A ‘Gallant counterfitted Ghost’: staging a political apparition in 1683
In late July 1683, the residents of Bloomsbury were apparently disturbed by a spectral apparition: a moaning ghost began to haunt the streets around the residence of the late Lord Russell, executed for treason just a week before. The authorities decided to investigate the matter. They arrested ‘the...
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| izdano v: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/asf, |
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| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Jezik: | Anglais |
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Arrêt sur scène / Scene Focus
2022
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| Online dostop: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Izvleček: | In late July 1683, the residents of Bloomsbury were apparently disturbed by a spectral apparition: a moaning ghost began to haunt the streets around the residence of the late Lord Russell, executed for treason just a week before. The authorities decided to investigate the matter. They arrested ‘the ghost’ and exposed him as a fraud: at least, such was the story told by the editors and publishers of Whig pamphlets. But did it really happen as they described it, or was it just another controversial fabrication? Tory propaganda presented a completely different version of these events, denying the existence of the fake ghost. However, the conflicting accounts definitely prove that there was something behind these claims, some kind of ambiguous performance that was both real and unreal. |
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