Ghostly Art

Many of us have heard the Scottish Prayer :

From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!

My Mother used to say it to us when we were children. 


A ghoul is an evil spirit and comes to us from Arabian Mythology. They are associated with graveyards but dwell in the desert They are shape-shifters often taking on the guise of a hyena and are known to feast on human flesh. Ghouls will also eat the dead and have been known to take on the form of the dead person they most recently dined upon. 

            "Amine Discovered with the Goule", from the story of Sidi Nouman, of theOne Thousand and One Nights.

Ghosts are the apparitions of the dead that manifest to the living. They can be human or animal. Ghosts have been described as being invisible, barely visible and wispy or very lifelike. Ghosts are solitary and can haunt places, objects, or people they were associated with in life. 

                                                         Hamlet and the Ghost by Henry Fuseli

The Cihuateteo or Divine Women are the spirits of women who die during childbirth. The Aztec believe that child birthing is a battle and women who die giving birth are treated like brave and glorious fallen warriors. The remains of such women ere often carried into battle by warriors. The Cihuateteo accompany the setting sun. There are 5 sacred days where the Cihuateteo descend to earth haunting at crossroads looking for children to steal and take with them in place of their own which was lost to them upon their death. 

Brutus and the Ghost of Caesar. Copperplate engraving by Edward Scriven from a painting by Richard Westall
This week enjoy some Ghostly Art.