It’s nearly Valentine’s Day and love is in the air. But before you tie the knot with your beloved, you might want to make absolutely sure they are still among the living. For centuries, ghostly brides and bridegrooms have been common figures in folklore across cultures and have since worked their way into ghost stories and Gothic literature. From folk ballads of the eighteenth century to YA novels of the twenty-first, here are a few of my favorite nuptial specters: Continue reading Ghostly Brides and Bridegrooms
Tag: the ghost bride
Modern Journeys to the Underworld
The journey to the underworld has been a popular plot motif for millennia. It can take many forms, but generally involves the hero of the story crossing over into the land of the dead to rescue someone, speak to someone, or otherwise complete a quest. This trope appears in many classic myths, such as the Greek tales of Orpheus and Eurydice or Hercules’s twelve labors. It also became a staple of epic poetry, beginning with the Odyssey, continuing in the Aeneid, and becoming the basis of Dante’s Inferno. Scholars of epic poetry even have a word for this recurrent plot element: katabasis, which means “to go down” in Greek. With such a storied history, it’s not surprising that we see variations on journey to the underworld cropping up in modern fantasy novels. Below are a three of my favorite recent variations on this classic trope: Continue reading Modern Journeys to the Underworld
Review of The Ghost Bride
Getting married to a complete stranger can be terrifying … especially if that stranger is already dead! Yangsze Choo tackles the obscure cultural practice of “ghost marriages” in her debut novel, The Ghost Bride. Set in 1890s Malaysia (or Malaya, as it was called at the time), the book is historical fiction with a paranormal twist, drawing on Chinese mythology and notions of the afterlife, as well as the author’s own imagination. The Ghost Bride brings together everything I love—the Victorian era, ghosts, romance, and learning about other cultures—all in one story, and I’m so excited to have come across this new author. Continue reading Review of The Ghost Bride