Literary notes about ghost (AI summary)
In literature, the word “ghost” is employed with a rich variety of meanings and connotations. It serves as a supernatural apparition that interacts with characters—ushering in themes of fate, revenge, or unresolved pasts ([1], [2], [3])—while also evoking a more metaphorical sense of lingering memory or emotional residue, as when a smile or a regret is described as ghostly ([4], [5]). In some works, the ghost appears as a distinct, animate presence that communicates directly, heightening the eerie or moral dimensions of the narrative ([6], [7]), whereas in sacred texts the term is inextricably linked with divine influence and spiritual purity ([8], [9]). This multifaceted use enriches the text by subtly shifting between literal hauntings and figurative echoes of what has passed or endures.
- Haste me to know’t, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of love May sweep to my revenge. GHOST.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - Still none saw the ghost but he, and to the ghost Macbeth said, “Thou canst not say I did it.”
— from Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by E. Nesbit and William Shakespeare - But the Ghost sat down on the opposite side of the fireplace, as if he were quite used to it.
— from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - He drained it, and it seemed to do him good: for he looked round the table, and the ghost of his old smile flickered across his face.
— from The Time Machine by H. G. Wells - Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December, And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
— from The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe - ‘Mr. Cadogan,’ said she, with ungrammatical curiosity, ‘what does you here this time o’ night?’ To which the ghost answered, ‘I was obliged to come.’
— from British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions by Wirt Sikes - we may never see you again," but the Ghost glided on more swiftly, and Virginia did not listen.
— from The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde - And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.’
— from Demonology and Devil-lore by Moncure Daniel Conway - And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
