Ghostly Goings On. Can Ghost Stories Provide the Perfect Allegory for Loneliness and Neglect in Children’s Writing?
It could be argued that the popularity of ghost stories for young readers (seen most clearly in the Middle Grade age bracket) is due to a demand for ‘age appropriate’ horror novels for a younger readership, eager to lap up spooky tales. However, could there be more going on than meets the ‘pale blu...
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| Language: | English |
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Elen Caldecott & Lucy Cuthew
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Leaf Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://ojs.library.lancs.ac.uk/lj/article/view/99 |
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| author | Nell Griffin |
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It could be argued that the popularity of ghost stories for young readers (seen most clearly in the Middle Grade age bracket) is due to a demand for ‘age appropriate’ horror novels for a younger readership, eager to lap up spooky tales. However, could there be more going on than meets the ‘pale blue eye’?
When studying recent titles within this category, it is possible to interpret these novels as extended allegories in which the ghost, an ‘invisible’ character by all accounts, represents the protagonist and their feelings of loneliness and at times, neglect. Is it possible that ghosts provide the perfect personification of parental neglect (real or perceived) in a way that is accessible to young readers? It is perhaps no coincidence that often the parents or guardians in these stories either don’t notice the aforementioned ghost, or they choose to ignore it completely. By contrast, the young protagonists who understand what it feels like to be overlooked or feel invisible, are in no doubt of the ghosts' presence.
If this allegorical trend is to continue into the future of children’s writing, how can we utilise it to improve the representation of the complex emotional needs of children in a way that is accessible, entertaining, and still excitingly spooky?
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4594eebc4e8d42c29a680dc3ab377bb4 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2753-6920 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Elen Caldecott & Lucy Cuthew |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Leaf Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-4594eebc4e8d42c29a680dc3ab377bb42025-08-20T03:53:52ZengElen Caldecott & Lucy CuthewLeaf Journal2753-69202023-12-011210.58091/YGT5-P703Ghostly Goings On. Can Ghost Stories Provide the Perfect Allegory for Loneliness and Neglect in Children’s Writing?Nell Griffin It could be argued that the popularity of ghost stories for young readers (seen most clearly in the Middle Grade age bracket) is due to a demand for ‘age appropriate’ horror novels for a younger readership, eager to lap up spooky tales. However, could there be more going on than meets the ‘pale blue eye’? When studying recent titles within this category, it is possible to interpret these novels as extended allegories in which the ghost, an ‘invisible’ character by all accounts, represents the protagonist and their feelings of loneliness and at times, neglect. Is it possible that ghosts provide the perfect personification of parental neglect (real or perceived) in a way that is accessible to young readers? It is perhaps no coincidence that often the parents or guardians in these stories either don’t notice the aforementioned ghost, or they choose to ignore it completely. By contrast, the young protagonists who understand what it feels like to be overlooked or feel invisible, are in no doubt of the ghosts' presence. If this allegorical trend is to continue into the future of children’s writing, how can we utilise it to improve the representation of the complex emotional needs of children in a way that is accessible, entertaining, and still excitingly spooky? https://ojs.library.lancs.ac.uk/lj/article/view/99ghostshauntinglonlinessempathy |
| spellingShingle | Nell Griffin Ghostly Goings On. Can Ghost Stories Provide the Perfect Allegory for Loneliness and Neglect in Children’s Writing? Leaf Journal ghosts haunting lonliness empathy |
| title | Ghostly Goings On. Can Ghost Stories Provide the Perfect Allegory for Loneliness and Neglect in Children’s Writing? |
| title_full | Ghostly Goings On. Can Ghost Stories Provide the Perfect Allegory for Loneliness and Neglect in Children’s Writing? |
| title_fullStr | Ghostly Goings On. Can Ghost Stories Provide the Perfect Allegory for Loneliness and Neglect in Children’s Writing? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ghostly Goings On. Can Ghost Stories Provide the Perfect Allegory for Loneliness and Neglect in Children’s Writing? |
| title_short | Ghostly Goings On. Can Ghost Stories Provide the Perfect Allegory for Loneliness and Neglect in Children’s Writing? |
| title_sort | ghostly goings on can ghost stories provide the perfect allegory for loneliness and neglect in children s writing |
| topic | ghosts haunting lonliness empathy |
| url | https://ojs.library.lancs.ac.uk/lj/article/view/99 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nellgriffin ghostlygoingsoncanghoststoriesprovidetheperfectallegoryforlonelinessandneglectinchildrenswriting |