Paper 87 Overview: The Ghost Cults

The ghost cult emerged as humanity's response to the uncertainties of existence and the fear of the dead, functioning as a primitive form of insurance against misfortune. These early religious practices were primarily negative in nature, focusing on techniques to avoid, expel, or control ghosts rather than worshipping higher beings. The evolution of the ghost cult marked the beginning of religious development that would eventually lead humans toward the concept of true Deity.

Human imagination embarked on a journey from the primitive fear of spirits toward the understanding of a real God, establishing the foundation for religious evolution. Though rooted in superstition and fear, ghost cults represented an important developmental stage in humanity's spiritual journey, gradually progressing from the simple fear of the dead to increasingly complex religious structures involving good and bad spirits, ancestor worship, and eventually the concept of a true Deity.

The ghost cult developed as an offset to the hazards of bad luck, with primitive religious observances growing out of anxiety about misfortune and an overwhelming fear of the dead. These early religious practices had little connection to the recognition of Deity or reverence for superhuman beings, instead focusing on negative rites designed to avoid, expel, or coerce ghosts. The ghost cult functioned essentially as insurance against disaster rather than an investment for future spiritual benefits.

Mankind endured a long and difficult struggle with the ghost cult that evokes compassion when considering humanity's abject enslavement to spirit-ghost fear. This very fear, however, marked the beginning of religious evolution, as human imagination ventured beyond the confines of self. This journey would not find its conclusion until it reached the concept of a true Deity and a real God, representing significant spiritual progress from primitive superstition to genuine religious understanding.

Death was feared primarily because it meant the liberation of another ghost from its physical body, prompting ancient peoples to do everything possible to prevent death and avoid dealing with a new ghost. They were particularly anxious during the perceived transition period between a ghost's emergence at death and its departure to the ghost homeland, a vague and primitive concept of a pseudo heaven. While primitive humans attributed supernatural powers to ghosts, they rarely conceived of them as having supernatural intelligence.

Many tricks and strategies were employed in attempts to deceive ghosts, with civilized people still placing faith in the hope that outward displays of piety might somehow deceive even an omniscient Deity. Primitives feared sickness because it often preceded death, and affected individuals were typically removed from family dwellings to die alone. The fear of corpses was so profound that it prevented the construction of substantial dwellings and permanent settlements, as houses where death occurred were commonly destroyed or abandoned.

In the development of religion, the negative approach of ghost placation preceded the positive program of spirit coercion and supplication, making the first acts of human worship defensive rather than reverential in nature. Modern humans consider it prudent to insure against fire, while primitive humans thought it wise to provide insurance against ghost-induced misfortune, developing techniques and rituals for the ghost cult to secure this protection. Ghosts were believed to desire a quick burial so they could proceed undisturbed to the land of the dead.

Funeral services originated from humans' efforts to encourage the ghost soul to depart for its future home, with the funeral sermon initially designed to instruct the new ghost on its journey. Providing food and clothes for the ghost's journey was customary, with primitives believing it took from three days to a year to properly "lay the ghost." Silence or mourning was observed after death to avoid attracting the ghost back home, and self-torture was a common form of mourning based on the belief that ghosts enjoyed the discomfort of the living.

The advancing ghost cult made ancestor worship inevitable as it became the connecting link between common ghosts and higher spirits, the evolving gods. The early gods were simply glorified departed humans who, through veneration, gradually attained divine status in the minds of their worshippers. Ancestor worship began more out of fear than genuine reverence, yet these beliefs significantly contributed to the spread of ghost fear and worship throughout primitive societies.

The practice of adopting children emerged to ensure someone would provide offerings after death for the peace and progress of the departed soul, as primitive people lived in constant fear of their fellows' ghosts. Most tribes instituted an annual feast for all souls, with the Romans having twelve ghost feasts each year. As ghosts were visualized as progressing from an incomplete to a higher phase of existence, the cult gradually evolved from the worship of ghosts to the worship of spirits and eventually gods.

Ghost fear was the foundation of all world religion, with many tribes adhering to belief in a single class of ghosts for extensive periods. These early belief systems taught that humans experienced good luck when ghosts were pleased and bad luck when they were angered, creating a direct connection between spirit satisfaction and human fortune. As the cult expanded, people began recognizing higher types of spirits not specifically identifiable with individual humans, representing graduated or glorified ghosts that had progressed beyond ghostland to higher spiritual realms.

The concept of two kinds of spirit ghosts made slow but steady progress throughout the world, developing independently in different regions rather than spreading from tribe to tribe. Later, human imagination conceived of both good and bad supernatural agents, with early monospiritism of ghost fear evolving into dual spiritism with distinct controllers of good and bad luck. This dualism represented a significant religious-philosophical advance because it allowed humans to account for both good and bad fortune through relatively consistent supermortal beings.

Early humans viewed spirits and ghosts as having nearly unlimited rights but no obligations toward mortals, believing spirits regarded humans as constantly failing in their spiritual duties. Ghosts were thought to demand a continuous tribute of service in exchange for not interfering in human affairs, and primitive people lived in constant fear of overlooking some honor due to the spirits. After sacrificing to all known spirits, they would make additional offerings to "unknown gods" as a precaution against omitting any powerful entity.

As the ghost cult advanced, it evolved into the more complex spirit-ghost cult with services and worship directed toward higher spirits. Good spirits were believed to attend to their own affairs and require little from humans, while malevolent ghosts received greater attention. Human prosperity was thought to provoke the envy of evil spirits, who would retaliate through the evil eye. Primitive humans attributed their misfortunes to spirit jealousy and developed practices such as self-deprecation, false modesty, and deliberately appearing ugly to avoid arousing spirit envy.

When people began to recognize higher spirits, they needed to employ "higher spiritual methods" to interact with them. This attempt to improve and elaborate techniques of spirit propitiation led directly to creating defenses against spirits. Humans felt helpless before the uncontrollable forces in terrestrial life, and this feeling of inferiority drove them to seek some compensating adjustment to even the odds in the one-sided struggle between humans and the cosmos.

Initially, human efforts to influence ghost actions were limited to propitiation—attempts to buy off bad luck through bribes or offerings. As the ghost cult evolved to include both good and bad spirits, ceremonies shifted toward more positive attempts to win good luck. Humans developed numerous methods to frighten ghosts away, including decapitating the dead, stoning death houses, cremating bodies, and using noise to drive spirits away. Eventually, the practice of exorcism emerged—using one spirit to control or banish another.

The cult type of social organization persisted because it provided a symbolism for preserving moral sentiments and religious loyalties through established traditions. Cults originated from "old family" traditions and became perpetuated as established institutions, with every inspiring ideal seeking some enduring symbolism to ensure its survival and enhance its realization. The cult achieved this by fostering and gratifying human emotions in a structured context.

From civilization's early days, every appealing social or religious advancement developed a ritual or symbolic ceremonial component. While the cult preserved sentiment and satisfied emotion, it also presented the greatest obstacle to social reconstruction and spiritual progress. Despite these drawbacks, the cult has significant value, as demonstrated by the early Christian cult, which was the most effective, appealing, and enduring ritual ever conceived. The modern challenge lies in finding new symbolism that can accommodate expanding ideas and ideals while fostering spiritual progress.