Spirits may not exist in the literal sense, yet their absence says a lot about those who long for them. In the United States, belief in spirits edges toward half of the population, while in Canada the numbers hover around similar ranges, with regional shifts reflecting culture and tradition. There are plenty of opinions and misdiagnoses, too. Many commentators reach for the idea of a spirit of a certain era, naming it before it even fully takes shape. Some people still practiceOuija board sessions because they sense what the spirit of a defining moment might be saying about today. Political spirits, after all, are not trivial—they have dwelled in government chambers, on parliamentary floors, and within long-standing constitutional quirks for years. (attribution: cultural studies, North American audience interpretation)
At age 13, when the head of government spoke of the “Spirit of February 12,” a belief in spirits took root for a time. The sensation was tangible, the cold a physical reminder in the bones. Later insight revealed this as a Francoist nod to openness and constraint. The speaker already carried the aura of a spectral presence, and soon after, a Carnation Revolution in Portugal shifted regional energy. Nearly two years later, the public figure announced the end of Franco, a living ghost for many Spaniards decades afterward. (attribution: historical timelines, Iberian peninsula)
A ghost story attributed to a mix of authors—Mateo, Marcos, Lucas, Juan, and Carlos—echoes in the season of Christmas as a recurring ritual. This year, the writer turned a careful ear to Christmas psychophonies and heard the sounds of a lottery draw spilling notions of superstition, hierarchy, and spectacle from the royal palace into the media. The king’s long, formal address added its own weight to the moment. The Christmas spirit did not reach the voice of the ghost Raphael, who is said to appear at Prado del Rey every Christmas Eve. Based on the archival records, the singer’s fate—whether living or immortal—takes on a future-tense life beyond the present, giving modern symbols a kind of stubborn endurance. In the end, what feels modern can often be reduced to small, gleaming fragments of metal and glass as the season passes. The writer recalls not meeting Raphael on that show, and though ghosts are not believed in, if one exists, it would be Raphael. (attribution: media history, royal rituals, European broadcast culture)