The Eighth Night of Halloween: Do you Believe in Ghosts?

Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night.

Well, do you believe in ghosts?

Today is the eighth of the Ten Nights of Halloween! From globsters to werewolves, from witches to goblins, we're now at eight spectral shades - better known as ghosts!  

As long as there have been people, there have been tales of souls left on earth. Some stay to complete a mission, others to right a wrong. Some linger as punishment for misdeeds, others because they perished in some traumatic way that traps them on earth. A Christmas Carol, Wuthering Heights, Hamlet... Ghosts are everywhere throughout history.

One early ghost haunted the ancient Greek philosopher Athenodorus, who scored a great deal on a house because of the ghost said to inhabit it. At night the specter appeared, and Athenodorus followed him to the garden. The next day Athenodorus ordered the garden exhumed, and there found the body of a man bound with chains. After having the body properly buried, the ghost never returned.

Brown Lady of Raynham Hall, a claimed ghost photograph by Captain Hubert C. Provand. First published in Country Life magazine, 1936

The image above shows one of the most famous ghosts in Great Britain, Lady Dorothy Walpole of Norfolk, England. Legend has it Lady Dorothy Walpole was locked in her rooms by her jealous husband until her ultimate death of smallpox. Her first postmortem appearance? At one of her husband's next dinner parties. 

Rumor claims there are ghosts in the White House, and nearly every town in the United States brags of at least one haunted location. What do you think? Have you ever seen a ghost?

A Not-Really-Creepy but Fun Discussion of Ghosts:

Interested in the history of ghosts? Watch one of my kids' favorite YouTubers below.

Ghost crafts to make you go BOO!

So many cotton balls, so little time - why do So Many ghost crafts involve cotton balls? Below find two non-cotton-ball ghost crafts, simple, cute, fun. 

Make these spooky ghosts from simple household materials. Ghastly Halloween decor!

What's more fun than ghosts? Collecting autumn leaves and turning them into ghosts!