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1. Introduction   A. The historical perspective   B. Elizabethan ghost-lore 2. The Senecan prologue ghost   A. Adapted to Shakespeare's time 3. Demonologies   A. Ghosts defined   B. Competing theories   C. The Protestant reformers     a. James I's rules for behavior with ghosts     b. Specters as good or evil spirits       1.) Discerning good from evil spirits         a.) Clues in Hamlet         b.) Hamlet's belief in the devil thesis     c. More ghost-lore relevant to Hamlet   D. The ghost internalized 4. Staging conventions   A. Assuming the ghost is "honest"