Prompt Cast
The History and Evolution of Bed Sheet Ghosts as Halloween Costumes
TLDR Bed sheet ghosts have been a popular Halloween costume choice due to their association with burial shrouds in ancient times and their use by thieves in London. The perception of bed sheet ghosts has evolved over time, from being mistaken for real ghosts to being portrayed as friendly characters in children's cartoons.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Bed sheet ghosts are a popular and nostalgic Halloween costume choice that has been featured in various forms of pop culture.
02:12
Bed sheets became synonymous with ghosts because in ancient times, people would wrap their deceased loved ones in white sheets as burial shrouds, and if a ghost returned from the grave, they would likely still be wearing the bed sheet they were buried in.
04:22
Thieves in London would sometimes wear bed sheets to scare people and rob them, leading to well-intentioned citizens becoming "street cop ghost hunters" and mistaking innocent people for ghosts.
06:32
In 19th century London, there were reports of ghosts attacking people, leading to a man named Francis Smith becoming a ghost hunter and mistaking Thomas Millwood, who wore all white, for a ghost and killing him.
08:30
Bedsheets with ghosts have been around for a while, but there have been diversions from then to now.
11:06
The bedsheet ghost became universal in the 19th century when people who couldn't afford burial shrouds were wrapped in the sheet from their deathbed, and by that point, the connection between a bedsheet and a ghost was so strong that people would mistake a person wearing a bedsheet for a real ghost in photographs.
13:22
The bedsheet ghost became less scary when children's cartoons portrayed them as friendly characters, and now people even use bedsheet ghosts as Halloween costumes.
Categories:
Society & Culture
