The ghost story concert is a popular modern form of presenting ghost stories to ticket buying audiences and is one of the last stomping grounds of the oral tradition. Attendees come to be scared but not terrified. Tellers employ humor to release tension during the tale. When does humor release tension while maintaining the momentum of the story? When does the humor employed deflate it into a comical tale and diffuse suspense altogether? In an effort to answer these questions, four variants of a single story, Tailypo, were analyzed for the presence of tension and humor inducing stimuli employing Rothbart's diagram of Schematic Representation of Affective Response to Sudden, Intense, or Discrepant Stimulation. Rothbart's model has previously been applied to affective response to horror film; here it has been applied to oral storytelling.

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Thesis (M.A. (Afrikaans and Dutch))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

This study investigates the functions of space in the Afrikaans ghost story. The aim of this study is to form an overall understanding of the functions of space in the Afrikaans ghost story, and also to promp further investigations into this branch of Afrikaans literature. The study is mainly text-analytical, and is therefore practical rather than theoretical. Aspects of space in the texts are discussed with reference to several different theoretical frameworks, such as: genre-definition; space in prose; realism and reality; reader-oriented approaches; frame stories; Freud's concept of the unheimlich; rhethorical and heterotopical spaces; and different aspects of liminality. The spaces that are specifically discussed include the prototypical haunted house, the farm setting, the road or tunnel setting, die cemetery setting and the city setting. The conclusion reached in this study is that space performs four important functions in the Afrikaans ghost story. These functions are: space is a defining characteristic of the genre; space functions as a link between reality and the supernatural; space forms part of the cast of the genre; space is pre-eminently liminal. / Thesis (M.A. (Afrikaans and Dutch))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

This study investigates the functions of space in the Afrikaans ghost story. The aim of this study is to form an overall understanding of the functions of space in the Afrikaans ghost story, and also to promp further investigations into this branch of Afrikaans literature. The study is mainly text-analytical, and is therefore practical rather than theoretical. Aspects of space in the texts are discussed with reference to several different theoretical frameworks, such as: genre-definition; space in prose; realism and reality; reader-oriented approaches; frame stories; Freud's concept of the unheimlich; rhethorical and heterotopical spaces; and different aspects of liminality. The spaces that are specifically discussed include the prototypical haunted house, the farm setting, the road or tunnel setting, die cemetery setting and the city setting. The conclusion reached in this study is that space performs four important functions in the Afrikaans ghost story. These functions are: space is a defining characteristic of the genre; space functions as a link between reality and the supernatural; space forms part of the cast of the genre; space is pre-eminently liminal. / Thesis (M.A. (Afrikaans and Dutch))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

No description available.

This thesis investigates the connection between the spiritualist movement and the literary ghost story, both of which came to prominence and mass popularity during the second half of the nineteenth century. While existing critical literature has viewed both phenomena as symptomatic of a wider Victorian fascination with the supernatural and the nature and possibility of an afterlife, little attention has been paid to the relationship between the two movements. By examining spiritualist literature alongside the work of both canonical and lesser-known writers, I attempt to address this area. My thesis argues for an understanding of the post-1850 ghost story as a dramatic representation of a new conception of the dead largely created by spiritualism, and reads the appearance, actions, behaviour and narratives of literary ghosts as an ongoing reflection and discussion of this idea.

Thesis abstract This thesis will focus on the ways in which the transformations in nineteenth-century Gothic stories mirror the gradual changes in the Victorian society's notions about perception and about the metaphysical. The nineteenth century marks a time when advances in science made it clear that not seeing something does not mean that it does not exist, and when psychologists made it clear that seeing something does not necessarily mean it does exist. Moreover, the nineteenth century was a time when religious notions that were previously accepted without question started to be doubted. When people lost their faith in the unseen and at the same time became aware that their eyes are not sufficient to see everything and that their mind may play tricks on them, the notion of reality was increasingly problematized, which is made especially clear in the genre of the Gothic. It could be argued that while the basic tropes of the Gothic remain more or less the same; however, the way they are used, the reactions of the protagonists as well as the general outlook of the story are problematized by newly introduced ideas about vision and human mind. It could be said that in many cases there is no longer a clear boundary between the protagonist and the 'other' of the story, which can often be interpreted as an...

One of the most popular forms of literature in Japan is that of “kaidan.,” literally meaning “strange story,” during the Edo period, but over time “kaidan” has come to specifically mean stories of “yūrei,” or “Japanese ghosts.” Many Western academic studies concerning kaidan thus far are concerned with the genre’s shift from religious didactics to secular entertainment. This is an important evolution to keep in conversation with this project; However, this study will argue that ghosts work as Edo symbols for failing boundaries within an isolationist society. Two of the main texts in this project are translations by Lafcadio Hearn, being “Mimi Nashi Hōichi” and “Jikininki.” The other two main texts used are translations of “Banchō Sarayashiki” by Zack Davisson. In my study, I identify breaches of boundaries within social order in these texts using the aid of Mikhail Bakhtin’s “the grotesque,” Julia Kristeva’s “abject horror,” and Jacques Derrida’s “hauntology.” / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection