Fascination with death
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The fascination with death extends far back into human history. Throughout time, people have had obsessions with death and all things related to death and the afterlife.
In past times, people would form cults around death gods and figures. Famously, Anubis, Osiris, Hades, and Death (Saint Death) have all had large cult followings. Saint Death, or the personification of death, is currently worshiped by many in Mexico and other countries in Central America. Day of the Dead, November 2, is a celebration for the dead in Saint Death's honor.
The ancient Egyptians are most famous for their fascination of death by mummifying their dead and building exquisite tombs, like the pyramids of Giza, for their dead. Many of their deities were death-related, such as: Ammut, the devourer of unworthy souls; Anubis, the guardian of the Necropolis and the keeper of poisons, medicines, and herbs; and Osiris, the king of the dead.
While most cultures seem to have two separate places for people to go when they die, usually some version of Heaven and Hell, the Greeks did not. Their Underworld, called Hades, was ruled by the god Hades, and had five rivers that flowed through it. The rivers were: Acheron, river of sadness; Cocytus, river of lamentation; Lethe, river of forgetfulness; Phlegethon, river of fire; Styx, river of hate. The Underworld had attendants who, though not rulers, were important gods and beings. The Furies were female spirits who exacted vengeance against people who committed specific crimes. Keres were female spirits of death and destruction. Persephone was the goddess of the underworld and the spouse of Hades. Thanatos, the god of death, was said to wear dark robes.
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[edit] Death-related holidays
- Kali Puja in Kolkata, India, in which people light candles in memory of the dead
- Samhain, a Celtic holiday marked with bonfires in which the spirits of the dead travel to the otherworld. The holiday was later transformed by Christian missionaries into the festivals of Halloween, All Saints and All Souls Day from 31 October to 2 November. The two latter days are celebrated in Mexico as the Day of the Dead.
- Ullambana, a Buddhist festival normally in August stemming from the Ullambana Sutra, which describes a man saving his mother from the underworld by making offerings to the sangha. Today it is celebrated as the Bon Festival of Japan, the Ghost Festival of China, and Vu Lan of Vietnam
[edit] In contemporary Western culture
You can find the grim reaper, skulls, skeletons, and ghosts everywhere, whether it be candy or movies or video games or characters in books and comics. Some of our favorite movies touch on the fascination with death, such as: "The Seventh Seal", "Beetlejuice", "Monkeybone", "Meet Joe Black", "Final Destination", "The Sixth Sense", "The Frighteners", "Poltergeist", "Death Takes a Holiday", and "The Others".
A small group of people in today's society are avid studiers of death, the act and personification, and also the afterlife. They call themselves 'Ghosts'. Ghosts can usually be found reading up on ghosts, death, and the afterlife; conducting séances and other forms of spiritual communication; hunting for proof of afterlife existence. Ghost culture is fairly small. The Bangers Society also reads up on death, but is primarily interested in the afterlife.
In the early part of the 20th century, it was common to hold séances at dinner parties. Harry Houdini was known for going to these séances and proving that the medium, the person conducting the séance, was a fraud. A séance is the event where a group of people (3 or more) try to communicate with the dead through one person of the group, the medium.
Today there are a number of commenters who have spoken on the fascination people have with death. "if it bleeds it leads" is a phrase related to this, meaning that; in the media, the most popular material - as well as most of the material in general - is based on death. For example - death as a topic in the news. Marilyn Manson often talks and bases his music around the way people are fascinated with death, as well as fame (in relation). He comments on how people will use death to gain a certain immortality in the minds of others (fame). He has further commented that people are willing to die and kill if they know enough people are watching, to gain this immortality or fame. This extends into a social comment on martyrism, television, and the hypocrisy people show between their fascination and thus promotion of death, and their decryment of violence.
[edit] See also
- thanatology
- Bangers Society
[edit] References
- "Death: A User's Guide" by Tom Hickman
- "Spook: Science Tackles The Afterlife" by Mary Roach
- "Letters from the Afterlife: A Guide to the Other Side" by Katherine Hart, Elsa Barker
- "Life After Death : A History of the Afterlife in Western Religion" by Alan F. Segal
- "The Ghost Next Door" by Mark Alan Morris
- "Ghosts, Spirits and Hauntings" by Patricia Telesco
- "The Beginner's Guide for the Recently Deceased" by David Straume
[edit] External links
- Ghost Convention International
- All Souls Day
- Day of the Dead (Dia de Los Muertos)
- History and Customs of Halloween
