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Ghost contains among others: Sea ghost, The bone-horse, The grave-pig

Keywords:

Ghost, dead, death, soul

Description of this motif: A ghost is a dead person's soul, that has returned from the other side or never has been set free from this world despite death. The early tale "Dødningen" ('The dead man', 1830) and later "The Traveling Companion" (1838) is about a ghost, who helps the young Johannes, because he unselfishly saved the dead man's corpse from abuse.

Example :

What did the hyacinths say?

"There were three sisters, quite transparent and very fair. One wore a red dress, the second wore a blue one, and the third went all in white. Hand in hand they danced in the clear moonlight, beside a calm lake. They were not elfin folk. They were human beings. The air was sweet, and the sisters disappeared into the forest. The fragrance of the air grew sweeter. Three coffins, in which lie the three sisters, glide out of the forest and across the lake. The fireflies hover about them like little flickering lights. Are the dancing sisters sleeping or are they dead? The fragrance of the flowers says they are dead, and the evening bell tolls for their funeral."

Comment on this quote: The hyacinth symbolizes death. In greek myth the hyacinten grew at the spot, at which the god Apollon by accident killed his darling Hyakinthos, cf. Flemming Hovmann, in vol. 7 of H.C. Andersens eventyr, Dansk Sprog- og Litteraturselskab / Borgen 1990, p. 95.