E X T E N s I O N GHOSTS IN LITERATURE ghosts exist in literature, of course. they made their first appearance (in books, obviously) in mesopotamia 4,000 years ago. every culture has always tried to find an answer to what happens after death. ghosts are an easy answer: they continue to live with our personality after we are dead, we don t disappear. unfortunately, there is often a price to pay: ghosts and their world don t look funny, happy or appealing1 in many cases.they rarely walk on the earth simply to enjoy themselves. they usually have a mission to complete. their missions usually involve2 living people, and they are usually difficult to carry out3. Some of these missions are, for example: to tell some living people what they don t want to hear or what will happen (The Odyssey, A Christmas Carol, Hamlet); to look for something or do something with the help of a living person (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,The Canterville Ghost); to be a memory of past times (Harry Potter); to remind4 a living person of his guilt5 (Macbeth) or of someone s love (Wuthering Heights); to represent a person s thoughts or fears (The Turn of the Screw), etc. to conclude, ghosts help to reassure6 us about our future, but they don t usually give or bring us easy solutions. 1. appealing: attractive or interesting. 2. involve: make someone take part in something. 3. carry out: complete, finish. 4. remind: help someone else to remember something important. Hamlet Wuthering Heights The Canterville Ghost Harry Potter 5. guilt: bad feeling that you have when you know that you have done something wrong. 6. reassure: say or do something to stop someone from worrying or being afraid. 43