Some Thoughts about Ghosts

I've just finished revising one scene of Hungry Ghosts, a scene in which all the ghosts are whispering at once, all telling their own private, urgent stories. As I wrote the ghosts' monologues, I wondered how I could explain the scene to the cast, and I thought about the various theories I've heard to explain hauntings. One theory is that a haunting is essentially a film loop, a moment so painful or traumatic that it is permanently burned upon the air, endlessly repeating itself for anyone who can see or hear it. Another theory ties the haunting to unfinished business, the restless ghost's need to apologize or avenge. Another is that ghosts belong to those people who are too scared to leave this existence so they're stuck, neither here nor there. Personally, I'm a fan of the "friendly visit" theory, the idea that in the afterlife we can pop in on the people and places we love, check up on them, hanging out like the last guests to leave a very long party.

For me, ghosts are like stories. We need to hear them, and they need to be told. We're haunted by the things we've left undone, but even more by words unsaid. Ghost stories are a portal, a path through the dark, frightening woods, with a glimpse of light at the end.