These days, Halloween is all about good scary fun, but people have been thrilling to spooky tales as far back as ancient Greece and Rome, according to University of Massachusetts Amherst classics professor Debbie Felton, who studies the folklore of the supernatural.
“Ghost stories have been popular for thousands of years, and there are many reasons why people enjoy them and enjoy being scared by them,” says Felton. “There’s certainly a cathartic effect to hearing a ghost story and being scared out of your wits without ever being in any real danger. But, more essentially, ghost stories ultimately reflect religious beliefs concerning the importance of a proper burial and the survival of the spirit after death. The dead have a need to rest in peace, while the living have a need to believe in an afterlife; who really wants to think about eternal non-existence? And the humor in a lot of ghost stories is a good way to deal with the disturbing reality of death."
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/534410
22 October 2007, 03:39 AM
Even Ancient Greeks and Romans Enjoyed Scary Stories
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