Ghost Superstitions from the Middle Ages

Some Ghost Superstitions of the Middle Ages


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The Middle Ages began in roughly 1066 and ended in 1485. During this era, superstitions permeated everyday culture, and belief in ghosts was not uncommon. Ghosts lived in limbo between the temporal and spiritual world and often symbolized pending doom. Though many cultures supported the notion of ghosts, they had different names and symbols.



Christian Superstitions



In Christianity, ghosts were tortured souls.

As Gillian Polack, Ph.D. reminds in her article "Ghosts and Fairies in the Middle Ages," ghosts were often thought to be the damned souls of, women who died in childbirth, children who were never baptized, blasphemers, people who were not Christians and those who committed suicide. While their ghosts roamed the Earth, the people themselves were destined for an eternity in Purgatory. In contrast, if someone wanted to bring forth a spirit, they would need to wash a slab of steel in mugwort juice.



Jewish Superstitions



One Jewish superstition was that lights seen at night in cemeteries were spirits.

Other religions also had superstitions surrounding ghosts and spirits. Eleazar ben Judah of Worms was a Jewish scholar who lived from 1165 to 1230. He wrote that spirits were akin to a flicker of fire. He believed that, when light was seen at cemeteries, it was really spirits talking to one another. Another Jewish ghost figure was called a "dybbuk," a departed soul that clung to a human.



Irish Superstitions



Banshees were specific to Irish culture.

Irish of the Middle Ages believed that the Banshee was a specific ghost that could be heard howling at night. The Banshee was a phantom female who was sometimes called the Angel of Death, according to "Irish Mythology: The Banshee" written by Ciara O'Brien. While some myths thought that she came in the form of a washerwoman or an old crone, others state that she was a wraith with silver hair. When she wailed, it was to warn human beings that they or someone they loved was about to die.



Icelandic Superstitions



In Iceland, owls were symbols of death and ghosts.

In Iceland, many superstitions regarding ghosts were centered on animals. For example, an owl was synonymous with death and wherever an owl nest was built, a ghost would linger in the area until the bird abandoned its home. Rooster crows were thought to tell ghosts that it was time for them to vanish until night falls again.



Information from E How