Can't they discover the world beyond? Weren't they humans; don't they have the mind to move on and focus on something else, since trauma and grief will run its course, sooner or later, and not just haunt the living?
If I were a ghost, I'd be tired of acting like one... even if I was murdered or otherwise died untimely
With the exception of Casper the Ghost, I don't think I've seen the alternative take on it
This presupposes ghosts do exist, though I believe ye skeptics would tell me no, which, alright, you win the argument
In anglo-Christian culture ghosts were explained away as souls in purgatory, and this led to a Catholic/Protestant split wrt whether they existed or not, because Prots denied the existence of purgatory. They are still religiously problematic really — think about how often the 'ghosts' in American media turn out to be demons in order to keep things in line with scripture.
I personally believe there's something much more terrifying implied in the English folk-tradition though: a spirit bound to the last physical vestiges of their time on earth, going through the motions as what little is left of their mind after the trauma of death unravels completely. They're dead — it's over. They can still do the things they did in life, but it doesn't mean anything anymore.
Obviously there are very powerful resonances here for anyone who has witnessed a person sicken and die.
The traditional conception is that ghosts aren't really sentient creatures, but a phenomenon that souls can get stuck in instead of going to the afterlife. There's symbolism there - a ghost is an echo of a person, much like memories of them or the effects they had on the world. There's also a bit of Christian moralizing - a "good" person doesn't stick around because they are eager to join God in heaven, while a "bad" person clings to their earthly life and possessions even if they are only capably of doing so in a greatly diminished state.
The modern conception of a ghost where it's a fully realized person who can just kinda go through walls is an anthropomorphized and secular version of the ghosts that were invented by the Victorians.
Being a ghost is not supposed to be the final stage. Some have unfinished business right where they are but they’ve been waiting for ages and that makes them sad.
Alright, if they're having a romp in the afterlife in some capacity, they aren't ghosts. There's a kind of underlying implication they're sticking around for some worldly purpose or reason. Often this is used for metaphor about moving on in your life (or rather afterlife).
I think in some asian portrayals of ghosts, its because they have "unfinished bussiness" so their spirit wont leave.
