On Halloween, The Pool, presented an essay by Audrey celebrating the ghost story and sharing "Tiny Ghosts," by Amy Giacalone, which is included in Ghostly: A Collection of Ghost Stories.
Ghost stories are a literature of loneliness and longing. Ghost stories can be violent, grotesque, thrilling, repulsive. But the quieter, more desperate stories resonate more intensely. They are powered by grief and loss, separation and finality. Death is a mystery, comfort is scarce, but we will play with our bereavements, we will invent little amusements that explode with sorrow, thus we will armour ourselves against inevitable loss.
You can read the essay and the story here.
Illustration: Tiny Ghosts © 2015 by Audrey Niffenegger