Friday 22 April 2016

S - Slimer & Sweet William's Ghost - Fictional Phantoms #AtoZChallenge 2016


Ah, the letter S, I've always been fond of it and I have two fictional phantoms for you today who aren't so bad. Hope everybody's AtoZChallenge is going well.

Slimer (Ghostbusters)

Slimer is a disgusting green blob; there is no other way to describe him.

He originally haunted the 12th floor of the Sedgewick Hotel in New York, Mostly just occasionally eating food meant for the guests. It was only Gozer's approaching arrival which caused him to make more of a nuisance of himself.

He was the first apparition apprehended by the Ghostbusters and he caused them a merry dance.
Ray was the first to find him, eating food from a hostess trolly. He them slimed Peter, hence his name, before finally being contained while in the Alhambra Ballroom. This being the first outing of the Ghostbusters they caused rather a lot of damage trying to catch him.

He was released from containment with all the other spooks when Walter Peck shut down the storage facility in the Ghostbusters' headquarters.

Slimer then became something of a pet to the Ghostbusters, because he reappears in Ghostbusters II, where he mostly interacts with Louis Tully. Slimer is the one who drives Louis to the Manhattan Museum in a stolen bus for the climax of the movie.

It has to be said that in the cartoon The Real Ghostbusters he is a lot cuter than in the movies.

Sweet William (Sweet William's Ghost)

Sweet William is a ghost in an English Ballad which has many versions and interpretations, but the main gist of it is thus.

Sweet William appears to his love, Margaret, to ask her to release him from his promise to marry her or he cannot rest in peace.

  • Margaret first insists that he maintain his promise and marry her, but he explains he is dead. 
  • Then she insists that he kiss her, but her tells her one kiss would be fatal to her. 
  • Then she asks him to tell her about the afterlife, which he does. 
  • Finally he explains how his promise to wed her is a hellhound chasing him that will destroy him if she will not grant him release.

In the end, of course, Margaret released Sweet William from his promise, although in some cases she then dies on his grave.

Would you adopt a ghost as a pet if they were like Slimer?

~*~
My Other Blogs
I am sharing blogging duties with my sister, Sophie, on two other blogs for the AtoZ as well :

And Sophie also has her own blog in the AtoZ too:

~*~
Other People's Blogs
Don't forget to check out the other participant in this years AtoZChallenge. Click on the image to visit the main site and see the full list.

31 comments:

  1. Gosh what a question, if they were more like the ghost from The Captain and Mrs Muir. Yes, definitely! :) But slimmer, no, no, heavens no!

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    Replies
    1. You'd need to house train Slimer not to make a mess I suspect :)

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  2. I remember both of these ghosts. It has been so long since I've seen the Ghostbuster movie (and I haven't seen the new one yet), but Slimer did creep me out, I know that. The Sweet William ballad is a sad one.
    @deb_atwood from
    Pen In Her Hand

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    1. It's funny how Slimer went from creepy to kinda sweet in Ghostbuster - of course I have been influenced by the cartoon series too, where he is adorable :)

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  3. I don't know that I would want a pet like Slimer (due to the mess!) but he definitely has an endearing quality to him. :) I don't really remember him in the movie, but I remember him in the cartoon as being rather cute.

    Tracy (Black Boots, Long Legs)

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    1. He was adorable in the cartoon - that little noise he made was so sweet. He was less adorable in the movies :)

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  4. I loved slimer in the cartoon! And egon was way cooler too.

    I did not know of this ballad. How sad. I know of tamlin though.

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    Replies
    1. In the cartoon he was definitely worth adopting (so was Egon ;)), but he's less appealing in the movie as a resident.

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  5. I remember Slimer. I never knew the story of Sweet William. Poor guy.

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  6. Maybe would adopt a ghost, but only if they cleaned up after themselves and had nice ghosts as friends :)

    betty

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    1. I imagine a party could get a bit rowdy if you weren't careful ;)

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  7. I watched Ghostbusters years ago and I vaguely remember Slimer. Since he's a ghost, I wonder if he could gain weight from eating all that food.

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    Replies
    1. One of the advantages to being a ghost I suspect - I think not :)

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  8. Lol like others said I'm not sure I would want to adopt such a potentially messy ghost, but he can be rather endearing!

    Mars xx
    @TrollbeadBlog from
    Curling Stones for Lego People

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    Replies
    1. There would need to be rules, I suspect ;) ... lots and lots of rules!

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  9. I would adopt a ghost as a pet only if it were a good ghost and a lot of fun to hang out with! :)

    I hadn't heard of the Sweet William story before. Sounds good. Glad Margaret did the right thing!

    Michele at Angels Bark

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  10. I saw Ghost Busters but don't remember a lot about it, so don't remember Slimer. Glad Margaret release Sweet William.

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  11. Love that scene! "Ray, it's looking at me" and "I've been slimed."

    I’m exploring different types of dreams and their meanings.
    S is for Sleep Paralysis
    Stephen Tremp’s Breakthrough Blogs

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  12. Seeing Slimer from Ghostbusters takes me right back. That was such a popular movie in its day. I would definitely adopt a ghost as a pet. I think you'd have a lot less issues with shedding that you get with cats and dogs.

    Cheers - Ellen | http://thecynicalsailor.blogspot.com/2016/04/s-is-for-sailrite-nancy-drew.html

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  13. No, I wouldn't adopt a ghost slimeball even though I did watch the cartoon. I wouldn't mind a ghost kitty if their vomit wasn't real. That would be much easier to clean up.

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  14. I am excited for the Ghostbusters remake :)
    English and Scottish ballads are full of great ghosts... I think someone recently proved that the Vanishing Hitchhiker urban legend has its roots in them too.

    @TarkabarkaHolgy from
    The Multicolored Diary
    MopDog

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  15. Interesting Characters Tasha. You are really opening Pandora Box.

    Here links to the two Genre I am entering with in A to Z challenge . Do visit and reflect

    Festivals of India - Simhastha 2016 - http://facetsofadishortstories.blogspot.in/2016/04/s-for-simhastha-or-ujjain-simhastha.html
    Poetry - Quiver http://facetsofadienglish.blogspot.in/2016/04/q-for-quiver.html

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  16. Yes, I would. I can totaly relate to Slimer and think we have a lot in common!!!

    @Kathleen01930
    Meet My Imaginary Friends
    #AtoZchallenge

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  17. I once had to give up a pet rabbit because the litter was just too foul, so I don't think I could handle Slimer in my house.


    @mirymom1 from
    Balancing Act

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  18. Oh, yes! Slimer!!!! :-D

    ClaoWue
    from
    Potpourri

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  19. I have a love-hate relationship with Slimer. Loved him in GBI, thought he was not needed (but still happy to see him) in GBII and I thought he was over used in the cartoon. It got so bad I felt the cartoon was slowly becoming "The Slimer Show".

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  20. Didn't Slimer appear in some of the sequels also? Somewhere I saw a show about some of the special effects tricks they used in that movie, long before we had the CGI and other technology used today. It was very old school. Definitely a classic, one of my favorites, and a treasure trove of great quotes.

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  21. Slimer is kind of cute, but also kind of gross...so not sure on adopting him. :)

    The Immarcescible Word

    Frox'n'Fox

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  22. Yes, I remember Slimer from the cartoon. He was much more of a team pet there. I'm not sure I'd want him as a pet, though. He's kind of...slimy.

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  23. I've only seen the first Ghostbuster, but I know many characters had a part in the subsequent films too.
    Slime was really a fun ghost ;-)

    I didn't knwo the Sweet William ballad but it sound svery good.

    @JazzFeathers
    The Old Shelter - Jazz Age Jazz

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