--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the main, ghosts are said to be…" description: "\"In the main, ghosts are said to be forlorn and generally miserable, if not downright depressed. The jolly ghost is rare.\" — Dick Cavett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/dick-cavett-3310_forlorn_in-the-main-ghosts-are-said-to-be-forlor_2428171.jpg" --- # In the main, ghosts are said to be forlorn and generally… ![“In the main, ghosts are said to be forlorn and generally miserable, if not downright depressed. The jolly ghost is rare.” quote by Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/dick-cavett-3310_forlorn_in-the-main-ghosts-are-said-to-be-forlor_2428171.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/dick-cavett-3310_forlorn_in-the-main-ghosts-are-said-to-be-forlor_2428171.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/dick-cavett-3310_forlorn_in-the-main-ghosts-are-said-to-be-forlor_2428171.jpg) > “In the main, ghosts are said to be forlorn and generally miserable, if not downright depressed. The jolly ghost is rare.” [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ghosts are typically portrayed as sad and lonely; cheerful spirits are uncommon. **In simple terms:** Ghosts are usually sad. Key Takeaway Acknowledge the rarity of joy in expected sorrow. Themes sadness loneliness supernatural Mood reflective melancholic Type cultural literary When to use this quote - storytelling - horror media - cultural analysis Key Concepts psychology of folklore emotional archetypes Questions to Reflect On - Why do we associate ghosts with sadness? - Can happiness exist in traditionally bleak roles? A Different Perspective Joyful spirits may be overlooked in narratives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Forlorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forlorn/) [Ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost/) [Ghosts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghosts/) [Miserable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable/) ## Related quotes > [“We are sometimes dragged into a pit of unhappiness by someone else’s opinion that we do not look happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/we-are-sometimes-dragged-into-a-pit-of-unhappiness-by-someone-else-s/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Whose are all these ghosts?” she said, smiling at a flustered-looking Geraldine. “Oh,” said Geraldine, “I think they might be mine...?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-hall/whose-are-all-these-ghosts-she-said-smiling-at-a-flustered-looking/) Diane Hall > [“My traveller friends and I came home to roost about midnight and before turning into sleep had coffee in the lounge ... There was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-aelwyn-roberts/my-traveller-friends-and-i-came-home-to-roost-about-midnight-and/) J. Aelwyn Roberts > [Ghosts don't haunt us. That's not how it works. They're present among us because we won't let go of them." "I don't believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/ghosts-don-t-haunt-us-that-s-not-how-it-works-they-re-present-among-2/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [“Everyone knows this, don’t they?” Cohen gaped at him in astonishment. “Blood-sucking ghosts, as a matter of fact,” said Rincewind. “After all, everyone knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/everyone-knows-this-don-t-they-cohen-gaped-at-him-in-astonishment/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“funny thing, talking to ghosts," he said. 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No hungry generations tread thee down; The voice I hear this passing night was heard In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/thou-wast-not-born-for-death-immortal-bird-no-hungry-generations/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“To say she is only a woman is to say a violin is a piece of wood with strings, and Dante is mere ink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-crown/to-say-she-is-only-a-woman-is-to-say-a-violin-is-a-piece-of-wood-with/) [Bruce Crown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-crown/) ## More by Dick Cavett > [A conversation does not have to be scintillating in order to be memorable. I once met a president of the United States, and his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/a-conversation-does-not-have-to-be-scintillating-in-order-to-be/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I don't see the future as bright, language-wise. I see it as a glass half empty - and evaporating quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-don-t-see-the-future-as-bright-language-wise-i-see-it-as-a-glass/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I'm not all that enthralled by show business, and I'm not that much of a highbrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-m-not-all-that-enthralled-by-show-business-and-i-m-not-that-much-of/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I know what it feels like to be a gun lover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-know-what-it-feels-like-to-be-a-gun-lover/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [Meryl Streep belongs on anybody's list of greats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/meryl-streep-belongs-on-anybody-s-list-of-greats/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [Radio, which was a much better medium than television will ever be, was easy and pleasant to listen to. 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Buckley was a man who had a great capacity for fun and for amusing himself by amazing others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/william-f-buckley-was-a-man-who-had-a-great-capacity-for-fun-and-for/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [Just think of all the billions of coincidences that don't happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/just-think-of-all-the-billions-of-coincidences-that-don-t-happen/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I eat at this German-Chinese restaurant and the food is delicious. The only problem is that an hour later you're hungry for power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-eat-at-this-german-chinese-restaurant-and-the-food-is-delicious-the/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I have a long list of things that make me mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-have-a-long-list-of-things-that-make-me-mad/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [“The idea that hunting is one against one is ludicrous. It's one animal versus the hunter, the manufacturer of the rifle, the bullet maker,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/the-idea-that-hunting-is-one-against-one-is-ludicrous-it-s-one-animal/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [Chris Matthews can't start any sentence without 'Let me ask you this... ' And I love Chris Matthews! But almost everybody in journalism does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/chris-matthews-can-t-start-any-sentence-without-let-me-ask-you-this/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [You would have to be naive to think you can appear on television and not have the material edited in some way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/you-would-have-to-be-naive-to-think-you-can-appear-on-television-and/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I'm not sure why writing for others became harder. Probably a reluctance to give away anything you might conceivably use yourself caused a block.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-m-not-sure-why-writing-for-others-became-harder-probably-a/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) [Explore all 134 Dick Cavett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) ## More Forlorn quotes > [“To say she is only a woman is to say a violin is a piece of wood with strings, and Dante is mere ink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-crown/to-say-she-is-only-a-woman-is-to-say-a-violin-is-a-piece-of-wood-with/) [Bruce Crown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-crown/) > [Thou wast not born for death, immortal bird! No hungry generations tread thee down; The voice I hear this passing night was heard In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/thou-wast-not-born-for-death-immortal-bird-no-hungry-generations/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [On a ruinous wall I came upon a poster dating from the previous year and announcing that ‘six handsome bulls’ would be killed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/on-a-ruinous-wall-i-came-upon-a-poster-dating-from-the-previous-year/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“There was but a single forlorn hope, and I took it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/there-was-but-a-single-forlorn-hope-and-i-took-it/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“Wandering between two worlds, one dead The other powerless to be born, With nowhere yet to rest my head Like these, on earth I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/wandering-between-two-worlds-one-dead-the-other-powerless-to-be-born/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Be guided, only by the healer of the sick, the raiser of the dead, the friend of all who were afflicted and forlorn, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/be-guided-only-by-the-healer-of-the-sick-the-raiser-of-the-dead-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [There is no God, no universe, no human race, no earthly life, no heaven, no hell. It is all a dream, a grotesque and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-no-god-no-universe-no-human-race-no-earthly-life-no-heaven/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [My Muse sits forlorn She wishes she had not been born She sits in the cold No word she says is ever told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/my-muse-sits-forlorn-she-wishes-she-had-not-been-born-she-sits-in-the/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [Then he knew that they had rounded the cape of good hope, and he took her large, soft hand again and covered it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/then-he-knew-that-they-had-rounded-the-cape-of-good-hope-and-he-took/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Even though kids may have planned for months for the trip to Disneyland, some may be feeling very homesick, very forlorn, or very marginalized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/even-though-kids-may-have-planned-for-months-for-the-trip-to/) [Parker J. 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