GHOSTS:
RECENT HAUNTINGS
PAULA GURAN
Copyright © 2012 by Paula Guran.
Cover art by FrozenStarro/Fotolia.
Cover design by Telegraphy Harness.
Ebook design by Neil Clarke.
All stories are copyrighted to their respective authors, and used here with their permission. An extension of this copyright page can be found here.
ISBN: 978-1-60701-371-6 (ebook)
ISBN: 978-1-60701-354-9 (trade paperback)
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For my daughter Karis— who has always believed in ghosts and loves stories about them.
Contents
Introduction: Questionable Shapes • Paula Guran
There’s a Hole in the City • Richard Bowes
The Trentino Kid • Jeffrey Ford
A Soul in a Bottle • Tim Powers
The Watcher in the Corners • Sarah Monette
The Palace • Barbara Roden
The Proving of Smollett Standforth • Margo Lanagan
The Third Always Beside You • John Langan
The Plum Blossom Lantern • Richard Parks
Uncle • Stephen Graham Jones
The Rag-and-Bone Men • Steve Duffy
October in the Chair • Neil Gaiman
Savannah is Six • James Van Pelt
Wonderwall • Elizabeth Hand
Between the Cold Moon and the Earth • Peter Atkins
The Muldoon • Glen Hirshberg
Booth’s Ghost • Karen Joy Fowler
Apokatastasis • Caitlín R. Kiernan
The Lagerstätte • Laird Barron
Cell Call • Marc Laidlaw
Cruel Sistah • Nisi Shawl
The Box • Stephen Gallagher
Ancestor Money • Maureen F. McHugh
Dhost • Melanie Tem
Mrs. Midnight • Reggie Oliver
Tin Cans • Ekaterina Sedia
Mr. Aickman’s Air Rifle • Peter Straub
The Score • Alaya Dawn Johnson
The Ex • Steve Rasnic Tem
Faces in Walls • John Shirley
The Case of the Lighthouse Shambler • Joe R. Lansdale
About the Authors
About the Editor
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Questionable Shapes
Paula Guran
Angels, and ministers of grace, defend us!
Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damn’d.
Bring with thee airs from heaven, or blasts from hell.
Be thy intents wicked or charitable.
Thou com’st in such a questionable shape,
That I will speak to thee.
—William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I, Scene 4
Have we ever not told ghost stories?
Ghosts remind us of our mortality even while, paradoxically, offering hope there is some form of immortality. If such entities exist, then surely they are evidence that although the death of our physical bodies is inevitable, our essential selves must continue to survive beyond death, that we may somehow be connected to something beyond the tribulations of our own world.
And, evidently, we do believe in ghosts. In 2009, CBS News pollsters discovered forty-eight percent of Americans claim to “believe in ghosts, or that the dead can return in certain places and situations . . . More than one in five Americans says they have seen a ghost themselves, or have felt themselves to be in the presence of one.”
But whether we think there are spirits among us or not, ghosts have been the inspiration for fiction (and the other creative arts) for as long as we’ve been human and ghost tales are part of almost every culture.
Our concept of the ghost is based on the idea that one’s soul or spirit—the essence of the individual—continues to survive after the physical body dies. Rituals to ease a spirit’s passage to an afterlife and to ensure it would not return to negatively interfere with the living are the earliest indications of such a belief. Homo sapiens began burying their dead with grave goods at least one hundred thousand years ago, and surely there were stories of encounters with the departed even before.
Our most ancient records from Mesopotamia and Egypt make references to ghosts. Ghosts appear in the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Romans believed in several types of shades of the dead. Virgil, Ovid, Pliny, and others related tales of haunted houses, vengeful specters, and phantoms of the ill-fated dead.
According to the New Testament, Jesus had to convince his followers he was not a ghost when he walked on water and again after his resurrection. (Evidently a belief in spooks was easier to accept than miracles, even for disciples.)
Early Christian theologians tangled with the concept of apparitions; any form of worshipping the dead was to be avoided, so contact between the living and the deceased posed a theological problem. By the Middle Ages, the church taught ghosts might be either manifestations of God, saints, and angels or the Devil and demons—often disguised as a dead person—so ghostly tales tended to be accounted for one way or the other. Hallucination was another possibility. The Roman Catholic Church allowed for ghosts who returned to Earth from Purgatory in order to warn the living they must repent, but Protestants believed specters were angels or devils disguised as the familiar dead. Angels brought divine messages and devils might try to tempt still-living relatives into damnation.
The Renaissance awakened an interest in all things supernatural. Fictional ghosts began to appear not only in oral folktales and ballads, but in written poetry and plays. Ghosts appear in five of Shakespeare’s known plays, and are mentioned or reported in seven more. In Hamlet and Macbeth they were figures of great dramatic impact.
In the eighteenth century, ghosts became a staple of Gothic fiction.According the Ghost Story Society:
The classic English ghost story was born in the 1820s, and was popularized later that century by Charles Dickens, who promoted the idea of ghost stories at Christmas-time. For many people, the heyday of the ghost story was in the years between the turn of the last century and the Second World War: a time when book and magazine publishers provided a ready market for authors of supernatural fiction.
Perhaps there is no longer such a “ready market,” but fictional ghost stories are still flourishing.
Intents Wicked or Charitable
The presence of dead spirits where the living dwell is considered unnatural and anything outside what is accepted as “normal” tends to be seen as frightening. As Confucius said, “Respect ghosts and gods, but keep away from them.” Scary ghost tales abound, but so do those showing more fascination than fear. As chilling as many ghost stories may be, ghosts are not always seen as inherently evil or even scary. The souls of departed ancestors are worshipped in some societies. Communicating with the dead is considered desirable in some contexts in most cultures. Ghosts are sometimes considered benevolent or helpful; they occasionally even act as protectors of or guides for the living.
There’s also considerable diversity in spectral intent. The unquiet dead can be seeking revenge or justice, they may want closure or need assistance with personal issues in order to find lasting peace. Phantoms sometim
es have important information to convey to the living. They may simply be attached to people or places they did not want to leave behind. Some just endlessly repeat events in their lives or reenact their deaths. Other apparitions seem to be merely mischievous. One of the most ancient ghost story motifs is the reunification of those who are deeply in love—love never dies—as in the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Ghosts can be whimsical, humorous, and endearing.
Still, even benign ghosts disturb us: Casper the Friendly Ghost inadvertently scares almost everyone when he first meets them. Contact with the dead is always an uncanny experience.
Twenty-first Century Ghosts
In the twenty-first century we seem to be no less fascinated with ghosts than our ancestors. If this anthology of short stories first published from 2000-2012 is not enough to convince readers that the literary ghost is livelier than ever, specters have inspired notable novels in this century as well. The Lovely Bones by Alice Seybold (2002), is narrated by the angelic ghost of a murdered teenage girl. Peter Straub, author of the iconic Ghost Story, has published two twenty-first century novels—lost boy lost girl (2003) and In the Night Room (2007)—that are superbly told ghost tales. John Harwood’s The Ghost Writer (2004) and The Séance (2009) both harken back to Victorian ghost stories. Hilary Mantel’s brilliant Beyond Black (2005) portrays communicating with the dead as both funny and frightful. In Joplin’s Ghost by Tananarive Due (2005), an up-and-coming female singer is haunted by the ghost of the famous ragtime composer. The characters and house in The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (2009) are haunted by more than the supernatural. An aging rock star encounters a vengeful ghost in Joe Hill’s Heart-Shaped Box (2007). Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale (2007) is filled with family secrets, lies, and ghosts. Michael Marshall Smith’s short novel, The Servants (2007), is a unique, completely captivating contemporary ghost story. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson (2008), the ghost of a fourteen-year-old leads the protagonist to her body; psychic journalist Paul Seaton confronts a demonic specter in The House of Lost Souls (2009); and a haunted yacht is featured in Dark Echo (2010), both by F.G. Cottam. Michael Koryta leads readers to the small-town ghosts of Baden, Indiana in So Cold the River (2010). A ghost haunts an English school in The White Devil (2011) by Justin Evans. The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James (2012) combines ghost hunting and romance. Gin Phillips’s Come In and Cover Me (2012) features a heroine with a connection to her long-dead brother. Although Caitlín Kiernan’s The Drowning Girl: A Memoir (2012) is not a novel of ghosts per se, it is a story about the fundamental nature of hauntings, how they begin and perpetuate.
Ghosts and ghost hunters have also made frequent appearances in numerous paranormal and urban fantasy novels. Many recent books for younger readers—most notably Coraline (2002) and The Graveyard Book (2008 ) by Neil Gaiman—feature the ghostly.
Twenty-first century (so far) anthologies with ghostly or haunted themes include The Dark: New Ghost Stories, edited by Ellen Datlow (2003); Haunted Legends, edited by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas (2010); Ghosts by Gaslight: Stories of Steampunk and Supernatural Suspense (2011), edited by Jack Dann and Nick Givers; House of Fear: An Anthology of Haunted House Stories, edited by Jonathan Oliver (2011); and Haunts: Reliquaries of the Dead, edited by Stephen Jones (2011).
Books, of course, are (unfortunately) not as accurate a measure of popular culture as film and television. Films since 2000 that were haunted by ghosts include The Others (2001), Thir13en Ghosts (2001), Dragonfly (2002), The Ring (2002), Ghost Ship (2002), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007), Gothika (2003), The Corpse Bride (2005), Dark Water (2005), game-based Silent Hill (2006), Ghost Town (2008), the comic-based Ghost Rider (2007) and its 2012 sequel Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Shutter (2008), Paranormal Activity (2007) and its 2020 and 2011 prequels, Coraline (2009), The Haunting in Connecticut (2009), Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009), and The Woman in Black (2012). Ghosts also appear in all eight Harry Potter films.
As for television, the popular series Ghost Whisperer (2005-2010) featured a woman with the ability to communicate with still-earthbound spirits of the recently deceased. Medium (2005-2011) focused on a woman who could talk to dead people and, with their guidance, assisted the police in solving crimes. A ghost lives with a werewolf and a vampire on the BBC’s comedy-drama Being Human (2008- ). The short-lived series Haunted (2002) and Dead Gorgeous (2010) were ghost-themed. More recently, the specter-filled American Horror Story (2011- ) found millions of fans. Current medical drama A Gifted Man (2011- ) centers on a surgeon who communicates with his dead ex-wife. The storyline for the recently premiered (7 June 2012) Saving Hope evidently pivots on a ghost doctor.
Although not specifically about phantoms, spooks played key roles in the series Angel (1999-2004), Six Feet Under (2001-2005), Carnivàle (2003-2005), and Supernatural (2005- ), as well as the miniseries The Dresden Files (2007). Anthology series Masters of Horror (2005-2007) and the 2002 revival of The Twilight Zone both included episodes with ghosts.
Even more abundant on the twenty-first century small screen are “reality-based” television series about bogies. These shows are far too numerous to list, but the most notable are: Most Haunted (2002-2010), a British “documentary” series; SyFy’s Ghost Hunters (2004- ) and its spin-offs, Ghost Hunters International (2008- ) and Ghost Hunters Academy (2008- ); Discovery Channel’s docudrama series A Haunting (2005-2007), the A&E Network’s Paranormal State (2007- ), the Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures (2008- ), and Ghost Lab (2009- ), another Discovery Channel series.
I Will Speak to Thee
In literary terms, a “ghost story” need not always have a specter in it. Supernatural elements are central to plot, theme, and character development; a certain atmosphere is evoked—but true phantoms need not be present.
For this anthology of stories published in the twenty-first century, however, I sought tales with ghosts in them—or at least in which the reader or the characters (or both) assume there is a ghost or the possibility of such, even if such assumptions are eventually shown not to be entirely correct. Admittedly, some stories are open to interpretation, but to me they said “ghost.”
As for a definition of “ghost,” in the context of this volume, it is a person or animal that was once alive but is no longer, yet still has some form of contact with the living. Traditionally, ghosts manifest themselves in some way to the living: they can be seen, or heard, or their presence can be felt. Such apparitions are still, of course, common in many stories. But this is the twenty-first century, and these are twenty-first century ghost stories. We are constantly communicating with other live folks without ever seeing, hearing, or feeling their presence. Why confine the dead?
Many great ghost stories are effective because one does not realize, at first, they are about phantoms at all. The atmosphere may evoke apprehension or the feeling of dread as we slowly realize it is ghostly. Conversely one may think they are reading non-supernatural “slice of life” fiction, and only gradually does the reader realize something ghostly is afoot or, perhaps at the end, discovers the spectral is involved or that the dead have been in discourse with the living. Ghosts sometimes don’t realize they are ghosts; the living may have no idea they are communicating with the dead.
Unfortunately, devising a theme and slapping a title on a compilation like this takes away much of the element of revelation in such stories. Since one is expecting specters, our suspicions are already aroused and we are far less likely to be surprised when the spooks show up. Lessening the impact of any story is a disservice to both author and reader. Nevertheless, the fine writing and immensity of imagination at work in these tales from the last twelve years still manage to chill, astonish, and entertain.
It is a privilege to introduce (or re-introduce) you to them.
GHOST:
But that I am forbid
To tell the secrets of my prison-house,<
br />
I could a tale unfold whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,
Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres,
Thy knotted and combined locks to part
And each particular hair to stand on end,
Like quills upon the fretful porpentine:
But this eternal blazon must not be
To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, O, list!
—William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I, Scene 5
List!
Paula Guran
June 2012
New York City is full of ghosts. Mags believes a hole got blown in the city on 9/11 and the ghosts came back, looking for their homes . . .
There’s a Hole in the City
Richard Bowes
Wednesday 9/12
On the evening of the day after the towers fell, I was waiting by the barricades on Houston Street and LaGuardia Place for my friend Mags to come up from Soho and have dinner with me. On the skyline, not two miles to the south, the pillars of smoke wavered slightly. But the creepily beautiful weather of September 11 still held, and the wind blew in from the northeast. In Greenwich Village the air was crisp and clean, with just a touch of fall about it.
I’d spent the last day and a half looking at pictures of burning towers. One of the frustrations of that time was that there was so little most of us could do about anything or for anyone.
Downtown streets were empty of all traffic except emergency vehicles. The West and East Villages from Fourteenth Street to Houston were their own separate zone. Pedestrians needed identification proving they lived or worked there in order to enter.
The barricades consisted of blue wooden police horses and a couple of unmarked vans thrown across LaGuardia Place. Behind them were a couple of cops, a few auxiliary police and one or two guys in civilian clothes with ID’s of some kind pinned to their shirts. All of them looked tired, subdued by events.
At the barricades was a small crowd: ones like me waiting for friends from neighborhoods to the south; ones without proper identification waiting for confirmation so that they could continue on into Soho; people who just wanted to be outside near other people in those days of sunshine and shock. Once in a while, each of us would look up at the columns of smoke that hung in the downtown sky then look away again.
Ghosts: Recent Hauntings Page 1
