Ghost Images

Autorentext
Tom Ruffles is a long-time member of the Society for Psychical Research. He teaches communication skills and film studies. He lives in Cambridge.

Klappentext
The possibility of life after death is a significant theme in cinema, in which ghosts return to the world of the living to wrap up unfinished business, console their survivors, visit lovers or just enjoy a well-wreaked scaring. This work focuses on film depictions of survival after death, from meetings with the ghost of Elvis to AIDS-related ghosts: apparitions, hauntings, mediumship, representations of heaven, angels, near-death experiences, possession, poltergeists and all the other ways in which the living interact with the dead on screen. The work opens with a historical perspective, which outlines the development of pre-cinematic technology for "projecting" phantoms, and discusses the use of these skills in early ghost cinema. English-language sound films are then examined thematically with topics ranging from the expiation of sins to "hungry" ghosts. Six of the most significant films, Dead of Night, A Matter of Life and Death, The Innocents, The Haunting, The Shining, and Jacob's Ladder, are given a detailed analysis. A conclusion, filmography, and bibliography follow.

Zusammenfassung
This work focuses on film depictions of survival after death, from meetings with the ghost of Elvis to AIDS-related ghosts: apparitions, hauntings, mediumship, representations of heaven, angels, near-death experiences, possession, poltergeists, and all the other ways in which the living interact with the dead on screen.

Inhalt
Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction

1. Visual Precursors to Cinematic Ghosts
2. Silent Ghosts
3. A Thematic Approach to Cinematic Ghosts
Anatomy of Film Ghosts
Representations of Ghosts
Interactions with Matter
Psychokinesis Versus Ghosts
Ghosts of Those Who Cannot Rest
The Expiation of Sins
Consolation for the Living
Ghosts Who Dispense Sage Advice
Ghosts Who Return Because of Unfinished Business
Ghosts of and for Children
Ghost Lovers
Ghost Lovers Who Return to Break the Bond
AIDS-Related Ghosts
"Hungry Ghosts"
Ghosts Who Use the Living to Play Out a Drama from Their Own Lives
Possession
Meetings with the Ghost of Elvis
The Ghost in the Machine
Continuation Without Awareness of Death
The Haunted House
Ghosts of the Living
Ghosts That Appear to Be Phony but Are Real
The Parapsychologist
Mediumship
Near-Death Experiences
The Figure of Death
Depictions of Heaven and Purgatory
Angels
Summary
4. Ghost Films: Selected Case Studies
Dead of Night (1945)
A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
The Innocents (1961)
The Haunting (1963)
The Shining (1980)
Jacob's Ladder (1990)
5. Conclusion

Filmography
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

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