4a0c0082
徐韵筑
Advanced English Writing
Folk Beliefs and Ghost Stories
Dose ghost really exist in this world? Nobody can answer this question. However,
most people have heard about some ghost stories. In Taiwan, most ghost stories
related with people’s religious beliefs or folk beliefs. In the Taiwanese folk beliefs,
there are three different types of ghost. They are ghost of home(家鬼), lonely
ghost(野鬼) and ferocious ghosts(厲鬼). Ghosts of home are those who haven’t been
commemorated by people, but they are not lonely and homeless. Lonely ghost are
lonely and homeless and they haven’t been commemorated. Ferocious ghosts are
those who died from an accident and died outside also haven’t been commemorated.
The interesting thing is that even the bad ghost might be commemorated by people.
Because they think that the bad ghost will not haunt after they are commemorated.
Furthermore, the types of ghost which people afraid of the most are lonely ghost and
ferocious ghosts.
Polish anthropologist Malinowski thinks that people respect the deceased but do
not like dead body. That is why people talk about soul, but do not like to talk about
ghosts. In Taiwanese folk beliefs, the dead body often seems to have bad influences to
people. Therefore, Taiwanese people usually exorcise it or respect it.
This is a story about respecting ferocious ghost. A woman was very hardworking
and frugal. She saved a lot of money. However, she fell in love with a bad business
man. This business man cheated on her when he needed her to run a big business in
China. The woman believed what he said, and gave all her money to him. But the man
didn’t come back to Taiwan any more. She was very sad and angry. Few days latter,
she hanged herself on a tree and died. After that, her ghost often appeared at the tree
and bought Zongzi from peddler with joss paper. Tainan gentries decided to build an
ancestral temple to commemorate her. And the woman’s ghost had never appeared
again.
Zichan(子產), a statesman of the State of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn
Period, said that if ghosts could be commemorated, they won’t become ferocious
ghosts. It is a kind way to solute the problem of the bad ghost. People hope they can
stay in peace with the ghosts after they commemorate them or build a temple for them.
The woman in the story is ferocious ghost. In the folk belief, she had supernatural
force to affect people. And the residents chose to be good with her, but not to exorcise
her.
The folk belief is linked to our life. Therefore, when people talking about the ghost
story, they also talking about the folk beliefs and religious beliefs. The way that
Taiwanese people treat ghosts won’t be the same as people in other countries. Most
Taiwanese respect ghosts, even though the latter are bad.
References
中文部分
呂理政(1992)。傳統信仰與現代社會。台北：稻鄉。
片岡巖(1921)。台灣風俗誌。台北:大立。
國際中心／綜合報導(2013 年 10 月 17 日)。膽小勿入！精選亞洲十大鬼屋
民雄劉家古厝上榜。今日新聞網。線上檢索日期:2014 年 3 月 31 日。網址:
http://www.nownews.com/n/2013/10/17/995068
英文部分
RICK J. SCHEIDT (1973). Belief in Supernatural Phenomena
and Locus of Control. Psychological Repots, 32, 1159-1162.
嘉義