Arnold Bennett

The Ghost Annotated Arnold Bennett

"Ghostly" redirects here. For other uses, see Ghostly. In folklore, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living. In ghost lore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to realistic, lifelike forms. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy. They are believed to haunt particular locations, objects, or people they were associated with in life. According to a 2009 study by the Pew Research Center, 18% of Americans say they have seen a ghost. Common prescription medication and over-the-counter drugs may also, in rare instances, cause ghost-like hallucinations, particularly zolpidem and diphenhydramine. Older reports linked carbon monoxide poisoning to ghost-like hallucinations.