Spectres, Devils, and Bad Blood in the Old America

America is a haunted place. Born out of the horrors of colonial genocide and chattel slavery, the brutal reality of this country’s history has manifested itself through legends, witches, demons, and hidden places. Filmmakers like Ryan Coogler (Sinners), Julie Dash (Daughters of the Dust), Charles Laughton (The Night of the Hunter), Oscar Micheaux (Body and Soul), Nicholas Ray (Wind Across the Everglades), and more have cinematically responded to this uncanny, supernatural, and eerie nature of Old America—our pre-modern reckoning with the past. From devilish preachers to psychic visions and beyond, the ghosts of our history are always present.