The Boy and the Ghost

The Boy And The Ghost
I have discovered another folktale that is found all over the world under different pseudonyms!

Sometimes called Jack and the Ghost, Tinker the Ghost, Esteban and the Ghost or simply The Boy and the Ghost this is a tale of a poor character who goes off to seek his fortune and encounters a ghost who helps him find it. The ghost appears bit by bit as his body parts fall down the chimney in all of the versions. Why the ghost haunts the house and how our main character handles the apparition, however, differs greatly from tale to tale. The subtle variations to this story leads me to wonder about what those alterations might say about the cultures in which it is found.

I especially loved San Souci's The Boy and the Ghost with illustrations by Pinkney.