Spiritus

1: Origins of the Ghost

Listen Later

What is a ghost? How long have we believed in them? For the re-debut of Spiritus, paranormal investigator and anthropology student Ivy Boyd offers insight into the earliest beginnings of our belief in the other.

Instagram: instagram.com/spirituspodcast
Contact: [email protected]
Music: "Beethoven Moonlight Sonata" by Gregor Quendel from Pixabay

Resources and Recommendations

Articles:

  • JoAnn Scurlock, “Mortal and Immortal Souls, Ghosts and the (Restless) Dead in Ancient Mesopotamia”, Religion Compass, 2016 
  • Joshua J. Mark, “Ghosts in the Middle Ages”, World History Encyclopedia, 2019 
  • Rob Dunn, “What Are You So Scared of? Saber-Toothed Cats, Snakes, and Carnivorous Kangaroos - The evolutionary legacy of having been prey”, Slate, 2012

    • Books:

    • Ann Braude, "Radical Spirits", second ed., Indiana University Press, 2001
    • Dr. Irving Finkel, “The First Ghosts”, Hodder, 2021 

      • Videos and Lectures:

      • Dr. Irving Finkel, “The First Ghost Stories”, Archaeology Now (YouTube), 2020
      • Dr. Justin Sledge, “The Evolution of Ghosts”, Esoterica (YouTube), 2025
      • Dr. Eleanor Janega, “Did People In The Medieval World Believe in Ghosts?, History Hit (YouTube), 2024

        • Project Gutenberg - Pliny the Younger Letters to Licinius Sura (LXXXIII) https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2811/2811-h/2811-h.htm#link2H_4_0083

        This podcast is researched, hosted, edited, and produced by Ivy Boyd.

        ...more
        View all episodesView all episodes
        Download on the App Store
        SpiritusBy Ivy Boyd