- Ghilli (film by Dharani [2004])
Vijay: Rise to stardom: In the blockbuster Ghilli (2004) he starred as the unregarded son of a top police officer, with whom he clashes after being falsely accused of kidnapping a woman. His characters were sometimes morally dubious or transgressive, such as in the superhit Pokkiri (2007; “Rogue”), in which he commits…
- Ghilzai (people)
Ghilzay, one of the largest of the Pashto-speaking tribes in Afghanistan, whose traditional territory extended from Ghazni and Kalat-i-Ghilzai eastward into the Indus Valley. They are reputed to be descended at least in part from the Khalaj or Khaljī Turks, who entered Afghanistan in the 10th
- Ghilzay (people)
Ghilzay, one of the largest of the Pashto-speaking tribes in Afghanistan, whose traditional territory extended from Ghazni and Kalat-i-Ghilzai eastward into the Indus Valley. They are reputed to be descended at least in part from the Khalaj or Khaljī Turks, who entered Afghanistan in the 10th
- ghināʾ al-Ṣanʿānī, al- (song genre)
Yemen: The arts: …ʿūd) and genres (such as al-ghināʾ al-ṣanʿānī, or Sanaani song) are quite unique.
- Ghiordes carpet
Ghiordes carpet, floor covering handwoven in the town of Ghiordes (Gördes), northeast of İzmir in western Anatolia (now in Turkey). The prayer rugs of Ghiordes, together with those of Kula and Ladik, have long been especially prized in the Middle East, as well as in Europe and the United States.
- Ghiordes knot (carpet-making)
rug and carpet: Materials and technique: The Turkish, or symmetrical, knot is used mainly in Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Iran (formerly Persia), and Europe. This knot was also formerly known as the Ghiordes knot. The Persian, or asymmetrical, knot is used principally in Iran, India, China, and Egypt. This knot was formerly known as the…
- Ghiorso, Albert (American chemist)
berkelium: Thompson, Albert Ghiorso, and Glenn T. Seaborg at the University of California, Berkeley, as a product resulting from the helium-ion (alpha-particle) bombardment of americium-241 (atomic number 95) in a 152-cm (60-inch) cyclotron. The element was named after the city of
- Ghirardi, G. C. (Italian physicist)
philosophy of physics: The theory of Ghirardi, Rimini, and Weber: …forward in the 1980s by Ghirardi, Rimini, and Weber and is thus sometimes referred to as “GRW”; it was subsequently developed by Philip Pearle and John Stewart Bell (1928–90).
- Ghirardi-Rimini-Weber theory (quantum mechanics)
philosophy of physics: The theory of Ghirardi, Rimini, and Weber: The second proposed solution to the measurement problem, as noted above, affirms that wave functions are complete representations of physical systems but denies that they are always governed by the linear differential equations of motion. The strategy behind this…
- Ghirlandaio, Domenico (Italian painter)
Domenico Ghirlandaio was an early Renaissance painter of the Florentine school noted for his detailed narrative frescoes, which include many portraits of leading citizens in contemporary dress. Domenico was the son of a goldsmith, and his nickname, “Ghirlandaio,” was derived from his father’s skill
- Ghirlandajo, Domenico (Italian painter)
Domenico Ghirlandaio was an early Renaissance painter of the Florentine school noted for his detailed narrative frescoes, which include many portraits of leading citizens in contemporary dress. Domenico was the son of a goldsmith, and his nickname, “Ghirlandaio,” was derived from his father’s skill
- Ghisi, Giorgio (Italian artist)
printmaking: Italy: One of the exceptions was Giorgio Ghisi of Mantua, who in his isolated regional development escaped the corrupting influence of Rome. His 1550 visit to Antwerp made Ghisi an important link between Italian and northern engraving.
- Ghislieri, Antonio (pope)
St. Pius V ; canonized May 22, 1712; feast day April 30) was the pope, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, from 1566 to 1572. An Italian ascetic, reformer, and relentless persecutor of heretics, he reigned during one of the most austere periods in the church’s history. During his reign, the
- Ghiyās ad-Dīn Kay Khusraw I (sultan of Rūm)
Theodore I Lascaris: …the Seljuq sultan of Rūm, Kay-Khusraw, who had given asylum to the emperor Alexius, failed to persuade Theodore to abdicate, he invaded Theodore’s territory in the spring of 1211. Theodore, however, defeated and killed Kay-Khusraw in battle and also captured and imprisoned Alexius.
- Ghiyās ad-Dīn Kay Khusraw II (Seljuq sultan)
Anatolia: Seljuq expansion: …his eldest son Ghiyās̄ al-Dīn Kay-Khusraw II (1237–46), who reached the throne by killing his two half brothers and their Ayyūbid mother along with many military commanders and dignitaries. Although he initially obtained some successes in the southeastern part of his realm by annexing Amida (Diyarbakır), thus pushing the boundaries…
- Ghiyās ad-Dīn Kay Khusraw III (Seljuq sultan)
Anatolia: Division and decline: …enthroned the child Ghiyās̄ al-Dīn Kay-Khusraw III (1265–84) in his father’s place.
- Ghiyās ad-Dīn Masʿūd II (Seljuq sultan of Rūm)
Anatolia: Division and decline: …was occupied by Ghiyās̄ al-Dīn Masʿūd II (1285–98, 1303–08), a son of ʿIzz al-Dīn Kay-Kāʾūs, who had come from Crimea to claim his patrimony. However, he made Kayseri, not Konya, the seat of his government. His reign marks the definitive rise to power of the Turkmen frontier chieftains, especially the…
- Ghiyās ad-Dīn Masʿūd III (Seljuq sultan)
Anatolia: Division and decline: …of his son Ghiyās̄ al-Dīn Masʿūd III, who assumed the rule in 1307, is obscure. Though some sources mention the existence of Seljuq scions in later years in various parts of Anatolia, Masʿūd III may be considered the last member of the dynasty to have exercised sovereignty. In 1328 the…
- Ghiyās al Dīn Tughluq (Tughluq ruler)
India: The Tughluqs of India: …who ascended the throne as Ghiyāth al-Dīn Tughluq (reigned 1320–25), had distinguished himself prior to his accession by his successful defense of the frontier against the Mongols. His reign was brief but eventful. He captured Telangana, conducted raids in Jajnagar, and reconquered Bengal, which had been independent under Muslim kings…
- Ghiyāṣ-ud-Dīn (Ghūrid emperor)
Muʿizz al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Sām: Muʿizz al-Dīn’s elder brother, Ghiyāth al-Dīn, acquired power east of Herāt in the region of Ghūr (Ghowr, in present Afghanistan) about 1162. Muʿizz al-Dīn always remained his brother’s loyal subordinate. Thus Muʿizz al-Dīn expelled the Oğuz Turkmen nomads from Ghazna (Ghaznī) in 1173 and came as required to his…
- Ghiyāṣ-ud-Dīn Tughluq (Tughluq ruler)
India: The Tughluqs of India: …who ascended the throne as Ghiyāth al-Dīn Tughluq (reigned 1320–25), had distinguished himself prior to his accession by his successful defense of the frontier against the Mongols. His reign was brief but eventful. He captured Telangana, conducted raids in Jajnagar, and reconquered Bengal, which had been independent under Muslim kings…
- Ghiyās̄, Mīrak Mīrzā (Persian architect)
Humayun’s Tomb: …was designed by Persian architect Mirak Mirza Ghiyas̄. The structure inspired several other significant architectural achievements, including the Taj Mahal.
- Ghiyāth ad-Din Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrahīm al-Khaiyāmī an-Nīshaburi (Persian poet and astronomer)
Omar Khayyam was a Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet, renowned in his own country and time for his scientific achievements but chiefly known to English-speaking readers through the translation of a collection of his robāʿīyāt (“quatrains”) in The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (1859), by the
- Ghiyāth al-Dīn Jamshīd Masʾūd al-Kāshī (Persian astronomer and mathematician)
al-Kāshī was among the greatest mathematicians and astronomers in the Islamic world. The first event known with certainty in al-Kāshī’s life is his observation of a lunar eclipse on June 2, 1406, from Kāshān. His earliest surviving work is Sullam al-samāʾ (1407; “The Stairway of Heaven”), an
- Ghiyath al-Din Muḥammad (Ghūrid emperor)
Muʿizz al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Sām: Muʿizz al-Dīn’s elder brother, Ghiyāth al-Dīn, acquired power east of Herāt in the region of Ghūr (Ghowr, in present Afghanistan) about 1162. Muʿizz al-Dīn always remained his brother’s loyal subordinate. Thus Muʿizz al-Dīn expelled the Oğuz Turkmen nomads from Ghazna (Ghaznī) in 1173 and came as required to his…
- Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad Öz Beg (Mongolian leader)
Öz Beg was a Mongol leader and khan of the Golden Horde, or Kipchak empire, of southern Russia, under whom it attained its greatest power. He reigned from 1312 to 1341. Öz Beg was a convert to Islām, but he also welcomed Christian missionaries from western Europe into his realm. Öz Beg encouraged
- Ghiyāth al-Dīn Tughluq (Tughluq ruler)
India: The Tughluqs of India: …who ascended the throne as Ghiyāth al-Dīn Tughluq (reigned 1320–25), had distinguished himself prior to his accession by his successful defense of the frontier against the Mongols. His reign was brief but eventful. He captured Telangana, conducted raids in Jajnagar, and reconquered Bengal, which had been independent under Muslim kings…
- Ghiyāth ibn Ghawth ibn al-Ṣalt al-Akhṭal (Umayyad poet)
al-Akhṭal was a poet of the Umayyad period (661–750), esteemed for his perfection of Arabic poetic form in the old Bedouin tradition. Al-Akhṭal (“The Loquacious”) was a Christian but did not take the duties of his religion seriously, being addicted to drink and women. He was a favourite panegyrist
- Ghiyāth-al-Dīn (Bahmanī ruler)
India: Bahmanī consolidation of the Deccan: …among Persian newcomers by Sultan Ghiyāth al-Dīn (Muḥammad II’s oldest son, who ruled for about two months) in 1397 was seen as a threat by the old nobles and Turks and was probably a major reason for his assassination. Later the addition of Hindu converts and Hindus to the nobility…
- Ghizeghem, Hayne van (composer)
rondeau: …the long, fine songs of Hayne van Ghizeghem, written in the last years of the supremacy of the Burgundian dukes. The end of the 15th century saw the abandonment of the medieval formes fixes. The rondeau was the only form to have survived 200 years without any significant change; it…
- Ghonim, Wael (Egyptian activist and computer engineer)
Wael Ghonim is an Egyptian democracy activist and computer engineer who was one of the organizers of a social media campaign that helped spur mass demonstrations in 2011 in Egypt, forcing Pres. Hosni Mubarak from power. (See Egypt Uprising of 2011.) After being held in secret detention by Egyptian
- ghoomar (dance)
South Asian arts: Folk dance: …dance of Rajasthan is the ghoomar, danced by women in long full skirts and colourful chuneris (squares of cloth draping head and shoulders and tucked in front at the waist). Especially spectacular are the kachchi ghori dancers of this region. Equipped with shields and long swords, the upper part of…
- ghop bagi (game)
jacks: …of eastern Europe traditionally played ghop bagi with five bones. On the first play, from the bones scattered on the ground or carpet, one was tossed up and the other four garnered before it fell. In the second play of the set, three were on the floor and two in…
- Ghor Plain (plain, Middle East)
Jordan River: Physical environment: …that area, known as the Ghawr (Ghor), are cut here and there by wadis or rivers into rocky towers, pinnacles, and badlands, forming a maze of ravines and sharp crests that resemble a lunar landscape.
- ghorfa (granary)
Medenine: The honeycomb-like aboveground granaries (ghorfas) that belonged to the Ouerghemma are features of the locality. The town is now a trade centre for dates, olives, cereals, and esparto grass and is a road hub with links to Gabès (Qābis), 40 miles (64 km) northwest.
- Ghose, Aurobindo (Indian philosopher and yogi)
Sri Aurobindo was a yogi, seer, philosopher, poet, and Indian nationalist who played a significant role in the Indian Independence Movement and propounded a philosophy of divine life on earth through spiritual evolution. Aurobindo’s education began in a Christian convent school in Darjeeling,
- Ghose, Rash Behari (Indian political leader)
India: Moderate and militant nationalism: …address of its moderate president-elect, Rash Behari Ghose (1845–1921). The division of the Congress reflected broad tactical differences between the liberal evolutionary and militant revolutionary wings of the national organization and those aspiring to the presidency. Young militants of Tilak’s New Party wanted to extend the boycott movement to the…
- Ghose, Zulfikar (American author)
Zulfikar Ghose is a Pakistani American author of novels, poetry, and criticism about cultural alienation. Ghose grew up a Muslim in Sialkot and in largely Hindu Bombay (Mumbai) and then moved with his family to England. He graduated from Keele (England) University in 1959 and married Helena de la
- Ghosh, Amitav (Indian-born writer)
Amitav Ghosh is an Indian-born writer whose ambitious novels use complex narrative strategies to probe the nature of national and personal identity, particularly of the people of India and Southeast Asia. He received the Jnanpith Award in 2018. As a child, Ghosh, whose father was a diplomat, lived
- Ghosh, Girish Chandra (Indian writer, director, and actor)
South Asian arts: Modern theatre: The actor-director-writer Girish Chandra Ghosh founded in 1872 the National Theatre, the first Bengali professional company, and took Nildarpan on tour, giving performances in the North Indian cities of Delhi and Lucknow. The instigatory speeches and lurid scenes of British brutality resulted in the banning of this…
- Ghost (work by Whiteread)
Rachel Whiteread: next major project was Ghost (1990), which bumped the scale of her sculpture up to room size. For this work she chose a Victorian sitting room, complete with a window, a fireplace, and a door. In removing the plaster mold, she managed not only to transform the “roomness” of…
- Ghost (film by Zucker [1990])
Whoopi Goldberg: Ghost and The View: …as a disreputable medium in Ghost (1990), which also starred Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze. The film was a box-office hit, and Goldberg won both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for best supporting actress. She followed up with numerous performances in film and television. In 1992 she…
- ghost (spirit)
ghost, soul or spectre of a dead person, usually believed to inhabit the netherworld and to be capable of returning in some form to the world of the living. According to descriptions or depictions provided by believers, a ghost may appear as a living being or as a nebulous likeness of the deceased
- Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The (film by Rafkin [1966])
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, American screwball comedy, released in 1966, that was Don Knotts’s first feature film after he left the hit television program The Andy Griffith Show. Knotts played nervous Luther Heggs, a newspaper typesetter who, in the hope of being promoted to reporter, agrees to
- Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The (film by Mankiewicz [1947])
Joseph L. Mankiewicz: Directing: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) was a classic romantic fantasy, with Tierney as a widow courted by the ghost of a sea captain (played by Rex Harrison).
- ghost bat (common name of several bats)
ghost bat, some of the few bats known to possess white or gray fur; not every bat with white fur is called a ghost bat. Ghost bats are tropical, but only one, also called the Australian giant false vampire bat (Macroderma gigas), is found outside Central and South America. The four ghost bat
- ghost bat (mammal, Diclidurus species)
ghost bat: Compared to other insect-eating bats, D. albus is medium-sized, with a length of about 9 cm (3.5 inches), a body mass of about 20 grams (0.7 ounce), and a wingspan of about 40 cm (16 inches). This species is widely distributed in tropical lowland forest and open areas throughout Central…
- ghost bat (mammal)
ghost bat: …(see sheath-tailed bat), whereas another New World ghost bat, also known as the Honduran white bat (Ectophylla alba), is a leaf-nosed bat. The Australian ghost bat (see false vampire bat) is a larger, grayish bat of the family Megadermatidae.
- ghost bat (mammal, Macroderma gigas)
ghost bat: …only one, also called the Australian giant false vampire bat (Macroderma gigas), is found outside Central and South America. The four ghost bat species of the New World belong to the genus Diclidurus.
- Ghost Brothers of Darkland County (musical by King, Burnett and Mellencamp)
T Bone Burnett: Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, a Southern gothic musical he created with Stephen King and John Mellencamp, premiered in 2014.
- Ghost Country (novel by Paretsky)
Sara Paretsky: …heroine with the publication of Ghost Country (1998), which features a pair of debutante sisters as amateur detectives, but she returned to Warshawski in Hard Time (1999). Subsequent books in the series included Total Recall (2001), in which Warshawski investigates a man claiming to be a Holocaust survivor, and Blacklist…
- ghost crab (crustacean)
ghost crab, (genus Ocypode), any of approximately 20 species of shore crabs (order Decapoda of the class Crustacea). O. quadratus, the beach crabs noted for their running speed, occur on dry sand above the high-tide mark on the western Atlantic coast from New Jersey to Brazil. The crab, sandy or
- Ghost Dad (film by Poitier [1990])
Sidney Poitier: Poitier as a director: …for Poitier’s last directorial effort, Ghost Dad (1990), but the film failed to match their earlier successes.
- Ghost Dance (North American Indian cult)
Ghost Dance, either of two distinct religious movements in the late 19th century that represented an attempt by Native Americans in the western United States to revitalize their traditional cultures. Both movements arose from Northern Paiute (Paviotso) prophet-dreamers in western Nevada who
- Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (film by Jarmusch [1999])
Jim Jarmusch: …Young and Crazy Horse; and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999). Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) consists of a collection of brief exchanges between various well-known actors and musicians as they smoked and drank coffee.
- Ghost Festival (Buddhism)
purgatory: Purgatory in world religions: The popularity of the annual Ghost Festival (rite in which offerings are made to ancestral ghosts), as well as the persistence of other seasonal, domestic, and esoteric rites for the care and feeding of the dead, demonstrates that responsibility for beings in “purgatory” is an enduring preoccupation of Chinese society—as…
- ghost flathead (fish)
scorpaeniform: Annotated classification: Family Hoplichthyidae (ghost flatheads or spiny flatheads) Small fishes with very depressed bodies. Scaleless; body with bony plates. Head with heavy spiny ridges. Vertebrae 26. Size to 43 cm (17 inches). Found in moderately deep water in Indo-Pacific region. 1 genus, Hoplichthys, with about 11 species. Family…
- Ghost Forests Are Becoming the New Haunts of Climate Change
Ghost forests are likely not filled with ghosts, but they should probably scare us. A ghost forest is a stand of dead and decaying trees, an eerie sight that serves as a dramatic warning of a growing problem within the global ecosystem. Ghost forests form when the ocean rises and floods coastal
- ghost glide (theatrical device)
theatre: British theatre and stage design: …famous trap was a “ghost glide,” a sort of dumbwaiter that made actors appear to rise from the earth and glide through space.
- Ghost Goes West, The (film by Clair [1935])
René Clair: Transition to sound films: …went to England to make The Ghost Goes West, an effective merging of English humor with French verve that became an international triumph. He returned to France but soon left again, in 1940, when the Germans overran the country in World War II. He spent the war years in Hollywood,…
- ghost gun (weapon)
ghost gun, gun or rifle that is assembled by the owner, either from separately purchased pieces or as part of a kit. These weapons can also be made using 3D printers, though such firearms can typically fire only one bullet. These weapons are controversial, because ghost gun parts can be anonymously
- Ghost in the Machine (album by the Police)
the Police: Zenyatta Mondatta to Synchronicity: Mondatta (1980) and the synthesizer-rich Ghost in the Machine (1981) saw a marked evolution from the stripped-down arrangements of their early work to a more layered but still tightly focused sound. The group reached its commercial and critical peak with the multiplatinum album Synchronicity (1983), which spawned the massive hit…
- Ghost in the Shell (film by Sanders [2017])
Scarlett Johansson: JoJo Rabbit and Marriage Story: Johansson’s 2017 credits include Ghost in the Shell, in which she portrayed a cyborg woman who battles criminals, and Rough Night, a comedy about a bachelorette party. Two years later she played a mother harboring a Jewish girl in Taika Waititi’s Nazi satire Jojo Rabbit and an actress undergoing…
- Ghost Is Born, A (album by Wilco)
Wilco: …completing its fifth studio album, A Ghost Is Born (2004; Grammy Award winner for best alternative music album), the band was immersed in more turmoil. Tweedy checked himself into a rehab clinic for a longtime addiction to painkillers. The volatile lineup was shuffled again, with keyboardist Leroy Bach departing and…
- ghost moth (insect)
swift, (family Hepialidae), any of approximately 500 species of insects in the order Lepidoptera that are some of the largest moths, with wingspans of more than 22.5 cm (9 inches). Most European and North American species are brown or gray with silver spots on the wings, whereas the African, New
- Ghost of Frankenstein, The (film by Kenton [1942])
Son of Frankenstein: …he reprised the role in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942). Karloff, on the other hand, is less striking in Son of Frankenstein than in the film’s two predecessors, in part because—due to the explosion at the end of Bride of Frankenstein—the monster is once again mute, having lost the ability…
- Ghost of the Sun (novel by Petrakis)
Harry Mark Petrakis: …Kings (1966) and its sequel, Ghost of the Sun (1990); The Hour of the Bell (1976) and its sequel, The Shepherds of Shadows (2008); Nick the Greek (1979); Days of Vengeance (1983); and The Orchards of Ithaca (2004). He also published collections of short stories. His nonfiction works included a…
- Ghost of Tom Joad, The (album by Springsteen)
Bruce Springsteen: Working-class hero: …both by his 1995 album, The Ghost of Tom Joad, which concerns itself with America’s economically and spiritually destitute, and by his 1994 hit single (his first in eight years) “Streets of Philadelphia,” from the AIDS-related courtroom drama film Philadelphia, for which he won both an Academy Award and a…
- ghost pepper (cultivar, Capsicum chinense)
ghost pepper, (Capsicum chinense), small-fruited pepper in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), one of the hottest chili peppers in the world. The ghost pepper is a cultivar of Capsicum chinense, as are spicy Scotch bonnet and habanero peppers. The ghost pepper has an average of about 1 million
- ghost pipe (plant)
Indian pipe, (Monotropa uniflora), nonphotosynthetic perennial herb of the heath family (Ericaceae). The plant is mycoheterotrophic, meaning it lives in close association with a fungus from which it acquires most of its nutrition. The fungus, in turn, lives in association with neighbouring beeches
- ghost pipefish (fish)
ghost pipefish, (genus Solenostomus), any of a group of small, rare marine fishes characterized by long snouts and enlarged fins that belong to the family Solenostomidae (order Gasterosteiformes). Ghost pipefishes inhabit the Indian and western Pacific oceans and reach lengths of 7.5 to 17 cm
- ghost plant (plant)
Indian pipe, (Monotropa uniflora), nonphotosynthetic perennial herb of the heath family (Ericaceae). The plant is mycoheterotrophic, meaning it lives in close association with a fungus from which it acquires most of its nutrition. The fungus, in turn, lives in association with neighbouring beeches
- Ghost Rider (comic-book character)
Ghost Rider, American comic strip superhero whose best-known incarnation was created for Marvel Comics by writer Gary Friedrich and artist Mike Ploog. The character first appeared in Marvel Spotlight no. 5 (August 1972). The original Ghost Rider was a western antihero created by writer Ray Krank
- Ghost Rider (film by Johnson [2007])
Nicolas Cage: …superhero, and the action thriller Ghost Rider (2007) and its sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011), in which he appeared as a demonically possessed motorcyclist. His atypically subdued work in Joe (2013), in which he played a former criminal who takes a protective interest in one of his young…
- Ghost Road, The (novel by Barker)
Regeneration Trilogy: …final book of the trilogy, The Ghost Road (1995)—a winner of the Booker Prize—further explores the relationship between Rivers and Prior. Chapters from Prior’s point of view are intercut with chapters about Rivers. Rivers sees parallels between the culture of the Solomon Islanders that he studied as an anthropologist and…
- ghost shark (fish subclass)
chimaera, (subclass Holocephali), any of numerous cartilaginous fishes related to sharks and rays in the class Chondrichthyes but separated from them as the subclass (or sometimes class) Holocephali. Like sharks and rays, chimaeras have cartilaginous skeletons, and the males possess external
- ghost shrimp (crustacean)
perciform: Interspecific relationships: …upon holes dug by the ghost shrimp (Callianassa) for a home and is unable to live without its help. Other gobies are known to share holes with burrowing worms, pea crabs, and snapping shrimps.
- Ghost Sonata, The (play by Strindberg)
The Ghost Sonata, one-act drama in three scenes by August Strindberg, written and published as Spöksonaten in 1907 and performed the following year. The drama is considered the best of Strindberg’s four chamber plays, written during his years as director of Stockholm’s Intima Theatre, and it is one
- Ghost Stories (album by Coldplay)
Coldplay: Later releases included the subdued Ghost Stories (2014), which yielded the hit singles “Magic” and “A Sky Full of Stars”; the upbeat A Head Full of Dreams (2015); and the EP Kaleidoscope (2017). To mark the release of Everyday Life (2019), Coldplay performed two livestreamed concerts, one at sunrise and…
- ghost story (narrative genre)
ghost story, a tale about ghosts. More generally, the phrase may refer to a tale based on imagination rather than fact. Ghost stories exist in all kinds of literature, from folktales to religious works to modern horror stories, and in most cultures. They can be used as isolated episodes or
- Ghost Town (film by Koepp [2008])
Ricky Gervais: With Ghost Town (2008), he starred in his first leading role in a feature film, playing a man who emerges from a near-death experience with an ability to see ghosts. Gervais also wrote and directed (with Matthew Robinson) The Invention of Lying (2009), which centers on…
- Ghost Town (recording by the Specials)
Two-Tone Movement: …number one hit with “Ghost Town” (1981), which evocatively addressed racial tension and whose timely release coincided with riots in Liverpool and London.
- ghost town
ghost town, town that was once an active community but has since been abandoned by all or nearly all of its residents. Ghost towns are found on every continent. The reasons for abandonment of a town include economic or resource issues, natural disasters, extreme climates, war and other armed
- Ghost Town (song by Boone)
Benson Boone: Ghost Town, American Heart, Beautiful Things, and Mystical Magical: …released his debut single, “Ghost Town,” in 2021. Described scathingly by The New York Times as a “poreless ballad designed to show off his husky, nominally soulful voice,” the song was a rousing success in Europe, hitting number 1 in Norway and appearing in the top 10 in Belgium…
- Ghost Who Walks, The (fictional character)
Phantom, the first costumed, fictional superhero, known as “The Ghost Who Walks.” Comics scholars generally agree that Superman was the first true superhero of the comic books, clearly marking the entrance of a new kind of hero into the marketplace, one with superpowers such as the ability to fly.
- Ghost World (film by Zwigoff [2001])
Steve Buscemi: Film career: Reservoir Dogs, Fargo, and The Big Lebowski: …lead part in Terry Zwigoff’s Ghost World (2001). The acclaimed dramedy focuses on a cynical 18-year-old woman (Thora Birch) who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a lonely album collector (Buscemi). His later notable films include Coffee and Cigarettes (2003), featuring vignettes of people talking, and The Dead Don’t Die…
- Ghost Writer, The (film by Polanski [2010])
Pierce Brosnan: The Thomas Crown Affair and Mamma Mia!: …Thief (2010) and Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer (2010), in which he played a former British prime minister accused of war crimes. In 2011 he appeared as a flirtatious businessman in the comedy I Don’t Know How She Does It and as a widowed writer in the TV miniseries Bag…
- Ghost Writer, The (novel by Roth)
American literature: Realism and metafiction: …Jewish novelist named Zuckerman, especially The Ghost Writer (1979), The Anatomy Lesson (1983), and, above all, The Counterlife (1987). Like many of his later works, from My Life as a Man (1974) to Operation Shylock (1993), The Counterlife plays ingeniously on the relationship between autobiography and fiction. His best later…
- Ghost, The (film by Polanski [2010])
Pierce Brosnan: The Thomas Crown Affair and Mamma Mia!: …Thief (2010) and Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer (2010), in which he played a former British prime minister accused of war crimes. In 2011 he appeared as a flirtatious businessman in the comedy I Don’t Know How She Does It and as a widowed writer in the TV miniseries Bag…
- Ghost-Eye (novel by Ghosh)
Amitav Ghosh: …the United Kingdom in 2026, Ghost-Eye is Ghosh’s latest fictional work. The novel spans 1960s Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Brooklyn and explores themes such as reincarnation, memory, and family.
- Ghostbusters (film by Reitman [1984])
Ghostbusters, American comedy film, released in 1984, that was produced and directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. Combining elements of science fiction and horror, Ghostbusters brought together the irreverent sensibility of the late-night sketch-comedy television
- Ghostbusters II (film by Reitman [1989])
Sigourney Weaver: Stardom: Alien, Ghostbusters, and Working Girl: She reprised the character in Ghostbusters II (1989), Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), and Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021). Weaver’s other films from the 1980s include Mike Nichols’s romantic comedy Working Girl (1988). For her performance as a scheming Wall Street executive, Weaver received an Oscar nomination for best
- Ghostbusters: Afterlife (film by Reitman [2021])
Bill Murray: Later work: …in the several reboots (2016, 2021, and 2024) of Ghostbusters. In 2021 he appeared in the TV miniseries The Now, and the following year he had a small role as a Boston bartender the Vietnam War drama The Greatest Beer Run Ever. In 2023 Murray played Lord Krylar in the…
- Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (film by Feig [2016])
Ghostbusters: Reboots: …adaptation of the original, titled Ghostbusters: Answer the Call and starring Leslie Jones, Kate McKinnon, Melissa McCarthy, and Kristen Wiig. Directed by Paul Feig, and featuring a screenplay written by Feig and Katie Dippold, the reboot generated intense online commentary before it was even released. In fact, some fans of…
- Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (film by Kenan [2024])
Ghostbusters: Reboots: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) continues to follow Callie, Phoebe, and Trevor, as well as Callie’s love interest (Paul Rudd), but returns the action to New York City.
- Ghosted (film by Fletcher [2023])
Ana de Armas: Blonde and Ghosted: …romantic comedy and action thriller Ghosted (2023) opposite Chris Evans and the thriller Eden (2024), directed by Ron Howard. In 2025 de Armas played a dancer-assasin in From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, a spin-off of the popular action series John Wick.
- GhostNet (worldwide spy network)
cybercrime: Hacking: …worldwide spy network known as GhostNet was discovered by researchers at the University of Toronto, who had been asked by representatives of the Dalai Lama to investigate the exiled Tibetan leader’s computers for possible malware. In addition to finding out that the Dalai Lama’s computers were compromised, the researchers discovered…
- Ghosts (short story by Auster)
Paul Auster: …him to assume various identities; Ghosts (1986), about a private eye known as Blue who is investigating a man named Black for a client named White; and The Locked Room (1986), the story of an author who, while researching the life of a missing writer for a biography, gradually assumes…
- Ghosts (graphic novel by Telgemeier)
Raina Telgemeier: Telgemeier returned to fiction in Ghosts (2016). The story follows two sisters, Catrina and Maya, the latter of whom has cystic fibrosis, as they navigate life and death in a new hometown. In 2019 Telgemeier published two additional books: Share Your Smile is an interactive book that includes activities and…
- ghosts (word game)
ghosts, word game in which each player in turn presents a letter that must contribute to the eventual formation of a word but not complete it. The player whose letter completes a word loses the round and becomes one-third of a ghost. Three losses make a player a full ghost, putting him out of the