This story raised a lot of questions for me regarding what ghosts actually are. While it is clear the Judge is corrupt and immoral, I thought it was left fairly uncertain whether or not he was actually being haunted or if he was merely delusional. It's possible he was killed by ghosts for revenge and to prevent further injustice, but I also think its equally (if not more) believable that he hung himself. He begins to mentally unravel, claiming "he was frightened about himself"and dwelling on what he decides to call "dreams". At the end it is revealed, "There was medical evidence to show that, in his atrabilious state, it was quite on the cards that he might have made away with himself. The jury found accordingly that it was a case of suicide. But to those who were acquainted with the strange story which Judge Harbottle had related to at least two persons, the fact that the catastrophe occurred on the morning of March 10th seemed a startling coincidence".
It made me wonder if ghosts can be explained away as projections of a guilty or depressed conscience? And does it even matter whether they are real or just figments of someone's mind? I don't think what we classify as hauntings or ghosts need to be limited to the physical realm, they could just as easily be seen as psychological manifestations that prey upon individuals who are already troubled. I think its possible people really do see ghosts and are effected by them, but these ghosts might be of their own creation. Overall, is there even a difference between hauntings and delusions?
2 comments:
While reading this text, I also thought that maybe the Judge was delusional rather than being haunted; however, I dismissed this thought, as the other characters witnessed the apparitions.
Your idea that ghosts could be "projections of a guilty or depressed conscience" leads me to question where the control of the apparition would reside. If it is a projection, does the guilty or depressed conscience have control over it? Or does the apparition have control over itself?
I had a similar thought when I was reading. I think from a pyschological perspective, these ghosts could just be a result of his repressed thoughts and guilt. I was also really interested in the idea of injustice, though. Even if he did actually hang himself, perhaps it was because of the recognition of that injustice.
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