Instant Classics Roman Ghostbusters
Oct 30, 2025
Dive into the eerie world of ancient ghost stories from Greece and Rome. Discover Pliny the Younger's tale of a haunted house featuring a determined philosopher ghostbuster. Learn about a seductive vampire story that highlights the blurred lines between love and horror. Uncover the bizarre Roman exorcism method involving beans and the chilling connection of Remus's spirit to the founding of Rome. These timeless tales reveal a fascinating overlap between ancient and modern beliefs about the supernatural.
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Pliny's Haunted Athenian House
- Pliny the Younger recounts an Athenian house haunted by a chain-rattling old man that drove tenants away.
- The house became unsaleable and people even fell ill or died from fear.
Philosopher-As-Ghostbuster
- Philosopher Athanodorus rents the haunted house, follows the ghost, and marks where it vanishes.
- A dig finds a chained skeleton and a proper burial ends the haunting.
Ghosts Shaped Ancient Philosophy
- Ancient philosophers debated ghosts as evidence for or against life after death.
- Lucretius argued ghosts threatened his materialist claim that death is final.
