HUMOROUS GHOST
STORIES
SELECTED, WITH AN INTRODUCTION
BY
DOROTHY SCARBOROUGH, Ph.D.
LECTURER IN ENGLISH, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
AUTHOR OF “THE SUPERNATURAL IN MODERN ENGLISH FICTION,”
“FUGITIVE VERSES,” “FROM A SOUTHERN PORCH,” ETC.
COMPILER OF “FAMOUS MODERN GHOST STORIES”
NEW YORK AND LONDON
The Knickerbocker Press
1921
Copyright, 1921
BY
DOROTHY SCARBOROUGH
Printed in the United States of America
DR. AND MRS. JOHN T. HARRINGTON
It is true,—
But brings never to me dearer
Friends than you!
The Humorous Ghost
INTRODUCTION
The humorous ghost is distinctly a moderncharacter. In early literature wraiths took themselvesvery seriously, and insisted on a proper showof respectful fear on the part of those whom theyhonored by haunting. A mortal was expected torise when a ghost entered the room, and in case hewas slow about it, his spine gave notice of whatetiquette demanded. In the event of outdoor apparition,if a man failed to bare his head in awe,the roots of his hair reminded him of his remissness.Woman has always had the advantage overman in such emergency, in that her locks, beinglong and pinned up, are less easily moved—whichmay explain the fact (if it be a fact!) that in fictionwomen have shown themselves more self-possessedin ghostly presence than men. Or possibly awoman knows that a masculine spook is, after all,only a man, and therefore may be charmed intohelplessness, while the feminine can be seenthrough by another woman and thus disarmed.The majority of the comic apparitions, curiouslyenough, are masculine. You don't often findwomen wraithed in smiles—perhaps because theyresent being made ridiculous, even after they'redead. Or maybe the reason lies in the fact thatmen have written most of the comic or satiricghost stories, and have chivalrously spared thegentler shades. And there are very few funnychild-ghosts—you might almost say none, in comparisonwith the number of grown-ups. The numberof ghost children of any or all types is smallproportionately—perhaps because it seems anunnatural thing for a child to die under any circumstances,while to make of him a butt for jokeswould be unfeeling. There are a few instances,as in the case of the ghost baby mentioned later,but very few.
Ancient ghosts were a long-faced lot. Theydidn't know how to play at all. They had beenbrought up in stern repression of frivolities ashaunters—no matter how sportive they may havebeen in life—and in turn they cowed mortals intoa servile submission. No doubt they thought ofmen and women as mere youngsters that must betaught their place, since any living person, howeversenile, would be thought juvenile compared with atimeless spook.
But in these days of individualism and radicalliberalism, spooks as well as mortals are expandingtheir personalities and indulging in greater freedom.A ghost can call his shade his own now, andexhibit any mood he pleases. Even young femalewraiths, demanding latchkeys, refuse to obey thefrowning face of the clock, and engage in light-heartedebullience to make the ghost of Mrs.Grundy turn a shade paler in horror. Nowadayshaunters have more fun and freedom than thehaunted. In fact, it's money in one's pocketthese days to be dead, for ghosts