The First Ghosts

1. Ghosts are an ancient, universal human belief, rooted in early burial practices.

The belief that the dead can return and interact with the living is so extremely deep-seated and so universally distributed throughout time and geography that it could be classified – were we Martian encyclopaedists armed with pencil and notebook – as one clear component of basic humanity.

Deep human history. The concept of ghosts is not a recent invention but a fundamental aspect of human nature, likely emerging alongside the earliest deliberate burials. While burial itself could serve practical purposes like waste disposal or protection from predators, the inclusion of grave goods suggests a belief that something of the person survived death and was going "somewhere."

Beyond mere disposal. As burial practices evolved to include grave goods (tools, jewelry, weapons, even servants), it strongly implied a belief in an afterlife where these items would be needed. This suggests three core, interwoven beliefs emerged:

• Something survives death.
• That something goes somewhere.
• That something can potentially return.

Upper Palaeolithic origins. This shift towards more complex burials with goods, evident around 50,000 years ago, marks the likely arrival of ghosts on the human stage. The idea that a recognizable part of a dead person might return is a simple, powerful concept that distinguishes human thought from the animal kingdom's understanding of death.

2. Ancient Mesopotamia provides the first written record of ghosts (eṭemmu).

Least well known to the historically inclined ghost-hunter are the written works of the Mesopotamians of ancient Iraq: Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians.

First documented ghosts. While belief in ghosts is ancient, Mesopotamia offers the earliest written evidence, dating back some five thousand years. Using cuneiform writing on clay tablets, we encounter the Sumerian word gedim and the Akkadian word eṭemmu, the first recorded terms for ghost in human history.

A complete system. These ancient texts provide a detailed, functional system covering death, burial, the afterlife, and crucially, ghosts. Unlike later historical periods where ghost beliefs might be fragmented or dismissed, Mesopotamian writings treat ghosts as a matter of fact, part of the acknowledged reality of daily life.

Abundant evidence. Tens of thousands of cuneiform tablets survive, covering various genres from administrative records and literature to magical spells and omens. This wealth of documentation allows us to understand Mesopotamian ghosts through their own words, offering surprising details about their interactions with the living.

3. The Mesopotamian ghost (eṭemmu) was the spirit/soul, linked to divine creation.

From the god’s flesh let there be spirit.

Divine origin. Mesopotamian tradition, as recounted in the Atra-ḫasīs Flood Story, links the human spirit directly to divine creation. The goddess Nintu mixed the flesh and blood of a slaughtered god (We-ilu, who possessed intelligence) with clay to create humanity.

The animating force. This divine element, the eṭemmu, was the animating spirit or soul in a living Babylonian. Upon death, when the body returned to clay, the eṭemmu endured as what we call a ghost. The very essence of ghosts was thus woven into the fabric of Mesopotamian existence from the beginning.

Cosmic pun. The connection between the divine source and the ghost is even embedded in the Akkadian word itself: We-ilu (the god) + ṭēmu (intelligence) = (w)eṭemmu (spirit/ghost). This linguistic link underscores the fundamental belief that the ghost was the enduring, intelligent part of a human being.

4. Burial practices, often under houses, made family ghosts accessible and part of daily life.

What is essentially Mesopotamian from our point of view is that family dead were often laid to rest within and below the living quarters.

Ghosts next door. Unlike modern practices, Mesopotamians frequently buried their dead under the floors of their private houses, particularly in courtyards. This meant family graves were physically accessible and, more importantly, family ghosts were never far from familiar territory.

Domestic proximity. This close proximity between the living and the dead meant that ghosts were not just distant entities in a faraway underworld but potential cohabitants. Incantations often target vulnerable domestic spaces like shrines, corners, thresholds, and gates, acknowledging where unwanted spectral visitors might linger.

Accessible graves. Underfloor burial also allowed for continued interaction, such as pouring offerings directly into the grave via pipes. This practice reinforced the idea that the dead, even if "down below," were still connected to the living and dependent on their care.

5. Ghosts became restless and troublesome for specific, understandable reasons.

What lent an essential ‘normality’ to the matter was the understanding that those who came back from the Netherworld had their reason.

Reasons for return. Mesopotamians believed ghosts returned not randomly, but due to specific grievances or unresolved issues. These fell into two main categories:

• Ghost rights: Neglect of funerary offerings (food, water, remembering their name).
• Circumstances of death: Dying prematurely, violently, or in an unresolved manner (e.g., unburied, drowned, killed in battle).

Unfinished business. Ghosts who met sticky ends were thought to harbor permanent resentment or jealousy, driven by a sense of "unfinished business." They might return to the scene of their death or haunt the living, seeking closure or vengeance.

Identifiable problems. Unlike later traditions where ghost motives might be mysterious, Mesopotamian texts often list the specific reasons a ghost might be restless. This allowed exorcists and diviners to attempt to identify the ghost and address the root cause of their disturbance, offering a practical approach to managing hauntings.

6. Mesopotamians used extensive magic (spells, rituals, objects, drawings) to manage ghosts.

Since this matter was so much part of daily life it is understandable that much activity was devoted to dealing with those Mesopotamian ghosts who decided to look in on those who remained ‘upstairs’.

Practical solutions. Facing a world where ghosts were a tangible reality, Mesopotamians developed a wide array of magical techniques to keep them at bay or deal with them when they became troublesome. These included:

• Amulets: Worn on the body or placed in the home, made of plants, minerals, or inscribed clay/stone.
• Spells & Incantations: Recited words of power, often listing types of ghosts or invoking deities.
• Rituals: Specific actions involving offerings, libations, fumigation, and symbolic objects.
• Figurines & Drawings: Clay or reed figures representing ghosts or other entities, used in rituals and sometimes illustrated in instruction manuals.

Professional help. Specialists like the āšipu (exorcist) were trained to diagnose ghostly afflictions and perform the necessary magic. Their manuals detail procedures for banishing, repelling, or even transferring ghosts to substitute figures.

Ancient mumbo-jumbo. Some spells incorporated foreign or archaic words, like those possibly derived from Elamite, which were likely unintelligible even to the practitioners but believed to hold magical power. This is perhaps the earliest recorded example of "mumbo-jumbo" in magic.

7. Troublesome ghosts were blamed for various physical and mental illnesses.

A ghost on the inside could wreak a great deal of damage.

Ghostly afflictions. Beyond simple haunting or frightening appearances, Mesopotamians attributed a range of serious physical and psychological problems to malevolent ghosts. These were often diagnosed as a "Hand-of-a-Ghost" (qāt eṭemmi).

Symptoms included:

• Headaches and roaring in the ears
• Dizziness and paralysis
• Numbness and joint pain
• Nausea and intestinal distress
• Fever
• Mental disturbances, including a kind of madness called "alteration of the mind" (šinīt ṭēmi).

Entry points. Learned tradition held that ghosts often entered the body through the ears, particularly while a person was sleeping. Magical rituals sometimes involved whispering spells into the patient's ears or applying medicaments to the ear to expel the intrusive spirit.

Targeted treatments. Exorcists used specific spells and rituals tailored to the diagnosed "Hand-of-a-Ghost" or the type of ghost believed to be responsible. Treatments could involve anointing the body, fumigation, or symbolic actions to drive the ghost out and restore the patient's health and sanity.

8. The Netherworld was the destination, but literary descriptions differed from folk beliefs.

Where dust is their sustenance, clay their food; They see no light, dwelling in darkness.

The Land-of-No-Return. The Mesopotamian Netherworld (Sheol, Irkalla, Kur-nu-gi4-a) was generally conceived as a dark, subterranean realm where the spirits of the dead resided. Literary accounts, like the Descents of Inanna and Ishtar, paint a grim picture of eternal gloom, dust, and confinement.

Literature vs. Life. This dramatic literary depiction of the Netherworld as a place of unremitting misery contrasts sharply with the implications of burial practices. Grave goods suggest a belief in a more familiar afterlife, equipped with necessities and even luxuries, implying a "pleasant afterlife" rather than a dust-eating hellscape.

Different purposes. The literary narratives, often focused on gods and cosmic cycles, served different purposes than everyday folk beliefs about the fate of the dead. While the educated elite might know the literary traditions, the general populace's understanding was likely rooted in practical concerns like ensuring the dead received offerings and didn't return due to neglect.

9. A unique Assyrian account describes a human prince's vision-visit to the Netherworld.

I was captive in the House of Death. I beheld his terrifying splendour …

An unprecedented journey. The Underworld Vision of an Assyrian Prince is unique in Mesopotamian literature as it describes a living human, Prince Kummaya, experiencing a vision-visit to the Netherworld. Unlike the mythological descents of gods, this is presented as a personal, traumatic journey for expiation.

A parade of horrors. Kummaya's vision details a terrifying parade of Netherworld deities and demons, many depicted with composite forms (lion heads, eagle feet) and some showing possible Egyptian influence. This suggests the vision was shaped by esoteric religious knowledge, perhaps encountered in a temple ritual.

Judgment and release. The climax involves Kummaya facing King Nergal, who, after intercession, pardons the prince and sends him back to the world above. The narrative implies this was a ritualistic experience, possibly staged in a temple, designed to purge Kummaya's guilt and restore him, albeit traumatized, to life.

10. Necromancy allowed summoning ghosts for answers, using specific techniques like skull consultation.

I call upon you, skull of all skulls, May he who is within the skull answer me!

Calling the dead. Despite the general aim to keep ghosts below, specific circumstances sometimes required bringing them up for information. Necromancy, the art of summoning the dead for divination, was a recognized practice with specialized practitioners.

Methods of consultation:

• Asking ghosts: Simple inquiry, perhaps of a ghost already present.
• Summoning via skull: Anointing a human skull with special oil and reciting spells to compel a ghost to speak through it.
• Using figurines: Anointing a figure (eṭemmu or namtaru) representing the deceased as a medium.

Ancient practitioners. Cuneiform dictionaries list various terms for male and female necromancers, some linked to drums or specific techniques. While evidence is sparse, letters and ritual manuals confirm the practice existed from the early second millennium BC.

11. Biblical and later traditions show continuity and evolution of these ancient ghost beliefs.

When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you must not learn to imitate the abhorrent practices of those nations.

Canaanite connections. The Hebrew Bible condemns practices common among neighboring nations, including consulting ghosts and spirits, indicating these beliefs were widespread in the ancient Middle East. The Hebrew term Rephaim for shades in the Netherworld has parallels in Ugaritic and Phoenician texts.

Saul at Endor. The most famous biblical example is King Saul's consultation with a "Ghost-Mistress" (ba‘alat ’ôb) to summon the prophet Samuel's ghost. This narrative, despite later theological attempts to explain it away, reflects a belief in the possibility and efficacy of necromancy.

Enduring practices. Later Jewish magical texts and traditions, even into the Middle Ages, describe necromantic techniques, including consulting skulls, showing a remarkable continuity with ancient Babylonian practices, likely influenced by the Babylonian Exile.

12. The cuneiform signs for ghost (eṭemmu) and demon (utukku) reveal their perceived nature.

In each case the frame of the sign that creates the long structure is a numerical fraction, for GEDIM one-third (šuššana), for UDUG two-thirds (šanabi).

Signs hold meaning. The cuneiform signs for ghost (gedim/eṭemmu) and demon (udug/utukku) are not arbitrary but composed of elements that reflect their perceived nature, according to ancient scholarly analysis.

Composition:

• GEDIM (Ghost): Composed of the sign for ⅓ and the signs IŠ x TAR (meaning female divinity). This suggests the ghost/spirit is the ⅓ divine, intelligent part of a human that survives death.
• UDUG (Demon): Composed of the sign for ⅔ and the signs IŠ x TAR (meaning female divinity). This suggests demons have a higher proportion of divine intelligence, perhaps explaining their power and immortality.

Dust and street. The signs IŠ and TAR within GEDIM can also be read as saḫar (dust) and sila (street), reflecting the sad fate of neglected ghosts forced to scavenge for sustenance.

Ear-opener. An alternative, rarer sign for gedim can be read as "ear-opener," alluding to the belief that malevolent ghosts often entered the body through the ear to cause illness.

Last updated: June 12, 2025