The people who lived in England during Shakespeare's time knew of ghost's mostly through religion. During the 16th century there were two major religions in England, one of them being Catholicism. The other running across Europe into England was the Protestant religion. The two had similar beliefs when it came to ghosts but differed in the area of where they came from. The fear that came from the beliefs of Catholics held sway over most …showed first 75 words of 2986 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2986 total…his use of all these religious explanations for ghosts. He uses them psychologically, theologically and theatrically in the tragedy of Hamlet. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Washington: Washington Square Press, 1992. Greenblatt, Stephen. Hamlet in Purgatory. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001. Finucane, R.C. Appearances of the Dead. Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1984. Corum, Richard. Understanding Hamlet. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1998. World Civilizations Page. Washington State University. Richard Hooker. 6 June 1996 <http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/REFORM/ENGLAND.HTM>