Ghosts and Haunting in Literature

What happens after we die? This age-old question has fascinated and perplexed human beings throughout history. Cultures and religions through the centuries have created their own answers. This course will explore some of the ways in which literature has addressed this multi-faceted question. We will begin by looking at understandings of the afterlife from different cultures and time periods, reading myths and legends to help us see how humans have transferred their beliefs into literature. Students will look at the early roots of ghost stories in England, starting with a poem by Poe and a short story by Sir Walter Scott. We will then move into the “Golden Age of the Ghost Story,” a period between 1830 and the 1910s. Students will read and analyze Charles Dickens’ “The Signal-Man” and several other short ghost stories from the 19th and 20th centuries. We will investigate one of the greatest tropes of ghost stories – the haunted house. Students will read real-life accounts of haunted spaces, as well as read and analyze Shirley Jackson’s essential work of ghost fiction: The Haunting of Hill House. This course will not only offer a study of the euro-centric representation of ghosts--we will also look closely at Latin American culture and the Day of the Dead. Students will read the graphic novel Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier and will watch the Disney-Pixar film Coco to compare and contrast the representation of ghosts in these works and ones read earlier in the course. Finally, we will end the course by revisiting the question of why humans tell ghost stories.

Acknowledgements

Please Note: This course contains an end-of-course proctored exam. Instructions for students to identify an appropriate adult proctor are included in the course lessons.

Required Texts: This course requires students to obtain copies of certain texts. Details provided in the Additional Requirements field of this course description.

Mature Themes: In this course students will read stories that many find scary or frightening.

Course Objectives

Students will:

Investigate and interpret different perspectives on the afterlife.
Read a variety of literature representing ghosts and will evaluate the differences among the interpretations of ghosts.
Write in a wide variety of genres, including a literary essay.

Additional Requirements

Students will need to obtain copies of the following texts which are available at many school or local libraries or for purchase online for a small fee.

Shirley Jackson's novel The Haunting of Hill House
Raina Telgemeier's graphic novel Ghosts
Disney-Pixar's film Coco