An Ancient Greek Horror Story

Before you ask, no, this isn't an original tale of mine. This is a look at one of the earliest ghost stories we have on record, and I'm sure that there are many other eerie, haunting tales that predate this one – they just didn't have the luck to be recorded and preserved throughout the canyon of time.

In modern times, around 46% of Americans believe that ghosts are real. You may be thinking that that's an impressive number, or perhaps you're thinking about your own encounter with what many ghost hunters and spiritualists believe to be either the last residue of human and animal souls on the physical plane (perhaps a manifestation of strong emotions at death) before moving into the astral, or maybe a bonafide soul still lingering, unable to move on.

Well, let's step back into the past, when that number is likely to be much, much higher. The supernatural is a part of daily existence, and ghost stories all tend to be rather unoriginal from culture to culture. These aren't just scary stories to scare a group of listeners, they are things that could actually happen. After all, did the Ancient Greeks not believe that poor Odysseus had to travel to the land of the dead before resuming his journey back to Ithaca, if not an embellished story even by their own standards?

I'll do my own write-up of the tale below, but if you'd rather watch a video, I found a great one:

The story by Pliny the Younger goes like this:

The stoic philosopher Athenodoros of Tarsos came to the city of Athens. While there, he learned of a large, majestic house that for rent at a suspiciously cheap price. When he asked why, Athenodoros was informed that every night, in a certain room, the clashing of chains could be heard. It would start low, but then it would grow louder and louder and louder until, finally, the terrifying apparition itself would appear: an old, decrepit man with iron chains hanging from his arms and dragging on the floor behind him. A veritable Ancient Greek version of the ghost of Jacob Marley in Dickens' A Christmas Carol! He was said to be extremely emaciated, as though he'd starved to death, and his hair was matted.

Most people would politely decline to stay at the house, but Athenodoros had the spirit of a modern-day ghost hunter and decided to rent without hesitation! That night, he set up his writing desk in the very room where the ghost was said to appear, and for the first few hours, there was no sign of any spooky activity. No chains, no wailing, no dragging noises.

Then, at midnight, just as he'd been told, Athenodoros could hear it: the clashing of chains in some faraway point in the house. However, the philosopher ignored the sound and continued his work, even as the sound grew louder and more horrible.

At last, the ghostly specter appeared in the room, his chains rattling and the old ghost moaning horribly. The ghastly figure motioned for Athenodoros to follow him, but the philosopher kindly signaled to the apparition that he wished to finish his writing first.

You know, the normal thing you do when confronted by a menacing spirit.

The ghost, unused to being ignored by the mortals he haunts, began to shake his chains in front of the philosopher's face. When Athenodoros looked up at him again, he again motioned for the stoic to follow him. This time, Athenodoros obliged, taking his lantern and following the specter throughout the house.

The apparition led Athenodoros to the courtyard, and, standing in a certain place, he suddenly vanished. Athenodoros marked the place where the ghost had disappeared with leaves and when morning broke, he reported to the magistrates, advising them to dig in the spot he'd marked with leaves. When the magistrates did so, they discovered the skeleton of a man with iron chains about his wrists.

The skeleton was given a funeral with full honors and finally laid to rest properly. Afterward, he was never seen again.

All of the hallmarks of a modern-day ghost story are in here. The eerie sounds, the chains, the need to be put to rest or finish some sort of business – all of these things have apparently played a role in human history for a long, long time. The difference is that, whereas these stories are fun campfire fodder for us today, back then they may have been taken far more seriously.

Not always, of course, as everyone loves a good, spooky story to make your heart skip a beat.