What role do the ghosts play throughout the novel? Do you believe in ghosts?

What role do the ghosts play throughout the novel? Does this role change over the course of the story, in your opinion? Do you believe in ghosts?

They are co-residents of the house and tend to mind the place and the occupants. They protect some and deal with others. For example, when the bounty hunter was looking for the slave girl, he was greeted and dealt with by two of the ghostly occupants. They are somewhat in the background at the beginning but come to surface as key protagonist(s) as the history progresses. I don't believe in Ghosts, as in Halloween ghosts, but I do believe in spirits and lived in a genuinely haunted house for a number of years.

I see them as protectors of those who are worthy to live in the house. I really liked the way the twins handled the slave catcher, LOL. That was unexpected - and AWESOME.

I don't see why ghosts couldn't exist, although I've never felt any around me. Lots of people I know claim to have experienced the presence of a loved one after that person had died, and many others attest to being in "haunted" houses.

I do believe that people's spirits.........or maybe the land's spirits continue on into the future.

Yes, I do believe in spirits or ghosts. I think people and animals can live on in a manner. I also think it’s possible for inanimate objects to hold a history. The spirits in the book played such vital roles. They were care takers and protectors, they shepherded others into the afterlife. They also proved a good bit of humor and retribution. However, in the case of Robert, their activities proved calamitous.

The ghosts were like the trees around the house, continuing to play a part in the history of everything going on around it.

They represent the spirit/s of the place. They represent the ripple effects that actions have on a place. Each character's actions affect the life of the place. We are bound to the places we live; we are connected to our habitats.

I agree with ABeman and sweeney about the roles the ghosts play in the story.
I do believe in spirits because I lived for twenty years in a haunted house in Monterey, CA. My daughters both described the same entity as soon as they could speak coherent sentences. They called her "the you lady" because she would point her finger at them and whisper "You". Even out dogs and cats seemed to see things that we could not and everyone and everything (including my husband who scoffs at the supernatural) avoided one corner of out back yard, saying it "just doesn't feel right" or "it feels creepy".

I think the ghosts in the story represent a continual life cycle where connections exist on many levels. Our world is filled with so many living things and I believe if we choose to be open those links are possible. I think that those that came before me and those that will follow are linked. I love the idea in Native American culture where we are inextricably tied to the natural world, present, and future a never-ending circle.

Generally the ghosts in this novel are unseen and unheard, but in some stories they appear and play a crucial role in guarding or protecting the house or the land. I personally do not believe in ghosts, but I find the concept intriguing.

The ghosts stayed with the house for the most part. They protect that house and sometimes it's occupants.

I believe there is more than one realm and sometimes they cross paths. If this is where ghosts come from I am not sure, but it is possible. Not having seen a ghost I am not sure I am a believer - however just because I have not seen one does not make me a non believer either.

The ghosts occupy the house with the residents. They will help some of the residents or look out for them. For other residents, the ghosts just put up with them. I do not believe in ghosts mainly because I do not believe in an afterlife. I think the idea of ghosts is actually very comforting and I do wish they were real. But I do not.

I see them as keeper of the house history. They share information, experiences of the past. It becomes a circle of the house and land. I agree that Robert was too sensitive to understand the spirit’s message of the history.