An Ancient Roman Ghost Story As Told By Pliny The Younger
A classic haunted house tale
Pliny the Younger was a prominent scholar, author, and lawyer in ancient Rome. His career spanned thirty years, from 81 CE until 110 CE. Pliny was an astute writer and penned hundreds of letters that carry invaluable historical insights. Combing through these letters, you can find everything from his perspective on Roman politics to his views on the newly emerging Christian faith. However, one letter stands out as an oddity. In a letter addressed to a friend named Sura, titled Letter 27, Pliny the Younger asks his friend a question that we have all asked at one point or another. Do you believe in ghosts?
Pliny writes:
I am extremely desirous therefore to know your sentiments concerning spectres, whether you believe they actually exist and have their own proper shapes and a measure of divinity, or are only the false impressions of a terrified imagination?
Even more interesting than that, Pliny goes on to expose that he recently has come around to the idea of ghosts being real thanks to a convincing story he heard about a haunted house in Athens…
