Ghost Images

<p> The possibility of life after death is a significant theme in cinema in which ghosts return to the world of the living to wrap up unfinished business console their survivors visit lovers or just enjoy a well-wreaked scaring. This work focuses on film depictions of survival after death from meetings with the ghost of Elvis to AIDS-related ghosts: apparitions hauntings mediumship representations of heaven angels near-death experiences possession poltergeists and all the other ways in which the living interact with the dead on screen.</p><p> The work opens with a historical perspective which outlines the development of pre-cinematic technology for projecting phantoms and discusses the use of these skills in early ghost cinema. English-language sound films are then examined thematically with topics ranging from the expiation of sins to hungry ghosts. Six of the most significant films <I>Dead of Night A Matter of Life and Death The Innocents The Haunting The Shining</I> and <I>Jacob's Ladder</I> are given a detailed analysis. A conclusion filmography and bibliography follow.</p>