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Ghost Facts & Worksheets

Based on folklore, a ghost represents the soul or spirit of the dead that can appear in the physical world.

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Based on folklore, a ghost represents the soul or spirit of the dead that can appear in the physical world. It is sometimes called a spook, apparition, poltergeist, or spectre. The description of ghosts varies in shape, visibility, and lifelike visions.

See the fact file below for more information on the ghosts or alternatively, you can download our 21-page Ghost worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

ETYMOLOGY AND ORIGIN

  • The term ‘ghost’ is derived from the Old English word gāst which can be related to the animating principle of the mind. By the 9th century, the Latin word spiritus had the same meaning.
  • In the 14th century, the Old English term denotes the idea of the soul and spirit of a deceased person appearing in a visible form. By the 19th century, the Dutch term ‘spook’ emerged in the American English language synonymous to ghost.
  • In ancient Mesopotamian religions of Babylonians, Assyrians, and Sumerians, the reference to ghosts happened at the time of death. The personality and memory of the deceased traveled to the netherworld. Relatives are expected to do offerings to make the life of the deceased easier in the underworld, if not done, it will bring them misfortunes.
  • Based on Egyptian hieroglyph and papyrus scrolls, the concept of ghosts is associated with spiritism. Ancient Egyptian cultures believed in the continuous process of life, death, and afterlife. One part of this belief was the process of mummification and that the spirit will come back to life.
  • In Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad, he referred the ghost as “a vapor, gibbering, and whining into the earth.” In Homer’s work, ghosts are not feared, but rather had constant interactions with the living by providing prophecies.
  • In 50 A.D., Pliny the Younger described the ghost of Athenodorus, a Stoic philosopher who lived a century before him, haunting a house in Athens.
  • According to Luke in the New Testament, when Jesus walked in the water, he persuaded his disciples that he was not a ghost or spirit.
  • During the 5th century, Constantius of Lion, a Christian priest, recorded that when the body of the deceased was improperly buried, it will come back to life to haunt the living until the bones were reburied.
  • In the Medieval times, ghost was associated with the spirits of the dead and demons.
  • Christians in the middle ages believed that ghosts are souls assigned to purgatory, a place to do penance for sins committed while living.
  • During the crusades in the early 13th century, Gervase of Tilbury associated the imagery of a boy who was recently murdered as an apparition in the form of a ghost.

FEATURES OF A GHOST

  • A ghost is characterized as the disembodied conscious energy of a human who once existed in a physical state. Many times they are depicted as entities that can manipulate objects and communicate with the living.
  • People who claim to have ghost encounters often describe the entity as a solid to transparent human form. Ghosts can also be a glowing light figure in a human-like shape. Some claim to experience a cold breeze, unusual smells, a sensation of being touched, and pulling of clothes or hair.
  • Believing in ghosts is part of a human’s supernatural belief – a tradition passed from one generation to the next, creating dynamic descriptions of the entity.
  • There are no scientific experiments proving the existence of ghosts, but paranormal experts state that such entities serve a deeper purpose in the life of the living.
  • Paranormal experts argue that a ghost could be a spirit of a person who had an emotional or violent death, trapping the soul in the world of the living.
  • Unlike humans, animals like dogs and cats have a greater sense to spirits. Unusual barking of dogs at night is often associated with seeing a ghost.
  • Historic buildings, including abandoned hospitals, asylums, monasteries, and prisons are hotspots for ghosts. These places are often haunted due to strong emotions like pain, anger, violence, and death.
  • Spirit questors claimed to measure the existence of a ghost in a certain place by temperature drop, unexplained sounds, and anomalies in electromagnetic field detectors.

GHOST IN POPULAR CULTURE

  • The belief in the paranormal seems to be normal in people with a stronger inclination to emotions, spirituality, and religion.
  • The concept of a ghost has been commonly used in literature and visual entertainment. Among the well-known movies are A Christmas Carol, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Ghostbusters, The Amityville Horror, The Six Sense, and Poltergeist.
  • Halloween is probably the best time to watch ghost movies, listen to ghost stories, and talk about them. There are a number of remarkable ghost characters in pop culture, including Zero, Jack Skellington’s dog; Marley in

Ghost Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about ghosts across 21 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Ghost worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the ghosts. Based on folklore, a ghost represents the soul or spirit of the dead that can appear in the physical world. It is sometimes called a spook, apparition, poltergeist, or spectre. The description of ghosts varies in shape, visibility, and lifelike visions.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Ghost Facts
  • World’s Famous Ghost
  • Spooky Features
  • Soul and Spirit
  • Paranormal Terms
  • Scariest Ghost Films
  • Halloween By Year
  • Mapping Ghost Towns
  • The Others
  • For Real?
  • Haunted White House

 

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Link will appear as Ghost Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, October 5, 2019

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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