Ghosts in Ancient Rome: Supernatural Stories from the Empire

[@pendragon2012]

My Latin professor used to bring in Greek pastries on Halloween and read us Latin ghost stories. He would read these horrific bloody tales in a monotone voice with no inflexion. It was glorious!

[@lng2750]

That's so cute!

[@qetoun]

What's really spooky is that I was researching this topic the minute before this vid dropped.

[@CinziaDuBois]

Dun dun DUUUUUN

[@qetoun]

@@CinziaDuBois lol how do you say that in latin?

[@happyslapsgiving5421]

@@qetoun Fuscus fuscus FUSCUUUUUS

[@robertpalumbo9089]

@@CinziaDuBois a nice book arcana mundi ...magic and ghost stories of ancient Rome

[@dubuyajay9964]

@qetoun Did it drop on the floor, hit the wall, or open a door?

[@GoblinWife]

I love the story of Athenodorus and the ghost, and I love your telling of it. Also, amazing jacket

[@CinziaDuBois]

Thank you so much!

[@lymanmaddox1694]

You are very good at this -- telling stories and explaining their origins. It is a real pleasure to watch you at work. Thank you!

[@CinziaDuBois]

Thank you very much!

[@Noirevert]

My introduction to lemure came from a 1995 Magic card named Hyalopterous Lemure. Apparently, the artist commissioned for that card was unfamiliar with the concept and drew something that looked like a lemur instead. Wizards must have thought it was spooky enough anyway.

[@larapalma3744]

😅😂😅😂🎉

[@BookCat18]

👻🏺 welcome to spooky season

[@crystallinecrow3365]

As a goth, Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Cities in Ash" has been one of my favorite songs for 30 years and counting. TIL what the lyric abt "the lares' shrine" is referencing 😁 outstanding. Thanks for another great video, Cinzia!

[@IAmTheAce5]

You have the perfect voice for ghost stories ;)

[@casondrastinson8525]

I'm so excited to learn that all the strangers in my dreams are real people I've upset lol. You should interpret our dreams next. I have had some wild ones, specifically staying in a winter airbnb when the pellet stove pipe was disconnected. A strange blind man looked me in the eyes & told me to WAKE UP after speaking gibberish. 😅 My husband was like "go back to bed" but I'm so glad I didn't because we were getting CO poisoned. We fixed the pipe, took the pellet bags outdoors & wrote the owners a note about safety. It was a very nice place though! 😂

[@jordang7479]

I do love ghost stories! I've actually started missing the ghost stories my brother's friends would tell around Halloween that scared the crap out of me when I was little 😅

[@StephenPike]

I rather enjoy having an ad read interrupted by an ad. This platform is terrific

[@allisonseamiller]

Love this! More ancient spooky stuff please. If you could do one on ancient Samhain that would be great but I know good info on that is hard to come by.

[@CinziaDuBois]

I have already! It’s just called Samhain on my channel

[@annarose932]

Hi Cinzia, was wondering, if its ok to request a video, I was wondering if you could do a video about Calypso from The Odyssey? There aren't many in depth videos on her, and I've read somewhere that she was apparently cursed to have a man wash up on her island every 10000 years, but he'd never love her. Would love to know more about her and what she represents. ❤

[@havingfunisnthard]

Oooh this is excellent! Regarding genius, an aspect I find interesting is that if you had a good idea, part of the credit went to your genius (seen as an entity outside of yourself). And if you had a BAD idea, part of the blame also went to your genius. So it kept people humble while simultaneously got them out of trouble sometimes 😅

[@Renee-JillofallTrades]

The jokes with "My Anaconda" and "Baby Got Back" had me cracking up so hard I had to rewind to make sure I was catching the information. You're such a good story teller.

[@briangaylord2898]

I just wanted to let you know that the sudden reference to “Baby Got Back” made me laugh loudly enough to have coworkers drop by and see if everything is okay. Thank you for making my day. 😂

[@markwynne725]

I wasn't expecting Sir Mix-a-lot references in the same video as Pliny the Younger. But I am here for it :)

[@jeffnorris7789]

Bravo! You never waste my time. Thanks again.

[@SamByAllMeans]

Thank you again for sharing your passion.

[@CinziaDuBois]

My pleasure!

[@tripjones2178]

I just found your channel. Amazingly wonderful! Thank you.

[@willmendoza8498]

Was not expecting the Sir Mixalot references. Well played. Also, great video, as usual

[@CinziaDuBois]

Glad you liked it!

[@MrChristianDT]

It's funny how the most random things help you work out something entirely different. Throwing handfuls of raw beans to appease the dead wasn't a sentence I was expecting to hear.

[@jessmith7324]

How to be a good ghost hunter: 1. Ignore them. That is all lmao. Bad ass

[@Luziagz]

Thanks for another great video! In Galician (a language in Spain), "lar" means the place where fire/food is made. By extension, the home or place where one belongs. The word comes from the Latin term. Also, "lareira" is the place were the fire/food is made.

[@CinziaDuBois]

Thanks for sharing!

[@Kaiyanwang82]

I had no idea CHAINED ghosts were so old. And perhaps funny to say to a Brit - I thought such "trope" originated in your island!

[@jrojala]

This is one of my favorite channels

[@CinziaDuBois]

♥️♥️♥️

[@ElFlaccoBlanco]

EXCELLENT!! I’m so happy there is someone getting to the historical roots of ghost stories. Miss DuBois, you are an exquisite host and story teller. Thank you for sharing your passion with the world!🤓

[@CinziaDuBois]

Thank you so much!

[@CharlotteParker-u7t]

Thank you for taking the time to make videos like this. ❤

[@CinziaDuBois]

You are SO welcome! It’s my pleasure and I love doing this so much

[@richardfranz5733]

One of my favourite channels. Amazing educational stories from a lovely intelligent woman. It doesn't get much better. I appreciate your hard work creating these videos. I always learn something new. Cheers

[@SnailShoes]

"Enslaved by life itself".. Me too Mr ancient Greek. Me too... 😒 But more seriously, great video 🙂

[@HavingAGoudaTime]

Usually i watch your amazing videos on my phone and while I'm multi tasking. This time I pulled it up on my computer screen and was blown away by how beautiful your eyes are! Thank you for blessing the world with your amazing research and video content, it's always a joy to catch up on your videos. I appreciate the sheer amount of effort you put into them and thank you for teaching us all!

[@vygotsky17]

Oh beautiful, this is a fantastic topic. Thanks 🙂

[@CinziaDuBois]

You are so welcome!

[@pinxsol5579]

ohh the chain effects gave me chills! love the autumnal theme going on in the video ☺

[@stephenjackson4968]

Wonderful start to the spooky season. My favourite time of year.

[@nikoford1398]

I love your channel! The lady of the library is so smart, witty and gorgeous. Thank you for doing what you do. Keep up the great videos. 🇨🇦🇬🇧

[@boytigerrockin]

absolutely love your content!

[@CinziaDuBois]

I appreciate that!

[@TheSilveryew]

Thank you so much for including the references, we love to see it

[@PedddroU57]

Awesome connection to our culture, reminding us we have a heritage of practices working as a general reference on how we interpret the world

[@allistair61]

Cool video, love the channel and thanks for the references, i'll check them out.

[@Eric.Taylor.1962]

Nice creepy start to the day!

[@robert-yv2yj]

Thanks! Another very entertaining video.

[@TheGabriela9514]

I really enjoyed this video, hope more Halloween content is coming!

[@AMoniqueOcampo]

Great Caesar's Ghost!

[@KatherineHugs]

I need a flow chart of all these different ghosts and spirits to keep track! Excellent video, as always.

[@elsitacacahuete427]

😂

[@johnnybrooks3848]

You're better. Entertainer than you think.I love your stories.Go with that

[@CinziaDuBois]

Thank you ♥️

[@hannahcrossett3415]

Aww! This is the first of your new videos that I've seen on my home page in a while, and it's a warm-cozy. I've missed watching your videos.

[@riktheyellowmonkey]

So posh. Awesome. Great content.

[@ZachariahtheMessiah]

Hell yeah! Loving the new videos!

[@CinziaDuBois]

Glad you like them!

[@kawadashogo8258]

Great video! I'm an aspiring writer (emphasis on "aspiring") and I have some ideas for horror stories set in ancient Rome, and this is great material. And I've always really loved the story of the haunted house in Athens, it's wonderful how similar it is to modern ghost stories. In fact the only thing that really dates it is the chains, indicating that the dead man had been a slave (likely one who had been especially mistreated).

[@winterburden]

Thanks for this fascinating video Cinzia!

[@Lotrgecko]

Fascinating topic! Glad it's spooky season 😃🎃

[@lynnoorman2144]

Very interesting. Thank you so much - I learnt a lot today!

[@KarlWitsman]

Ha ha! About the last thing I expected was the Lady of the Library quoting Baby Got Back.

[@fearlesssfcappuccino]

LOVED THIS!!!

[@angstymedusa]

Ghost story time! I must get a mug of hot cocoa ☕🖤👻

[@lf9348]

Can you please do more videos like this, with the spooky music and spooky story telling?

[@robo5013]

This ghost story started the rattling of chains trope seen in so many ghost stories since.

[@brandyyoung629]

Quite interesting. Thank you.

[@meimei8718]

Thanks for the video

[@lynseybowe8693]

Love the spooky stories! I too would aspire to be the pantry spirit.

[@kmcg959]

Woohoo! Spooky story season!

[@mudpawkendra]

I watched 15:53-15:58 three times. The delivery was perfect. 😂

[@beatriz9676]

In Portugal we still say «visitar os parentes», ie, to visit our relatives and friends during holidays

[@Jay-ql4gp]

I really enjoyed this, thank you so much!

[@CinziaDuBois]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@migueltlahuilcolbernallope2925]

In Spanish we could refer to the Lares when we speak about a locality. We still use the word Lar o Lares as synonyms of Place or Places. Instead of saying, "What are you doing here?" we could say, "What are you doing in these Lares?". Interestingly, you could find public shrines in our neighbourhoods of Catholic saints that are preferred in that community. It is as if such shrines function as Larariums of our Lares Compitales. Also, we build public shrines for people that die on the streets to avoid their spirits become Lemures. Over the years people still take care of these shrines, searching for protection as if they were our Manes. During Día de Muertos we make offers to the spirits that are around but might be forgotten by their friends and family

[@TheEdmond30]

Good Evening Cinzia

[@larapalma3744]

Clytemnestra is my favourite too

[@libertycowboy2495]

Really enjoyed the tale of Athenodorus and the slave ghost!😂

[@keenanarthur8381]

When post-colonial western scholars talk about lack of evidence for stories, I'm reminded of the quote from V for Vendetta, "artists use lies to tell the truth, and politicians use lies to cover the truth up." Also, "lack of evidence is not evidence of lack." Phenomenologically speaking, many thousands of people have had encounters with ghosts and various spirits, but phenomenological evidence is usually not considered evidence by many people using the materialistic epistemology of modern empiricism rather than the noetic epistemology of many animistic and polytheistic cultures.

[@guaporeturns9472]

Sure used a lot of words to say "we don’t have all the answers”

[@robertpalumbo9089]

Dictionary abuse

[@LunarWind99]

This is a beautiful comment ❤️

[@rebeccadear9190]

Very interesting ty

[@koston_varjo3536]

I have to be honest: I zoned out quite a few times while watching this. I shall watch it again when my brain is not in low power mode -.-

[@VTPPGLVR]

9:58 Got me thinking about setsubun in Japanese culture. Maybe from way back when, humans everywhere thought “if I throw it some food, it’ll go away” (whether the “it” was ghosts, oni, or whatever)

[@yensid4294]

It's interesting how long a type of ancester worship/reverence persisted (still around today actually) & how scared of The Dead people have been throughout time. The fear was used to socially pressure adherence to proper burial & funerary rituals. And later the Undead & spirits were blamed for any misfortune with more rituals to keep the evil away. Human nature is fascinating ;)

[@jerrypeters1157]

i really enjoyed this. Thank you. My classical knowledge of ghosts was limited to Hecate. And the afterlife spirits i heard of were the shades of the Underworld, never in the world of the living.

[@CinziaDuBois]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@setmose5344]

Great video! Thank you

[@CinziaDuBois]

You're so welcome!

[@johansmallberries9874]

It’s pretty amazing that ghosts being garbed in white sheets and rattling chains is a story trope that trickled down from the ancient Greeks and romans.

[@shara_kb]

Just discovered your channel and immediately subscribed. Great video! Would you ever consider doing one on Metis?

[@jordang7479]

If you ever want to do a reaction video i wanna suggest the Wishbone tv series. It's a little dog telling classic stories and being dressed up as the main character of the story . Very cute😊

[@Chupakabra1]

thankyou for sharing this story! but i have to ask. what lipstick did you use to get that amazing shine. i want to steal it.

[@a44489]

I was seeing romans warring in cosmic vision in a sandy place with temple. Its freaky wen it's played in your head

[@GameTimeWhy]

Halloween starts early this year? Not complaining. Christmas can't get all the attention.

[@boytigerrockin]

hear hear! 🎃 🦇 🕯️

[@Ohforgodssakethatsme]

Halloween has to start early because Christmas now starts before Halloween.

[@LunarWind99]

@@Ohforgodssakethatsme FR tho lol 😂😭💀

[@dubuyajay9964]

Christmas used to have ghost stories.

[@mjkluck]

Good.stuff.

[@CinziaDuBois]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

@CinziaDuBois >>> Great video...👍

[@BlancheNeigefan]

I'm always worried about ancient ghosts: do they still find people to haunt? Are they intelligible?

[@JonBrownSherman]

Ghosts aren't real

[@robo5013]

I'm pretty sure boo means boo in any language.

[@MrChristianDT]

It would get annoyed by my obsessive interest in interviewing it about its own time pretty quick if one presented itself. Lol

[@ronniesan9805]

Just love her voice!

[@anthonyhunter6925]

I could happily listen to you read an ikea instruction manual😊

[@robertpetre9378]

In Sam Raimi’s film, Drag me to Hell the Demon that has been summoned to curse the main character is called Lamia and when she seeks out some people to get rid of it, they try to put it into a goat and then exorcise the goat.

[@SarastistheSerpent]

The official start to Halloween season lol

[@casieperry9047]

I wonder how they handled childbirth during Parentalia. How were the family members and persons born during Parentalia treated by their community? How did the family treat them?

[@casieperry9047]

Or any festivals for the dead for that matter.

[@Figgy5119]

Can anyone answer? We know Halloween comes from the Irish Celt festival Samhain, but while it could happen that such a tradition popped up in that only location, as there were Celts elsewhere in Europe, especially given how old Samhain is often said to be, is there any indication of its existence elsewhere? Making offerings to ancestors or spirits surely could have been common, I imagine.

[@CinziaDuBois]

I've done two videos on this, history of Samhain and History of Trick or Treating. Basically, the short answer is: when the Irish emigrated to America thanks to the famine.

[@tenebrousoul9368]

Forgive my nosiness, Doc, but do you have any particular thoughts or feelings about Thoth, the Egyptian God?

[@JamesRDavenport]

While I'm not really a believer in Ghosts I can understand the impulse to mind one's ancestors. That said, as a child I did see something I cannot explain, a boy about nine or ten dressed in butternut. I would catch him out the corner of my eye when visiting my mother in my elementary school's kitchen when we lived in Virginia. I'd see him in reflections, like the mirror over the wash up sink, oroff a counter surface or glare from silverware. He seemed to be grinning at me. I'd turn around and there'd be no one there. Not sure of the best explanation. But I did learn later there was a lost Civil War era mass grave somewhere close to where the school's foundation was laid. Take that for what you wiil!

[@shariem3928]

So funny (but interesting for an atheist) that the Orthodox Church (where I grew up up) will tell you the day for forgiveness is somehow related to God and Jesus but this has existed since clearly at least Roman times and just been assimilated. Love the video!!

[@iainmulholland2025]

Hmm... Day of the dead in Mexico? Thank you again!

[@CinziaDuBois]

I have covered that already in a video on Mictēcacihuātl

[@MrChristianDT]

That one is actually a mostly Indigenous celebration. It was practiced in wildly different ways at wildly different times by tribes all over North America, but they all had something like it.

[@TheOldDragoon]

This video makes me want Cinzia to visit my tabletop RPG group and play in something like Call of Cthulhu or Chill. She'd make an amazing investigator in either game. Cinzia, if you see this, are you, by chance, a tabletop RPG player?

[@CinziaDuBois]

I’ve started playing D&D but I’m not very good!

[@TheOldDragoon]

@@CinziaDuBois If you're ever in Texas for any reason, you've got a seat at our table. The politics aren't great, but the food is amazing.

[@BookCat18]

🎉

[@HighLordSythen]

18:21 I thought you were going into Sympathy for the Devil there.

[@Heothbremel]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@IAmTheAce5]

15:47 to 15:57 😆 🐍🍑

[@jessmith7324]

That was actually kinda hot. Not trying to sexualize anything. Just saying

[@macsarcule]

😃🎃👻🍁✨

[@vegasgeekee]

Will we get the remaining levels of Dante’s hell soon?🙏🏼

[@CinziaDuBois]

Yes! Just taking a wee break for spooky season but I am working on one!