Ghosts in english literature and dracula by bram stoker

In Ordinary Life: Although scientists have been trying to prove that there are no ghosts in our world, people still believe in its existence in life.. This can be people who have never

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Reasons for Choosing the Study

Firstly, when a child, I was very interested in horror stories, especially ghost stories although after having heard of them, I did not dare to go to sleep, even closed my eyes

Growing a little, I not only heard but also read ghost stories I was satisfied with ghost stories in literature Those stories satisfied my curiosity And now, I am a student The hobby of ghost stories in English literature intrigues me a lot I like ghost stories, therefore, I have chosen ghost topic for my thesis paper

Secondly, ghost is a very interesting, special topic It is interesting because it is mysterious and controversial It is special because although people are frightened when hearing it, they still like to hear This makes ghost topic different from the others This is also the reasons why many works having ghost topic in literature, especially in English literature have been created And many of them are masterpieces

Thirdly, this subject is new Is it contradictory when saying that while above, I say ghost to be a topical of all the time? I can say, it is not, surely Everyone is interested in ghost stories, however, each stories is always new to readers My thesis may be new to the readers, too

Fourthly, this subject is helpful People often think that ghost is the

"child" of superstition However, when being studied as a literary phenomenon , it will help people realized its great value of education

"Dracula" is the best representative for that

There are many reasons for choosing the study but the above reasons are the main ones that encourage me to choose the thesis: "Ghosts in English literature and "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

2 The Aims of the Study

- Helps readers have a general view about a topical subject in literature: ghosts

- Analyzes some basic types of ghosts in literature

- Finds our the reasons for English writers to choose ghosts as a literary topical subject in general and of Bram Stoker in "Dracula" in special

3 The Scope of the Study

Ghost is a very general definition However, on the viewpoint of English literature, being awake of the ability and time limits, I only focus on the meaning "spirit of the dead" and analyze a representative of ghost stories-

"Dracula" by Bram Stoker as an example to see the driving purposes of the writer behind the well-known novel

4 The Methods of the Study

In order to carry out this thesis, we have used the following methods:

- Synthetic method

- Cencus method

5 The Format of the Study

A part from acknowledgements, table of contents, reference, and appendix, the thesis consists of three main parts:

Part I: Introduction

This part presents the reasons for choosing the study, the aims, the limitation, the methods and the scope of the study

Part II: Development

In this part, three chapters will be developed:

Chapter 1: Conceptions about ghosts

Chapter 2: Types of ghosts in literature

Chapter 3: The fight between the Good and the Bad in "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

Part III: Conclusion

PART II: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: CONCEPTIONS ABOUT GHOSTS

There are also many definitions of ghost by famous people or many in different dictionaries of all languages in the world However, the most general definition is in the American Heritage @ Dictionary of English language, fourth edition

According to this dictionary:

Ghost is defined as:

1.1.1.4 A returning or haunting memory or image

a) A slight of faint trace : just an ghosts of a smile b) The tiniest bit: not a ghost of a chance

1.1.1.5 A faint , false image as:

a) A secondary image on a television or radar screen caused by reflected waves

b) A displaced image in a photograph cause by the optical system

1.1.1.8 (Physiology) A red blood cell howing no hemoglobin

1.1.2 (Verb) ghosted - ghosting - ghosts

1.1.2.1 (v.intr)

a) (Informal) to engage in ghostwriting b) To move noiselessly like a ghost

"two young deer ghosted out of the woods"

(Nancy M.Debevoise - website: www.googlealert.com)

1.2 Do ghosts exist on the Earth ?

When thinking the existence of ghosts, we consider two aspects: physical

and spiritual existence

The answers to the question are different according to items of science,

of ordinary life, and of literature

1.2.1 In Science:

Modern science has taught us that nothing happens without a cause even

though we may not be able to discover what that cause is No leaf falls to the

ground, no wind blows, no flower opens without an explanation To the

existence of ghosts, scientists also have their own explanation They do not

think ghosts exist both physically and spiritually They think ghosts are only

the "children" of the superstition which is derived from Ignorance and Fear

At the same time, they determine that as our knowledge grows and our

wisdom ripens, all superstition vanishes as a bad dream when we awake

1.2.2 In Ordinary Life:

Although scientists have been trying to prove that there are no ghosts in

our world, people still believe in its existence in life

Some believe that ghosts exist physically in our world These are people

who say they saw ghosts once or twice or even they have never seen ghosts,

they was told by their friends or their relatives who had seen This group of

people is only the minority People who believe in physical existence of ghost

usually also believe in its spiritual existence

The majority belongs to group of people who believe that ghosts exist

spiritually in our world This can be people who have never once seen ghosts

but still believe in their existence in the real world They think no one can

really die forever They believe in an afterlife Death means the souls leave the bodies and go to Heaven or Hell or another world However, the souls of

the dead still be with the living to protect the living For example, in religion, the Christians believe absolutely in God, the Buddists in Buddha And all of us know that both God (Jerusalem) and Buddha are spirits of the dead whose dedication and the ways of living have affected their following generations very much Believers think these spirits are always together with them in all aspects of life Therefore, whenever having difficulty in life, believers go to God and Buddha to ask for a grant After praying, they feel released and easy

to overcome the difficulty as if God or Buddha have granted them

Most of people think that the dead rejoin them in many daily activities such as eating, drinking, and having fun To these people, ghosts are not lost

to the living The belief that ghosts exist spiritually and physically is reflected

in some ghostly festivals

Halloween on October 31 is really a ghost festival It was originally an ancient Celtic ritual in which the souls of the dead were believed to revisit their homes, and fires were lit to drive away evil spirits, hobgoblins, and demons Under Christianity it was known as All Saints' Day, or Hollowed Evening (Which became Halloween) Today, children celebrate by making spooky pumpkins They wear frightening masks and knock on the doors demanding "Trick or Treat "

The Japanese Feast of Lantern (July 13 -15) is also a ghost festival People offer food to their dead relatives and tea is poured for the invisible guests every hour At night, homes are decorated with beautiful lanterns fringed with paper streamers Virtually Japanese people believe in ghosts, and care for their dead relatives at the special time as if they were alive

(From: "Ghosts and the Supernatural" by Colin Wilson)

Beside people who believe in ghost's existence, there are many people who do not believe in These usually never see ghosts, even if they saw once, they think that results from the fact that they read, or were told many ghost stories, therefore their minds were obsessed These people still take part in many activities for the dead such as celebrating ghostly festivals, etc However, they do these things only to prove that they love, and always remember the dead

The question whether ghosts exist physically, or spiritually, or both, or not in the real world is, therefore, difficult to answer It have been very controversial However, no matter the answer is, it is not important To the living, if there exist ghosts, it is ok If there do not exist ghosts, it is good They always try to live better, and consider ghosts judge in their hearts Especially, it is ghost topic that human beings enjoy many interesting ghost stories all over the world

1.2.3 In Literature:

Regardless of whether people believe in ghost existence or not, ghosts

have continually been created Ghost topic has been a very popular topic in

literature More and more people want to read ghost stories even though they

are very frightened In literature, the question: "Do ghosts exist in the real

life?" is very controversial

Just like scientists, in literature, there are many people who do not

believe in both physical and spiritual existence of ghosts: "Believe me, there

are no ghosts in the world- not even in very old Bristish families" (Oscar

Wilde 18:1) or some laugh scornfully at the idea of ghost existence :

Ghosts! People imagine they see ghosts on a dark night! You cannot make me

believe in ghosts! It is a question of fact! There are no ghosts!

(John Escott 12:33)

or some people explain that:

Everybody says they see the Opera ghost But there is not really a ghost You saw a

shadow on the wall

(Jenifer Scott 18:2) Contrary to that idea, some people believe absolutely in ghosts both

physically and spiritually:

I am afraid there really is a ghost It 's been famous for centuries - since 1584 It

always appears before the death of a member of our family

(Oscar Wilde 18:1)

Or according to some people in "The Ghost of Genny Castle" by John

Escott: “People have seen ghosts”

Or in "The Phantom of the Opera":

"It is the ghost! In the passage I saw him He came through the wall in front of me!

And and I saw his face"

(Jenifer Bassett 18:1)

The question whether ghosts exist physically, or spiritually, or both, or not in the real world is difficult to answer It is very controversial As the time beings, in literature, people accept an open conclusion:

In some ways you are all wrong, and in some way you are all right There are ghosts, and there are not, well, that is what people say

Not only the belief about ghost existence but also all types of ghosts such

as phantom, apparition, spirit, vampire, monster, poltergeist have been reflected in literature Many literary works that have been famous for ghost image like "Voodoo Island" by Michael Duckworld, "Dracula" by Bram Stoker, "The Phantom of the Opera" by Jenifer Bassett, etc These will be studied more in CHAPTER 2 and CHAPTER 3

Both in ordinary life and in literature, people who believe in existence of ghosts, also believe that ghosts have emotional feelings According to them, just like every people, ghosts are just like us with all the emotional baggage that goes with life on the afterlife That means ghosts also hate, love, feel shy,

or feel ashamed, etc like us - the living Owing to this criterion, it is easier for people to classify types of ghosts in CHAPTER 2

1.3 Why Cannot Everyone See Ghosts ?

Some people believe absolutely in ghosts because they say they saw ghosts or their friends or their relatives did However, most of people have never seen ghosts Why cannot everyone see ghosts?

Let us first start off by saying that everyone has the potential to see a ghost But the fact is that only some people see ghosts physically These people can be able to turn it more often to see the spirits and see, hear, etc the signal and energy the spirit is sending We call these people sensitive or psychics Surely, there are varying conditions that may interfere with the spirits of the dead

Firstly, it is clear that sensitive people see ghosts more often than others Secondly, it is often happen that you see the spirits of your dead relatives than those of others that you do not know Therefore, some of things that can make our ability to receive the signals of ghosts are our relations to the spirits Our relatives are so dear to us When they leave this life forever,

we feel so sad that we think we could not live continually without them We always think of them with beautiful memories that they and we had when they were alive So sometimes we see the spirits of them

That is the reason that some people who are always afraid of ghosts see ghosts more often than people who do not Our frame of mind is so important Take care of your minds

Lastly, locations are also an important condition to interfere with ghosts Locations make some people more sensitive than the other and will see something in just those places while nothing in others

CHAPTER 2: TYPES OF GHOSTS IN LITERATURE

2.1 Types of ghosts in English literature

There are many kinds of ghosts In ordinary life, we usually hear about

"ma ca rong", "ma doi", "ma dau troc", "ma xo", "ma toc dai", "ma choi", etc

In English literature, ghosts are classified into many types, mainly according

to three main criteria:

- According to semantics

- According to psychological standard of ghosts

- According to shape shifting

2.1.1 According to semantics

Ghosts, according to this criterion, can be classified into two types:

- The human spirit

- The spirit Helper

2.1.1.1 The human spirit

The energy of the spirit after death decides the its activity in the eyes of people who believe ghosts exist in life

There are three subtypes of the human spirit according to its energy level recognized by the YK Ghost Watch organization:

a) Spirits (hon)

A spirit is an entity on the lowest energy level and therefore unable to materialize It usually makes itself known by creating a cold spot or a cool breeze regardless of the general overall temperature

It is easy to find this kind of ghost in "Lost Heart" of the collection "The Locked Room and other Horror Stories":

It was now March 21,1812, a strange day, windy and noisy, Stephen stood in the garden and felt as if was full of ghosts- people he could not see - who were flying in the wind and trying to contact with living people in the real world

or in "Voodoo Island" by Michael Duckworth:

When old Kee finishes a strange song, a cold wind began to move in the wind There were clouds in the sky, and it began to rain Soon the wind and the rain to Port au Prince

b) Ghost/ Apparition (Ma)

Ghost is an entity on the higher energy level (compared with a spirit) and able to be seen by the living

This kind appear after death to revenge, to toss the killer, or to help the other find out the secrets of their death, or even to save family and friends that are in danger This kind of ghosts can be seen in most of the ghost stories Let take the ghost in "Martin's Lake" of the collection "The Locked Room and other Horror Stories" by M.R.James The girl who had died, appeared to kill her lover who had betrayed and killed her In the end, he has

to pay for his sin: "The boy saw a human shape come out of the water and chase the young gentleman away into the trees and in the end, they found the body of him at the bottom of the lake and under a tree, covered in blood" The ghost in "The ghost upon the Rail" of the collection "A Twist in the tale" of Australia is a bit different He not only appears to ask the alive to make clear of his death but also tosses the inner of the killer: "Mr Smith, from the day

on which he did the murder, he had seen the ghost which old weir had seen sitting on the rail" (5:33) And since he killed his friend - Fisher, his life had been worth nothing and that he would rather die than go on living this way

c) Entity/Poltergeist (yeu tinh)

This type of spirit, commonly known as the poltergeist, has the highest level of energy and literally feeds on a host's energy Poltergeists, or "noisy spirits" make loud noises, cause objects to fly across rooms, or even start fires They usually haunt families with children or teenagers Some experts think that poltergeists are caused by the unconscious minds of unhappy young people, others from disturbed teenagers

Although poltergeists often throw heavy objects with great force, it is rare for them to actually hurt anybody In one case, a huge potato flew across the room, narrowly missing some one's head, and shattered into pieces against the wall In another, a heavy silver teapot was hurled through the air, but turned at right angles before it struck anyone, as if the poltergeist was holding it rather than throwing it Poltergeists can even make objects go through walls, for which there is no scientific explanation

Most poltergeist disturbances are reasonably short - lived, lasting about two months In that time, every room in a house may be turned upside down

(From: "Ghosts and the Supernatural" by Colin Wilson)

This photograph of flying kitchen is typical of poltergeist activity It was taken in the home of the Costa family from st.Jeanne de Maurienne, Italy,

in june 1955 Teresa Costa was the "focus", that is, the poltergeist "stole" her energy to cause chaos

Based on this kind of ghost, the novelist Herbert George Wells in particular shows a remarkable imagination to guess about future scientific developments through "The Invisible Man" He the invisible Man is a human

being, because of scientific aim, made himself invisible No one sees him He travels and attack like a poltergeist Or in "Martin's Lake" in the collection

"The Locked Room and Other Horror Stories" by M.R.James, the girl who had been killed by her lover is considered as a poltergeist

2.1.1.2 The Spirit Helper (Thien than)

A spirit helper is also called an angel that rescues human from harm The term "angel" derives from a Greek translation of Hebrew "mal'akh" later "malaika", which originally meant the "shadow side of God", but later came to mean message or herald Both terms, interestingly enough, refer to a function or status rather an essence Yet questions of angelic substance have been departed for centuries

The biblical view hold that angels were "from above" yet were essentially humanlike or not, as a rule, invisible

According to Saint Thomas Aquinas, angel were "pure soul", being lacking the bodies of human

Lactantius, a Christian apologist writing in the third and fourth centuries A.D, argued for a principle of relativity: compared to humans, angel appeared embodied - Thus they might be said to possess "subtle bodies"

"Angel" usually wears wings on both his cap and his feet In Viet Nam,

"angel" is called "but, tien" who bring people good news and come to help them "But" has helped Tam in "Tam Cam" have a happy life in the end

In English literature, spirit helpers appear in many works, one of them is

"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dicken Three spirits help the main character

Mr Scrooge love his life more

Here, it needs to be distinguished with the omen of death It also brings news but not good news

2.1.2 According to Psychological Standard of Ghosts:

2.1.2.1 Sad, Wispy Ones (Ma buon)

Sad, wispy ghosts are ghosts which are working out some unfinished earthly business, or suffering some purgatorial purification until released from their earthly business These ghosts would seem to be the ones who just barely made to learn many painful lessons about their past life on earth Readers who have ever read "The Ghost upon the Rail" in the collection "A twist in the Tale" of Australia cannot surely forget the sad face which was full of disappointments about the betrayal of the dear friend of the ghost Fisher His close friend - Mr Smith killed him to rob his possessions He, seeming to be to too hurtful about his past life, cannot be free Until his death was made clear, people did not see him sitting on the rail where he was killed or somewhere else His soul was free from this difficult real life

2.1.2.2 The Malicious and Deceptive Ones (Ma lua loc, hiem ac)

This kind of ghosts, since they are deceptive, they hardly ever appear malicious These are probably the ones who respond the conjuring at seances They probably come from Hell These spirits are called ghosts with bad meanings These always appear to threaten children or kind or sensible people, such as the ghosts in "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James A governess takes charge of two children, Miles (10 years old) and Flora (his younger sister), at the lonely country house of Bly She sees the ghosts of the former steward, Peter Quint, and governess, Miss Jessel Her suspicion that the children are in touch with the ghosts is confirmed by their evasiveness when questioned In a final confrontation she is determined to free Miles from Quint's malign influence, but the boy dies in her arms It is the malign influence of those ghosts that make the minds of two children filled with

clouds They become more worried and difficult to talk to And in the end, the boy dies because of the ghosts

They are, no doubts, malicious and deceptive ghosts

2.1.2.3 The Bright, Happy Ones (Ma hanh phuc)

These are bright, happy spirits of dead friends and family, esp spouses who appear unbidden, at God's will, not ours, with message of hope and love They seem to come from Heaven Unlike the purgatorial ghosts, who come back primarily for their own sake, these bright spirits come back for the sake

of the living, to tell the living all is well Heavenly spirits always convince us that they are genuinely good Even the bright spirit appears ghostlike to us because a ghost of any type is one Whose substance does not belong in or come from this world In Heaven these spirits are not ghosts but real, solid and substantial because they are at home there One cannot be a ghost in one's own country As in "The Woman in the Black Coat" by Joseph Sheridan Le Fan in the collection "The Room in the Tower and other ghost stories" by Rudgard Kipling and others, the spirit of the dead sister visits the narrator at night and tells her that she is safe from the danger:

"Sometimes my dead sister visits me at night, but I am never afraid She tells me that the blind woman is trying to find me at Cathergillagh and that she wants to kill me But she can never find me there."

(Ruddgard Kipling 20:12)

That there are all three kinds of ghosts is enormously likely Even taking into accounts our penchant to deceive and be deceived, our credulity and fakery, there remain so many trustworthy accounts and stories of all three types

of ghosts - trustworthy by every ordinary empirical and psychological standard

2.1.3 According to Shape Shifting

It is clear that ghost is a supernatural being It can do many things that human being cannot do For example, it can shift into many phenotypes According to this criterion, ghosts are called vampires

A vampire is the spirit of a dead body but for some reasons cannot be free It can stay alive by drinking the blood of the living There are many excellent literary works about vampires, of which "Dracula" by Bram Stoker is the most famous This kind of ghost and the well- known "Dracula" will be studied more carefully in the CHAPTER 3

2.2 Charms

As it have mentioned, there are many kinds of ghosts Many of them hurt the living while the others do not The ghosts that hurt the living are very bad (such as the malicious and deceptive ghosts or vampires) and the living need to stay away them These are often called evils That is the reason why in order to keep away from evils, charms are used Not only to protect people, charms are hoped for bringing good luck for them Charms can be tiny Buddha, four- leaf clovers, horseshoes, eye of Horus, carved wooden head as these pictures

( From: "Ghosts and the Supernatural" by Colin Wilson.)

Many people carry tiny Budhas and four - leaf clovers to bring them good luck Other charms such as horseshoes are believed to make the owner lucky

in love or business

Do these charms really work? They can certainly make you feel lucky and most people have noticed that when they feel lucky they are lucky

(From: "Ghosts and the Supernatural" by Colin Wilson)

The amulet or lucky charm shown above comes from ancient Egypt, and was placed on mummified bodies to protect them Their eye belongs to the God Horus and had the power to heal Charms are still used in the 20th century to cure sickness and keep away evil This carving of a woman's head was left at the entrance of a village, to scare off the evil spirits Terrifying masks are worn in the secret seremonies of the Ibibio people to ward off evil The people have other ways to scare away evils, for example, the best way to scare off old women was to trip nude, or safest way to go in the dark at night is cursing evils as you walk, etc

2.3 The reasons for writers to choose ghost as a topic in literature

2.3.1 Ghosts are Used to Entertain the Readers

Ghosts with their mystery always increase the attraction for the literary works Ghost is a rather interesting and attracting topic of all the time People usually gossip about ghosts They like to gather together to talk about what they cannot explain, what are out of their knowing They are very curious It is the curiosity that ghost stories attract people People like ghost stories with bated breath, an anxious mind and the sense of exhiclaration Therefore, choosing ghost topic, the writers want their works to be loved and in great demand of reading That was also the main reasons that “The Phantom of the Opera" was written Gaston Leroux visited the Paris House many times He liked the huge, beautiful building The Opera House was not built between 1861 and 1875 It is

167 meters long, 122 meters wide and 82 meters high It has 17 floors and a tall roof There are 80 dressing rooms for the actors, dancers and musicians There are very many stairs, corridors and storeroom In 1910, Leroux heard some strange stories about the Opera House The people of the Opera House talked about a ghost The ghost lived in the building Accidents had happened in the building too Once, a huge glass chandelier fell from the ceiling One woman died Leroux thought about these things and he wrote this book Immediately, the book became the best - seller Many films and plays have been made of the story "The Phantom

"The Phantom of the Opera" by Jenifer Bassett, for example, ghost is not real He -

Erik is not a ghost He is a man, but he has a face of a dead man: no nose, just two black holes in his yellow face, his eyes are black holes, sometimes they have a terrible red light Because of the face, Erik had to lead this strange life: half man, half phantom He was a very clever, very dangerous man He could be in one place, and his voice could come from another place He could do many clever things with ropes, mirror, and secret doors It is clear that people believe he is a ghost because of his ugly face and his cleverness If a ghost was not used in this story, the writer would fail to explain the strange things about man, therefore "The Phantom of the Opera" would not come to us

Besides this story, many other stories that famous for usage of ghosts to increase the attraction are: "Dead man's Island" by John Escott, "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, "The Invisible Man" by H.GWells, etc

2.3.2 Ghosts are Used to Reflect the Struggles of the Good and the Bad

in our Society

The Earth still goes around the Sun and people always try their best to reach the perfect Therefore, the struggle for the better cannot be absent in our life, because only struggles against the Bad help human exist and develop That fact is as simple as the law of nature In our society, the struggles between the Good and the Bad can be struggles between love and hate, superstition and strong belief, hallucination and fact, greed and generosity, even human and nature, etc All those struggles are reflected in literature As many other images, ghosts have been successfully used for that purpose of the writers And in most works, ghosts are used as representatives of the Bad

In "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James, the ghosts of the former steward Peter Quint and the governess Miss Jessel are as representatives of the Bad who make life of the children full of clouds and make the boy die and the new governess is as a representative of the Good who try to help two children stay away the malign influence of the ghosts The fact that, after a brief

introductory section, the story is told from the point of view of the governess raises doubts about whether the ghosts are "real" or merely her hallucinations There are also many stories as well as novels having ghosts as an image that have left a deep impression on readers, of which the most famous novel having ghosts as the bad in society is "Dracula" by Bram Stoker This will be analyzed more clearly in CHAPTER 3

2.3.3 Ghost is Used as a Representative of the Past, the Old World before the Development of the Present, the New World

Ghosts are spirits of the dead, that is why they are used to talk about the past, the ancient The life has to continually change That is the law of life However, some changes come to so fast that people feel confused It is difficult for them to go on well with the new life Because of that, they do not want to change, they only want to live with the past Moreover, not all changes are good, so the question whether we should change the world or not is put out Talking about this, we cannot forget the writer Michael Duckworth who started writing when he was living in Malaysia It was there, too, that he first became interested in old ghost stories and beliefs about magic and spirits, and these ideas are an important part of "Voodoo Island" This is the story about the fight between the old world and the new world James Conway wants to bring the new world to Haiti He wants to build new houses, shops, and hotels

- and he wants to build them on an old graveyard, on the island of Haiti Most

of all, he want to make money Kee is an old man who understands and loves the old world Kee has very little money, he is not an "important" person in the new world But the old man has friends - friends in the graveyard, friends who lie dead, under the ground And he understands Voodoo Haiti is an island where people do not always die - they only sleep Voodoo can bring dead people back to life Voodoo can speak to the spirits of all things, alive or dead Voodoo is the magic of Haiti There are still people, today, who use

voodoo magic to speak to the dead When Conway starts to build his houses,

he makes the terrible mistake of disturbing the sleep of the dead, Conway becomes mad In this story, ghosts are used as a supernatural power , stand for the past and together with Kee to win Conway No one blocks the progress but progress has to concord with the traditional morality, has to develop on the basis of the past It is the message that Michael Duckworth wants to send us via "Voodoo Island"

2.3.4 Ghosts are Used as a Means to Wing the Message of the Writers that, Life is Beautiful, We should Know the Way to Live Better and Enjoy it

Because of the characteristics, ghosts used for this purpose are usually happy, bright ones or angels

Life is difficult In all aspects of life, there are many difficulties to overcome On the way to reach our aims, we sometimes loose ourselves surely And because ghosts are considered as a supernatural being, they have power as well as potential to do many things that man cannot do, especially they can obsess man's mind Taking advantages of this characteristic, writers used ghosts to recall man's conscience For example, in "The Ghost upon the Rail" of the collection "A Twist in the Tale" of Australia, the ghost Fisher appears for his killer to see However, this works effectively This tosses the killer's conscience This makes a man who is ready to make sins only to have

a lot of money regardless of nothing has to regret and he himself pay the price for his sin

Life is also busy People have no time to enjoy life They forget the way

to enjoy life Ghosts with their power have helped those people overview their life and let them learn their lessons themselves That is the case of Mr Scrooge

in "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens Christmas is expected by everyone except he "Christmas is humbug", he says, "Just a time when you

find yourself a year older and not a penny richer" The only thing that matters

to Scrooge is business and making money "A Christmas Carol" have been successful because the writer used spirits (angels) to change the way of thinking about life of Mr Scrooge On Christmas Eve three spirits come to visit him They take him travelling on the wings of night to see the shadows of Christmas past, present, and future - and Scrooge learns a lesson that he will never forget His viewpoint of life changes owing to three spirits Only these angels can do this difficult thing

There are many other reasons, of course, but those are main reasons that writers create ghost image in their work

CHAPTER 3: THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE GOOD AND THE

EVIL IN "DRACULA" BY BRAM STOKER 3.1 Vampire

Vampire is a kind of ghosts It is also called Blood Sucker

A vampire is the spirit of a dead body but for some reasons cannot be free

According to the legend, a vampire can live forever as long as there is enough blood of the living for him/her to drink Anyone bitten by a vampire also turn into a vampire Most vampires are male and fly by turning themselves into a bat Recent reports from Puerto Rico of a bloodsucking creature, according to the book "Ghosts and the supernatural" by Colin Wilson, suggest that vampires may still be at large in the world There is a disturbing amount

of solid evidence for real life vampires like the fictional Dracula

In the first famous case, in 1732, the villagers of Medvegia, in Serbia, complained that vampires were walking at night Emperor Charles VI of Austria ordered the opening

of a dozen graves, and all the bodies looked as fresh as when they were buried The bodies were all burned and their ashes thrown in the river Medvegia was never troubled with vampires again.

3.2 The horror novel "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

As we have mentioned, there were many writers who wrote about vampires of which we can talk to "The Vampire" (1821) by John Dorset,