In our modern age, ghosts are not generally noted for their eloquence. Whether or not you believe in them, you probably know that their most common utterance is ‘boo’ or something similar.
You’d think that with all that time flopping around in the afterlife they’d have time to think of more to say.
In fact, at least in Anglophone cultures, ghosts used to be a lot more verbose. Up until about two centuries ago, if you met a ghost, it was much more likely to subject you to a lengthy and lugubrious account of its various woes than to simply say ‘Boo’ or even ‘Ooo.’
But from that point outwards – apparently starting in Scotland, where the word already had a history of being used to scare children in a playful way – they’ve been saying ‘Boo’ ever since. By the mid-1800s, even the ghosts featured in literature had largely ceased speaking in complete sentences.
It’s enough to make you nostalgic for the good old days, when ghosts were often represented as being masters of iambic pentameter.
Photo Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/three-ghost-statues-in-the-dark-with-their-faces-glowing-sy964RrOkVQ
