Why ghost stories continue to appeal to readers, writers

Back in 1960, a literary critic declared the ghost story to be dead.

If that were ever the case, the genre has most definitely come back to life.

New York Times essayist Parul Sehgal — herself a literary critic — rattles off a substantial paragraph full of recent specter-starring stories that have met with significant acclaim.

And Sehgal has a theory on why, at least now, that past critic ready to bury ghost stories turned out to be so incredibly wrong.

“Ghost stories are never just reflections,” she says. “They are social critiques camouflaged with cobwebs; the past clamoring for redress.”

How does that manifest itself? Read Sehgal’s full essay here.