Ghost at UCL - Halloween Special

Ghost at UCL - Halloween Special

26 October, 2009
by: Katuschka

Since the Americans decided that there was money to be made out of this little harvest festival and Michael Bay'ed it up a little, Halloween has been one of the most awesome holidays of the year – ghosts, zombies, vampires, candy, dressing up, witches and err…more candy – it's all a rich tapestry of icky, over-the-top goodness. In keeping with the season, the London arts scene is abuzz with spooky goings on, from WW Gallery's haunted crack den, to the British Library's exhibition on spirit photography; the Hammer Film Festival and themed parties and club nights spreading across the capital as quickly as zombification in a Romero movie.

Of course, in the haze of a candy coma, it's easy to forget that ghosts and ghouls have an ancient and intricate history, which goes beyond mere frightening. Ghost (curated by Sarah Sparkes and Ricarda Vidal) addresses the philosophical and theoretical nature of ghosts and haunting in the austere and suitably haunted (by a titular ‘blue lady') surroundings of the University of London.

Danish anthropologist Kirsten Marie Raahauge kicks off the evening with a séance-like talk, lit with candles. She errs on the side of existence and belief, extolling interviewee's personal experiences with ghosts and discussing a ghost's context in the new digital world. Her talk is later countered by French historian Stephanie Sauget who deconstructs the myth, looking at ghosts from a sociological, historical, political, cultural and economic context; from the perspective of ghosts as a projection of societal fears and moral panic. From ghosts in TVs to the commodification of the American ghost and the atypical crusty British ghoul, the talks are by turns lively, reassuring and eerie; and bring up interesting points about gender difference and belief.

The highlight of the night, is Magnus Irvin's macabre 'Dead Man' performance (he emerges from a coffin in full corpse make-up); a soliloquy on death, life, loneliness and err, dead-on-dead necrophilia, which somehow manages to be erudite and amusing despite its grim substance.

Where Ghost succeeds is in recreating the séance-ready Victorian parlour and the folksy lamp-lit ghost tale, with surroundings that echo the prim morbidity of the London ghost's belle époque. Ivor Tonsberg's eerie images, projected on the walls, bring a hefty dose of atmosphere, and the potential for a real haunting adds an extra thrill.

This faith is largely what the evening addresses: why ghosts, with so little concrete evidence of existence, remain such a huge part of the collective consciousness. It may be irrational, but after a night of gentle scares, as you leave the University, you may find yourself glancing furtively back at the windows, to catch an eerie blue glow.

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Katuschka