What Do Ghosts Say Around the Globe?
- mooreacorrigan
- Oct 20
- 1 min read
Curiosity #11
Originally posted on Substack, October 20, 2025
While ruminating on some of the spooky movies I’ve watched this month. I remembered reading that the classic ghostly onomatopoeia “boo” originated from the original Latin boare or Ancient Greek boaein which mean “to cry out.”1 Now, I cannot remember where I originally read this, but there is a pretty fair chance that it was from a Tumblr post2, so imagine my surprise that the story may actually have some truth. However, it is not set in stone. The sound might also come from Scots English. 3
Although I have little memory of my five years of conversational Japanese (I took it as an extracurricular from 5th to 10th grade), I do remember the ghost stories my teacher would tell us. In them, the ghosts would make the sounds テケテケ (Teke Teke)4 or わっ (wa).5
This made me curious as to what sounds ghosts made in other languages. In Spain, ghosts might say “uuh,” and in France they say “hou.”6 It is notable that ghosts do not always speak. Rather, they could make the sound of rattling chains or screaming/crying.
I am just scratching the surface of ghost lore (and what it could mean culturally/historically when ghosts speak), but I find these cultural differences and similarities incredibly interesting.
2 Ah! I found the post!!! https://allthingslinguistic.com/post/152482805612/psychrophile-grizzlyhills-flightcub
I like how this post explores how different cultures describe ghosts and the meaning behind those stories. It shows how folklore reflects fears, morals, and the unknown, and how every society uses these tales to teach lessons or explain what science cannot. It is interesting to see how language shapes the way we imagine the supernatural. In the same way, students preparing for healthcare careers sometimes look for HESI Exam Help Services to better understand complex material and reduce stress, since caring for real patients requires clear communication and critical thinking. Both topics remind us how knowledge evolves when we stay curious.