Ghosts vs. Real History - What each series says about its country’s History

What this episode covers

Please consider supporting me at https://www.patreon.com/LindsayHoliday The eerily beloved British comedy Ghosts was first adapted into an American supernatural sit com. It has now appairated into 3 more adaptations in Germany, France and Australia. In each version, half of a modern, living couple inherit a historic mansion. After moving in, the woman has a brush with death, which allows her to see dead people. The spirits, thrilled that a living person can interact with them, quickly incorporate her into the various rivalries, romances and hijinks which have been simmering over centuries of co-haunting. High-spirited hilarity ensues. The element which makes this show particularly special for history lovers is that each ghost met their demise in a different era. And people from the past are brought to life, or rather after-life in a unique and humanizing way. Some of the characters are archetypes of classic ghost stories, like the gray lady and headless specter. But all typify important cultural touchstones from the history of each country they are set in. Where the phantoms converge and differ across versions says a lot about how each country views its own history. Let’s take a look at the spectral ensemble from each series, and compare them to each other, and to real history. Ghosts UK Button House is West Horsley Place in Surrey Robin The Basement Ghosts Sir Humphrey Bone Mary Guppy Katherine ‘Kitty’ Higham Thomas Thorne Lady Stephanie ‘Fanny’ Button The Captain Patrick ‘Pat’ Butcher Julian Fawcett MP Ghosts US Thorfinn Thor Sasappis Captain Isaac Higgintoot Henrietta “Hetty” Woodstone Alberta Haynes Susan “Flower” Montero Peter “Pete” Martino’ Trevor Lefkowitz Ghosts Germany Ghosts DE Donnerhall House is Bergerhausen Castle in Cologne Urs Claudius Griet Friedrich Dorn Adelheid Svenni Joachim Ghosts France Ghosts FR Château de Mérudeaux is Château de Vaugien outside of Paris Tayac Albos Berthe Comtesse Marie-Catherine de Mérudeaux Augustine Montfleury Georges Peyrache François Laval Daniel ‘Dani’ Quignon Roland Givorant Ghosts Australia Ghosts AU Gideon Joon Eileen Miranda Lindy Satan Join me every Tuesday when I'm Spilling the Tea on History! Check out my Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/lindsayholiday Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091781568503 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/historyteatimelindsayholiday/ Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@historyteatime Please consider supporting me at https://www.patreon.com/LindsayHoliday and help me make more fascinating episodes! Intro Music: Baroque Coffee House by Doug Maxwell Music: Dreams of the Ancestors by Asher Fulero #HistoryTeaTime #LindsayHoliday Please contact ⁠[email protected]⁠ if you would like to advertise on this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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