ABSTRACT
Latin America is rich in ghostly traditions. The ghosts of Latin America tend to manifest themselves in popular culture by means of legends, and in literature too. The ghostly traditions of Latin America are not only responses to a colonial legacy, but to a richer and deeper encounter between various cultures that have been allowed to thrive and mingle customs and beliefs. The reception of the Latin American ghost story is usually divisively marked by judgements of literary value: even though ghosts and spirits may feature in several narrative forms, some are relegated to the realm of folklore and thus distinguished from the literary tradition of Latin America. The ghost is thus decimated and marginalized; the ghost story in Latin America yields to more recognized genres and narrative forms. With Latin America’s rich colonial past, a post-colonial approach to its ghost stories may be thought appropriate, if not obligatory.
