# When did ghosts start wearing sheets? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 28, 2024, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365 "2024-10-28T21:58:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2024, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/21 "2024-10-29T15:42:01Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > How were they portrayed (if at all) previously? I can really only speak to Shakespeare-era staging conventions, but when we get costuming details, they don’t involve bedsheets or shrouds. Hamlet’s father’s ghost is described as wearing full armor when he’s walking the battlements at Elsinore, but “in his nightgown” when he reappears in a more private, domestic setting. Another ghost of a dead father, old Leonatus in _Cymbeline_, is likewise described as “attired as a warrior.” But for most ghosts (including the three other ghosts who appear in the same scene of _Cymbeline_), what they’re wearing isn’t specified. Sometimes they seem to have been displaying the wounds that led to their deaths; this is the case with the “blood-boltered” Banquo, as well as Leonatus’s two sons, described as having “wounds as they died in the wars.” But, since stage ghosts also include characters who wouldn’t have had visible wounds (the Princes in the Tower, for example), this can’t have been a constant, either. I think the most consistent visual signal that someone was a ghost was that they were pale: in Francis Beaumont’s 1607 comedy _The Knight of the Burning Pestle_, a character fakes his death and impersonates his own ghost; the stage directions specify that he should enter with his face “mealed”; i.e., rubbed all over with flour. Horatio also describes the ghost in _Hamlet_ as “very pale.” ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2024, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/22 "2024-10-29T16:01:51Z")
A [thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-and-white-sheets/4087/10) from the dawn of this incarnation of the board on this subject. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2024, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/23 "2024-10-29T18:20:43Z")
Wow! I’d say if nothing else, our discussion today is an improvement upon that! ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2024, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/24 "2024-10-29T20:58:06Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > I can really only speak to Shakespeare-era staging conventions, but when we get costuming details, they don’t involve bedsheets or shrouds. Hamlet’s father’s ghost is described as wearing full armor when he’s walking the battlements at Elsinore, but “in his nightgown” when he reappears in a more private, domestic setting. The TV Tropes page on [Bedsheet Ghosts](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BedsheetGhost) touches on this, too: > In [Shakespeare’s](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/WilliamShakespeare) day, it was common to portray ghosts in armor on stage (this is why [Hamlet](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Theatre/Hamlet)’s father is often depicted in a full suit of armor in historical depictions.) In Elizabethan England, armor was no longer worn in combat, and the costuming convention at the time was to dress characters in contemporary (Renaissance) clothing. So, by dressing a ghost in armor, the character was given an out-of-date look, and recognized _as_ a ghost by audiences. I’m guessing armor was a common one, but it sounds like possibly any obviously out-of-date fashion might have been used to portray a ghost on stage. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2024, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/25 "2024-10-29T21:06:31Z")
A full suit of armor has the advantage of hiding the person wearing it, so it could be imagined having only a ghost in there. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2024, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/26 "2024-10-29T21:08:36Z")
I’d query the “common” part – I can’t think of any _other_ stage ghosts that are portrayed in armor off the top of my head. (Old Leonatus is dressed “as a warrior,” but since the play is set in Roman Britain, and the early modern stage occasionally did make gestures toward historical costuming in Roman plays, that may or may not have meant armor. Don Andrea in Kyd’s _The Spanish Tragedy_ is definitely both a ghost and a warrior, but IIRC there’s no indication that he’s supposed to be wearing armor.) I think the TV Tropes page may be generalizing from a single example. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2024, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/27 "2024-10-29T21:23:13Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Ah, I see. It does feel in the ballpark, though still not the same as a person wandering around with a sheet over their head, with holes cut out for the eyes. > > That Wilde was a funny fellow, though. Yes. “The Canterville Ghost” is a gem. His depiction of provincial 19th c. Americans interacting with British society feels almost Twainian: > [@Oscar Wilde](#): > > “I fear that the ghost exists,” said Lord Canterville, smiling, “though it may have resisted the overtures of your enterprising impresarios. It has been well known for three centuries, since 1584 in fact, and always makes its appearance before the death of any member of our family.” > > “Well, so does the family doctor for that matter, Lord Canterville.” That short story is also the source of Wilde’s oft-quoted quip that “we have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language.” ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/28 "2024-10-30T02:51:51Z")
“His Majesty is like a large jam doughnut with cream on the top.” ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/29 "2024-10-30T13:58:49Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I remember in a later ghost story the ghost explaining that they wore a ‘winding sheet’. I hope it was made of English wool. > **[Burying in Woollen Acts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burying_in_Woollen_Acts)** > > The Burying in Woollen Acts 1666–80 were Acts of the Parliament of England (citation 18 & 19 Cha. 2. c. 4 (1666), 30 Cha. 2. c. 3 (1678) and 32 Cha. 2. c. 1 (1680)) which required the dead, except plague victims and the destitute, to be buried in pure English woollen shrouds to the exclusion of any foreign textiles. > It was a requirement that an affidavit be sworn in front of a justice of the peace (usually by a relative of the deceased), confirming burial in wool, with the punishment of a £5 ... ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/30 "2024-10-30T14:02:57Z")
**[VOICE OF ANDY ROONEY]:** Ever stop and think that when you watch Casper, the Friendly Ghost, what you’re looking at is a dead kid? 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/31 "2024-10-30T14:05:20Z")
He’s also a shaft of gold, shining out in the darkness! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/32 "2024-10-30T14:07:30Z")
Lisa Simpson believes he’s the ghost of Richie Rich who committed suicide over the emptiness of a life accumulating wealth. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/33 "2024-10-30T14:37:01Z")
Logical, since they’re both Harveytoon characters. 👍 ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/34 "2024-10-30T14:45:55Z")
Nah, Caspar is named Caspar, not Richard. And I’m pretty sure they were contemporaries even if they never actually appeared in a story together. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/35 "2024-10-30T16:58:29Z")
That was a long time ago. Maybe you have to choose a new name after you pass over to the Other Side. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/36 "2024-10-30T20:17:38Z")
What about Casper’s cousin? (NSFW): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/8Fz8re1Q-qc/hqdefault.jpg "Jasper The Douche Bag Ghost") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Fz8re1Q-qc) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/37 "2024-10-30T20:20:56Z")
Couldn’t edit — he’s Casper’s brother. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/38 "2024-10-30T23:02:53Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > When? When moms got tired of coming up with new Halloween costume ideas. “Here is a sheet, you are a ghost.” My kid decided to be a bedsheet ghost when he was 4, on his own. It was his first time actually choosing his costume, and he picked the easiest, cheapest thing. I don’t know where he even got the idea. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/39 "2024-10-31T01:50:50Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > And I’m pretty sure they were contemporaries even if they never actually appeared in a story together. I’m somewhat amazed that I know this, but Casper and Richie Rich did appear in at least one comic together (along with Wendy, the witch). They appeared in a special comic published in 1976, celebrating the centennial of the National League. I know, because I had that comic when I was a kid, and it was one of my most treasured possessions. I do not remember which [team variant](https://harveycomics.fandom.com/wiki/Richie_Rich,_Casper_and_Wendy_--_National_League) I had. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365/40 "2024-10-31T04:30:55Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > My kid decided to be a bedsheet ghost when he was 4, on his own. Did he cut holes for his eyes in this sheet? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-ghosts-start-wearing-sheets/1009365.md?page=3)