On Ghosts

On Ghosts is a book found in Evergrind City's library.

Transcript

Ghosts! The mysterious, the wonderous, the spectral spectacular! I'm no poet normally but thinking about ghosts makes me one!

Ghosts can largely be divided into three groups. First off: the boring, harmless remains of people who have passed. Unseen to the eye, but frequently observed through poltergeist activity.

It's not entirely clear why these people stick around. A sudden death and powerful regret seem to help, but I theorize that the proximity of Twilight may be just as important.

The second group are visitors from the Ectoplane, the void, the twisted world beyond the veil. Ghosties and Haunties are examples of such lovely creatures!

The third group are powerful, lingering emotions that consume the spirit of the being who might have felt them once, and turn into lumps of pure woe, endlessly recycling itself, often possessing objects to exact their malice on people who pass by.

Living Scarecrows and Statues are both examples of that third type. Spectacular!

The sticklers among you might remember my saying that ghosts can "largely" be grouped as such.

Some believe Echoes should have their own classification, since they can substantiate themselves in our world, like Ghosties, but are driven by what seems to be human-born emotions.

I quite like this idea, personally, and if I can be playful for a moment I'd like to add another entry to that list: the elusive Lost Souls - the childlike specters of folklore.

It's been said that on the birthnight of Ederic Chopeen, the legendary composer, his grandfather's piano started playing by itself. When investigating, Ederic's father said he saw a strange child pressing the keys! He grabbed the miscreant's shoulder, and it vanished into thin air.

So I'd like to posit Echoes and Lost Souls as two sides of the same coin: time!

Echoes belong to the Past, and survive the Present well enough, while Lost Souls belong in the Future - a temporal position much less impervious to the relentless grind of the "now", hence their legendary frailty.

Oh, dear. I went and became poetic again. My apologies, fellow scientists!

And to all you Collectors out there, who hate the mere mention of Lost Souls because they don't fit into your Enemy Codex... rest easy!

Even this madwoman doesn't really believe in Lost Souls. But it's fun to dream, isn't it?

written by Dr. Spengler

Location

This book can be found in Evergrind City's library.

Trivia

• Ederic Chopeen refers to Frédéric Chopin, a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano.