Mythology & Folklore

To complete my research books, I've chosen the following stories. The first is from ancient Egypt. The story is broken--literally found on broken pieces of pottery--but there is enough to put together the story of a ghost haunting a man because of the deterioration of his tomb. Once the proper respects were paid to the tomb, the ghost was able to rest. https://www.ancient.eu/article/964/a-ghost-story-of-ancient-egypt/ The next story is my favorite because of the twist. It is Celtic and begins with the death of a very well loved and respected woman of the community. Upon her death, her many good, selfless deeds are celebrated and masses are held in her honor. Her spirit haunts the living because her good deeds were not selfless. Her "charity" in life was given to bring good reputation rather than out of honest intentions. Therefore, the girls she haunts has the duty of setting the record straight and ruining the woman's good name so that she can rest. https://...

I would like to explore ghost stories from around the world. Specifically, I would like to explore what makes  a ghost. Whether it is unresolved issues on the part of the deceased, burial rites forgone, etc. I want to look at the attitude of the peoples toward the process of getting to the afterlife through looking at occasions of the failures to do so.  I found some interesting articles that will definitely help with my research:  https://www.ancient.eu/ghost/ https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/historical-ghost-stories https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/10/24/358555307/the-creepiest-ghost-and-monster-stories-from-around-the-world I hope to create a fun site with a creepy vibe. Personally, I want to improve my creative, descriptive story telling, so I will try to make the stories as chilly as possible.  Creeeeppppyy Source: Pixabay

So, after the feedback from Laura and others, I decided to take a closer look into the jaguars of the Olmec and the Maya. It was the wrong call. It turns out that I am not a huge fan of the jaguar stories of the Mesoamerican peoples. I think I suggested it because I like jaguars, but the stories of transformations and, even worse, copulation between the species are just not as appealing to me. As this project promises to take up a great deal of my time over the course of the semester and will be the only creative endeavor (as the rest of my classes are IT related), I would like to choose a topic that appeals to me a little more than this one. I plan to spend some time early this week exploring the ghost stories of the world. Hopefully, I will find better options. Nonetheless, please find the links to the sources that I read in order to come to this conclusion. Clay jaguar from  Monte Alban , provisionally dated from 200 BC to AD 600. Height: 56 cm (22 inches) Source:  ...

There are so many possible topics to choose from, that even this brainstorming assignment is a little intimidating. My favorite topics in studying ancient literature has always been finding similar themes or  topics from all around the world and seeing the different perspectives. In keeping with that idea, I was drawn to the idea of studying Ghost Stories. More specifically looking at the different ways that people from different cultures throughout history view and prepare for the afterlife. I would specifically like to look at early examples of Ghosts stories. Source:  Ghost Stories Likewise, it could be fun to choose an animal and examine depictions and descriptions of that animal throughout history and across cultures. I once wrote a short story that I always imagined someday turning into a novel. The story touched on the jaguar shamans and were-jaguars in the mesoamerican cultures, like the Mayans. This could be a great opportunity to learn more about these stories ...