[HPforGrownups] Re: Ghosts

[Nicholina ODonnell]

No: HPFGUIDX 71765

Lady Macbeth:

>Myrtle's testimony in Chamber of Secrets suggests that she didn't "choose"
>to stay in this world as a ghost - she just suddenly found herself back
>here.  Upon deciding to make the best of the situation by haunting Olive
>Hornby, she also found herself ordered back to the toilet where she died by
>the Ministry of Magic, thus making an unhappy situation even more miserable.

I think Myrtle decided to haunt Olive Hornby and that's why she came back, as opposed to the other way around.  Let's see....here's the quote (p.299, COS, av, pb):

"My whole body sort of seized up, and then I was floating away....."  She looked dreamily at Harry.  "And then I came back again.  I was determined to haunt Olive Hornby, you see.  Oh, she was sorry she'd ever laughed at my glasses."


I suppose it could be open to interpretation, but I read it that she came back because she wanted to haunt Olive.  She wasn't scared of dieing (or, at least, it doesn't seem that's the reason), she had something she wanted to do so badly back in "life" that she turned herself around.

Nicholina





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