[1]

The campfire story, a form of oral storytelling, often involves recounting ghost stories, or other scary stories.[4] Some of the stories are decades old, with varying versions across multiple cultures.[5] Many schools and educational institutions encourage ghost storytelling as part of literature.[6]

In 1929, five key features of the English ghost story were identified in "Some Remarks on Ghost Stories" by M. R. James. As summarized by Frank Coffman for a course in popular imaginative literature, they were:[7]

    The pretense of truth
    "A pleasing terror"
    No gratuitous bloodshed or sex
    No "explanation of the machinery"
    Setting: "those of the writer's (and reader's) own day"

The introduction of pulp magazines in the early 1900s created new avenues for ghost stories to be published, and they also began to appear in publications such as Good Housekeeping and The New Yorker.[8]
Literature
Early examples

Ghosts in the classical world often appeared in the form of vapor or smoke, but at other times they were described as being substantial, appearing as they had been at the time of death, complete with the wounds that killed them.[9] Spirits of the dead appear in literature as early as Homer's Odyssey, which features a journey to the underworld and the hero encountering the ghosts of the dead,[1] as well as the Old Testament in which the Witch of Endor calls the spirit of the prophet Samuel.[1]

The play Mostellaria, by the Roman playwright Plautus, is the earliest known work to feature a haunted dwelling, and is sometimes translated as The Haunted House.[10] Another early account of a haunted place comes from an account by Pliny the Younger (c. 50 AD).[11] Pliny describes the haunting of a house in Athens by a ghost bound in chains, an archetype that would become familiar in later literature.[1]

Ghosts often appeared in the tragedies of the Roman writer Seneca, who would later influence the revival of tragedy on the Renaissance stage, particularly Thomas Kyd and Shakespeare.[12]

The One Thousand and One Nights, sometimes known as Arabian Nights, contains a number of ghost stories, often involving jinn (also spelled as djinn), ghouls and corpses.[13][14] In particular, the tale of "Ali the Cairene and the Haunted House in Baghdad" revolves around a house haunted by jinns.[13] Other medieval Arabic literature, such as the Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity, also contain ghost stories.[15]

The 11th century Japanese work The Tale of Genji contains ghost stories, and includes characters being possessed by spirits...."Golden Age of the Ghost Story"

Historian of the ghost story Jack Sullivan has noted that many literary critics argue a "Golden Age of the Ghost Story" existed between the decline of the Gothic novel in the 1830s and the start of the First World War.[24] Sullivan argues that the work of Edgar Allan Poe and Sheridan Le Fanu inaugurated this "Golden Age".[24]

Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu was one of the most influential writers of ghost stories. Le Fanu's collections, such as In a Glass Darkly (1872) and The Purcell Papers (1880), helped popularise the short story as a medium for ghost fiction.[25] Charlotte Riddell, who wrote fiction as Mrs. J. H. Riddell, created ghost stories which were noted for adept use of the haunted house theme.[26]
19th-century etching by John Leech of the Ghost of Christmas Present as depicted in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol

The "classic" ghost story arose during the Victorian period, and included authors such as M. R. James, Sheridan Le Fanu, Violet Hunt, and Henry James. Classic ghost stories were influenced by the gothic fiction tradition, and contain elements of folklore and psychology. M. R. James summed up the essential elements of a ghost story as, "Malevolence and terror, the glare of evil faces, 'the stony grin of unearthly malice', pursuing forms in darkness, and 'long-drawn, distant screams', are all in place, and so is a modicum of blood, shed with deliberation and carefully husbanded ...".[27]

Famous literary apparitions from the Victorian period are the ghosts of A Christmas Carol, in which Ebenezer Scrooge is helped to see the error of his ways by the ghost of his former colleague Jacob Marley, and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come. In a precursor to A Christmas Carol Dickens published "The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton".[28] Dickens also wrote "The Signal-Man", another work featuring a ghost.
Jamesian style

David Langford has described British author M. R. James as writing "the 20th century's most influential canon of ghost stories".[29] James perfected a method of story-telling which has since become known as Jamesian, which involved abandoning many of the traditional Gothic elements of his predecessors. The classic Jamesian tale usually includes the following elements:

    a characterful setting in an English village, seaside town or country estate; an ancient town in France, Denmark or Sweden; or a venerable abbey or university
    a nondescript and rather naïve gentleman-scholar as protagonist (often of a reserved nature)
    the discovery of an old book or other antiquarian object that somehow unlocks, calls down the wrath, or at least attracts the unwelcome attention of a supernatural menace, usually from beyond the grave

According to James, the story must "put the reader into the position of saying to himself, 'If I'm not very careful, something of this kind may happen to me!'"[30] He also perfected the technique of narrating supernatural events through implication and suggestion, letting his reader fill in the blanks, and focusing on the mundane details of his settings and characters in order to throw the horrific and bizarre elements into greater relief. He summed up his approach in his foreword to the anthology Ghosts and Marvels (Oxford, 1924): "Two ingredients most valuable in the concocting of a ghost story are, to me, the atmosphere and the nicely managed crescendo. ... Let us, then, be introduced to the actors in a placid way; let us see them going about their ordinary business, undisturbed by forebodings, pleased with their surroundings; and into this calm environment let the ominous thing put out its head, unobtrusively at first, and then more insistently, until it holds the stage."

Another aspect James considered a requisite was "that the ghost should be malevolent or odious: amiable and helpful apparitions are all very well in fairy tales or in local legends, but I have no use for them in a fictitious ghost story."[30]

Despite his suggestion in the essay "Stories I Have Tried to Write" that writers employ reticence in their work, many of James's tales depict scenes and images of savage and often disturbing violence.[31]
19th-century American writers

Influenced by British and German examples, American writers began to produce their own ghost stories. Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820), based on an earlier German folktale, features a Headless Horseman. It has been adapted for film and television many times, such as Sleepy Hollow, a successful 1999 feature film.[32] Irving also wrote "The Adventure of the German Student"[22] and Edgar Allan Poe wrote some stories which contain ghosts, such as "The Masque of the Red Death" and "Morella".[22]

In the later 19th century, mainstream American writers such as Edith Wharton, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman[33] and F. Marion Crawford[34] all wrote ghost fiction. Henry James also wrote ghost stories, including "The Jolly Corner" and The Turn of the Screw.[1] The Turn of the Screw, his most famous ghost story, has appeared in a number of adaptations, notably a film, The Innocents, and an opera, Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw.

The introduction of pulp magazines in the early 1900s created new avenues for ghost stories to be published, and they also began to appear in publications such as Good Housekeeping and The New Yorker.[8]
Comedies and operas

Oscar Telgmann's opera Leo, the Royal Cadet (1885) includes "Judge's Song" about a ghost at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario.[35]

Oscar Wilde's comic short story "The Canterville Ghost" (1887) has been adapted for film and television on several occasions.

In the United States, prior to and during the First World War, folklorists Olive Dame Campbell and Cecil Sharp collected ballads from the people of the Appalachian Mountains, which included ghostly themes such as "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter", "The Suffolk Miracle", "The Unquiet Grave" and "The Wife of Usher's Well". The theme of these ballads was often the return of a dead lover. These songs were variants of traditional British ballads handed down by generations of mountaineers descended from the people of the Anglo-Scottish border region.[36]
Psychological horror

In the Edwardian era, Algernon Blackwood (who combined the ghost story with nature mysticism),[24] Oliver Onions (whose ghost stories drew on psychological horror),[24] and William Hope Hodgson (whose ghost tales also contained elements of the sea story and science fiction) helped move the ghost story in new directions.[24]
Kaidan
Main article: Kaidan

Kaidan (怪談), which literally means "supernatural tale"[37] or "weird tale",[38] is a form of Japanese ghost story.[37] Kaidan entered the vernacular when a game called Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai became popular in the Edo period. The popularity of the game, as well as the acquisition of a printing press, led to the creation of a literary genre called Kaidanshu. Kaidan are not always horror stories, they can "be funny, or strange, or just telling about an odd thing that happened one time".[38]

Lafcadio Hearn published Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things in 1904 as a collection of Japanese ghost stories which was also adapted into a film.[39] The book "is seen as the first introduction of Japanese superstition to European and American audiences".[37]
Modern era (1920 onward)

Ghost Stories magazine, which contained almost nothing but ghost stories, was published from 1926 to 1932.

Beginning in the 1940s, Fritz Leiber wrote ghost tales set in modern industrial settings, such as "Smoke Ghost" (1941) and "A Bit of the Dark World" (1962).[40] Shirley Jackson made an important contribution to ghost fiction with her novel The Haunting of Hill House (1959).[1][41]

A noted modern British writer of ghost fiction is Ramsey Campbell.[42] Susan Hill also produced The Woman in Black (1983), a ghost novel that has been adapted for stage, television and film.[2]

Noël Coward's play Blithe Spirit, later made into a 1945 film, places a more humorous slant on the phenomenon of haunting of individuals and specific locations.
Film
Main article: List of ghost films

During the late 1890s the depiction of ghost and supernatural events appear in films. With the advent of motion pictures and television, screen depictions of ghosts became common, and spanned a variety of genres. The works of Shakespeare, Dickens and Wilde have all been made into cinematic versions, as well as adaptations of other playwrights and novelists. One of the well known short films was Haunted Castle directed by Georges Méliès in 1896. It is also considered as the first silent short film depicting ghost and supernatural events.[43]

In 1926 the novel Topper by Thorne Smith was published, which created the modern American ghost. When the novel was adapted into the 1937 movie Topper, it initiated a new film genre and would also influence television.[44] After the second World War, sentimental depictions of ghosts had become more popular in cinema than horror, and include the 1947 film The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, which was later adapted to television with a successful 1968–70 TV series.[21] Genuine psychological horror films from this period include 1944's The Uninvited, and 1945's Dead of Night. The film Blithe Spirit, based on a play by Noël Coward, was also produced in this period.[45] 1963 saw one of the first major adaptations of a ghost novel, The Haunting, based on the well known novel The Haunting of Hill House.[21]

The 1970s saw screen depictions of ghosts diverge into distinct genres of the romantic and horror. A common theme in the romantic genre from this period is the ghost as a benign guide or messenger, often with unfinished business, such as 1989's Field of Dreams, the 1990 film Ghost, and the 1993 comedy Heart and Souls.[46] In the horror genre, 1980's The Fog, and the A Nightmare on Elm Street series of films from the 1980s and 1990s are notable examples of the trend for the merging of ghost stories with scenes of physical violence.[21] The 1990s saw a return to classic "gothic" ghosts, whose dangers were more psychological than physical. Examples of films are comedy and mystery from this period include 1984's Ghostbusters, 1999's The Sixth Sense and The Others. The 1990s also saw a lighthearted adaptation of the children's character Casper the Friendly Ghost, originally popular in cartoon form in the 1950s and early 1960s, in the feature film Casper.

Asian cinema has also produced horror films about ghosts, such as the 1998 Japanese film Ringu (remade in the US as The Ring in 2002), and the Pang brothers' 2002 film The Eye.[47] Indian ghost movies are popular not just in India, but in the Middle East, Africa, South East Asia and other parts of the world. Some Indian ghost movies such as the comedy / horror film Manichitrathazhu have been commercial successes, dubbed into several languages.[48] Generally the films are based on the experiences of modern people who are unexpectedly exposed to ghosts, and usually draw on traditional Indian literature or folklore. In some cases the Indian films are remakes of western films, such as Anjaane, based on Alejandro Amenábar's ghost story The Others.[49]
Television

In fictional television programming, ghosts have been explored in series such as Ghost Whisperer, Medium, Supernatural, the television series adaptation of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased). In animated fictional television programming, ghosts have served as the central element in series such as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Danny Phantom, and Scooby-Doo, as well as minor roles in various other television shows.[which?]

Popularized in part by the 1984 comedy franchise Ghostbusters, ghost hunting has been popularized as a hobby wherein reportedly haunted places are explored. The ghost hunting theme has been featured in paranormal reality television series, such as A Haunting, Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters International, Ghost Lab, and Most Haunted. It is also represented in children's television by such programs as The Ghost Hunter based on the book series of the same name and Ghost Trackers.[50]

The Indian television series Aahat featured ghost and supernatural stories written by B. P. Singh. It was first aired on 5 October 1995 and ran for more than a decade, ending on 25 November 2010 with more than 450 episodes." (wikipedia.)

"In works of art, the adjective macabre (US: /məˈkɑːb/ or UK: /məˈkɑːbrə/; French: [makabʁ]) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in nature....Etymology

The etymology of the word "macabre" is uncertain. According to Gaston Paris, French scholar of Romance studies, it first occurs in the form "macabree" in a poem, Respit de la mort (1376), written by the medieval Burgundian chronicler Jean Le Fèvre de Saint-Remy:[5]

    Je fis de Macabree la dance,
    Qui toute gent maine a sa trace
    Et a la fosse les adresse.[5]

The more usual explanation is based on the Latin name, Machabaeorum chorea ("Dance of the Maccabees"). The seven tortured brothers, with their mother and Eleazar (2 Maccabees 6 and 7) are prominent figures in the dramatic dialogues.[6] Other connections have been suggested, as for example with St. Macarius the Great, an Egyptian Coptic monk and hermit who is to be identified with the figure pointing to the decaying corpses in the fresco Trionfo della Morte ("Triumph of Death") painted by the Italian Renaissance artist Buonamico Buffalmacco, according to the Italian art historian Giorgio Vasari;[citation needed] or with the Arabic word maqābir (مقابر, plural of maqbara) which means "cemeteries".[citation needed] A related suggestion has been made that the word originates in Hebrew mqbr meaning "from the grave". " (wikipedia.)

"Ghostlore is an intricate web of traditional beliefs and folklore surrounding ghosts and hauntings. Ghostlore has ingrained itself in the cultural fabric of societies worldwide. Defined by narratives often featuring apparitions of the deceased, ghostlore stands as a universal phenomenon, with roots extending deeply into human history.

The term "ghost" eludes a singular definition, its meaning has evolving across cultures, shaped by various interpretations rooted in religious beliefs, folklore, and historical context. From benevolent spirits to malevolent entities, these stories reflect the fears, values, and traditions of societies throughout time.
History

The first known recorded story to feature a haunted house is often regarded by folklore scholars as Mostellaria, (by the Roman author Plautus) which itself is believed to be an adaptation of a lost ghost story named Phasma written by the Athenian poet Philemon.[1][2] Several centuries later, in the writings of Pliny the Younger, can be found the second-oldest mention of a haunted house in which the philosopher Athenodorus helps lay the bones of a restless spirit to rest.[2][3]

The origins of ghostlore can be traced back to ancient beliefs in the afterlife and the existence of spirits. Many ancient cultures, such as the Egyptians and Greeks, believed in the concept of the soul and an afterlife.[4][5] The Greeks, for example, believed that the soul would be judged after death and either sent to a peaceful afterlife or punished in the underworld.[5]

During the Middle Ages, ghost stories often centered around the idea of restless spirits who were unable to find peace in the afterlife.[6] These spirits were often thought to be the souls of people who had been wronged in life or who had died violent deaths.[6] They were believed to linger in the physical world, haunting the living and seeking revenge on those who had wronged them. These stories were often used to teach moral lessons, with ghosts serving as a warning against bad behavior and the consequences of sin.[6]

Ghostlore continued to evolve during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, as scientific and rational thought began to challenge traditional beliefs in the supernatural.[7][8]

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, interest in the paranormal and spiritualism grew, with many people believing in the existence of ghosts and the possibility of communicating with the dead.[9][10] This led to an increase in ghost stories and other paranormal phenomena, and many people became fascinated with the idea of ghosts and hauntings.

Today, ghostlore remains a popular subject in literature, film, and other forms of media. While scientific explanations for ghosts and hauntings have become more widespread, many people still believe in the existence of ghosts and continue to share ghost stories and legends.[11]
Types of ghosts

Ghosts are a common element of many cultures and traditions around the world, and they come in many different forms.[12] Here are a few of the most common types of ghosts found in ghostlore:

    Vengeful Ghosts: These are ghosts that are believed to have died under unjust or violent circumstances and seek revenge on the living. They are often associated with murder victims, soldiers killed in battle, or people who were wronged in life.
    Friendly Ghosts: In contrast to vengeful ghosts, friendly ghosts are believed to be helpful or benevolent spirits that can offer protection or guidance to the living. These ghosts are often associated with deceased loved ones or ancestors who continue to watch over their families.
    Poltergeists: Poltergeists are ghosts that are believed to be responsible for physical disturbances in a home or other location, such as moving objects or loud noises. They are often depicted as mischievous or malevolent spirits.
    Ghosts of Ancestors: In many cultures, it is believed that the spirits of deceased ancestors continue to play a role in the lives of their living descendants. These ghosts are often honored with offerings or prayers and are believed to provide guidance and protection to their families.
    Ghosts of Children: The spirits of deceased children are often depicted as ghosts in many cultures and are sometimes believed to be especially potent or powerful. In some cases, they are seen as innocent and benevolent beings that bring good luck, while in others they are feared as vengeful or malevolent spirits.
    Ghostly Animals: In some cultures, it is believed that animals can also become ghosts. These ghosts are often associated with the spirits of beloved pets or with animals that played an important role in a community's history or mythology.

Around the world
Scotland
See also: Ghosts in English-speaking cultures

The Green Lady is a reoccurring character in many Scottish folktales.[13] This folklore character is often associated with the many castles dotting the countryside. Examples of the green ladies include the Green Lady of Fyvie, Green Lady of Ashintully Castle, Green Lady of Ballindalloch Castle, Green Lady of the Barony of Ladyland, Green Lady of Crathes Castle, and the Green Lady of Knock Castle. The origin of the green lady appears to stem from the Glaistig, which is a type of fuath from Scottish mythology. The Green Lady varies from story to story, in some stories she may act as a type of guardian angel, but in others she takes on the form of a vengeful spirit.[14]
Ireland
The Banshee Appears (1862)

The Banshee is one of the most well known spirits in Irish folklore.[15] Within these folktales, hearing a banshee's scream is viewed to portend the death of a family member. The banshee's description changes significantly depending on the folktale, with the only consistent details generally being that the banshee is the spirit of a woman with long flowing hair who can be heard loudly keening in the countryside.[16] In some variations of the tale the banshee is thought to be the spirit of a murdered woman or a mother who died in childbirth. The Scottish Bean Nighe is specifically the banshee of a woman who died during childbirth.[17] The banshee is often depicted accompanying the death coach in European folklore.[18]
Faroe islands

The huldufólk are a race of fairies or elves who are said to live in the mountains, hills, and rocks of the Faroes. They are said to be similar in appearance to humans, but they are much smaller and have pale skin and long, dark hair. The huldufólk are generally benevolent creatures, but they can be mischievous if they are angered.[19] The Huldufólk are an important part of Faroese folklore and culture. They are often featured in stories and legends, and they are said to be real by many Faroese people. The Huldufólk are seen as a symbol of the Faroe Islands' natural beauty and isolation.[19] To many they are also seen as a reminder of the importance of respecting nature and living in harmony with the environment.[19]
India

India is a land of diverse cultural and religious traditions, and ghostlore has been an integral part of the country's folklore and mythology for centuries.[20][21] The concept of ghosts, or bhootas, is deeply rooted in Indian culture, and they are often depicted as malevolent spirits that haunt specific locations or individuals.[22][23] The various cultural practices, such as veneration of ancestors, have played a significant role in shaping Indian ghostlore.[24]
Latin America
See also: Ghosts in Mexican culture

In almost every Latin American country, you can find stories about the Sihuanaba, or horse-faced women.[25] The Sihuanaba is said to lead unfaithful men into dangerous situations. Variations of the story exist, but in almost all of them, the spirit is a type of shapeshifter who exclusively preys on men. Name variations include Cihuanaba, Ciguanaba, and Ciguapa.

La Llorona, or The Wailer, is an extremely widespread folklore story within Latin American countries.[26] Many different versions of the La Llorona story exist, but generally they focus on the spirit's intense grief for her lost children.[27]
Ethiopia

One of the most famous ghosts in Ethiopian folklore is the Zār which is a type of spirit or demon that is said to possess women. In Ethiopian culture, the Zar is believed to be the cause of many physical and mental illnesses, and people who are believed to be possessed by a Zar are often taken to religious healers for treatment.[28]
China
See also: Ghosts in Chinese culture and List of reportedly haunted locations in China

'鬼' (Mandarin pinyin: guǐ) is the general Chinese term for ghost which itself is a derivative of the verb "wei 威", which means "awe inspiring".[29] Belief in ghosts in China is widespread and is often closely associated with ancestor worship.[30] Ghosts have been the subject of censorship in China at various times.[31][29]
United States

Resurrection Mary, a "vanishing hitchhiker" is considered to be Chicago's most famous ghost.[32] Some ghost stories in Alabama can be traced to the folklore of the Choctaw. As many of the state's early settlers were of Scotch-Irish heritage, their tales contain a number of European motifs. According to Jones, ghostlore is more prominent in rural areas. New York state's ghostlore is most readily found the state's earliest settled region: either side of the Hudson River from Newburgh to Troy, and along the Mohawk Valley from Cohoes to Utica. Jones argues that "[f]or ghostlore to thrive one needs a section that has been settled for a considerable length of time, where the houses are old, and at least a fair share of the population is permanent."[33]
Nigeria

Nigeria has a rich cultural heritage that includes a vast array of ghost stories and beliefs. In Nigerian culture, ghosts are considered as a manifestation of the spirit world and are often believed to have a significant impact on the living. Ghost stories in Nigeria vary from region to region and are influenced by the diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds of its people. Many of these stories reflect the fears, values, and traditions of the Nigerian people. One of the most well-known Nigerian ghost stories is that of the Abiku,[34] a malevolent spirit that is said to be responsible for the repeated deaths of a family's newborn children.[34] The Abiku is believed to be a restless and mischievous spirit that enjoys tormenting families.[34] To prevent an Abiku from returning, families will sometimes resort to extreme measures such as burning the child's body or burying it under a large rock.[34] The story of the Abiku highlights the importance of family and community in Nigerian culture, as the Abiku's attacks are often seen as a test of the family's strength and resilience.[34]
Ghana

Ghana has a long history of ghost folklore and beliefs. In the Akan culture, a 'ghost' is a malevolent spirit from Asamando, which haunt and eat humans, although they are not always aggressive, but are rarely benevolent. They are believed to be unable to eat pepper, so someone avoiding consuming pepper is supposedly a sign of being a ghost.[35][36]
Russia

Russian ghostlore is a complex tradition that reflects the country's history and culture. Most tales involve Christian beliefs and themes, such as the torment of unrepentant souls. Popular traditional ghosts include the domovoy, a household spirit, and the rusalka, a female water spirit.[37][38]
Locations
See also: List of reportedly haunted locations

Specific locations that are associated with death or tragedy often gain a local reputation for being haunted more quickly than more benign places. As a result, these locations appear disproportionately within ghostlore. Some examples of these locations include hospitals, asylums, battlefields, cemeteries, and sites of natural disasters or tragic accidents. These places are often imbued with a sense of sadness and loss, which can contribute to their reputation as haunted locations.
Cemeteries

Cemeteries often quickly become the subject of many ghost stories and frequently appear in the recorded folklore from all over the world. Popular local examples of cemeteries that have gained a reputation within folklore for being haunted include Bachelor's Grove Cemetery,[39] Chase Vault,[40] Jeruk Purut Cemetery,[41] and Union Cemetery.[42]
College Campuses

The architecture of many older buildings on college campuses often resembles that of buildings described in nineteenth-century literary ghost stories and Gothic novels. These buildings subsequently become the setting for ghostly legends and tales of hauntings.[43]

According to professor Elizabeth Tucker the stories serve to "initiate entering students into a new community". In this way, ghostlore on college campuses serves not only to entertain and frighten, but also to create a sense of shared history and tradition among students.[43]

The emotional impact of these stories may be attributed to the association of college campuses with youth and discovery, as well as the potential for tragedy and loss inherent in the transition to adulthood.[43]

In the context of ghostlore, some of the most reputedly haunted college campuses in the United States include Ohio University in Athens, Ohio,[44][45] Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts,[46][47] and Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.[48][49]

At Ohio University, for example, the Athens Lunatic Asylum operated right across the street from the university until 1993. It has since been the source of many strange sightings and tales of hauntings.[45] The university is also known for a haunted dorm in Wilson Hall,[44] Room 428 is especially noted.[44] Students who stayed in the room reported objects flying off shelves and shattering against walls, and the door slamming open and shut repeatedly.[45]

At Smith College, which has been around since 1871 and still maintains Colonial-era buildings, local lore is full of ghost stories. The college even has an online encyclopedia cataloging its ghost stories.[46] The most famous story takes place in Sessions House, built in 1751. During the Revolutionary War, a British Army general was held prisoner at the house by an American lieutenant.[46] The general fell in love with the lieutenant's daughter, and they met on a staircase hidden in the house. Though they were parted during their lifetime, rumor has it that the ghostly lovers can still be found on the secret staircase.[46]
Castles

Haunted castles are an iconic and enduring element of ghostlore folklore. These imposing structures, often centuries old, are said to be haunted by the spirits of those who once inhabited them and are the subject of countless ghost stories and legends.[50] Castles were once the centers of power and authority in medieval Europe, serving as the homes of kings, queens, and nobles, as well as the sites of battles and political intrigue. As such, they are often associated with a sense of mystery and power, and their ruins continue to fascinate and captivate people today.[50] The ghosts that are said to haunt castles are often believed to be the spirits of former inhabitants or visitors who died tragic or violent deaths, such as prisoners or soldiers who perished during wars or battles.[50] These spirits are said to linger in the halls and rooms of the castle, sometimes reenacting the events that led to their deaths or simply making their presence known through unexplained phenomena such as strange noises, cold spots, or apparitions.[50]

Countless books, films, and television shows have featured haunted castles as their settings, and they continue to be a popular theme in horror and fantasy genres. This fascination with haunted castles has helped to keep the legends and stories surrounding them alive and well, even in the modern era.
Highways

The haunted highway is a recurring theme in many folklore tales from all over the globe. One of the best examples from the United States of America is Clinton Road in New Jersey,[51] but there are many others.[52] In more rural areas the haunted highway will take on the form of a haunted street, road, or even trails.[53] Examples of roads around the globe with attached ghostlore include the Kuala Lumpur–Karak Expressway, A21 Sevenoaks Bypass, and the Tuen Mun Road.
Railroads
See also: Ghost train

A particular subset of ghostlore is that concerning the railroad and the ghost train. These tales often feature ghosts of former passengers or railway workers who met tragic ends on the tracks. Notable examples of reputedly haunted railroads include the Silver Train of Stockholm, Sweden, the Lincoln Funeral Train in the United States, and the St. Louis Ghost Train in Saskatchewan, Canada.[54] The idea of a ghost train or haunted railroad may also evoke feelings of nostalgia for a bygone era of transportation and the romance of train travel.[55] Additionally, the isolation and remoteness of many railroad tracks may contribute to the eerie atmosphere and sense of mystery surrounding these tales.[56]
Hospitals

Hospitals are a prevalent setting for ghost stories and haunted location folklore worldwide.[57] These tales often feature ghosts of former patients or staff members who act as vengeful spirits of those who passed away in the hospital or seek to inflict suffering from beyond the grave. Notable examples of reputedly haunted hospitals include Ararat Lunatic Asylum in Australia,[58] Nummela Sanatorium in Finland, and Changi Hospital in Singapore. While many of these haunted hospitals are mental health facilities, there are also numerous general hospitals with a reputation for being haunted. The prevalence of hospitals as a setting for ghost stories may be attributed to the association of hospitals with death and suffering, as well as the emotional impact of illness and loss on both patients and their loved ones.[59]
Bathrooms

The haunted bathroom subgenre of ghostlore is a popular cultural trope.[60] This subgenre has become particularly prominent in contemporary media and literary works and is a powerful symbol in our cultural imagination. One of the most well-known examples is Moaning Myrtle from the Harry Potter book series. Through the haunted bathroom trope, primal fears and anxieties related to vulnerability and the unknown are explored, and complex themes related to identity, mortality, and the human experience are addressed.[60]
Beaches

These stories commonly feature ghosts or supernatural entities that haunt beaches, lighthouses, or other coastal locations, these narratives can intersect with other subgenres of folklore such as the "lost treasure" motif.[60] The overlap between haunted beach and lost treasure stories can likely be traced back to the long history of piracy and shipwrecks along coastlines. Many of these stories feature pirates or sailors who buried their treasure on a nearby beach before being killed or captured, and the ghosts of these men are said to haunt the area in search of their lost wealth.[60] These stories have been retold and adapted over time, and continue to be a popular subgenre of ghostlore.[60] Examples of haunted beaches include St. Augustine Beach and Nags head.[61][62]
Battlefields

Haunted battlefields are a common theme in ghostlore, often attributed to the violent deaths and residual energy left behind from the conflict.[63] The belief in ghosts and the paranormal is a cultural phenomenon found in many societies, and the stories surrounding haunted battlefields reflect this belief. These tales often serve as a way to commemorate the lives lost in the conflict and to keep the memory of the battles alive. Some of the most famous haunted battlefields include the Gettysburg battlefield in Pennsylvania, which saw over 50,000 casualties during the Civil War and is said to be haunted by soldiers still fighting the battle.[64] The battlefields of Waterloo in Belgium, the site of Napoleon's final defeat, are also believed to be haunted by the ghosts of soldiers. Other notable examples include the battlefield of Culloden in Scotland, where the final Jacobite uprising took place, and the site of the Battle of Bosworth in England, where King Richard III was killed.[65]
Forests

Haunted forests have been a staple of ghostlore across many cultures. These forests are often depicted as places of darkness, danger, and fear. They represent the unknown, and the fear of the unknown, and serve as a metaphor for the wild and untamed aspects of nature that are beyond human control. Some popular examples of haunted forests include Aokigahara Forest in Japan,[66] the Black Forest in Germany,[67] and Hoia Forest in Romania.[67]
Religion

Religion and ghostlore have a long and intertwined history, with many cultures incorporating beliefs about spirits and supernatural beings into their religious practices. The overlap between religion and ghostlore can be seen in the many rituals, myths, and stories that involve interactions with the spirit world.[68][23][69][70][71] In many religions, there is a belief in an afterlife, where the soul or spirit of a person continues to exist after death.[72] This belief often includes the idea that the spirits of the dead can return to the living world, either to seek revenge, offer guidance, or simply to visit loved ones. Many religious traditions have specific rituals or practices for honoring and communicating with these spirits.

In some religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, the belief in reincarnation is closely tied to the idea of ghosts. According to these traditions, a person's soul or spirit is reborn into a new body after death, but sometimes, the soul may become trapped in the world of the living as a ghost. In these cases, it is believed that the soul must be released through specific rituals or prayers.[23] In other religious traditions, ghosts are seen as malevolent beings that must be avoided or repelled. For example, in many Indigenous religions, such as those found in the Americas and Australia, there is a belief in malevolent spirits that can cause harm or illness to humans. These spirits are often seen as a result of negative actions taken by humans, such as breaking taboos or disrespecting sacred places.[70]
Observations

American folklorist Louis C. Jones observed the following in 1944:

    "Ghostlore is still widespread and popular. While most of the actions thought to be common among ghosts (chain clanking, cemetery haunting, and so forth) can be found, they are by no means so widespread in the popular ghostlore as we have been led to expect. The ghost who is very like the living is far more common than any other… It might be expected that a rational age of science would destroy belief in the ability of the dead to return. I think it works the other way: in an age of scientific miracles anything seems possible."[73]

Jones lists several reasons why ghosts return and interact with the living. Among these are to complete unfinished business, to warn and inform, to punish and protest, to guard and protect, and to reward the living.[33] Folklorist Linda Dégh observed in her 2001 work Legend and belief the following:

    "The legend touches upon the most sensitive areas of our existence, and its manifest forms cannot be isolated as simple coherent stories. Rather, legends appear as products of conflicting opinions, expressed in conversation. They manifest in discussions, contradictions, additions, implementations, corrections, approvals, and disapprovals during some or all phases of their transmission, from their inception through various courses of elaboration, variation, decline, and revitalization."[74]

Stories often draw from the general history of an area or from specific historical incidents. Researcher Alan Brown believes that "[t]he association between ghosts and dilapidated houses is conventional."[75] Brown notes that some stories cease to be passed down once the setting has been significantly altered, as in the case of a "haunted house" demolished." (wikipedia.)

"In folklore, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or non-human animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes to realistic, lifelike forms. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy, or in spiritism as a séance. Other terms associated with it are apparition, haunt, haint, phantom, poltergeist, shade, specter, spirit, spook, wraith, demon, and ghoul.

The belief in the existence of an afterlife, as well as manifestations of the spirits of the dead, is widespread, dating back to animism or ancestor worship in pre-literate cultures. Certain religious practices—funeral rites, exorcisms, and some practices of spiritualism and ritual magic—are specifically designed to rest the spirits of the dead. Ghosts are generally described as solitary, human-like essences, though stories of ghostly armies and the ghosts of animals other than humans have also been recounted.[2][3] They are believed to haunt particular locations, objects, or people they were associated with in life. According to a 2009 study by the Pew Research Center, 18% of Americans say they have seen a ghost.[4]

The overwhelming consensus of science is that there is no proof that ghosts exist.[5] Their existence is impossible to falsify,[5] and ghost hunting has been classified as pseudoscience.[6][7][8] Despite centuries of investigation, there is no scientific evidence that any location is inhabited by the spirits of the dead.[6][9] Historically, certain toxic and psychoactive plants (such as datura and hyoscyamus niger), whose use has long been associated with necromancy and the underworld, have been shown to contain anticholinergic compounds that are pharmacologically linked to dementia (specifically DLB) as well as histological patterns of neurodegeneration.[10][11] Recent research has indicated that ghost sightings may be related to degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.[12] Common prescription medication and over-the-counter drugs (such as sleep aids) may also, in rare instances, cause ghost-like hallucinations, particularly zolpidem and diphenhydramine.[13] Older reports linked carbon monoxide poisoning to ghost-like hallucinations.[14]

In folklore studies, ghosts fall within the motif index designation E200–E599 ("Ghosts and other revenants").
Terminology
Further information: Soul, Genius (mythology), and Geist

The English word ghost continues Old English gāst. Stemming from Proto-Germanic *gaistaz, it is cognate with Old Frisian gāst, Old Saxon gēst, Old Dutch gēst, and Old High German geist. Although this form is not attested in North Germanic and East Germanic languages (the equivalent word in Gothic is ahma, Old Norse has andi m., önd f.), it appears to be a dental suffix derivative of pre-Germanic *ghois-d-oz ('fury, anger'), which is comparable to Sanskrit héḍas ('anger') and Avestan zōižda- ('terrible, ugly'). The prior Proto-Indo-European form is reconstructed as *ǵʰéys-d-os, from the root *ǵʰéys-, which is reflected in Old Norse geisa ('to rage') and *geiski ('fear'; cf. geiskafullr 'full of fear'), in Gothic usgaisjan ('to terrify') and usgaisnan ('to be terrified'), as well as in Avestan zōiš- (cf. zōišnu 'shivering, trembling').[15][16][17]

The Germanic word is recorded as masculine only, but likely continues a neuter s-stem. The original meaning of the Germanic word would thus have been an animating principle of the mind, in particular capable of excitation and fury (compare óðr). In Germanic paganism, "Germanic Mercury", and the later Odin, was at the same time the conductor of the dead and the "lord of fury" leading the Wild Hunt.

Besides denoting the human spirit or soul, both of the living and the deceased, the Old English word is used as a synonym of Latin spiritus also in the meaning of "breath" or "blast" from the earliest attestations (9th century). It could also denote any good or evil spirit, such as angels and demons; the Anglo-Saxon gospel refers to the demonic possession of Matthew 12:43 as se unclæna gast. Also from the Old English period, the word could denote the spirit of God, viz. the "Holy Ghost".

The now-prevailing sense of "the soul of a deceased person, spoken of as appearing in a visible form" only emerges in Middle English (14th century). The modern noun does, however, retain a wider field of application, extending on one hand to "soul", "spirit", "vital principle", "mind", or "psyche", the seat of feeling, thought, and moral judgement; on the other hand used figuratively of any shadowy outline, or fuzzy or unsubstantial image; in optics, photography, and cinematography especially, a flare, secondary image, or spurious signal.[18]

The synonym spook is a Dutch loanword, akin to Low German spôk (of uncertain etymology); it entered the English language via American English in the 19th century.[19][20][21][22] Alternative words in modern usage include spectre (altn. specter; from Latin spectrum), the Scottish wraith (of obscure origin), phantom (via French ultimately from Greek phantasma, compare fantasy) and apparition. The term shade in classical mythology translates Greek σκιά,[23] or Latin umbra,[24] in reference to the notion of spirits in the Greek underworld. The term poltergeist is a German word, literally a "noisy ghost", for a spirit said to manifest itself by invisibly moving and influencing objects.[25]

Wraith is a Scots word for ghost, spectre, or apparition. It appeared in Scottish Romanticist literature, and acquired the more general or figurative sense of portent or omen. In 18th- to 19th-century Scottish literature, it also applied to aquatic spirits. The word has no commonly accepted etymology; the OED notes "of obscure origin" only.[26] An association with the verb writhe was the etymology favored by J. R. R. Tolkien.[27] Tolkien's use of the word in the naming of the creatures known as the Ringwraiths has influenced later usage in fantasy literature. Bogey[28] or bogy/bogie is a term for a ghost, and appears in Scottish poet John Mayne's Hallowe'en in 1780.[29][30]

A revenant is a deceased person returning from the dead to haunt the living, either as a disembodied ghost or alternatively as an animated ("undead") corpse. Also related is the concept of a fetch, the visible ghost or spirit of a person yet alive.
Typology
Anthropological context
Further information: Animism, Ancestor worship, Origin of religion, and Anthropology of religion

A notion of the transcendent, supernatural, or numinous, usually involving entities like ghosts, demons, or deities, is a cultural universal.[31] In pre-literate folk religions, these beliefs are often summarized under animism and ancestor worship. Some people believe the ghost or spirit never leaves Earth until there is no-one left to remember the one who died.[32]

In many cultures, malignant, restless ghosts are distinguished from the more benign spirits involved in ancestor worship.[33]

Ancestor worship typically involves rites intended to prevent revenants, vengeful spirits of the dead, imagined as starving and envious of the living. Strategies for preventing revenants may either include sacrifice, i.e., giving the dead food and drink to pacify them, or magical banishment of the deceased to force them not to return. Ritual feeding of the dead is performed in traditions like the Chinese Ghost Festival or the Western All Souls' Day. Magical banishment of the dead is present in many of the world's burial customs. The bodies found in many tumuli (kurgan) had been ritually bound before burial,[34] and the custom of binding the dead persists, for example, in rural Anatolia.[35]

Nineteenth-century anthropologist James Frazer stated in his classic work The Golden Bough that souls were seen as the creature within that animated the body.[36]
Ghosts and the afterlife
Further information: Soul, Psyche (psychology), Underworld, Hungry ghost, and Psychopomp
Further information: Ghost Festival, All Souls' Day, Day of the Dead, and Ghost Dance

Although the human soul was sometimes symbolically or literally depicted in ancient cultures as a bird or other animal, it appears to have been widely held that the soul was an exact reproduction of the body in every feature, even down to clothing the person wore. This is depicted in artwork from various ancient cultures, including such works as the Egyptian Book of the Dead, which shows deceased people in the afterlife appearing much as they did before death, including the style of dress.
Fear of ghosts
Main article: Fear of ghosts

While deceased ancestors are universally regarded as venerable, and often believed to have a continued presence in some form of afterlife, the spirit of a deceased person that persists in the material world (a ghost) is regarded as an unnatural or undesirable state of affairs and the idea of ghosts or revenants is associated with a reaction of fear. This is universally the case in pre-modern folk cultures, but fear of ghosts also remains an integral aspect of the modern ghost story, Gothic horror, and other horror fiction dealing with the supernatural.
Common attributes

Another widespread belief concerning ghosts is that they are composed of a misty, airy, or subtle material. Anthropologists link this idea to early beliefs that ghosts were the person within the person (the person's spirit), most noticeable in ancient cultures as a person's breath, which upon exhaling in colder climates appears visibly as a white mist.[32] This belief may have also fostered the metaphorical meaning of "breath" in certain languages, such as the Latin spiritus and the Greek pneuma, which by analogy became extended to mean the soul. In the Bible, God is depicted as synthesising Adam, as a living soul, from the dust of the Earth and the breath of God.

In many traditional accounts, ghosts were often thought to be deceased people looking for vengeance (vengeful ghosts), or imprisoned on earth for bad things they did during life. The appearance of a ghost has often been regarded as an omen or portent of death. Seeing one's own ghostly double or "fetch" is a related omen of death.[37]

White ladies were reported to appear in many rural areas, and supposed to have died tragically or suffered trauma in life. White Lady legends are found around the world. Common to many of them is the theme of losing a child or husband and a sense of purity, as opposed to the Lady in Red ghost that is mostly attributed to a jilted lover or prostitute. The White Lady ghost is often associated with an individual family line or regarded as a harbinger of death similar to a banshee.[38][39][needs context]

Legends of ghost ships have existed since the 18th century; most notable of these is the Flying Dutchman. This theme has been used in literature in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge.

Ghosts are often depicted as being covered in a shroud and/or dragging chains.[40]
Locale
See also: Haunted house

A place where ghosts are reported is described as haunted, and often seen as being inhabited by spirits of deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property. Supernatural activity inside homes is said to be mainly associated with violent or tragic events in the building's past such as murder, accidental death, or suicide—sometimes in the recent or ancient past. However, not all hauntings are at a place of a violent death, or even on violent grounds. Many cultures and religions believe the essence of a being, such as the 'soul', continues to exist. Some religious views argue that the 'spirits' of those who have died have not 'passed over' and are trapped inside the property where their memories and energy are strong....Modern period of western culture
Spiritualist movement
Main article: Spiritualism

Spiritualism is a monotheistic belief system or religion, postulating a belief in God, but with a distinguishing feature of belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world can be contacted by "mediums", who can then provide information about the afterlife.[66]

Spiritualism developed in the United States and reached its peak growth in membership from the 1840s to the 1920s, especially in English-language countries.[67][68] By 1897, it was said to have more than eight million followers in the United States and Europe,[69] mostly drawn from the middle and upper classes, while the corresponding movement in continental Europe and Latin America is known as Spiritism.

The religion flourished for a half century without canonical texts or formal organization, attaining cohesion by periodicals, tours by trance lecturers, camp meetings, and the missionary activities of accomplished mediums.[70] Many prominent Spiritualists were women. Most followers supported causes such as the abolition of slavery and women's suffrage.[67] By the late 1880s, credibility of the informal movement weakened, due to accusations of fraud among mediums, and formal Spiritualist organizations began to appear.[67] Spiritualism is currently practiced primarily through various denominational Spiritualist churches in the United States and United Kingdom.
Spiritism
Main article: Spiritism

Spiritism, or French spiritualism, is based on the five books of the Spiritist Codification written by French educator Hypolite Léon Denizard Rivail under the pseudonym Allan Kardec reporting séances in which he observed a series of phenomena that he attributed to incorporeal intelligence (spirits). His assumption of spirit communication was validated by many contemporaries, among them many scientists and philosophers who attended séances and studied the phenomena. His work was later extended by writers like Leon Denis, Arthur Conan Doyle, Camille Flammarion, Ernesto Bozzano, Chico Xavier, Divaldo Pereira Franco, Waldo Vieira, Johannes Greber,[71] and others.

Spiritism has adherents in many countries throughout the world, including Spain, United States, Canada,[72] Japan, Germany, France, England, Argentina, Portugal, and especially Brazil, which has the largest proportion and greatest number of followers.[73]
Scientific view
See also: Paranormal

The physician John Ferriar wrote "An Essay Towards a Theory of Apparitions" in 1813 in which he argued that sightings of ghosts were the result of optical illusions. Later the French physician Alexandre Jacques François Brière de Boismont published On Hallucinations: Or, the Rational History of Apparitions, Dreams, Ecstasy, Magnetism, and Somnambulism in 1845 in which he claimed sightings of ghosts were the result of hallucinations.[74][75]

David Turner, a retired physical chemist, suggested that ball lightning could cause inanimate objects to move erratically.[76]

Joe Nickell of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry wrote that there was no credible scientific evidence that any location was inhabited by spirits of the dead.[77] Limitations of human perception and ordinary physical explanations can account for ghost sightings; for example, air pressure changes in a home causing doors to slam, humidity changes causing boards to creak, condensation in electrical connections causing intermittent behavior, or lights from a passing car reflected through a window at night. Pareidolia, an innate tendency to recognize patterns in random perceptions, is what some skeptics believe causes people to believe that they have 'seen ghosts'.[78] Reports of ghosts "seen out of the corner of the eye" may be accounted for by the sensitivity of human peripheral vision. According to Nickell, peripheral vision can easily mislead, especially late at night when the brain is tired and more likely to misinterpret sights and sounds.[79] Nickell further states, "science cannot substantiate the existence of a 'life energy' that could survive death without dissipating or function at all without a brain... why would... clothes survive?'" He asks, if ghosts glide, then why do people claim to hear them with "heavy footfalls"? Nickell says that ghosts act the same way as "dreams, memories, and imaginings, because they too are mental creations. They are evidence - not of another world, but of this real and natural one."[80]

Benjamin Radford from the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and author of the 2017 book Investigating Ghosts: The Scientific Search for Spirits writes that "ghost hunting is the world's most popular paranormal pursuit" yet, to date, ghost hunters cannot agree on what a ghost is, or offer proof that they exist; "it's all speculation and guesswork". He writes that it would be "useful and important to distinguish between types of spirits and apparitions. Until then it's merely a parlor game distracting amateur ghost hunters from the task at hand."[81]

According to research in anomalistic psychology visions of ghosts may arise from hypnagogic hallucinations ("waking dreams" experienced in the transitional states to and from sleep).[82] In a study of two experiments into alleged hauntings (Wiseman et al.. 2003) came to the conclusion "that people consistently report unusual experiences in 'haunted' areas because of environmental factors, which may differ across locations." Some of these factors included "the variance of local magnetic fields, size of location and lighting level stimuli of which witnesses may not be consciously aware".[83]

Some researchers, such as Michael Persinger of Laurentian University, Canada, have speculated that changes in geomagnetic fields (created, e.g., by tectonic stresses in the Earth's crust or solar activity) could stimulate the brain's temporal lobes and produce many of the experiences associated with hauntings.[84] Sound is thought to be another cause of supposed sightings. Richard Lord and Richard Wiseman have concluded that infrasound can cause humans to experience bizarre feelings in a room, such as anxiety, extreme sorrow, a feeling of being watched, or even the chills.[85] Carbon monoxide poisoning, which can cause changes in perception of the visual and auditory systems,[86] was speculated upon as a possible explanation for haunted houses as early as 1921.

People who experience sleep paralysis often report seeing ghosts during their experiences. Neuroscientists Baland Jalal and V.S. Ramachandran have recently proposed neurological theories for why people hallucinate ghosts during sleep paralysis. Their theories emphasize the role of the parietal lobe and mirror neurons in triggering such ghostly hallucinations.
By religion
Judaism
See also: Dybbuk

The Hebrew Bible contains several references to owb (Hebrew: אוֹב), which are in a few places akin to shades of classical mythology but mostly describing mediums in connection with necromancy and spirit-consulting, which are grouped with witchcraft and other forms of divination under the category of forbidden occult activities.[88] The most notable reference to a shade is in the First Book of Samuel,[89] in which a disguised King Saul has the Witch of Endor conduct a seance to summon the dead prophet Samuel. A similar term appearing throughout the scriptures is repha'(im) Archived 2019-03-06 at the Wayback Machine (Hebrew: רְפָאִים), which while describing the race of "giants" formerly inhabiting Canaan in many verses, also refer to (the spirits of) dead ancestors of Sheol (like shades) in many others such as in the Book of Isaiah.[90]

Jewish mythology and folkloric traditions describe dybbuks, malicious possessing spirits believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person. However, the term does not appear in the Kabbalah or Talmudic literature, where it is rather called an "evil spirit" or ru'aḥ tezazit (Hebrew: רוּחַ טוּמְאָה). It supposedly leaves the host body once it has accomplished its goal, sometimes after being helped.
Christianity
See also: Allhallowtide

In the New Testament, Jesus has to persuade the Disciples that he is not a ghost following the resurrection, Luke 24:37–39 (some versions of the Bible, such as the KJV and NKJV, use the term "spirit"). Similarly, Jesus' followers at first believe he is a ghost (spirit) when they see him walking on water.[94]

Some Christian denominations[which?] consider ghosts as beings who while tied to earth, no longer live on the material plane and linger in an intermediate state before continuing their journey to heaven.[95][96][97][98] On occasion, God would allow the souls in this state to return to earth to warn the living of the need for repentance.[99] Christians are taught that it is sinful to attempt to conjure or control spirits in accordance with Deuteronomy XVIII: 9–12.[100][101]

Some ghosts are actually said to be demons in disguise, who the Church teaches, in accordance with I Timothy 4:1, that they "come to deceive people and draw them away from God and into bondage."[102] As a result, attempts to contact the dead may lead to unwanted contact with a demon or an unclean spirit, as was said to occur in the case of Robbie Mannheim, a fourteen-year-old Maryland youth.[103] The Seventh-Day Adventist view is that a "soul" is not equivalent to "spirit" or "ghost" (depending on the Bible version), and that save for the Holy Spirit, all spirits or ghosts are demons in disguise. Furthermore, they teach that in accordance with (Genesis 2:7, Ecclesiastes 12:7), there are only two components to a "soul", neither of which survives death, with each returning to its respective source.

Christadelphians and Jehovah's Witnesses reject the view of a living, conscious soul after death.[104]
Islam

Rūḥ (Arabic: روح; plural arwah) is a person's immortal, essential self — pneuma, i.e. the "spirit" or "soul".[105] The term is also used for ghosts.[106] The souls of the deceased dwell in barzakh. Only a barrier in Quran, in Islamic tradition this refers to an entire intermediary world between the living and the afterlife. The world, especially cemeteries, are perforated with several gateways to the otherworld or barzakh.[107] In rare occasions, the dead can appear to the living.[108] Pure souls, such as the souls of saints, are commonly addressed as rūḥ, while impure souls seeking for revenge, are often addressed as afarit.[109] An inappropriate burial can also cause a soul to stay in this world, whereupon roaming the earth as a ghost. Since the just souls remain close to their tomb, some people try to communicate with them in order to gain hidden knowledge. Contact with the dead is not the same as contact with jinn, who alike could provide knowledge concealed from living humans.[110] Many encounters with ghosts are related to dreams supposed to occur in the realm of symbols.

Belief in spirits have not ceased to exist in Muslim belief. Smile of new-born babies is sometimes used as a proof for sighting spirits, like ghosts. However, the connection to the other world fades during life on earth but is resumed after death. Once again, smiling of dying people is considered as evidence for recognizing the spirit of their beloved ones. Yet, Muslims who affirm the existence of ghosts, are carefully when interacting with spirits, as the ghosts of humans can be as bad as the jinn. Worst of all, however, are the devils.

Muslim authors, like Ghazali, Ibn Qayyim and Suyuti wrote in more details about the life of ghosts. Ibn Qayyim and Suyuti assert, when a soul desires to turn back to earth long enough, it is gradually released from restrictions of Barzakh and able to move freely. Each spirit experiences afterlife in accordance with their deeds and condictions in the earthly life. Evil souls will find the afterlife as painful and punishment, imprisoned until God allows them to interact with other others. Good souls are not restricted. They are free to come visit other souls and even come down to lower regions. The higher planes (ʿilliyyīn) are considered to be broader than the lower ones, the lowest being the most narrow (sijjīn). The spiritual space is not thought as spatial, but reflects the capacity of the spirit. The more pure the spirit gets, the more it is able to interact with other souls and thus reaches a broader degree of freedom.[111]

The Ismailite Philosopher Nasir Khusraw conjectured that evil human souls turn into demons, when their bodies die, because of their intense attachment to the bodily world. They were worse than the jinn and fairies, who in turn could become devils, if they pursue evil.[112] A similar thought is recorded by Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi.[113]

The ghosts of saints are thought to transmit blessings from God through the heavenly realm to whose who visit their graves. Therefore, visiting the graves of saints and prophets became a major ritual in Muslim spirituality.[114]
Indian Religions

A bhoota is the ghost of a deceased being in Indian religions.[115] Interpretations of how bhootas come into existence vary by region and community, but they are usually considered to be perturbed and restless due to some factor that prevents them from moving on (to transmigration, non-being, nirvana, or swarga or naraka, depending on tradition). This could be a violent death, unsettled matters in their lives, or simply the failure of their survivors to perform proper funerals.[116] Belief in ghosts has been deeply ingrained in the minds of the people of the subcontinent for generations. There are many allegedly haunted places in the subcontinent, such as cremation grounds, dilapidated buildings, royal mansions, havelis, forts, forest bungalows, burning ghats, etc. Ghosts also occupy a significant place in the Bengali culture. Ghosts and various supernatural entities form an integral part of the socio-cultural beliefs of both the Muslim and Hindu communities of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal.

The Bhutas (singular 'Bhuta'), spirits of deified heroes, of fierce and evil beings, of Hindu deities and of animals, etc., are wrongly referred to as "ghosts" or "demons" and, in fact, are protective and benevolent beings. Though it is true that they can cause harm in their violent forms, as they are extremely powerful, they can be pacified through worship or offerings referred to as Bhuta Aradhana.[117]

The Churel, also spelled as Charail, Churreyl, Chudail, Chudel, Chuṛail, Cuḍail or Cuḍel (Hindi: चुड़ैल, Urdu: چڑیل), is a mythical spirit of a woman who died during pregnancy or childbirth, which may be a demoniacal revenant said to occur in South Asia and Southeast Asia, particularly popular in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. The churel is typically described as "the ghost of an unpurified living thing", but because she is often said to latch on to trees, she is also called a tree-spirit.[118] According to some legends, a woman who dies during childbirth or pregnancy or from suffering at the hands of her in-laws will come back as a revenant churel for revenge, particularly targeting the males in her family.

The churel is mostly described as extremely ugly and hideous but is able to shape-shift and disguise herself as a beautiful woman to lure men into the woods or mountains where she either kills them or sucks up their life-force or virility, turning them into old men. Their feet are believed to be turned the other way around, so the toes face the direction of their back. The churel is called as Pichal Peri in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

There are many folk remedies and folkloric sayings that elaborate on how to get rid of revenant, bhoot and churels, and a number measures that supposedly prevent churels from coming to life. The family of a woman who dies a traumatic, tragic, or unnatural death might perform special rituals fearing that the victimised woman might return as a churel. The corpses of suspected churels are also buried in a particular method and posture so as to prevent her from returning.
Buddhism

In Buddhism, there are a number of planes of existence into which a person can be reborn, one of which is the realm of hungry ghosts.[119] Buddhist celebrate the Ghost Festival[120] as an expression of compassion, one of Buddhist virtues. If the hungry ghosts are fed by non-relatives, they would not bother the community.
By culture
African folklore

For the Igbo people, a man is simultaneously a physical and spiritual entity. However, it is his spirited dimension that is eternal.[121] In the Akan conception, we witness five parts of the human personality. We have the Nipadua (body), the Okra (soul), Sunsum (spirit), Ntoro (character from father), Mogya (character from mother).[121] The Humr people of southwestern Kordofan, Sudan consume the drink Umm Nyolokh, which is prepared from the liver and bone marrow of giraffes. Richard Rudgley[122] hypothesises that Umm Nyolokh may contain DMT and certain online websites further theorise that giraffe liver might owe its putative psychoactivity to substances derived from psychoactive plants, such as Acacia spp. consumed by the animal. The drink is said to cause hallucinations of giraffes, believed by the Humr to be the ghosts of giraffes.[123][124]
European folklore
Further information: Revenant, Necromancy, and Samhain

Belief in ghosts in European folklore is characterized by the recurring fear of "returning" or revenant deceased who may harm the living. This includes the Scandinavian gjenganger, the Romanian strigoi, the Serbian vampir, the Greek vrykolakas, etc. In Scandinavian and Finnish tradition, ghosts appear in corporeal form, and their supernatural nature is given away by behavior rather than appearance. In fact, in many stories they are first mistaken for the living. They may be mute, appear and disappear suddenly, or leave no footprints or other traces.

English folklore is particularly notable for its numerous haunted locations.

Belief in the soul and an afterlife remained near universal until the emergence of atheism in the 18th century.[citation needed] In the 19th century, spiritism resurrected "belief in ghosts" as the object of systematic inquiry, and popular opinion in Western culture remains divided.[125]
South and Southeast Asia
Indian subcontinent
Main articles: Bhoot (ghost) and Ghosts in Bengali culture

A bhoot or bhut (Hindi: भूत, Gujarati: ભૂત, Urdu: بهوت, Bengali: ভূত, Odia: ଭୂତ) is a supernatural creature, usually the ghost of a deceased person, in the popular culture, literature and some ancient texts of the Indian subcontinent.
North India

Interpretations of how bhoots come into existence vary by region and community, but they are usually considered to be perturbed and restless due to some factor that prevents them from moving on (to transmigration, non-being, nirvana, or heaven or hell, depending on tradition). This could be a violent death, unsettled matters in their lives, or simply the failure of their survivors to perform proper funerals.[116]

In Central and Northern India, ojha or spirit guides play a central role.[citation needed] It duly happens when in the night someone sleeps and decorates something on the wall, and they say that if one sees the spirit the next thing in the morning he will become a spirit too, and that to a headless spirit and the soul of the body will remain the dark with the dark lord from the spirits who reside in the body of every human in Central and Northern India. It is also believed that if someone calls one from behind, never turn back and see because the spirit may catch the human to make it a spirit. Other types of spirits in Hindu mythology include Baital, an evil spirit who haunts cemeteries and takes demonic possession of corpses, and Pishacha, a type of flesh-eating demon.
Bengal and East India

There are many kinds of ghosts and similar supernatural entities that frequently come up in Bengali culture, its folklores and form an important part in Bengali peoples' socio-cultural beliefs and superstitions. It is believed that the spirits of those who cannot find peace in the afterlife or die unnatural deaths remain on Earth. The word Pret (from Sanskrit) is also used in Bengali to mean ghost. In Bengal, ghosts are believed to be the spirit after death of an unsatisfied human being or a soul of a person who dies in unnatural or abnormal circumstances (like murder, suicide or accident). Even it is believed that other animals and creatures can also be turned into ghost after their death.
Thailand
Main article: Ghosts in Thai culture

Ghosts in Thailand are part of local folklore and have now become part of the popular culture of the country. Phraya Anuman Rajadhon was the first Thai scholar who seriously studied Thai folk beliefs and took notes on the nocturnal village spirits of Thailand. He established that, since such spirits were not represented in paintings or drawings, they were purely based on descriptions of popular orally transmitted traditional stories. Therefore, most of the contemporary iconography of ghosts such as Nang Tani, Nang Takian,[126] Krasue, Krahang,[127] Phi Hua Kat, Phi Pop, Phi Phong, Phi Phraya, and Mae Nak has its origins in Thai films that have now become classics.[128][129] The most feared spirit in Thailand is Phi Tai Hong, the ghost of a person who has died suddenly of a violent death.[130] The folklore of Thailand also includes the belief that sleep paralysis is caused by a ghost, Phi Am.
Tibet
Main article: Ghosts in Tibetan culture

There is widespread belief in ghosts in Tibetan culture. Ghosts are explicitly recognized in the Tibetan Buddhist religion as they were in Indian Buddhism,[131] occupying a distinct but overlapping world to the human one, and feature in many traditional legends. When a human dies, after a period of uncertainty they may enter the ghost world. A hungry ghost (Tibetan: yidag, yi-dvags; Sanskrit: प्रेत) has a tiny throat and huge stomach, and so can never be satisfied. Ghosts may be killed with a ritual dagger or caught in a spirit trap and burnt, thus releasing them to be reborn. Ghosts may also be exorcised, and an annual festival is held throughout Tibet for this purpose. Some say that Dorje Shugden, the ghost of a powerful 17th-century monk, is a deity, but the Dalai Lama asserts that he is an evil spirit, which has caused a split in the Tibetan exile community.
Austronesia
Main articles: Malay ghost myths, Ghosts in Filipino culture, and Ghosts in Polynesian culture

There are many Malay ghost myths, remnants of old animist beliefs that have been shaped by later Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim influences in the modern states of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. Some ghost concepts such as the female vampires Pontianak and Penanggalan are shared throughout the region. Ghosts are a popular theme in modern Malaysian and Indonesian films. There are also many references to ghosts in Filipino culture, ranging from ancient legendary creatures such as the Manananggal and Tiyanak to more modern urban legends and horror films. The beliefs, legends and stories are as diverse as the people of the Philippines.

There was widespread belief in ghosts in Polynesian culture, some of which persists today. After death, a person's ghost normally traveled to the sky world or the underworld, but some could stay on earth. In many Polynesian legends, ghosts were often actively involved in the affairs of the living. Ghosts might also cause sickness or even invade the body of ordinary people, to be driven out through strong medicines.[132]
East and Central Asia
Further information: Preta
China
Main article: Ghosts in Chinese culture

There are many references to ghosts in Chinese culture. Even Confucius said, "Respect ghosts and gods, but keep away from them."[133]

The ghosts take many forms, depending on how the person died, and are often harmful. Many Chinese ghost beliefs have been accepted by neighboring cultures, notably Japan and southeast Asia. Ghost beliefs are closely associated with traditional Chinese religion based on ancestor worship, many of which were incorporated in Taoism. Later beliefs were influenced by Buddhism, and in turn influenced and created uniquely Chinese Buddhist beliefs.

Many Chinese today believe it possible to contact the spirits of their ancestors through a medium, and that ancestors can help descendants if properly respected and rewarded. The annual ghost festival is celebrated by Chinese around the world. On this day, ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm. Ghosts are described in classical Chinese texts as well as modern literature and films.

An article in the China Post stated that nearly eighty-seven percent of Chinese office workers believe in ghosts, and some fifty-two percent of workers will wear hand art, necklaces, crosses, or even place a crystal ball on their desks to keep ghosts at bay, according to the poll.[citation needed]
Japan
Main articles: Yūrei, Onryō, and Japanese ghost story

Yūrei (幽霊) are figures in Japanese folklore, analogous to Western legends of ghosts. The name consists of two kanji, 幽 (yū), meaning "faint" or "dim", and 霊 (rei), meaning "soul" or "spirit". Alternative names include 亡霊 (Bōrei) meaning ruined or departed spirit, 死霊 (Shiryō) meaning dead spirit, or the more encompassing 妖怪 (Yōkai) or お化け (Obake).

Like their Chinese and Western counterparts, they are thought to be spirits kept from a peaceful afterlife.
Americas
Mexico
Main article: Ghosts in Mexican culture

There is extensive and varied belief in ghosts in Mexican culture. The modern state of Mexico before the Spanish conquest was inhabited by diverse peoples such as the Maya and Aztec, and their beliefs have survived and evolved, combined with the beliefs of the Spanish colonists. The Day of the Dead incorporates pre-Columbian beliefs with Christian elements. Mexican literature and films include many stories of ghosts interacting with the living.
United States
Further information: Ghosts of the American Civil War, Shadow people, and Ghost hunting

According to the Gallup Poll News Service, belief in haunted houses, ghosts, communication with the dead, and witches had an especially steep increase over the 1990s.[134] A 2005 Gallup poll found that about 32 percent of Americans believe in ghosts.
Depiction in the arts
Main articles: Ghost story and List of ghost films

Ghosts are prominent in story-telling of various nations. The ghost story is ubiquitous across all cultures from oral folktales to works of literature. While ghost stories are often explicitly meant to be scary, they have been written to serve all sorts of purposes, from comedy to morality tales. Ghosts often appear in the narrative as sentinels or prophets of things to come. Belief in ghosts is found in all cultures around the world, and thus ghost stories may be passed down orally or in written form.[136]

Spirits of the dead appear in literature as early as Homer's Odyssey, which features a journey to the underworld and the hero encountering the ghosts of the dead,[137] and the Old Testament, in which the Witch of Endor summons the spirit of the prophet Samuel.[137]
Renaissance to Romanticism (1500 to 1840)

One of the more recognizable ghosts in English literature is the shade of Hamlet's murdered father in Shakespeare's The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. In Hamlet, it is the ghost who demands that Prince Hamlet investigate his "murder most foul" and seek revenge upon his usurping uncle, King Claudius.

In English Renaissance theater, ghosts were often depicted in the garb of the living and even in armor, as with the ghost of Hamlet's father. Armor, being out-of-date by the time of the Renaissance, gave the stage ghost a sense of antiquity.[138] But the sheeted ghost began to gain ground on stage in the 19th century because an armored ghost could not satisfactorily convey the requisite spookiness: it clanked and creaked, and had to be moved about by complicated pulley systems or elevators. These clanking ghosts being hoisted about the stage became objects of ridicule as they became clichéd stage elements. Ann Jones and Peter Stallybrass, in Renaissance Clothing and the Materials of Memory, point out, "In fact, it is as laughter increasingly threatens the Ghost that he starts to be staged not in armor but in some form of 'spirit drapery'."[139]
Victorian/Edwardian (1840 to 1920)

The "classic" ghost story arose during the Victorian period, and included authors such as M. R. James, Sheridan Le Fanu, Violet Hunt, and Henry James. Classic ghost stories were influenced by the gothic fiction tradition, and contain elements of folklore and psychology. M. R. James summed up the essential elements of a ghost story as, "Malevolence and terror, the glare of evil faces, ‘the stony grin of unearthly malice', pursuing forms in darkness, and 'long-drawn, distant screams', are all in place, and so is a modicum of blood, shed with deliberation and carefully husbanded...".[140] One of the key early appearances by ghosts was The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole in 1764, considered to be the first gothic novel.[137][141][142]

Famous literary apparitions from this period are the ghosts of A Christmas Carol, in which Ebenezer Scrooge is helped to see the error of his ways by the ghost of his former colleague Jacob Marley, and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come.
Modern era (1920 to 1970)

Professional parapsychologists and "ghosts hunters", such as Harry Price, active in the 1920s and 1930s, and Peter Underwood, active in the 1940s and 1950s, published accounts of their experiences with ostensibly true ghost stories such as Price's The Most Haunted House in England, and Underwood's Ghosts of Borley (both recounting experiences at Borley Rectory). The writer Frank Edwards delved into ghost stories in his books of his, like Stranger than Science.

Children's benevolent ghost stories became popular, such as Casper the Friendly Ghost, created in the 1930s and appearing in comics, animated cartoons, and eventually a 1995 feature film.

With the advent of motion pictures and television, screen depictions of ghosts became common, and spanned a variety of genres; the works of Shakespeare, Dickens and Wilde have all been made into cinematic versions. Novel-length tales have been difficult to adapt to cinema, although that of The Haunting of Hill House to The Haunting in 1963 is an exception.[142]

Sentimental depictions during this period were more popular in cinema than horror, and include the 1947 film The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, which was later adapted to television with a successful 1968–70 TV series.[142] Genuine psychological horror films from this period include 1944's The Uninvited, and 1945's Dead of Night.
Post-modern (1970–present)
See also: List of ghost films
Further information: List of ghosts § Popular culture, and Category:Fictional ghosts

The 1970s saw screen depictions of ghosts diverge into distinct genres of the romantic and horror. A common theme in the romantic genre from this period is the ghost as a benign guide or messenger, often with unfinished business, such as 1989's Field of Dreams, the 1990 film Ghost, and the 1993 comedy Heart and Souls.[143] In the horror genre, 1980's The Fog, and the A Nightmare on Elm Street series of films from the 1980s and 1990s are notable examples of the trend for the merging of ghost stories with scenes of physical violence.[142]

Popularised in such films as the 1984 comedy Ghostbusters, ghost hunting became a hobby for many who formed ghost hunting societies to explore reportedly haunted places. The ghost hunting theme has been featured in reality television series, such as Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters International, Ghost Lab, Most Haunted, and A Haunting. It is also represented in children's television by such programs as The Ghost Hunter and Ghost Trackers. Ghost hunting also gave rise to multiple guidebooks to haunted locations, and ghost hunting "how-to" manuals.

The 1990s saw a return to classic "gothic" ghosts, whose dangers were more psychological than physical. Examples of films from this period include 1999's The Sixth Sense and The Others.

Asian cinema has also produced horror films about ghosts, such as the 1998 Japanese film Ringu (remade in the US as The Ring in 2002), and the Pang brothers' 2002 film The Eye.[144] Indian ghost movies are popular not just in India, but in the Middle East, Africa, South East Asia, and other parts of the world. Some Indian ghost movies such as the comedy / horror film Chandramukhi have been commercial successes, dubbed into several languages.[145]

In fictional television programming, ghosts have been explored in series such as Supernatural, Ghost Whisperer, and Medium.

In animated fictional television programming, ghosts have served as the central element in series such as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Danny Phantom, and Scooby-Doo. Various other television shows have depicted ghosts as well.
Metaphorical usages

Nietzsche argued that people generally wear prudent masks in company, but that an alternative strategy for social interaction is to present oneself as an absence, as a social ghost – "One reaches out for us but gets no hold of us"[146] – a sentiment later echoed (if in a less positive way) by Carl Jung.[147]

Nick Harkaway has considered that all people carry a host of ghosts in their heads in the form of impressions of past acquaintances – ghosts who represent mental maps of other people in the world and serve as philosophical reference points.[148]

Object relations theory sees human personalities as formed by splitting off aspects of the person that he or she deems incompatible, whereupon the person may be haunted in later life by such ghosts of his or her alternate selves.[149]

The sense of ghosts as invisible, mysterious entities is invoked in several terms that use the word metaphorically, such as ghostwriter (a writer who pens texts credited to another person without revealing the ghostwriter's role as an author); ghost singer (a vocalist who records songs whose vocals are credited to another person); and "ghosting" a date (when a person breaks off contact with a former romantic partner and disappears)." (wikipedia.)

"A locket is a pendant that opens to reveal a space used for storing a photograph or other small item such as a lock of hair. Lockets are usually given to loved ones on holidays such as Valentine's Day and occasions such as christenings, weddings and, most noticeably during the Victorian Age, funerals. Historically, they often opened to reveal a portrait miniature.

Lockets are generally worn on chains around the neck and often hold a photo of the person who gave the locket, or they could form part of a charm bracelet. They come in many shapes such as ovals, hearts, prisms and circles and are usually made of precious metals such as gold or silver befitting their status as decorative jewellery.

Lockets usually hold only one or two photographs, but some specially made lockets can hold up to eight. Some lockets have been fashioned as 'spinner' lockets, where the bail that attaches to the necklace chain is attached but not fixed to the locket itself which is free to spin. This was a common style in the Victorian Age. Around 1860 memento lockets started to replace mourning rings as the preferred style of mourning jewellery.[1]

Keepsake lockets can also be made with a glass pane at the front so that what is inside can be seen without opening the locket. Such lockets are generally used for items like locks of hair which could fall out and become lost if the locket were repeatedly opened, whereas photograph lockets are generally enclosed on all sides and the photographs are secured by pieces of clear plastic.

Another kind of locket still made was in a filigree style with a small cushion in the centre to which a few drops of perfume should be added. Perfume lockets were popular in eras when personal hygiene was restricted and sweet smelling perfume was used to mask the odour of a person or their companions." (wikipedia.)

"A pendant is a loose-hanging piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace, which may be known as a "pendant necklace".[1] A pendant earring is an earring with a piece hanging down. Its name stems from the Latin word pendere and Old French word pendr, both of which translate to "to hang down". In modern French, pendant is the gerund form of pendre ("to hang") and also means "during". The extent to which the design of a pendant can be incorporated into an overall necklace makes it not always accurate to treat them as separate items.[2]

In some cases, though, the separation between necklace and pendant is far clearer....Locket
A locket is a small object that opens to reveal a space which serves to hold a small object, usually a photograph or a curl of hair. They typically come in the form of a pendant hanging from a necklace, though they will occasionally be hung from a charm bracelet." (wikipedia.)

"In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the Georgian era and preceded the Edwardian era, and its later half overlaps with the first part of the Belle Époque era of continental Europe.

Various liberalising political reforms took place in the UK, including expanding the electoral franchise. The Great Famine caused mass death in Ireland early in the period. The British Empire had relatively peaceful relations with the other great powers. It participated in various military conflicts mainly against minor powers. The British Empire expanded during this period and was the predominant power in the world.

Victorian society valued a high standard of personal conduct across all sections of society. The emphasis on morality gave impetus to social reform but also placed restrictions on certain groups' liberty. Prosperity rose during the period, but debilitating undernutrition persisted. Literacy and childhood education became near universal in Great Britain for the first time. Whilst some attempts were made to improve living conditions, slum housing and disease remained a severe problem.

The period saw significant scientific and technological development. Britain was advanced in industry and engineering in particular, but somewhat undeveloped in art and education. Great Britain's population increased rapidly, while Ireland's fell sharply.
Terminology and periodisation
See also: Periodisation

In the strictest sense, the Victorian era covers the duration of Victoria's reign as Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, from her accession on 20 June 1837—after the death of her uncle, William IV—until her death on 22 January 1901, after which she was succeeded by her eldest son, Edward VII. Her reign lasted 63 years and seven months, a longer period than any of her predecessors. The term 'Victorian' was in contemporaneous usage to describe the era.[1] The era has also been understood in a more extensive sense as a period that possessed sensibilities and characteristics distinct from the periods adjacent to it, in which case it is sometimes dated to begin before Victoria's accession—typically from the passage of or agitation for (during the 1830s) the Reform Act 1832, which introduced a wide-ranging change to the electoral system of England and Wales.[note 1] Definitions that purport a distinct sensibility or politics to the era have also created scepticism about the worth of the label 'Victorian', though there have also been defences of it.[2]

Michael Sadleir was insistent that "in truth, the Victorian period is three periods, and not one".[3] He distinguished early Victorianism—the socially and politically unsettled period from 1837 to 1850[4]—and late Victorianism (from 1880 onwards), with its new waves of aestheticism and imperialism,[5] from the Victorian heyday: mid-Victorianism, 1851 to 1879. He saw the latter period as characterized by a distinctive mixture of prosperity, domestic prudery, and complacency[6]—what G. M. Trevelyan called the 'mid-Victorian decades of quiet politics and roaring prosperity'....Popular culture

A variety of reading materials grew in popularity during the period, including novels,[51] women's magazines,[52] children's literature,[53] and newspapers.[54] Much literature, including chapbooks, was distributed on the street.[55][56] Music was also very popular, with genres such as folk music, broadsides, music halls, brass bands, theater music and choral music having mass appeal. What is now called classical music was somewhat undeveloped compared to parts of Europe but did have significant support.[57] Many sports were introduced or popularised during the Victorian era.[58] They became important to male identity.[59] Examples included cricket,[60] football,[61] rugby,[62] tennis[63] and cycling.[64] The idea of women participating in sport did not fit well with the Victorian view of femininity, but their involvement did increase as the period progressed.[65] For the middle classes, many leisure activities such as table games could be done in the home while domestic holidays to rural locations such as the Lake District and Scottish Highlands were increasingly practical.[66] The working classes had their own culture separate from that of their richer counterparts, various cheaper forms of entertainment and recreational activities provided by philanthropy. Trips to resorts such as Blackpool were increasingly popular towards the end of period.[67] Initially the industrial revolution increased working hours, but over the course of the 19th century a variety of political and economic changes caused them to fall back down to and in some cases below pre-industrial levels, creating more time for leisure." (wikipedia.)

""A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus Rosa (/ˈroʊzə/), in the family Rosaceae (/roʊˈzeɪsiːˌiː/), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars.[citation needed] They form a group of plants that can be erect shrubs, climbing, or trailing, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles.[citation needed] Their flowers vary in size and shape and are usually large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows and reds. Most species are native to Asia, with smaller numbers native to Europe, North America, and northwestern Africa.[citation needed] Species, cultivars and hybrids are all widely grown for their beauty and often are fragrant. Roses have acquired cultural significance in many societies. Rose plants range in size from compact, miniature roses, to climbers that can reach seven meters in height.[citation needed] Different species hybridize easily, and this has been used in the development of the wide range of garden roses....
Etymology

The name rose comes from Latin rosa, which was perhaps borrowed from Oscan, from Greek ῥόδον rhódon (Aeolic βρόδον wródon), itself borrowed from Old Persian wrd- (wurdi), related to Avestan varəδa, Sogdian ward, Parthian wâr.[1][2]
Botany
Rose thorns are actually prickles – outgrowths of the epidermis
Rose leaflets
Exterior view of rose buds
Longitudinal section through a developing rose hip

The leaves are borne alternately on the stem. In most species they are 5 to 15 centimetres (2.0 to 5.9 in) long, pinnate, with (3–) 5–9 (–13) leaflets and basal stipules; the leaflets usually have a serrated margin, and often a few small prickles on the underside of the stem. Most roses are deciduous but a few (particularly from Southeast Asia) are evergreen or nearly so.

The flowers of most species have five petals, with the exception of Rosa sericea, which usually has only four. Each petal is divided into two distinct lobes and is usually white or pink, though in a few species yellow or red. Beneath the petals are five sepals (or in the case of some Rosa sericea, four). These may be long enough to be visible when viewed from above and appear as green points alternating with the rounded petals. There are multiple superior ovaries that develop into achenes.[3] Roses are insect-pollinated in nature.

The aggregate fruit of the rose is a berry-like structure called a rose hip. Many of the domestic cultivars do not produce hips, as the flowers are so tightly petalled that they do not provide access for pollination. The hips of most species are red, but a few (e.g. Rosa pimpinellifolia) have dark purple to black hips. Each hip comprises an outer fleshy layer, the hypanthium, which contains 5–160 "seeds" (technically dry single-seeded fruits called achenes) embedded in a matrix of fine, but stiff, hairs. Rose hips of some species, especially the dog rose (Rosa canina) and rugosa rose (Rosa rugosa), are very rich in vitamin C, among the richest sources of any plant. The hips are eaten by fruit-eating birds such as thrushes and waxwings, which then disperse the seeds in their droppings. Some birds, particularly finches, also eat the seeds.

The sharp growths along a rose stem, though commonly called "thorns", are technically prickles, outgrowths of the epidermis (the outer layer of tissue of the stem), unlike true thorns, which are modified stems. Rose prickles are typically sickle-shaped hooks, which aid the rose in hanging onto other vegetation when growing over it. Some species such as Rosa rugosa and Rosa pimpinellifolia have densely packed straight prickles, probably an adaptation to reduce browsing by animals, but also possibly an adaptation to trap wind-blown sand and so reduce erosion and protect their roots (both of these species grow naturally on coastal sand dunes). Despite the presence of prickles, roses are frequently browsed by deer. A few species of roses have only vestigial prickles that have no points.
Evolution

The oldest remains of roses are from the Late Eocene Florissant Formation of Colorado.[4] Roses were present in Europe by the early Oligocene.[5]

Today's garden roses come from 18th-century China.[6] Among the old Chinese garden roses, the Old Blush group is the most primitive, while newer groups are the most diverse.[7]
Species
Main article: List of Rosa species

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Blooming roses at Huntington Library in San Marino, California, United States
Blooming Rrses, various species at Rose Garden at Huntington Library in San Marino, California
Rosa gallica 'Evêque', painted by Redouté

The genus Rosa is composed of 140–180 species and divided into four subgenera:[8]

    Hulthemia (formerly Simplicifoliae, meaning "with single leaves") containing two species from southwest Asia, Rosa persica and Rosa berberifolia, which are the only roses without compound leaves or stipules.
    Hesperrhodos (from the Greek for "western rose") contains Rosa minutifolia and Rosa stellata, from North America.
    Platyrhodon (from the Greek for "flaky rose", referring to flaky bark) with one species from east Asia, Rosa roxburghii (also known as the chestnut rose).
    Rosa (the type subgenus, sometimes incorrectly called Eurosa) containing all the other roses. This subgenus is subdivided into 11 sections.
        Banksianae – white and yellow flowered roses from China.
        Bracteatae – three species, two from China and one from India.
        Caninae – pink and white flowered species from Asia, Europe and North Africa.
        Carolinae – white, pink, and bright pink flowered species all from North America.
        Chinensis – white, pink, yellow, red and mixed-colour roses from China and Burma.
        Gallicanae – pink to crimson and striped flowered roses from western Asia and Europe.
        Gymnocarpae – one species in western North America (Rosa gymnocarpa), others in east Asia.
        Laevigatae – a single white flowered species from China.
        Pimpinellifoliae – white, pink, bright yellow, mauve and striped roses from Asia and Europe.
        Rosa (syn. sect. Cinnamomeae) – white, pink, lilac, mulberry and red roses from everywhere but North Africa.
        Synstylae – white, pink, and crimson flowered roses from all areas.

Uses

Roses are best known as ornamental plants grown for their flowers in the garden and sometimes indoors. They have been also used for commercial perfumery and commercial cut flower crops. Some are used as landscape plants, for hedging and for other utilitarian purposes such as game cover and slope stabilization.
Ornamental plants
Main article: Garden roses

The majority of ornamental roses are hybrids that were bred for their flowers. A few, mostly species roses are grown for attractive or scented foliage (such as Rosa glauca and Rosa rubiginosa), ornamental thorns (such as Rosa sericea) or for their showy fruit (such as Rosa moyesii).

Ornamental roses have been cultivated for millennia, with the earliest known cultivation known to date from at least 500 BC in Mediterranean countries, Persia, and China.[9] It is estimated that 30 to 35 thousand rose hybrids and cultivars have been bred and selected for garden use as flowering plants.[10] Most are double-flowered with many or all of the stamens having morphed into additional petals.

In the early 19th century the Empress Josephine of France patronized the development of rose breeding at her gardens at Malmaison. As long ago as 1840 a collection numbering over one thousand different cultivars, varieties and species was possible when a rosarium was planted by Loddiges nursery for Abney Park Cemetery, an early Victorian garden cemetery and arboretum in England.
Cut flowers
Main article: Cut flowers
Bouquet of pink roses

Roses are a popular crop for both domestic and commercial cut flowers. Generally they are harvested and cut when in bud, and held in refrigerated conditions until ready for display at their point of sale.

In temperate climates, cut roses are often grown in greenhouses, and in warmer countries they may also be grown under cover in order to ensure that the flowers are not damaged by weather and that pest and disease control can be carried out effectively. Significant quantities are grown in some tropical countries, and these are shipped by air to markets across the world.[11]

Some kind of roses are artificially coloured using dyed water, like rainbow roses.
Perfume
Further information: Rose oil and Rose water
Geraniol (C
10H
18O)

Rose perfumes are made from rose oil (also called attar of roses), which is a mixture of volatile essential oils obtained by steam distilling the crushed petals of roses. An associated product is rose water which is used for cooking, cosmetics, medicine and religious practices. The production technique originated in Persia[12] and then spread through Arabia and India, and more recently into eastern Europe. In Bulgaria, Iran and Germany, damask roses (Rosa × damascena 'Trigintipetala') are used. In other parts of the world Rosa × centifolia is commonly used. The oil is transparent pale yellow or yellow-grey in colour. 'Rose Absolute' is solvent-extracted with hexane and produces a darker oil, dark yellow to orange in colour. The weight of oil extracted is about one three-thousandth to one six-thousandth of the weight of the flowers; for example, about two thousand flowers are required to produce one gram of oil.

The main constituents of attar of roses are the fragrant alcohols geraniol and L-citronellol and rose camphor, an odorless solid composed of alkanes, which separates from rose oil.[13] β-Damascenone is also a significant contributor to the scent.
Food and drink
Rosa rubiginosa hips
Farming of Rosa rugosa

Rose hips are high in vitamin C, are edible raw,[14] and occasionally made into jam, jelly, marmalade, and soup, or are brewed for tea. They are also pressed and filtered to make rose hip syrup. Rose hips are also used to produce rose hip seed oil, which is used in skin products and some makeup products.[15]
Gulab jamun made with rose water

Rose water has a very distinctive flavour and is used in Middle Eastern, Persian, and South Asian cuisine—especially in sweets such as Turkish delight,[16] barfi, baklava, halva, gulab jamun, knafeh, and nougat. Rose petals or flower buds are sometimes used to flavour ordinary tea, or combined with other herbs to make herbal teas. A sweet preserve of rose petals called gulkand is common in the Indian subcontinent. The leaves and washed roots are also sometimes used to make tea.[14]

In France, there is much use of rose syrup, most commonly made from an extract of rose petals. In the Indian subcontinent, Rooh Afza, a concentrated squash made with roses, is popular, as are rose-flavoured frozen desserts such as ice cream and kulfi.[17][18]

The flower stems and young shoots are edible, as are the petals (sans the white or green bases).[14] The latter are usually used as flavouring or to add their scent to food.[19] Other minor uses include candied rose petals.[20]

Rose creams (rose-flavoured fondant covered in chocolate, often topped with a crystallised rose petal) are a traditional English confectionery widely available from numerous producers in the UK.

Under the American Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,[21] there are only certain Rosa species, varieties, and parts are listed as generally recognized as safe (GRAS).

    Rose absolute: Rosa alba L., Rosa centifolia L., Rosa damascena Mill., Rosa gallica L., and vars. of these spp.
    Rose (otto of roses, attar of roses): Ditto
    Rose buds
    Rose flowers
    Rose fruit (hips)
    Rose leaves: Rosa spp.[22]

Medicine

The rose hip, usually from R. canina, is used as a minor source of vitamin C. The fruits of many species have significant levels of vitamins and have been used as a food supplement. Many roses have been used in herbal and folk medicines. Rosa chinensis has long been used in Chinese traditional medicine. This and other species have been used for stomach problems, and are being investigated for controlling cancer growth.[23] In pre-modern medicine, diarrhodon (Gr διάρροδον, "compound of roses", from ῥόδων, "of roses"[24]) is a name given to various compounds in which red roses are an ingredient.
Art and symbolism
Main article: Rose (symbolism)

The long cultural history of the rose has led to it being used often as a symbol. In ancient Greece, the rose was closely associated with the goddess Aphrodite.[25][26] In the Iliad, Aphrodite protects the body of Hector using the "immortal oil of the rose"[27][25] and the archaic Greek lyric poet Ibycus praises a beautiful youth saying that Aphrodite nursed him "among rose blossoms".[28][25] The second-century AD Greek travel writer Pausanias associates the rose with the story of Adonis and states that the rose is red because Aphrodite wounded herself on one of its thorns and stained the flower red with her blood.[29][25] Book Eleven of the ancient Roman novel The Golden Ass by Apuleius contains a scene in which the goddess Isis, who is identified with Venus, instructs the main character, Lucius, who has been transformed into a donkey, to eat rose petals from a crown of roses worn by a priest as part of a religious procession in order to regain his humanity.[26]

Following the Christianization of the Roman Empire, the rose became identified with the Virgin Mary. The colour of the rose and the number of roses received has symbolic representation.[30][31][26] The rose symbol eventually led to the creation of the rosary and other devotional prayers in Christianity.[32][26]

Ever since the 1400s, the Franciscans have had a Crown Rosary of the Seven Joys of the Blessed Virgin Mary.[26] In the 1400s and 1500s, the Carthusians promoted the idea of sacred mysteries associated with the rose symbol and rose gardens.[26] Albrecht Dürer's painting The Feast of the Rosary (1506) depicts the Virgin Mary distributing garlands of roses to her worshippers.[26]

Roses symbolised the Houses of York and Lancaster in a conflict known as the Wars of the Roses.

Roses are a favored subject in art and appear in portraits, illustrations, on stamps, as ornaments or as architectural elements. The Luxembourg-born Belgian artist and botanist Pierre-Joseph Redouté is known for his detailed watercolours of flowers, particularly roses.

Henri Fantin-Latour was also a prolific painter of still life, particularly flowers including roses. The rose 'Fantin-Latour' was named after the artist.

Other impressionists including Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne and Pierre-Auguste Renoir have paintings of roses among their works. In the 19th century, for example, artists associated the city of Trieste with a certain rare white rose, and this rose developed as the city's symbol. It was not until 2021 that the rose, which was believed to be extinct, was rediscovered there.[33]

In 1986 President Ronald Reagan signed legislation to make the rose[34] the floral emblem of the United States." (wikipedia.)

"A necklace is an article of jewellery that is worn around the neck. Necklaces may have been one of the earliest types of adornment worn by humans.[1] They often serve ceremonial, religious, magical, or funerary purposes and are also used as symbols of wealth and status, given that they are commonly made of precious metals and stones.

The main component of a necklace is the band, chain, or cord that wraps around the neck. These are most often rendered in precious metals such as gold, silver, and platinum. Necklaces often have additional attachments suspended or inset into the necklace itself. These attachments typically include pendants, lockets, amulets, crosses, and precious and semi-precious materials such as diamond, pearls, rubies, emeralds, garnets, and sapphires. They are made with many different type of materials and are used for many things and sometimes classed as clothing." (wikipedia.)

"Various folk cultures and traditions assign symbolic meaning to the rose, though these are seldom understood in-depth. Examples of deeper meanings lie within the language of flowers, and how a rose may have a different meaning in arrangements. Examples of common meanings of different coloured roses are: true love (red), mystery (blue), innocence or purity (white), death (black), friendship (yellow), and passion (orange). ...
In religion
Greco-Roman religion
Venus Verticordia (1868) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, showing the goddess Aphrodite surrounded by red roses

In ancient Greece, the rose was closely associated with the goddess Aphrodite.[2][3] In the Iliad, Aphrodite protects the body of Hector using the "immortal oil of the rose"[4][2] and the archaic Greek lyric poet Ibycus praises a beautiful youth saying that Aphrodite nursed him "among rose blossoms".[5] The second-century AD Greek travel writer Pausanias associates the rose with the story of Adonis[6] Book Eleven of the ancient Roman novel The Golden Ass by Apuleius contains a scene in which the goddess Isis, who is identified with Venus, instructs the main character, Lucius, who has been transformed into a donkey, to eat rose petals from a crown of roses worn by a priest as part of a religious procession in order to regain his humanity.[3]
Judaism

In the Song of Songs 2:1-2, the Jewish people are compared with a rose, remaining beautiful amongst thorns,[7] although some translations instead refer to a "lily among thorns."[8] The Zohar uses a "thirteen-petalled rose" as a symbol for the thirteen attributes of Divine Mercy[7] named in Exodus 34:6-7.[9] The rose and rosettes were also used to symbolize royalty and Israel,[10] and were used in wreaths for the bridegroom at weddings in Biblical times.[11]
Christianity

Following the Christianization of the Roman Empire, the rose became identified with the Virgin Mary.[12][3] The rose symbol eventually led to the creation of the rosary and other devotional prayers in Christianity.[13][3] Ever since the 1400s, the Franciscans have had a Crown Rosary of the Seven Joys of the Blessed Virgin Mary.[3] In the 1400s and 1500s, the Carthusians promoted the idea of sacred mysteries associated with the rose symbol and rose gardens.[3] Albrecht Dürer's painting The Feast of the Rosary (1506) depicts the Virgin Mary distributing garlands of roses to her worshippers.[3]
Islam

The cultivation of geometrical gardens, in which the rose has often held pride of place, has a long history in Iran and surrounding lands.[14][15] In the lyric ghazal, it is the beauty of the rose that provokes the longing song of the nightingale[16] – an image prominent, for example, in the poems of Hafez.[17]

In turn, the imagery of lover and beloved became a type of the Sufi mystic's quest for divine love, so that Ibn Arabi, for example, aligns the rose with the beloved's blushing cheek on the one hand and, on the other, with the divine names and attributes.[18]

Other well-known examples of rose symbolism in Sufism include:

    The Sufi master Jilani is known as "the Rose of Baghdad" and his order, the Qadiriyya, uses the rose as its symbol.
    Two prominent books aligned with Sufism are The Rose Garden by Saadi and Mahmud Shabistari's The Rose Garden of Secrets.

In Europe
Spain
Selling roses on St George's Day in Catalonia, Spain

Catalans in the north eastern of Spain have traditionally celebrated Saint George's Day (April 23) – which commemorates Saint George (Sant Jordi), the patron saint of the Catalonia region; as the dia dels enamorats ("lovers' day"), on which lovers exchange blood-red roses.[19]
England
The Tudor rose
The rose as a heraldic symbol: the coat of arms of Ružomberok in Slovakia. The town's name in literal translation is "Hill of roses".

The rose is the national flower of England, a usage dating back to the English civil wars of the fifteenth century (later called Wars of the Roses), in which a red rose represented the House of Lancaster, and a white rose represented the House of York.[20] The Tudor dynasty created the Tudor rose, which united both the white and the red roses, a symbolism dramatized by Shakespeare in his play Richard III.[21][22] The traditional ballad "The Rose of England" (Child 166) recounts the seizure of the crown by Earl of Richmond (who became Henry VII of England, the founder of the Tudor dynasty), using the "red rose" as an allegory for Henry.[23]

The England national rugby union team and Rugby Football Union adopted the red rose as their symbol in 1871, and the rose has appeared on players' kit ever since.[24]

The red rose is the symbol for the UK Labour Party.
In North America
United States

In 1986, the rose was adopted as the national floral emblem of the United States.[25][26]

It is the state flower of five U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

    Iowa: The wild rose was adopted as the state's flower in 1896.[27]
    North Dakota: The wild prairie rose was adopted as the official state flower of North Dakota in 1907. The colors of the rose (green and pink) had previously been adopted by the first graduating class of the University of North Dakota in 1889.[28]
    Georgia: The Cherokee rose (R. laevigata) was adopted as the state's official floral emblem in 1916.[29]
    New York: In 1955, the state adopted the rose as the state flower; the legislation stated: "The rose shall be the official flower of the state in any color or combination of colors common to it."[30]
    Oklahoma: In 2004, Oklahoma adopted a new cultivar named Oklahoma rose as state flower.

Portland, Oregon has counted "City of Roses" among its nicknames (see roses in Portland, Oregon) since 1888,[31] and has held an annual Rose Festival since 1905.[32] The city is also known for its International Rose Test Garden.[31]

Pasadena, California – also nicknamed the "City of Roses" – has held the annual Tournament of Roses Parade since 1890, and 1902 the Parade has been held in conjunction with the Rose Bowl Game (which is now played at the city's Rose Bowl stadium, built in 1922).[33][34]

In April 2011, the U.S. government's space program agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), celebrated the Hubble Space Telescope's 21st anniversary by releasing an image of spiral galaxies Arp 273 positioned in a rose-like shape.[35]

The red rose is also part of the official logo of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA),[36] being a symbol of socialism generally.[37]
Canada

In 1930, Rosa acicularis (the wild rose or prickly rose) was adopted as the official provincial flower of the Canadian province of Alberta. The suggestion that a provincial floral emblem be adopted by first made by an Edmonton newspaper editor; "the Women's Institutes took up the suggestion and passed it on to the Department of Education, and the province's schoolchildren made the final choice."[38][39]

The Wildrose Party, a now-defunct Albertan political party, was named after the province's official flower.[40]
Mexico
The Mexican city of Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco, is nicknamed the "City of Roses" (Ciudad de las Rosas)....
Allegorically in literature

The rose in an allegorical sense appears many times in literature. In William Blake's poem "The Sick Rose" the rose is a symbol for love or passion, it is crimson and dark but now sick, the worm has infected it. The rose in the popular 13th-century French poem "Romance of the Rose" is a personification of the woman, the object of the lover's attentions, and his plucking of the rose represents his conquest of her. In the title of William Faulkner's short story "A Rose for Emily" the rose has a number of possible meanings: as Emily's lover now dried and preserved, or a secret as per sub rosa. In a postscript to The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco discusses the reason behind the title to his 1983 novel: "because the rose is a symbolic figure so rich in meanings that by now it hardly has any meaning left".
Relationships

A red rose is a gift primarily given to a love interest, symbolizing a marital or romantic relationship. A white rose is gifted when the gifter's intention is friendship and there are no romantic feelings involved. Red is traditionally seen as a symbol of passion, while white is a symbol of purity and innocence.
Other

The "White Rose" (German die Weiße Rose) was a World War II non-violent intellectual resistance group in the Third Reich led by a group of students and a professor at the University of Munich. The group conducted an anonymous leaflet and graffiti campaign that called for active opposition to the Nazi party regime. Their activities started in Munich on 27 June 1942, and ended with the arrest of the core group by the Gestapo on 18 February 1943.

Under Gestapo interrogation, Hans Scholl gave several explanations for the origin of the name "The White Rose," and suggested he may have chosen it while he was under the emotional influence of a 19th-century poem with the same name by German poet Clemens Brentano. It was also speculated that the name might have been taken from either the Cuban poet, Jose Marti's verse "Cultivo una rosa blanca" or a German novel Die Weiße Rose (The White Rose), written by B. Traven, the German author of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Hans Scholl and Alex Schmorell had read this novel. They also wrote that the symbol of the white rose was intended to represent purity and innocence in the face of evil." (wikipedia.)

"Floriography (language of flowers) is a means of cryptological communication through the use or arrangement of flowers. Meaning has been attributed to flowers for thousands of years, and some form of floriography has been practiced in traditional cultures throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa. Plants and flowers are used as symbols in the Hebrew Bible, particularly of love and lovers in the Song of Songs,[1] as an emblem for the Israelite people,[2] and for the coming Messiah.[3] In Western culture, William Shakespeare ascribed emblematic meanings to flowers, especially in Hamlet.

Interest in floriography soared in Victorian England and in the United States during the 19th century. Gifts of blooms, plants, and specific floral arrangements were used to send a coded message to the recipient, allowing the sender to express feelings which could not be spoken aloud in Victorian society.[4][5] Armed with floral dictionaries, Victorians often exchanged small "talking bouquets", called nosegays or tussie-mussies, which could be worn or carried as a fashion accessory.[citation needed]
Contents

    1 History
    2 Meanings
    3 In literature
    4 In art
    5 See also
    6 Notes and references

History
Illustration from Floral Poetry and the Language of Flowers (1877)

According to Jayne Alcock, grounds and gardens supervisor at the Walled Gardens of Cannington, the renewed Victorian era interest in the language of flowers finds its roots in Ottoman Turkey, specifically the court in Constantinople[6] and an obsession it held with tulips during the first half of the 18th century. The Victorian use of flowers as a means of covert communication bloomed alongside a growing interest in botany.

The floriography craze was introduced to Europe by two people: Englishwoman Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762), who brought it to England in 1717, and Aubry de La Mottraye (1674–1743), who introduced it to the Swedish court in 1727. Joseph Hammer-Purgstall's Dictionnaire du language des fleurs (1809) appears to be the first published list associating flowers with symbolic definitions, while the first dictionary of floriography appears in 1819 when Louise Cortambert, writing under pen name Madame Charlotte de la Tour, wrote Le langage des Fleurs.

Floriography was popularized in France during 1810–1850, while in Britain it was popular during the Victorian age (roughly 1820–1880), and in the United States during 1830–1850. La Tour's book stimulated the publishing industry especially in France, England, and the United States, but also in Belgium, Germany, and other European countries as well as in South America. Publishers from these countries produced hundreds of editions of floriography books during the 19th century.

British floral dictionaries include Henry Phillips' Floral Emblems published in 1825 and Frederic Shoberl's The Language of Flowers; With Illustrative Poetry, in 1834. Shoberl was the editor of the popular annual "Forget Me Not" from 1822 to 1834.

Robert Tyas was a popular British flower writer, publisher, and clergyman, who lived from 1811 to 1879; his book, The Sentiment of Flowers; or, Language of Flora, first published in 1836 and reprinted by various publishing houses at least through 1880, was billed as an English version of Charlotte de la Tour's book.[7]

One of the most familiar books about floriography is Routledge's edition illustrated by Kate Greenaway, The Language of Flowers. First published in 1884, it continues to be reprinted to this day.

In the United States the first appearance of the language of flowers in print was in the writings of Constantine Samuel Rafinesque, a French-American naturalist, who wrote on-going features under the title "The School of Flora", from 1827 through 1828, in the weekly Saturday Evening Post and the monthly Casket; or Flowers of Literature, Wit, and Sentiment. These pieces contained the botanic, English, and French names of the plant, a description of the plant, an explanation of its Latin names, and the flower's emblematic meaning. However, the first books on floriography were Elizabeth Wirt's Flora's Dictionary and Dorothea Dix's The Garland of Flora, both of which were published in 1829, though Wirt's book had been issued in an unauthorized edition in 1828.

During its peak in the United States, the language of flowers attracted the attention of popular writers and editors. Sarah Josepha Hale, longtime editor of the Ladies' Magazine and co-editor of Godey's Lady's Book, edited Flora's Interpreter in 1832; it continued in print through the 1860s. Catharine H. Waterman Esling wrote a long poem titled "The Language of Flowers", which first appeared in 1839 in her own language of flowers book, Flora's Lexicon; it continued in print through the 1860s. Lucy Hooper, an editor, novelist, poet, and playwright, included several of her flower poems in The Lady's Book of Flowers and Poetry, first published in 1841. Frances Sargent Osgood, a poet and friend of Edgar Allan Poe, first published The Poetry of Flowers and Flowers of Poetry in 1841, and it continued in print through the 1860s. Osgood edited a special gift book, The Floral Offering, in 1847. Sarah Carter Edgarton Mayo, author of several flower books, was associate editor of the Universalist monthly The Ladies' Repository in Boston from 1839 to 1842. Her book, The Flower Vase, was published in 1844. She edited the books Fables of Flora in 1844 and The Floral Fortune Teller in 1846. C. M. Kirtland is probably Caroline Matilda Kirkland, editor of the Union Magazine of Literature and Art from 1847 to 1851 and the Unitarian weekly Christian Inquirer from 1847 to 1852. First published in 1848, Kirkland's Poetry of Flowers continued to be in print at least until 1886. One of the more comprehensive books, its 522 pages contain an extensive dictionary and numerous flower poems.
Meanings

The significance assigned to specific flowers in Western culture varied – nearly every flower had multiple associations, listed in the hundreds of floral dictionaries – but a consensus of meaning for common blooms has emerged. Often, definitions derive from the appearance or behavior of the plant itself. For example, the mimosa, or sensitive plant, represents chastity. This is because the leaves of the mimosa close at night, or when touched. Likewise, the deep red rose and its thorns have been used to symbolize both the blood of Christ and the intensity of romantic love, while the rose's five petals are thought to illustrate the five crucifixion wounds of Christ. Pink roses imply a lesser affection, white roses suggest virtue and chastity, and yellow roses stand for friendship or devotion. The black rose (actually a very dark shade of red, purple, or maroon)[8] has a long association with death and dark magic.[citation needed]

"A woman also had to be pretty precise about where she wore flowers. Say, for instance, a suitor had sent her a tussie-mussie (a.k.a. nosegay). If she pinned it to the 'cleavage of bosom', that would be bad news for him, since that signified friendship. Ah, but if she pinned it over her heart, 'That was an unambiguous declaration of love'."[9]

Later authors have been inspired by this tradition to create lists that associate a birthday flower with each day of the year....
In literature
William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Charlotte and Emily Brontë, and children's novelist Frances Hodgson Burnett, among others, used the language of flowers in their writings.
Shakespeare used the word "flower" more than 100 times in his plays and sonnets.[11] In Hamlet, Ophelia mentions and explains the symbolic meaning of pansies, rosemary, fennel, lilies, columbine, rue, daisy, and violets.[12] In The Winter's Tale, the princess Perdita wishes that she had violets, daffodils, and primroses to make garlands for her friends. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Oberon talks to his messenger Puck amidst a scene of wild flowers.[13]

In J. K. Rowling's 1997 novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Professor Severus Snape uses the language of flowers to express regret and mourning for the death of Lily Potter, his childhood friend and Harry Potter's mother, according to Pottermore.
Chuck Palahniuk's 1999 novel Survivor features a discussion of Victorian flower language.
Flowers are often used as a symbol of femininity. John Steinbeck's short story "The Chrysanthemums" centers around the yellow florets, which are often associated with optimism and lost love. When the protagonist, Elisa, finds her beloved chrysanthemums tossed on the ground, her hobby and womanhood have been ruined; this suffices the themes of lost appreciation and femininity in Steinbeck's work.[15]

In 2009, Vanessa Diffenbaugh published a New York Times-bestselling novel centered on floriography, The Language of Flowers, as well as her own flower dictionary.[16]

In the poetic anthology Vivere e non vivere (2018) by the Italian writer Sabrina Gatti, Julie, the protagonist, is identified in the Lilium or in the Hydrangea, using the language of flowers, a topic to which the same writer in 2019 dedicates an essay entitled Florigrafia. Il linguaggio dei fiori.

Hajime Isayama frequently used various types of flowers for symbolism and foreshadowing in his manga series Attack on Titan, which also includes Hanakotoba (花言葉), the Japanese form of floriography.[17][18]
In art

Several Anglican churches in England have paintings, sculpture, or stained glass windows of the lily crucifix, depicting Christ crucified on or holding a lily. One example is a window at The Clopton Chantry Chapel Church in Long Melford, Suffolk, England, UK.

The Victorian Pre-Raphaelites, a group of 19th-century painters and poets who aimed to revive the purer art of the late medieval period, captured classic notions of beauty romantically. These artists are known for their idealistic portrayal of women, emphasis on nature and morality, and use of literature and mythology. Flowers laden with symbolism figure prominently in much of their work. John Everett Millais, a founder of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, used oils to create pieces filled with naturalistic elements and rich in floriography. His painting Ophelia (1852) depicts Shakespeare's drowned stargazer floating amid the flowers she describes in Act IV, Scene V of Hamlet.
The Edwardian artist John Singer Sargent spent much time painting outdoors in the English countryside, frequently utilizing floral symbolism. Sargent's first major success came in 1887, with Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, a large piece painted on site in the plein air manner, of two young girls lighting lanterns in an English garden.

Contemporary artist Whitney Lynn created a site-specific project for the San Diego International Airport[19] employing floriography, utilizing flowers' ability to communicate messages that otherwise would be restricted or difficult to speak aloud.[20] Lynn previously created a work, Memorial Bouquet,[21] utilizing floral symbolism for the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery. Based on Dutch Golden Age still-life painting, the flowers in the arrangement represent countries that have been sites of US military operations and conflicts." (wikipedia.)

"Magic Kingdom Park is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It opened on October 1, 1971, and is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division. The official park name has changed slightly over the years, from Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017). The park was initialized by Walt Disney and designed by WED Enterprises. The park layout and attractions were based on Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and are dedicated to fairy tales and Disney characters.

The park icon is Cinderella Castle, inspired by the fairy tale castle featured in the 1950 animated film. In 2022, the park hosted 17.13 million visitors, making it the most visited theme park in the world for the sixteenth consecutive year and the most visited theme park in North America for at least the past twenty-two years. The park has become a cultural touchstone and symbol of modern American pop culture.

History
Conception
Magic Kingdom entrance

Although Walt Disney had been highly involved in planning the resort complex and park, he died in 1966, before he could see the vision through. Although Walt Disney did not live to see Walt Disney World, he did come to Florida in person to survey the land, meet with local officials, and announce the project to the media. After Walt's death, his brother Roy Disney took over the project. Walt Disney Productions began construction on Magic Kingdom and the entire resort in 1967. The park was built as a larger, improved version of Disneyland in California.

Magic Kingdom was built over a series of tunnels called utilidors, a portmanteau of utility and corridor, allowing employees (called "cast members") or VIP guests to move through the park out of sight.[3]

Because of Florida's high water table, the tunnels could not be put underground, so they were built at the existing grade, meaning the park is built on the second story, giving the Magic Kingdom an elevation of 108 feet (33 m). The area around the utilidors was filled in with dirt removed from the Seven Seas Lagoon, which was being constructed at the same time. The utilidors were built in the initial construction and were not extended as the park expanded. The tunnels were intended to be designed into all subsequent Walt Disney World parks but were set aside mostly because of financial constraints.
Opening and operation
Dedication

Walt Disney World is a tribute to the philosophy and life of Walter Elias Disney... and to the talents, the dedication, and the loyalty of the entire Disney organization that made Walt Disney's dream come true. May Walt Disney World bring Joy and Inspiration and New Knowledge to all who come to this happy place ... a Magic Kingdom where the young at heart of all ages can laugh and play and learn together.

Roy O. Disney, October 25, 1971[4]

Magic Kingdom Park opened as the first part of the Walt Disney World Resort on October 1, 1971, commencing concurrently with Disney's Contemporary Resort and Disney's Polynesian Village Resort. It opened with twenty-three attractions, three unique to the park and twenty replicas of attractions at Disneyland, split into six themed lands, five copies of those at Disneyland (Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland) and the Magic Kingdom exclusive of Liberty Square, rather than the Disneyland New Orleans Square. The Walt Disney Company promised to increase this number with a combination of replicas and unique attractions. While there is no individual dedication to Magic Kingdom, the dedication by Roy O. Disney for the entire resort was placed within its gates.

The only land added to the original roster of lands in the park was Mickey's Toontown Fair. The land originally opened in 1988 as Mickey's Birthdayland to celebrate Mickey Mouse's 60th birthday. Later the land was renovated as Mickey's Starland and eventually to Mickey's Toontown Fair. The land was home to attractions such as Mickey's Country House, Minnie's Country House, The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm, and Donald's Boat. It closed on February 12, 2011, to make way for the expansion of Fantasyland. The Walt Disney World Railroad station in Mickey's Toontown Fair, which opened with Mickey's Birthdayland in 1988, was closed for the duration of the construction. In 2012, the space where Mickey's Toontown Fair sat reopened as a part of Fantasyland, in a sub-section called the Storybook Circus, where an updated Dumbo the Flying Elephant attraction was relocated. The Barnstormer was retained and was re-themed to The Great Goofini.[5]
Main Street, U.S.A., with Cinderella Castle in the far distance, pre-2000.

Since opening day, Magic Kingdom has been closed temporarily because of eight hurricanes: Floyd, Charley, Frances, Jeanne, Wilma, Matthew, Irma, and Ian.[6] The first non-hurricane related day the park has closed is on September 11, 2001, due to the terrorist attacks that day.[7] Walt Disney World was closed from March 15, 2020, to July 11, 2020, due to the .[8][9][10] In addition, there are four "phases" of park closure when Magic Kingdom exceeds capacity, ranging from restricted access for most guests (Phase 1) to full closure for everyone, even cast-members (Phase 4).[11]

"Magic Kingdom" was often used as an unofficial nickname for Disneyland before Walt Disney World was built. The official tagline for Disneyland is "The Happiest Place On Earth", while the tagline for Magic Kingdom is "The Most Magical Place On Earth". Up until the early 1990s, Magic Kingdom was officially known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom, and was never printed without the Walt Disney World prefix. This purpose was to differentiate between the park and Disneyland in California. In 1994, to differentiate it from Disneyland, the park was officially renamed Magic Kingdom Park.

Alcoholic beverages had been prohibited from the park since its opening, but this policy has gradually changed. In 2012, the Be Our Guest Restaurant opened selling wine and beer for the first time. This was the only place in the park where alcohol was permitted until December 2014 when four additional restaurants began selling beer and wine including Cinderella's Royal Table, Liberty Tree Tavern, Tony's Town Square Restaurant, and the Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen.[12][13] And finally in 2018, the park officially became the second Magic Kingdom-style park to serve alcohol at all table service restaurants, after Disneyland Paris in 1993.[14]

Early in 2024, a Disney executive confirmed that the park will expand with the addition of a 12-to-14-acre (4.9 to 5.7 ha) land located “beyond Big Thunder.”[15]
Park layout and attractions
See also: List of Magic Kingdom attractions

Magic Kingdom is divided into six themed "lands." The center of the park in front of Cinderella Castle is designed like a wheel with a hub and spoke design. Pathways spoke out from the hub across the 107 acres (43 ha) of the park and lead to these six lands.[16] The Walt Disney World Railroad circles around the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) perimeter of the park.

Main Street, U.S.A.
Main article: Main Street, U.S.A.

Main Street, U.S.A. is modeled after an idealized early-20th century American town, inspired by Walt Disney's hometown of Marceline, Missouri. Main Street features a train station, town square, movie theater, city hall, firehouse, restaurants, emporium, shops, arcades, and several varieties of horse-drawn and motor-powered vehicles. Guests enter the park underneath the main station of the Walt Disney World Railroad and into the town square. At the far end of Main Street, U.S.A. is the park's hub, anchored by Cinderella Castle and the Partners statue.

Symbolically, Main Street represents the park's "opening credits", where guests pass under the train station (the opening curtain) at left or right, then view the names of key personnel along the windows of the buildings' upper floors. Many windows bear the name of a fictional business, such as "Seven Summits Expeditions, Frank G. Wells President", with each representing a tribute to significant people connected to the Disney company and the development of the Walt Disney World Resort. It features stylistic influences from around the country. Taking its inspiration from New England to Missouri, this design is most noticeable in the four corners in the middle of Main Street, where each of the four corner buildings represents a different architectural style. The second and third stories of all the buildings along Main Street are designed with forced perspective, and are actually shorter than the first stories. The musical soundtrack played at the entrance includes musical selections from the 1943 Broadway musical Oklahoma! and the 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man.[17] The Dapper Dans, a men's a cappella singing group, typically perform throughout Main Street.
Adventureland
Main article: Adventureland

Adventureland represents the mystery of exploring exotic lands and features several attractions themed to resemble the remote landscapes of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, South America, the Caribbean, and the South Pacific. Jungle Cruise is a comedic riverboat cruise attraction that travels along wild waterways from around the world. Pirates of the Caribbean is a dark ride depicting the exploits and plundering of a pirate siege on Caribbean island town featuring several characters from the subsequent eponymous film series. Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room is a Polynesian musical Audio-Animatronic show drawing from American tiki culture in the Sunshine pavilion. Swiss Family Treehouse is an interactive walk-through treehouse attraction based on the 1960 film, Swiss Family Robinson. The Magic Carpets of Aladdin is an aerial carousel-style ride based on the 1992 film, Aladdin.
Frontierland
Main article: Frontierland

Frontierland is a romanticized portrayal of the American frontier, particularly elements from the American Old West, including cowboys, Native Americans and Western saloons.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a mine train roller coaster featuring a runaway mine train through mine shafts and canyons of the American Southwest. Tom Sawyer Island is inspired by the literary characters and stories of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, featuring interactive trails and scenic outlooks. Surrounding Tom Sawyer Island is the Rivers of America, an artificial waterway based on the untamed rivers found across the United States, that flows through Frontierland and Liberty Square. Traversing through the Rivers of America is the Liberty Belle Riverboat, a steam-powered riverboat attraction themed to a 19th-century sternwheeler. Within the facade shoppes is the Frontierland Shootin' Arcade, a classic shooting gallery. Forthcoming attractions include the Country Bear Musical Jamboree and Tiana's Bayou Adventure.
Liberty Square
Main article: Liberty Square

Liberty Square is inspired by a colonial American town set during the American Revolutionary War. The land contains recreations and replicas found in Philadelphia and Boston such as Independence Hall, the Liberty Tree, and the Liberty Bell. The Hall of Presidents is a film presentation and stage show themed to the American presidency and featuring all 45 individual American presidents in Audio-Animatronic form. Tucked away in a desolate corner of Liberty Square is The Haunted Mansion, a dark ride omnimover attraction themed to a haunted New England manor. The Liberty Belle riverboat's dock is located on the shores of Liberty Square.
Fantasyland
Main article: Fantasyland

Fantasyland is themed to Disney's animated fairy tale feature films. Depicted in a medieval-faire style, Fantasyland features multiple attractions featuring various Disney characters and stories, including Peter Pan's Flight, It's a Small World, Mickey's PhilharMagic in Fantasyland Theatre, Mad Tea Party, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and Prince Charming Regal Carrousel.

Outside of the castle courtyard is Fantasyland Forest, featuring attractions based on other Disney princesses and heroines: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, is a mine cart roller coaster based on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure is a dark ride omnimover attraction based on The Little Mermaid; Be Our Guest Restaurant is a themed restaurant with character dining themed to Beast's castle in Beauty and the Beast; Enchanted Tales with Belle, and Ariel's Grotto.
Storybook Circus

Storybook Circus is a subsection of Fantasyland, themed to a traveling circus stopped along a railroad route just outside of Fantasyland Forest. The land's marquee attractions include Dumbo the Flying Elephant, an aerial carousel-style ride based on the 1941 film Dumbo; The Barnstormer, a family roller coaster featuring Goofy as a daredevil stuntman; and Casey Jr. Splash 'n' Soak Station.

Originally, Storybook Circus was the location of Mickey's Toontown Fair, which closed permanently on February 11, 2011. Some elements of Mickey's Toontown Fair were demolished, and others were re-themed to fit the circus concept. An expanded Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride was built, with an interactive queue, and a second Dumbo ride was built next to it, in order to increase capacity. The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm was re-themed to "The Great Goofini". A big top area was built for meet-and-greets, called Pete's Silly Sideshow. This attraction features Goofy as a stuntman, Daisy Duck as a fortune-teller, Donald Duck as a snake-charmer, Minnie Mouse as a magician, and Pluto as a special performer. Storybook Circus opened with a "streetmosphere" circus act called The Giggle Gang, which had a two-year run from 2012 until 2014.[18]
Tomorrowland
Main article: Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland is themed to the concept of the future inspired by the optimism and scientific advancements of the Space Age and Atomic Age.[19][20] Several attractions include Astro Orbiter, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Tomorrowland Speedway, the PeopleMover, and Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. A pair of thrill ride roller coasters are located on the western edge of Tomorrowland: Space Mountain, themed to space exploration through the cosmos; and TRON Lightcycle / Run, based on the digital software world of the Grid from Tron.
Transportation and Ticket Center
Main article: Transportation and Ticket Center
The resort's monorail system and ferryboats transport guests to and from the Magic Kingdom.

Magic Kingdom lies more than a mile away from its parking lot, on the opposite side of the man-made Seven Seas Lagoon. Upon arrival, guests are taken by the parking lot trams to the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC), which sells admission into the parks and provides transportation connections throughout the resort complex. Guests using city buses, non-Disney hotel shuttles or ridesharing services are also dropped off at the TTC.

To travel between the TTC and the Magic Kingdom, guests have their choice of taking a ferry boat or the Walt Disney World Monorail System.

The three ferries are clad in different trim colors and are named for past Disney executives: the General Joe Potter (blue), the Richard F. Irvine (red) and the Admiral Joe Fowler (green). The main monorail loop has two tracks. The outer track is used by the Express Line with direct service between the TTC and Magic Kingdom, while the inner track is the Resort Line with additional stops at the Contemporary, Grand Floridian and Polynesian Village resorts. Epcot is also accessible from the TTC on a spur monorail line that was added upon that park's opening in 1982.

The hotels in the Magic Kingdom Resort Area are connected to the park by walking paths, ferry boats, or the Walt Disney World Monorail System.

Disney-owned hotels in other resort areas have Disney Transport buses to the Magic Kingdom, but these do not serve the TTC. Instead, they operate from three bus loops directly adjacent to the park's main gate....Television adaptation

In 2012, Jon Favreau announced he was planning a film called Magic Kingdom.[44] The film was described as “Night at the Museum at Disneyland,” meaning that the film would tell a story where all the characters at Disney come to life at night.[44] Marc Abraham and Eric Newman of Strike Entertainment were scheduled to produce the film.[45] Writer-producer Ronald D. Moore had previously written an original script for the project, which the studio eventually declined to use, stating that Favreau and a new screenwriter would develop a new script.[45]

In 2021, it was announced that a new project, now developed as a television series for Disney+. Moore was brought back to develop the series which will see that the various lands in the Magic Kingdom are actually gateways to alternate worlds, thus setting up a shared universe. The first in the series will be The Society of Explorers and Adventurers (SEA).[46]
In popular culture

    Adventures in the Magic Kingdom, a 1990 video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System
    Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, a 2003 science fiction novel by Cory Doctorow
    The Kingdom Keepers, a 2005 children's novel by Ridley Pearson
    The Florida Project, a 2017 drama film directed by Sean Baker" (wikipedia.)

"Maid
View source

A maid of the Haunted Mansion

    "Drag your wretched bodies to the dead center of the room."
    —A maid

The Haunted Mansion is staffed by maids and other house servants. Generally, the maids do not smile, and they commonly refer to mortal guests as "bodies."...
History
Background

The maids are servants in the Haunted Mansion. It is unknown if they are animate corpses, ghosts, or possibly even possessed mortals but they are clearly paranormal. They dress in striped green/black dresses and mobcaps decorated with (fabric) bats. According to an unconfirmed Disney Parks story, all maids name the fabric bats which they wear on their heads.
Development History

An unused character concept by Marc Davis which went through a considerable number of development stages was that of a ghost maid. This maid however was much more cartoony and resembled a stereotypical "bed-sheet" ghost.
Appearances
The Haunted Mansion

The maids are played by Cast Members who work at the attraction.

A gargoyle ogling a ghostly maid
Phantom Manor

The servants appear similarly in this attraction as to their appearance in the Haunted Mansion. What is notably is the maid Anna Jones who was the mistress of the manor's owner Henry Ravenswood before her demise, being buried in Thunder Mesa's Boot Hill.
Other Appearances
Ghost Gallery

In the unofficial Ghost Gallery storyline which was created by cast-members who worked at Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion, the ghost haunting the floating candelabra is identified as having been one of the mansion's maids who was named Prudence.

Emma the maid
The Haunted Mansion (2003 Film)

In the 2003 film, a ghostly maid named Emma haunted Gracey Manor, along with her husband Ezra, the footman.
SLG Comics

In Mystery of the Manse, a maid named Michelle came back to Gracey Manor after the Master's death to search for his gold and after finding it, decided to keep living in the Mansion, seeing the spirits as watchdogs and keeping Gracey's remains hanging as a warning to trespassers, while still keeping the house in order. As she grew older, she hired additional help, and left the Gracey fortune to another young woman that would look after the house and the Maid tradition continued into the 21st century.

In The Interview and it's following stories, a young woman named Sarah comes to the Mansion to apply for a Maid position only to discover in her rush to get to the interview with the current head maid that she crashed into a tree and her spirit is the one that arrived. After being revived by an ambulance crew, she becomes interested in becoming the Mansion's 1000th ghost, though is talked out of it by the Caretaker when returning to the Mansion. However, her boyfriend Steve, concerned for her wellbeing, ends up following her to the Mansion and ends up being scared to death, resulting in the Mansion hitting full occupancy and disappearing into the netherworld leaving Sarah, the Caretaker, and the Head Maid behind. The Misery of the Manse ends on a cliffhanger with Sarah jumping into the vortex to try and get Steve back and possibly undo this curse on the Mansion.
Disney Crossy Road

One of the maids is a playable character in this mobile-game's Haunted Mansion stages.
Disney Story Beyond

The Tokyo Disneyland Story Beyond event for the Haunted Mansion features a maid named Z.J. as one of its highlighted ghosts, working alongside a butler named Xavier.
Trivia

    In 2020, the wardrobe of the servants was altered to include face-masks and visors. This was due to the highly infectious which hit Florida particularly hard (although apparently not hard enough for them to shut down their theme-parks)." (www.disney.fandom.com)

"A maid, housemaid, or maidservant is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era, domestic service was the second-largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work.[1] In developed Western nations, full-time maids are now typically only found in the wealthiest households. In other parts of the world (mainly within the continent of Asia), maids remain common in urban middle-class households.

Maid in Middle English meant an unmarried woman, especially a young one, or specifically a virgin. These meanings lived on in English until recent times (and are still familiar from literature and folk music), alongside the sense of the word as a type of servant.[2][3]

The concept of a maid has developed in anime and sci-fi to encompass social robots and virtual human servants.
Description

Maids perform typical domestic chores such as laundry, ironing, cleaning the house, grocery shopping, cooking, and caring for household pets. They may also take care of children, although there are more specific occupations for this, such as nanny. In some poor countries, maids take care of the elderly and people with disabilities. Many maids are required by their employers to wear a uniform.

In the contemporary Western world, comparatively few households can afford live-in domestic help, usually relying on cleaners, employed directly or through an agency (maid service). Many services historically provided by maids have been substituted with IoT devices coordinating with autonomous robots. For example: Amazon Dash and Roomba. While the domestic robot remains an emerging technology, advances in artificial intelligence have enabled robots to perform domestic work.

In less developed nations, various factors ensure a labour source for domestic work: very large differences in the income of urban and rural households, widespread poverty, fewer educated women, and limited opportunities for the employment of less educated women.

Legislation in many countries makes certain living conditions, working hours, or minimum wage a requirement of domestic service. Nonetheless, the work of a maid has always been hard, involving a full day, and extensive duties. Maids would be familiar with hard work and typically worked long hours in a week.[4]
Europe

Maids were once part of an elaborate hierarchy in great houses, where the retinue of servants stretched up to the housekeeper and butler, responsible for female and male employees respectively. It was the best and most common way that women could earn money, especially lower class women.[5] The word "maid" itself means an unmarried young woman or virgin. Domestic workers, particularly those low in the hierarchy, such as maids and footmen, were expected to remain unmarried while in service.[6][7] They had their own section of rooms in the house, though they were far away from the other rooms and weren’t anywhere near as nice as the rest of the house.[8]

Some households employed maids-of-all-work as young as twelve in the 19th century in England and they often worked from five in the morning until late in the evening on a wage of £6 to £9 per year.[9] They had no free time and typically only had one or two days off in a month.[10]

In Victorian England, all middle-class families would have "help", but for most small households, this would be only one employee, the maid of all work, often known colloquially as "the girl".

Historically, many maids suffered from prepatellar bursitis, an inflammation of the prepatellar bursa caused by long periods spent on the knees for purposes of scrubbing and fire-lighting, leading to the condition attracting the colloquial name of "housemaid's knee".[11]

As the end of the nineteenth century neared, the relationship between employer and servant grew more and more distant and they were less loyal.[5] At the end of the nineteenth century, there was a decline in the want for maids and other servants entirely, which has led to today when the majority of people don’t have maids....In popular culture
Further information: Maid fetish

One of the most in-depth and enduring representations of the lives of several types of maid was seen in the 1970s television drama Upstairs, Downstairs, set in England between 1903 and 1936. The lives of maids were well represented in the Downton Abbey series, set in England between 1912 and 1926 and shown from 2010 onward.

The American television drama The Gilded Age, set in the 1880s in New York City, depicts the lives of maids living and working in the great houses of the era.

The main characters in the NAMIC Vision Award-nominated television series Devious Maids are four housemaids." (wikipedia.)

"The Walt Disney World Resort (also known as Walt Disney World or Disney World) is an entertainment resort complex located about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of The Walt Disney Company. The property covers nearly 25,000 acres (39 sq mi; 101 km2), of which half has been developed.[4] Walt Disney World contains numerous recreational facilities designed to attract visitors for an extended stay, including four theme parks, two water parks, four golf courses, conference centers, a competitive sports complex and a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex. Additionally, there are 19 Disney-owned resort hotels and one camping resort on the property, and many other non-Disney-operated resorts on and near the property.

Designed to supplement Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which had opened in 1955, the complex was developed by Walt Disney in the 1960s. Walt wanted to build a new park because Disneyland in California was limited from expanding by the establishments that sprung up around it. "The Florida Project", as it was known, was intended to present a distinct vision with its own diverse set of attractions. Walt Disney's original plans also called for the inclusion of an "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (EPCOT), a planned community intended to serve as a testbed for new city-living innovations. Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966, during the initial planning of the complex. After his death, the company wrestled with the idea of whether to bring the Disney World project to fruition; however, Walt's older brother, Roy O. Disney, came out of retirement to ensure Walt's biggest dream was realized. Construction started in 1967, with the company instead building a resort similar to Disneyland, abandoning the planned community concept. Magic Kingdom was the first theme park to open in the complex in 1971, followed by Epcot (known then as EPCOT Center) in 1982, Disney's Hollywood Studios (known then as Disney-MGM Studios) in 1989, and Disney's Animal Kingdom in 1998. Roy insisted the name of the entire complex be changed from Disney World to Walt Disney World, to memorialize his brother.

Walt Disney World is also covered by an FAA prohibited airspace zone that restricts all airspace activities without approval from the federal government of the United States,[5] including usage of drones; this level of protection is otherwise only offered to American critical infrastructure (such as the Pantex nuclear weapons plant), military bases, the Washington, D.C., Special Flight Rules Area, Camp David, and other official presidential travels.

In 2018, Walt Disney World was the most visited vacation resort in the world, with an average annual attendance of more than 58 million.[6] The resort is the largest single-site employer in the United States,[3] the flagship destination of Disney's worldwide corporate enterprise[7] and has become a popular staple in American culture....1980s–2020
An aerial shot of Walt Disney World in 1982

Much of Walt Disney's plans for his Progress City concept were abandoned after his death and after the company board decided that it did not want to be in the business of running a city. The concept evolved into the resort's second theme park, EPCOT Center, which opened in 1982 (renamed EPCOT in 1996). While still emulating Walt Disney's original idea of showcasing new technology, the park is closer to a world's fair than a "community of tomorrow". One of EPCOT's main attractions is the "World Showcase", which highlights 11 countries across the globe. Some of the urban planning concepts from the original idea of EPCOT would instead be integrated into the community of Celebration, Florida, much later. The resort's third theme park, Disney-MGM Studios (renamed Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2008), opened in 1989 and is inspired by show business.
The 1996 version of The Walt Disney World logo

In the early 1990s, the resort was seeking permits for expansion. There was considerable environmentalist push-back, and the resort was convinced to engage in mitigation banking. In an agreement with The Nature Conservancy and the state of Florida, Disney purchased 8,500 acres (3,400 ha) of land, adjacent to the park for the purpose of rehabilitating wetland ecosystems. The Disney Wilderness Preserve was established in April 1993, and the land was subsequently transferred to The Nature Conservancy.[21] The Walt Disney Company provided additional funds for landscape restoration and wildlife monitoring.[22]

The resort's fourth theme park, Disney's Animal Kingdom, opened in 1998.

In October 2009, Disney World announced a competition to find a town to become twinned with. In December 2009, after Rebecca Warren won the competition with a poem, they announced the resort will be twinned with the English town of Swindon.[23]

George Kalogridis was named president of the resort in December 2012, replacing Meg Crofton, who had overseen the site since 2006.

On January 21, 2016, the resort's management structure was changed, with general managers within a theme park being in charge of an area or land, instead of on a functional basis, as previously configured. Theme parks have already had a vice-president overseeing them. Disney Springs and Disney Sports were also affected. Now hotel general managers manage a single hotel instead of some managing multiple hotels.[24]

On October 18, 2017, it was announced that resort visitors could bring pet dogs to Disney's Yacht Club Resort, Disney's Port Orleans Resort – Riverside, Disney's Art of Animation Resort, and Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground.[25]
The 2018 version of The Walt Disney World logo

In 2019, Josh D'Amaro replaced George Kalogridis as president of the resort. He had previously held the position of vice president of Animal Kingdom.[26] D'Amaro was subsequently promoted to chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products in May 2020, succeeding Bob Chapek, who was promoted to CEO of The Walt Disney Company in February 2020. Jeff Vahle, who served as president of Disney Signature Experiences subsequently took over as president of the resort.[27]
March 2020–present

On March 12, 2020, a Disney spokesperson announced that Disney World and Disneyland Paris would temporarily shut due to the beginning March 15, 2020.[28]

In 2020, Disney World laid off 6,500 employees and only operated at 25% capacity after reopening during the[29][30]

In June 2020, Walt Disney World was chosen to host the NBA Bubble for play of the 2019–20 season of the National Basketball Association (NBA) to resume at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.[31] The ESPN Complex, hosts a variety of activities throughout the year, including runDisney marathon races and dance and cheer competitions in partnership with Varsity Cheer. It was also the site for the MLS is Back Tournament.

On July 11, 2020, Disney World officially reopened, beginning operations at 25% capacity at the Magic Kingdom and Disney's Animal Kingdom, as a result of the in Florida.[32] Four days later, Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios for operation at 25% capacity to the public.[33] Masks were required at all times (including outdoors, on attractions, and while taking photos), all guests were required to have their temperature taken upon entry, plexiglass was installed on various attractions and transportation offerings, and shows that drew large crowds, such as parades and nighttime shows including Fantasmic! and Happily Ever After were not offered.[34]

In November 2020, the resort increased the guest capacity to 35% at all four theme parks, and on May 13, 2021, CEO Bob Chapek announced a further increase of capacity, effective immediately; however, he did not say to what capacity level it would be raised.[35] By mid-June 2021, temperature checks and mask mandates (except while on Disney transportation) had been lifted.[36] In late July 2021, mask mandates were reinstated for all attractions and indoor areas in light of new guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control as the delta variant drove a significant increase in local cases. These reinstated mandates were lifted in February 2022.[37] In April 2022, following a court decision ending the federal mask mandate for public transportation, the mask mandates on Disney transportation were lifted.[38]

Starting on October 1, 2021, the resort honored its 50th anniversary with "The World's Most Magical Celebration",[39] which lasted for 18 consecutive months ending on March 31, 2023.[40]

Disney's Magical Express, a complimentary transportation and luggage service offered to Walt Disney Resort guests that began in 2005, ended in January 2022.[41] In August 2021, the Walt Disney Company announced that FastPass+, which had been free since its introduction in 1999, would be retired and replaced with Genie+, a system starting at $18 to $35 per day with the option of adding "Lightning Lane", which will be used for top-tier attractions, for an additional charge. The pricing range depends on the crowd and day of purchase.[42]

On April 22, 2022, the self-governing status which the Walt Disney Company had in the area around Disney World for more than 50 years came to an end after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law legislation requiring the area to come under the legal jurisdiction of the state of Florida.[43] The new law also officially abolished The Reedy Creek Improvement District which the Walt Disney Company has used to run the area since May 1967, when then Florida Governor Claude Kirk signed into law legislation which granted the company special status.[43] The law went into effect in June 2023.[44][45] Along with this, as of May 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis has also been planning to target Disney's monorail system and let Florida's Department of Transportation inspect the privately-owned system." (wikipedia.)