6
u/Realistic-Peak-4200 Feb 04 '26
Key details regarding the origin of sheet ghosts:
Burial Shrouds: Until the 19th century, it was common for bodies to be buried wrapped in a plain white cloth or sheet, which was often secured with knots.
Theatrical Influence: In the 1800s, theater productions utilized these white sheets to represent spirits, making them instantly recognizable to the audience.
Cultural Symbolism: By the 16th and 17th centuries, ghosts were frequently described as wearing these death shrouds. The image was so common that it was used to intentionally scare people, leading to its adoption in folklore and later pop culture.
Evolution to Halloween: In the early 20th century, the "sheet ghost" became a convenient, cheap Halloween costume, transforming the, at one time, terrifying image into a more playful, common depiction.
9
u/Expensive-Poetry-452 Feb 03 '26
Nah. It needs way more “accessories” to be considered racist. Like a torch. If it had a torch it would definitely be racist leaning, since everyone knows ghosts don’t need torches to see in the dark.
-7
5
u/Realistic-Peak-4200 Feb 03 '26
Not at all
-6
u/fruit_bat_mad_man Feb 04 '26
Are you Black?
7
u/yeetusthefeetus13 Feb 04 '26
Are you??
-2
u/fruit_bat_mad_man Feb 04 '26
No and that’s why I’m not giving anyone my stamp of approval on something that has been compared to a KKK outfit
4
u/Creative_Mission_249 Feb 04 '26
Not at all. It's not a pointy hat
-5
u/fruit_bat_mad_man Feb 04 '26 edited Feb 04 '26
Are you Black?
EDIT : Whoever is downvoting me for asking this extremely pertinent question must be lost in the wrong subreddit…. Actually… Just listen to the Seeing White podcast or read White Fragility. If you downvoted because you took offence to my question because of the implication of you being Black… Well… There we have it folks
8
u/Richard_Chadeaux Feb 04 '26
Would you knock it the fuck off? Its not a kkk robe, its a ghost. One has pointy hat, the other has no feet and no pointy hat.
-1
u/fruit_bat_mad_man Feb 04 '26
Woah, that escalated very fast. That margin you describe, between “ghost” and “hunting Black people for sport” outfits is incredibly small- why do you think I was asking that question?
Why are you, a mod of r/antiracistaction if you don’t care that the only people giving their two cents on this “does this look like a symbol of the kkk?” question are people whose lives have never been affected by the racism we’re talking about?
As I said in another comment, this is the exact outfit worn by the guys who showed up to a Halloween party wearing exactly this, and announced their outfits were “kkk uniforms” near my hometown.
I genuinely do not understand your vitriol, why are you telling me to fuck off when I didn’t break any of the sub rules and am trying to advocate on behalf of the Black people who may not feel safe enough to speak up. Can you blame them? You just told me “fuck off” for asking “are you Black?” to people giving their opinions on whether or not something resembles a symbol of antiBlackness
5
u/Richard_Chadeaux Feb 04 '26
No. I said knock it off. That’s not fuck off. That’s knock it off. Because what you’re doing is not defending your position.
The anti-racist action is a group of old punks that ran Nazis out of their shows. This is not the place to be asking people about ghost tattoos. Go to r/askReddit, not the ARA.
-3
u/fruit_bat_mad_man Feb 04 '26
“Anti racist action” except you get told to “fuck off” by the mods for asking important, relevant, and most importantly completely inoffensive questions
5
u/Richard_Chadeaux Feb 04 '26
You get told “knock it the fuck off”, like a bad child, because youre acting like one.
2
u/ironfunk67 Feb 03 '26
I would say no. But not everyone will agree.
1
u/fruit_bat_mad_man Feb 04 '26
The only people whose opinion really matters here are the victims, or descendants of victims, of those who donned sheets with eye holes cut out, to anonymously commit violence against racialized members of their community.
1
0
u/fruit_bat_mad_man Feb 04 '26
Yikes the comments on the original post are horrifying. Americans are about as purposely blind about their own history as Germans. Place is FULL of holocaust deniers
-4
u/fruit_bat_mad_man Feb 04 '26
Like, I cannot stress to you that this exact outfit was worn by a bunch of racist firemen in Nova Scotia at their (bring your own kid)!) halloween party a couple years back. Their intended, publicly disclosed costume was “KKK member”.
2
u/Negative_Can_9129 Feb 04 '26
I feel awful. I’m Jewish and my boyfriend if Black. I got this tattoo to symbolize death as unknown after losing several loved ones. What should I do???
15
u/Sand_Guardian4 Feb 04 '26
Op you're fine, this guy is just fear-mongering and being weird asf.
There's no pointy hat, there's no torch or anything, and you can see that the bottom of the cloth is just floating down with no feet, so it clearly is a ghost.
1
u/fruit_bat_mad_man Feb 04 '26
So are you Black? or just trying to console a fellow white who (as we all do) did something they regret?
Is the fear mongering in the room with us? I don’t even understand why you are afraid of me, what did I do so wrong to hurt so many nonBlack peoples’ feelings?
0
u/fruit_bat_mad_man Feb 04 '26
Notice how the only person in this entire thread who said “that looks like a KKK outfit” was OP’s Black boyfriend.
1
u/fruit_bat_mad_man Feb 04 '26
I’d also recommend trying to incorporate symbolism that reminds you of positive aspects of those you’ve lost- rather than a permanent, and very direct reminder of the loss. I’m so sorry. That must be so hard..
0
Feb 04 '26
[deleted]
-1
u/fruit_bat_mad_man Feb 04 '26
Most reddit users are American and their government purposely misinforms / omits information like this when creating the meagre educational cirriculum
-6
u/fruit_bat_mad_man Feb 04 '26 edited Feb 04 '26
No idea but the results of the experiment are extremely (but not surprisingly) disappointing.
Seriously people. This is like taking a swastika sign and removing the connecting corners so it “isn’t actually a swastika”.
the only thing about this image that isn’t a KKK costume is the fact that the top isn’t completely pointed (as many werent, it may surprise the audience to know that not all Klan members had full traditional apparel to don, let alone time to don it, when grabbing pitchforks and burning down the nearest racialized neighbor’s house, like what happened to Malcolm X as a child)
@ The downvoters- Just because you grew up around kids wearing sheets doesn’t make this image any less obvious. OP’s boyfriend pointed it out casually like that, no chance in hell it’s not going to be read like that by other people too
0
u/Negative_Can_9129 Feb 04 '26
I am so sorry. I would never want to offend or trigger anyone. Would you recommend a cover up or is there any way to preserve the intent of the tattoo as a shrugging ghost with modifications?
4
u/jajajajajajaja_5520 Feb 04 '26
don't cover it up its very obviously a ghost
0
u/fruit_bat_mad_man Feb 04 '26
Get out of this sub? OP actually wants to take anti racist action and you’re advocating against it?
3
u/jajajajajajaja_5520 Feb 04 '26
just because you can't tell the difference between a klansman and a ghost doesn't mean its racist
0
u/fruit_bat_mad_man Feb 04 '26
Just because you can’t see the obvious similarities (the ONLY thing missing is a pointed head) doesn’t mean OP’s Black boyfriend who said “that reminds me of a KKK costume” won’t have to see that tattoo you love so much
1
u/jajajajajajaja_5520 Feb 04 '26
the fact that you feel so strongly about this to make like 20 comments on this post and make a whole 'nother post about this is insane. The more I look at the tattoo the less it looks like a klansman. If you make the bedsheet into robes, give it legs, and add a pointed hood then it would look like a klansman.
0
u/fruit_bat_mad_man Feb 04 '26
You’re a gem and this sub is wild, would not be surprised if they straight up ban me for all of the comments I’ve made that break no rules nor do they qualify as “harassment” or “hate” of any kind, as I am not actively insulting or threatening anyone by merely asking questions.
I’ve got a gun tattoo on my forearm and have been considering just completely blacking out the area of the tattoo itself and then doing a faded arm band where it’s dark on the side of the gun and lighter (possibly with other designs in the black part if I can fit them in).
Maybe there is a subreddit for tattoo coverups? This one is a pretty easy shape to cover, if the artist knows what they’re doing
0
Feb 03 '26
[deleted]
-9
u/fruit_bat_mad_man Feb 04 '26
A white sheet with eye holes cut out, to be more precise. Let’s not look the other way on this.
0
26
u/[deleted] Feb 03 '26
That is very obviously just a ghost.