Ghosts [Paperback]

Ronald C. Finucane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1996

Throughout history, people have reported seeing 'ghosts'. But a Victorian ghost is in many respects a very different phenomenon from a ghost in Classical Greece, or in medieval Europe. Finucane surveys reports of ghosts from ancient Greece, the early Christian era, the Reformation, the Victorian age, and through the twentieth century. He asks such questions as: How have the physical aspects claimed for ghosts varied from age to age? What differences are there in the functions and intentions ascribed to ghosts? How have the changes in more general beliefs in religion and science, in particular influenced the perception of ghosts?Drawing on primary sources from all periods and cultures, Finucane addresses this topic in its full breadth.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Throughout history, people have reported seeing ghosts. But if we compare a Victorian apparition with a medieval European or Classical Greek ghost, we will find that they are a very different phenomena. In Ghosts: Appearances Of The Dead & Cultural Transformation, R. C. Finucane makes just such a comparison. Surveying reports of ghosts from ancient Greece, the early Christian era, the Reformation, the Victorian age, and the twentieth century, Finucance asks some probing questions: How have the physical aspects claimed for ghosts varied from age to age? What differences are there in the functions and intentions ascribed to ghosts? How have the changes in more general beliefs (particularly in religion and science) influenced the perception of ghosts? For the first time, a professional historian, drawing on primary sources from all periods and cultures, addresses this topic in its full breadth. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books; 2nd edition (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573920681
• ISBN-13: 978-1573920681
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #440,052 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Thorough Accounting of Cultural Phenomenae, March 11, 2000

By 

Michael B. Bruneio (Macungie, PA.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ghosts (Paperback)

This is perhaps the most exhaustive, scholarly account of ghosts yet written. In a meticulous (yet somewhat dry) style, Finucane makes a strong argument that ghosts - as we know them - are psychological and cultural expressions, much like our art. Finucane does not try to "debunk" the existence of ghosts; rather, he gives lucid examples of how apparitions (and our perceptions of them) have evolved as mankind has evolved.Though his writing is a bit stodgy, Finucane's book is nevertheless compelling reading for anyone with a more-than-passing interest in ghosts and other cultural phenmenon. Well worth the read.

4.0 out of 5 stars Ghosts, August 17, 2011

By 

Julie Ratcliffe (Greenwood Lake, New York United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Ghosts (Paperback)

A broad, but entertaining, overview of how concept of "ghost" changed from ancient Greece to the twentieth century. Dr. Finucane's theory is that the ghost fills a social and cultural need. The Greek ghosts were insubstantial, "gibbering and squeaking". Roman ghosts were generally annoyed at being disturbed by the living. Medieval ghosts helped to form ideas of purgatory and reinforce the Church's authority. Ghosts helped to reassure the Victorians that there really WAS an afterlife.
The book was published in 1996, but apparently written in the '80's. It's too bad there isn't a new edition dealing with all of the "reality" ghost shows!

4.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Cultural History of Ghosts, May 24, 2011

By 

Michael A. Kleen "mikefall2" (Charleston, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ghosts (Paperback)

How have apparitions of the dead appeared in Western culture over the centuries? How has that appearance changed? Why has that appearance changed? These were the questions Ronald C. Finucane tackled in his book Ghosts: Appearances of the Dead and Cultural Formation, and the answers he found may surprise you. Most academics would probably dismiss a study like this, since the supernatural is not a "serious subject," or at least, not one to be taken seriously. But as Finucane explained, "Even though ghosts or apparitions may exist only in the minds of their percipients, the fact of that existence is a social and historical reality: the phenomena represent man's inner universe just as his art and poetry do (1)."

Beginning in the Classical Era of Greece and Rome and ending in the twentieth century, Finucane carefully dissected the cultural phenomenon of ghosts. Not surprisingly, he found that ghosts have changed over the millennia. Their appearance, their purpose, and their mode of communication with the living have all undergone important transformations.

For instance, in ancient Greece, the spirits of the dead were seen as passive and fleeting. Only in the Classical Era did they emerge from the underworld to torment the living. In the later Middle Ages, ghosts were everywhere--walking among the living like any other member of society. The danse macabre portrayed death as a daily companion and the ultimate social equalizer. In the early modern world, ghosts appeared as disembodied limbs to interfere in the daily life of their living relatives. And, finally, in our time, they have taken on a more vaporous and indifferent quality.

Contrary to an earlier period, the author noted that in the Victorian era ghosts seemed to have no purpose whatsoever. "Most Victorian ghosts were perceived as having nothing to say about buried treasure, murders, revenge, legacies, and most participants evidently felt no need to provide a resolution to this puzzle," he wrote (212).

One point with which I find myself in disagreement is the author's contention that ghosts haven't changed very much since Victorian times. He insisted that contemporary ghosts are also purposeless, remote, and usually of anonymous origins. Nothing could be further from the truth, in my opinion. Crisis apparitions, in which family members are seen shortly before or after their deaths, are among the most common ghost sightings today. Further-more, ghosts are often said to return to "ease the anxiety of a loved one" or to remind the viewers of a tragic incident. Those two examples might be different from a ghost pointing out buried treasure, but they are purposes none the less.

The idea that the appearance of the dead is tied to human cultural experience is an important one. For instance, it just might answer the question of why ghosts wear clothes, or why ghosts used to be burdened by chains but are no longer. Most importantly, it suggests that ghosts are more a part of the human experience than we generally assume. Ghosts have been with us since the most ancient of times, and cultural archeology shows us that they are an fundamental part of our inner world. Ronald C. Finucane, a professor of medieval history at Oakland University in Rochester, Minnesota, has written a wonderful book that I think everyone interested in ghosts should read.