Ghosts in Sweden? It sounds strange to place the supernatural in a country of health-conscious, pragmatic engineers. But even though Swedes readily accept modernity, their popular culture hints at something else.
From the outside, Sweden appears to be a secular nation. The country has an exceptionally high number of non-believers, who engage in and identify with cultural rather than spiritual religious expressions. They will happily decorate a Christmas tree and prepare a traditional Christmas Eve dinner, for example, but may stop short of going to a church service.
This is connected to the perception of Sweden (often promoted by Swedes themselves) as modern, advanced, and rational. Yet in reality, various forms of spirituality – including a belief in ghosts – are common. As much as 41% of the population admits to believing in some paranormal activities. Ghost stories intersect with folk beliefs, modernity and mass media in a way that remains visible across Swedish society.
Research suggests that institutionalised religion has mostly been replaced by secularisation in western countries, including Sweden. But at the same time, technological advances seem to increase interest in folk beliefs.
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Over the period of industrialisation of the 19th century, there was a corresponding rise in spiritualism, mediums and seances – complete with moving tables and flickering candles.
Novel machinery and this new, rational approach to the world actually appears to have made life harder for people to comprehend. In other words, the industrial revolution, with all its scientific breakthroughs, did not suddenly explain what it meant to be human. And 150 years later, ghost stories still apparently help many Swedes cope with life.
Sweden modernises
From the 19th century onwards, as Swedes grew accustomed to affluence and admiration from abroad (for their industry, economic growth, social security and equality), a stereotype developed. Ethnologist Åke Daun wrote that Swedes were characterised by “cleanliness, quietness, industriousness and modernity”.
And it’s true that Swedes like to think of themselves that way. They like to follow science-backed trends around exercising and diet, for example. And they see themselves as secular – superstition has been replaced by sound scientific advice.
But something twitched under the surface and ghosts re-entered the national psyche. Finnish folklorist Lauri Honko made an interesting observation that ghosts are in fact an empirical phenomenon. You hear something, feel a cold spot, see a shadow.
This empirical evidence may have given Swedes the reassurance they needed to embrace documentaries about the paranormal. This genre shows troublesome ghosts being challenged by mediums, and modern-day ghost stories are told through TV that familiarise viewers with the idea of the supernatural. Viewers see how to deal with these phenomena in a regular Swedish home.
Swedish paranormal documentary Det Okända (The Unknown) is one such example. When I first moved to Sweden in 2009 I found the show by accident and was surprised that it was not a Ghostbusters-type show. Mediums translated strange noises, headaches and scared children into logical patterns and rational explanations.
The ghosts did not seem to have any strong agendas. Rather, they tuned into the fears and worries of the property owners. People seemed to question whether their homes – their sacred spaces – could become unsafe by something they could not control. The show was a hit – running for 29 seasons and 318 episodes.
Of course, popular culture is an important barometer of public mood, and TV documentaries about the paranormal are a global phenomenon. But ghost shows on Swedish TV introduce everyday citizens to a troubling spirit, and a range of professional mediums to deal with them. Courses are offered in communicating with the undead.
Ghost stories carry meanings. They can be entertainment, but they also show that the folk beliefs that were supposed to have disappeared have found new ways of living on.
Mystical meetings offer the possibility of finding something that’s missing. They also promise an element of control over the human fears that modernity did not rationalise. Swedes do not question modernity or science, but supplement them with their engineer-like version of the paranormal. Swedish ghosts seem to represent all the uncontrollable in the everyday.
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