|
?:reviewBody
|
-
This story about a ghostly moth figure saving a train from disaster has circulated in a number of forms, some that are mute about the identity of any of the passengers aboard the rescued train, and some that name various important personages (including Queen Victoria) as having been saved by the ghostly figure: Example: [Tan, 1979] As a belief tale, this yarn has a number of interpretations. On the one hand, it can serve as confirmation that seemingly spooky events often are found to have perfectly ordinary, rational explanations once initial panic has subsided. Where others are prone to jump up and yell Ghost! Ghost! then rush screaming into the night convinced they've had a brush with the supernatural, those whose innate skepticism causes them to look further into the puzzling or frightening see in the engineer's act of investigating the lamp (and thereby discovering the dead moth) the sort of level-headed thinking that leads to the debunking of the otherwise inexplicably eerie. Yet another ghost tale laid to rest; yet another spook that turned out to be anything but (e.g., the mysterious self-driving car that a rain-soaked passenger took a ride in). Another interpretation focuses on the improbable coincidence of the moth's being drawn to the lamp's beam at just the right moment to project a menacing figure onto the tracks if the train was to be halted before plunging into the abyss. While moths are indeed attracted to light, what could have caused one to throw itself at that lamp at just the precise instant necessary to save so many lives? Surely some benevolent spirit or personal guardian guided the moth's flight, possibly the ghost of someone who had died at that very spot and now looks to safeguard others across a dangerous span (e.g., the ghost children of San Antonio). Finally, the tale can be regarded as a parable illustrating the mysterious ways by which the Almighty acts on His children's behalf, His unseen hand working miracles: So, there you have it: This all-purpose supernatural yarn can be held aloft and brandished as a confirmatory tale by those who believe in Jesus. Or angels. Or protective spirits. Or the power of skeptical thinking.
(en)
|
![[This page as RDF]](http://data.gesis.org/claimskg/static/rdf-icon.gif){kind=icon}