[HPforGrownups] Poltergeist vs. Ghost (was 20 ghosts)
yellows at aol.com
yellows at aol.com
Thu May 29 21:41:42 UTC 2003
No: HPFGUIDX 58916
In a message dated 5/29/2003 4:56:58 PM Eastern Standard Time, Kelly
Grosskreutz writes:
<<Going on a side tangent from this. We know that Peeves has the ability to>
>
> affect matter (throwing things, etc), but we chalk that up to him being a
> poltergeist. But what about Moaning Myrtle? She is a ghost, but yet she
> has the ability to displace water when she dives into her toilet. She is
> known for causing flood after flood in that bathroom. Binns, if I'm
> recalling it correctly, can write on the chalkboard with chalk. So what, in
> this setting, sets a ghost apart from a poltergeist?>>
Well, let's see. I was of the impression that a poltergeist isn't the spirit
of someone who has died, but instead a spectre with no other past, who just
likes to cause mischief. Let me check a handy dictionary, though. :)
Okay, in the interest of time, I've just gone to <A HREF="www.dictionary.com">www.dictionary.com</A> and
looked up both poltergeist and ghost. A dictionary outside the virtual world may
provide something better.
"Poltergeist" gives a brief definition using the word ghost, which explains
(my paraphrase) that it is a ghost that makes a rapping sound or causes
disorder. "Ghost" says what you would expect, (my paraphrase again), that it's the
spirit of a dead person, haunting various locations.
But I do feel that ghosts and poltergeists are different things, especially
within the Harry Potter books. Peeves is clearly set apart from the other
ghosts of the castle.
Brief Chronicles
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