Why ghosts wear clothes or white sheets instead of appearing in the nude
47 comments
·October 25, 2024wrp
conception
And in the 19th century with the advent of cameras and their “ghosting” of images with people moving.
See also the rise of https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantasmagoria in the 19th.
woleium
I read that they fade over time. A famous one was a lady in red who appeared in a castle in the UK. Over a couple hundred years of sightings the color if her dress faded from deep red through crimson then pink then finally white.
wrp
Well, yes, I suppose repeated washings over a few centuries would do that.
wruza
Probably dried it on the sun too much.
canadianfella
[dead]
adzm
Homer describes them as a vapor or smoke I believe
edflsafoiewq
The Witch of Endor described Samuel as a "god" coming up out of the earth in the appearance of an old man in a robe.
throwaway19972
Roman writers used "umbra" or "shadow"/"shade" as a word for specters, phantoms, ghosts, etc. They had many other words, too, but this is probably closest to how dead apparitions were physically perceived.
derbOac
I remember some tradition that Roman ghosts were often associated with or seen as blue for some reason? That's only my fuzzy and likely incorrect memory though, from when I was studying in college. I have a memory of a play or piece of literature where a candle flame turns blue and it was meant as a cue to what was about to happen.
tiahura
skia - shade / shadow
null
cesarb
If ghosts are the souls of deceased people, unless they were nudists, wouldn't they prefer to wear clothes similar to the ones they used when they were alive?
That is, instead of "ghost-seers dress the ghost", it's the ghost that dresses itself. In fact, that whole paragraph even makes sense once flipped that way:
"[...] ghosts dress themselves, automatically, through unconscious processes. And so we see a ghost in its usual dress because that is the mental picture the ghost has of itself, and this choice of garment is most likely to inspire recognition."
cheschire
"Is it really so hard to believe? Your clothes are different, the plugs in your arms and head are gone, your hair has changed. Your appearance now is what we call 'residual self-image'. It is the mental projection of your digital self."
Izkata
There's another theory I've heard that goes more into what ghosts are, that isn't in the article: They're not spirits, but more like an imprint on reality. This would also explain why so many just repeat the same actions over and over, and to some extent not just clothes but other things that appear in a ghost-like form they'd interact with. The one missing part of this theory is, it should be possible to create such an imprint with someone who is still alive.
derbOac
> The one missing part of this theory is, it should be possible to create such an imprint with someone who is still alive.
I've read of this idea, it's traditional in some cultures, I just don't remember the name of it. I think it's cognate with ideas of doppelgangers and so forth.
I also think there's often an implicit assumption that whatever it is that causes the "imprint" can only reach a certain necessary magnitude that is commensurate with death or dying.
I feel obliged to note this is not my own perspective on things at all, although I admit I like reading about and thinking about these things sometimes as a kind of psychosocial phenomenon, and think it's worthwhile to engage in metaphysical discussions sometimes just as a kind of check.
margalabargala
The second missing part of the theory, is the lack of existence of its subjects.
It's not a theory, just detailed, more self-consistent fiction. Like Tolkien's very detailed descriptions of elves.
canadianfella
[dead]
anotherhue
Easier to do optical illusions / alpha blends with white clothes too, so I suspect that tech furtherd the practice.
sfink
Why is the question about clothes? Why not ask why ghosts usually appear wearing skin? Or flesh? I guess these days in common depictions, clothes > skeleton > peeled > nude in terms of frequency. And what about age, or state of injury? It seems more commonly reported that ghosts do not exhibit their fatal injuries, though again it "happens". Or the big question: why should anything be visible at all?
If a ghost is meant to be associated with a spirit or soul, there's no particular reason for them to have any form or be visible at all. But as an exercise in worldbuilding, they can be, and their visual appearance can give all kinds of fascinating clues about their previous existence or the viewers'. I'd rather speculate about that.
neom
When I lived in manhattan I was friends with this hippie spiritual Buddhist woman who was very into reincarnation, she described it as a "glitch in past life memory system". Basically something from the history line accidentally implanted a memory in the current that manifested as the person witnessing a past life component. I always thought that was pretty fun.
JohnFen
I always thought the "white sheet" thing was just about representing funeral wrapping. I found it interesting that the topic goes much deeper than that.
quietbritishjim
I thought the point of the white sheet trope was that the ghost (whether clothed or not) is invisible, and so they throw a real physical sheet over themselves so they can be seen at all. Although, a ghost that's visible but naked would be just as good justification.
Ekaros
Might dust coverings be also part of this? Not that those are used here, but them being used in some abandoned or less frequented locations with slight movements of air could explain some imaginery. Peeking from windows for example and seeing objects covered in sheets.
Cerpicio
Great. After reading that headline my subconsciousness is going to put a whole new weird spin on my nightmares.
crznp
Of course ghosts wouldn't appear naked, we can't see beyond the veil
charlie0
There is shopping in the afterlife, duh.
binarysneaker
Any qualified psychologists in the house?
I've only read lightly on the historical literature of ghosts, but I think TFA has some basic misconceptions. Through most of history, ghost sightings appeared to be of regular people, with the witness only realizing later that it was a ghost. The conception of ghosts having ethereal appearance appears to have become widespread in the late 19th century.