Halloweenology - The Ghosts of Halloween
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Ghosts

Almost every culture on Earth have had ghosts as part of their legends. Although not every culture has the same beliefs as to exactly what a ghost is, but most of them agree that ghosts have something to do with the spirit or energy of the dead. Some believe that ghosts are the spirits that have not been able to find their way to the after life for one reason or another, or may have been left behind on Earth, or even making a visit to Earth from the afterlife.

Lots of legends agree that ghosts are either completely invisible or very hard to see resembling mist, smoke or shadow. Since a ghost has no physical body, you can't expect to see much. Visible or not, ghosts are said to have some control over the physical world, sometimes letting people feel their presence or they cause chaos by breaking things and making noises.

A lot of religions claim that a soul (if they believe in one) passes on either to an afterlife or into another body. Because of this, it is thought that most ghosts are tormented in one way or another, whether it be from a violent death, fear of crossing into the afterlife, or inability to leave a particular area. They can thought to be tormented, unstable and potentially dangerous. Some ghosts are thought to be evil and hurt or even kill people.

Certain cultures believe that ghosts are capable of possessing a living person and forcing them to say and do things against their will. It can be also a very convenient way of explaining why you were doing something illegal. There are several documented cases of people claiming to be attacked, violated, or plagued by ghosts.

Ghosts are believed to haunt or frequent a particular area, supposedly haunted houses, graveyards, and areas of disaster.

Ghosts have become a large part of pop culture as well. The ghost story is a very common part of campfire tales and slumber parties, and are usually made to scare or entertain children. Hollywood has, of course, gotten a hold of the ghost idea and made plenty of movies regarding ghosts. Because Halloween is based on the spirits of the dead, ghosts are fully integrated into the holiday.


Make Small Halloween Ghosts

You will need some soda bottles (with sand, dirt or kitty litter in them, to give them weight), aluminum foil, cheese cloth or (old) large white sheet, liquid laundry starch, sticks or dowel rods for each ghost, a medium bowl or bucket and a permanent marker.

Make a round ball of the aluminum foil. Poke a pencil or dowel rod into the foil. Put the end of the stick in the bottle. Do this for each ghost. Make a tube of foil and put across bottle for arms.

Cut cloth into squares big enough to cover each ghost. Dip in starch. Squeeze excess starch out. Drape over each head and arms of ghost. Let sit overnight. Carefully lift gauze from ghost form after drying. Each should stand on its own. Make eyes and mouth with marker. Hang from trees or sit as place cards on a table.

Ghosts can be made using white trash bags, balloons, fishing line and a permanent marker.
1. Inflate the balloon.
2. Take your trash bag and turn it inside out.
3. Place the balloon in the trash bag.
4. Tie the bag just below the bottom of the balloon.
It should fit tightly over the balloon. You can use a piece of fishing line and tie it loosely around the trash bag just below the balloon.
5. Draw a face on the balloon with the marker.
6. Make a small hole at the the top of the bag and insert the string.
7. If you want, tie pieces of fishing line to the bottom corners of your garbage bag to give your ghost "arms."
8. Secure the "ghost" to a tree or other location.

Paper Mache Ghosts

Ghosts are easy to make. You need a balloon, paper mache paste, a cup or bowl, plastic wrap, and either newspaper and white paint or white tissue paper.
1. Inflate the balloon.
2. Cover the cup or bowl with plastic wrap. This will be used to hold the balloon in place while you work.
3. Cover the balloon completely with several layers of paper mache and newspaper or with several sheets of white tissue paper. Make sure the strips hang down below the balloon.
4. If you are using newspaper, you can cover your ghost with large sheets of newspaper and paint it white when dry.
5. Remove the balloon once the project is dry.
6. Secure it to a tree or similar place using string.