Ghosts of the Ancient Past
What is the oldest ghost story you've ever heard of, not the first one you've ever heard, but the most ancient?
Before doing research for this article the oldest example of ghosts I knew about were the shades from Greek Mythology. The major story that comes to mind is the adventure of Orpheus and Eurydice. The earliest account comes from the Greek poet Ibycus (circa 530 BC) through hundreds of years after the shades that show up in the Odyssey, this is an early example of a spirit trying to get back to the realm of the living.
If you haven't heard it before, long story short:
Eurydice and Orpheus were completely in love. One day Eurdydice is bitten by a venomnous snake and dies. Orpheus, the son of the god Apollo and the muse of music Calliope, was so sad that when he played his lyre he was majorly bumming everyone out, even the gods. Eventually the gods were so sick of feel depressed that they told him to go to the Underworld to plead with Hades to bring Eurydice back to life. Orpheus took on the task and metwith Hades and Persephone. Orpheus played his lyre with such passion, and Persophone was so moved that she told Hades to release Eurydice, and Hades agreed. The next challenge for Orpheu was to lead Eurydice back past the mouth of the cave he entered from without turning around to look at her. Skipping to the end of the walk, Orpheus was steps away from crossing the cave's threshold when he got so paranoid about not hearing Eurydice's steps that he turned around and saw his love for just a moment before she was pulled back into the depths of the Underworld. Finishing the overall tale; with this failing the gods would not let him try again. Eventually Orpheus dies after being literally torn apart by a group of his followers and in death his spirit is finally renunited with Eurydice.
<Terracota Vase Orpheus among the Thracians (Metropolitan Museum of Arts), Leading Eurydice out of the Underworld,
Orpheus and Eurydice modeled ca. 1887, carved 1893 by Auguste Rodin, Taking Eurydice back to the Underworld>
Of course, after thousands of years, we may have expected that ending to the story. But, I wonder why he didn't hear Eurydice's footsteps behind him as he walked. Was she incorporeal, like some ghosts we know today? Or was she just very light on her feet? Chances are if you've watched horror movies in the past three decades or told certain ghost stories you've experienced the scene when the main character hears the footfalls coming up the stairs, down the hall, or leaving the wet squishy prints by the door. So, if Eurydice was a ghost and not a corporeal "zombie" couldn't she have made the conscious choice to make her presence known? Though, if she had, Orpheus would not have had to trust the gods that Eurydice was truly behind him. That, maybe, Eurydice could've returned with him after all.
But, of course, the ancient Greek city-states are not the oldest collection of cultural groups in the world, usually dated to beginning in 1200 BC. Even the Mycenaean traditions from c. 1700 BCE and the nearby city-states of Sumer were first developed in c. 4000 BCE.
Can and where can this tale intersect with folklore from other ancient cultures, or with the continuing folklore of the hungry ghost, which is represented in many East and Southeast Asian countries? Of course, not all life or death experiences are the same, so are some trapped here while others are "trapped" beyond the veil? Are the ones left here full souls that refuse or cannot move on or are they the energy recordings of the actions of the living replaying the same message over and over? When did these ideas appear in ancient stories? That is if they were brought up at all. There is no way for me to answer the vast majority of these questions, but by looking at a few of the oldest cultures maybe I can start to grasp where the idea of the ghost came from. Was it hope? Wish fulfillment that we'd reunite with loved ones after death? That death isn't actually the end? We'll never really know and I won't try to answer why humans came up with the concept of ghosts. By looking at humanity's horror stories and comforts taken, we may come to understand how the first ghosts are explained in the oldest mythologies and their importance to the living today.
Word Origins
In English, 'ghost' seems to have stemmed from the same etymological root that led to the Old German word geist, which is part of the common phrase zeitgeist meaning "spirit of the time", or more literally "time of a spirit". But the old cognates (even in other languages) aren't usually used in the context of 'the dead'. As evidence of zeitgeist, it's more a sense of a living cultural spirit or the aspects seen through popular and, typically, lasting trends. According to Orel (2023: 262) and Kroonen (2013: 163), tracking the pronunciation and symbolic meaning instead, the word "ghost" is conjectured by Allyn 2(015) to connect more to the words in Pre-Germanic ghoizdoz (cognates: Old Saxon gest, Old Frisian jest, Middle Dutch gheest, Dutch geestand Proto-Indo-European root 'gheis-'), which may used in forming words involving the notions of excitement, amazement, also mean fury, anger, rage, and fear. The Gothic usgaisjan with a duel meaning of "to frighten" and "an unreliable mental state" (as it appears in biblical text) (Carlson 2012: 301-2). The former would seem to have been the earlier connection to the Old English version, gæstan, which is thought to be the usual West Germanic word for "supernatural being".
There are numerous words that work as synonyms for the word ghost. Some of these are spirits or souls of the dead (human or other animals), apparitions, bogies, spectors/spectres, shades, haunts, wraiths, revenants, spooks, phantoms, phanastoms, poltergeists, demons, and ghouls ("bogey". Merriam-Webster; "spook". Oxford English Dictionary; Mencken 1936, repr. 1980; Cohen 1984; "wraith". Oxford English Dictionary). Some of these names are or have been more generally used as a returning person who had died, though several of these have more meanings that cross-define other entities, depending on the situation. To keep it specific this article will focus on examples from folklore that deal with "popular culture" classifies as "ghosts", only using other terms when quoting specific sources.
Where are the Oldest Traditions?
There isn't room in an entire book to fully discuss all of the oldest ghost stories and their connections to both ancient and/or continuing mythologies. Within this series is, therefore, a short list of cultural traditions and legends representing some of the oldest ghosts and showing why they existed in their respective forms.
When the northern hemisphere is going through the liminal period of space-time of the Winter solstice. When ancient tales tell us that the vale between worlds is thin. Spirits can fade through to greet us, giving more and more stories to frighten us.
While writing the original article I got to dive down rabbit hole after rabbit hole of ancient ghostly encounters from all over the world, from both written sources and oral traditions. I had a general list of cultural areas that I wanted to make sure to discuss and through my research spelunking and talking to friends I got caught in a tidal wave of stories. The original version of the article got longer and longer and could have, in all likelihood, taken over an hour to read even keeping each section to the barest bones. So in keeping with the old versions of Saturnalia, Yuletide, and Christmas, I've decided to extend this into a series, including this introduction and conclusion, over the next 12 or so days for bite-sized reading. We will explore stories of ancient ghosts from all over the world, learning about how people are honored and approached in discussions after death. And maybe we can learn a little something about how we can continue to approach the rest of our lives.
So I hope you enjoy and learn something new. And, of course, have the happiest of holiday seasons, no matter how you celebrate.
*References will be included after the conclusion*