Quote Originally Posted by kataphraktoi
Whats wrong with Britain? Why so many ghost stories? Why a lot of unfinished business?
good question...don't know really. Long history of 'trivial' or 'almanackical' (?) literature uninterrupted by 'cultural' revolutions? Probably the Victorian antiquarian obsession with this sort of thing, although some of Britain's best ghost stories pre-date the Victorians...perhaps the weather...damp and gloomy and stay-indoors kind of weather. Maybe no coincidence that America's most well-known horror writer, Stephen King, is from Maine rather than, say, Texas. (not that Maine's weather is as bad as Britain's I don't think, but I hope you see my point...).
I wonder if it's just the attitude that in Catholic countries ghosts are religious phenomena that you experience but don't write about, whereas in Britain they're more inexplicable in those terms and therefore worth investigating in a more scientific manner?
Would love to hear other people's thoughts on this!