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The Book of Dreams and Ghosts
·
Andrew Lang
5
Again,
the
phenomena
occurring
in
"haunted
houses"
(whether
caused,
or
not,
by
imposture
or
hallucination,
or
both)
were
easily
magnified
into
such
legends
as
that
of
Grettir
and
Glam,
and
into
the
monstrosities
of
the
witch
trials.
Once
more
the
simple
hallucination
of
a
dead
person's
appearance
in
his
house
demanded
an
explanation.
This
was
easily
given
by
evolving
a
legend
that
he
was
a
spirit,
escaped
from
purgatory
or
the
grave,
to
fulfil
a
definite
purpose.
The
rarity
of
such
purposeful
ghosts
in
an
age
like
ours,
so
rich
in
ghost
stories,
must
have
a
cause.
That
cause
is,
probably,
a
dwindling
of
the
myth-making
faculty.
Any
one
who
takes
these
matters
seriously,
as
facts
in
human
nature,
must
have
discovered
the
difficulty
of
getting
evidence
at
first
hand.
This
arises
from
several
causes.
First,
the
cock-sure
common-sense
of
the
years
from
1660
to
1850,
or
so,
regarded
every
one
who
had
experience
of
a
hallucination
as
a
dupe,
a
lunatic,
or
a
liar.
In
this
healthy
state
of
opinion,
eminent
people
like
Lord
Brougham
kept
their
experience
to
themselves,
or,
at
most,
nervously
protested
that
they
"were
sure
it
was
only
a
dream".
Next,
to
tell
the
story
was,
often,
to
enter
on
a
narrative
of
intimate,
perhaps
painful,
domestic
circumstances.
Thirdly,
many
persons
now
refuse
information
as
a
matter
of
"principle,"
or
of
"religious
principle,"
though
it
is
difficult
to
see
where
either
principle
or
religion
is
concerned,
if
the
witness
is
telling
what
he
believes
to
be
true.
Next,
some
devotees
of
science
aver
that
these
studies
may
bring
back
faith
by
a
side
wind,
and,
with
faith,
the
fires
of
Smithfield
and
the
torturing
of
witches.
These
opponents
are
what
Professor
Huxley
called
"dreadful
consequences
argufiers,"
when
similar
reasons
were
urged
against
the
doctrine
of
evolution.
Their
position
is
strongest
when
they
maintain
that
these
topics
have
a
tendency
to
befog
the
intellect.
A
desire
to
prove
the
existence
of
"new
forces"
may
beget
indifference
to
logic
and
to
the
laws
of
evidence.
This
is
true,
and
we
have
several
dreadful
examples
among
men
otherwise
scientific.
But
all
studies
have
their
temptations.
Many
a
historian,
to
prove
the
guilt
or
innocence
of
Queen
Mary,
has
put
evidence,
and
logic,
and
common
honesty
far
from
him.
Yet
this
is
no
reason
for
abandoning
the
study
of
history.
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