Scary Ghosts are Always Women: Misogyny In The Real World and The Paranormal World

I am a horror and thriller film enthusiast who enjoys a well-written plot, a supporting disturbing back sound, and a good amount of jumpscare. Well, once or twice I’ve dared myself to cross my horror film standards to watch a shitty horror film just out of curiosity. I’m always in awe of filmmakers who have mastered the art of scaring the daylights out of audiences.

There are a few things I’ve learned from watching many horror films. The stories often share a similar thread. A young, beautiful woman catches the eye of a man, a predator, or a psychopath who turns into a serial killer who kills for his mental desire. Then, the woman would become an angered and cursed spirit who seeks revenge. I’m not sure if this is merely a statistical coincidence or a subconscious pattern, but this surely begs the question in my head, why the ghosts in nearly all horror flicks are always women? And is it true that the female portrayal of ghosts is largely due to patriarchal elements in local writing?

Many cultures have mythologies that include stories about vengeful spirits who are often depicted as women. We may consider these ghost stories more deeply, as part of a broader narrative that has been used to shape people’s perspectives on whom to trust and whom to fear. As with any piece of folklore, ghost stories reflect and inform society of its values; cultural, social, political, and bring gender politics into stark relief.

For example, one of the most feared ghosts in Indonesia, especially in Java is Kuntilanak. Kuntilanak, originally known as Pontianak or Puntianak is a ghost believed to be created by a woman who died in childbirth and the child has not been born. So, it is believed that she became a vengeful spirit who will haunt pregnant women or anyone that she wants. Other vengeful female spirits similar to the Kuntilanak include the Irish’s Banshee, the Mexican’s La Llorona, the Slavic’s Rusalka, and the Japanese’s Kuchisake-onna. In most cases, the vengeful spirits used to be women who were unhappy or victimized while they were alive, but they only had the power to do anything about it until after they entered the afterlife.

Another concept related to horror films is the Freudian theory of the Return of The Repressed. According to this theory, our conscious mind represses unpleasant or painful thoughts, but these thoughts are retained by our unconscious mind. Once retained by the mind, these unpleasant thoughts will surface from the unconscious into consciousness again, but in a more distorted or symbolic way. Similarly, Freudian interpretations of horror movies typically argue that the main antagonist of a horror film represents the return of the repressed, something that society has repressed only for it to resurface in a more malevolent form.

—On the other hand, there is definitely a discussion on patriarchy in this sector. Across the globe, society stigmatized women as submissive and a step behind men. Our society cannot see a woman as strong, sharp, smart, rich, etc. If they’re fortunate enough to be blessed with those things, they will be often called a bitch while a man like that is said to have good leadership skills or is charismatic? We tend to attach negative qualities to an intimidating woman, and this seems like an easy escape to show that strength and power in a woman’s hands are rather evil.

We’ve grown up watching horror movies with an act of a female ghost seeking revenge with magnified displays of anger. These women have power but they are misusing it and destroying everything that comes in her way. All of these films are centered on the fear that is seeded in our society. A fear of women being independent, having ambitions, being able to exhibit anger when wronged, and taking ownership of their desires. Colleen Wanglund theorizes that the Asian female ghost is an inherently feminist figure whose very presence is a symbol of how deeply men fear female power. Their vengeance isn’t necessarily aimed at the person who wronged them, and as such it’s as unthinking and randomly destructive as systems of patriarchy.

In real life, the news about women becoming a victim is easier to find. So, the idea that a female ghost would come back to get revenge against the society that mistreated her in films has more plausibility as a result of reflecting our society. By contrast, our experience and our gender biases would generally lead us to assume that men as ghosts simply don’t fit the image as in real life men would try to get revenge while they are still alive, which is why most action films with revenge plots typically revolve around men.

In positioning women, whether human or ghost, as the only gender capable of parenting and doing the perfect multi-task. Women unfettered by death have offered some of the popular culture’s most horrifyingly indelible images, but it’s tempting to wonder what these ghosts would look like in a world that was more egalitarian, one that didn’t define women and girls by their looks, their ability to bear children, and their relationships to others. Most cultures in the world have majorly male-dominated societies in which women’s rights are suppressed at different levels, usually, inversely proportional to the socio-economic development of that society.

The more you think about how filmmakers have often treated ghosts, it becomes more clear that, despite the change in the genre, the approach has pretty much remained the same. After all, the film industry is a business industry, and the business world is a big believer in integrating fiction and reality. Most of us love to see a relevant and logical story that relates to our reality even if the context is supernatural. So, voila! Filmmakers understand this fact and make films accordingly.

With love,
R