September 24, 2006
Giving up the ghost
A "ghost writer" on Singapore's horror hit "The Maid"
By Rebecca Louie
The plot: A young Filipino housekeeper named Rosa (Alessandra de Rossi) accidentally unleashes terror -- and one family's dark secrets -- during a supernatural month when the dead communicate with the living.
INSIDER'S CREDENTIALS: Deborah Blum is a professor of science journalism at the University of Wisconsin and the author of "Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death." Blum never has seen a ghost, but she once spooked herself during college visiting a cemetery at midnight on Halloween.
OVERVIEW: "This is much more of a classic ghost story. American horror films tend to leap into action, but this one eases into the story, and the ominous feel builds up."
Scene 2: Far from Home -- Rosa's employer warns her that violating the superstitions of the Month of the Hungry Ghosts will bring danger.
"At first, I wondered if this month would be a Day of the Dead type of thing, but I don't think it functions the same way. This month is more like Halloween, when spirits are allowed re-entrance to our world. Once I started working on my book, everyone started telling me their ghost stories. I don't believe in blood-dripping, clanking ghosts, but whether I believe they're real or not, other people do. In that sense, we do live with them."
Scene 5: The Hungry Ghosts -- The spirit of a boy implores Rosa, who mistakes him for a living child, to help him find his soccer ball.
"This is a lovely, creepy scene. What she sees is actually a classic, shortly-after-death crisis apparition. The interesting thing is it raises the 'Ghost of Clothes' question. If we believe the human spirit goes on after death with a blast of energy [that the living perceive as a ghost], do we believe clothes have energy? If no, then why do we see ghosts wearing clothes? Same goes for the soccer ball."
Scene 7: Dark Forces All Around -- An apparition in a closet door prevents Rosa from completing her chores.
"This is one of my favorite scenes. The reflection in the polished wood is beautiful. It's classic. The ghost wants your attention; you close the door, and it opens it. William James said that about 5% of ghost sightings were real, tops. He also said that after death, there may be a cosmic energy, or a residual energy. The pseudoscientific explanation of a haunted house is that an event (such as a horrible murder or a traumatic death) creates so much energy that it actually permeates a place."
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