Supernaturalism in Hamlet:

Ghost or supernatural plays an important role in Shakespearean tragedies. Shakespeare has introduced ghosts and witches which have supernatural knowledge. According to Moulton; 

“Supernatural agency has a place in the world of Shakespeare”.
In Hamlet, the supernatural appears in the form of the ghost. The first act is the little play in itself, and the ghost is the hero of it; 550 out of the 850 lines are concerned with it. Dover Wilson says:

“ The ghost is the linchpin of Hamlet, remove it, and the whole play falls to pieces.”

 The ghost in Hamlet has at least a three-fold dramatic significance; It contributes to the general tragic utterances of the play; it motives the entire action of the play; it shows up the character and drives home a certain moral effect.

First, in the play, Shakespeare has introduced the supernatural element in order to create an atmosphere of mystery, horror and suspense. It diffuses an atmosphere of awe through which the tragedy becomes more impressive. We come across the ghost that chills our blood with horror. It is not made to speak rather “stalks away majestically”. Horatio does not believe in the ghost but its appearance “harrows him with fear and wonder”. The introduction of the late king’s ghost in the first scene creates an awe-inspiring atmosphere which is the forewarning that unnatural deeds are either to take place, or to be disclosed. Hamlet himself exclaims with wonder:
“My father’s spirit in arms! All is not well/I doubt some foul play”,

Secondly, the ghost motives the entire action of the play. The ghost makes the shocking revelation of its murder to Hamlet:

“The serpent that did sting thy father’s life/Now wears his crown.”
The ghost unfolds the secret that Hamlet’s uncle Claudius has killed the king to usurp his throne and seduce his queen. It further imposes upon Hamlet the entrusted task of avenging his father’s murder:

 “Let not the royal bed of Denmark be/A couch for luxury and damned incest”.
The awful revelation of the ghost forms the soul of the tragedy and springs the action. What the ghost reveals totally staggers Hamlet.

Verity points out:

“Without the ghost’s initial revelation of truth to Hamlet, there would be no occasion for revenge; in other words no tragedy of Hamlet.”

Thirdly, the presence of ghost in “Hamlet” has a moral significance also. The play shows that we cannot conceal the truth for a long time. It must appear and “Murder speaks with most miraculous organ”. The ghost, we feel, is a representative of that hidden and ultimate power rules in the universe, it is a messenger of the divine justice. Hamlet says:
“Foul deeds will rise/Though all earth overwhelm them, to men’s eye”.
Hamlet’s mind is assailed with doubt whether or not this apparition is a demon sent from hell, or if it is truly his father’s spirit which has come from purgatory, to divulge the horrors of his murder, in the hope of revenge:    

“The spirit that I have seen/ May be the devil and the devil hath power/To assume a pleasing shape.”

To verify the truth of the ghost’s statement, Hamlet first feigns madness, and then gets enacted mousetrap to “catch the conscience of the king”. But after Hamlet has tricked the king into a show of remorse, he would “take the ghost’s word for a thousand pound”.

About the nature of the ghost, there exist a controversy; some critics are of the view that the ghost is a subjective phenomenon – a hallucination springing from imagination. Other believe that it is an objective phenomenon.

In the Queen’s closet scene, the ghost is invisible to  the queen who interprets Hamlet’s action as the fantasy of his mind. But Hamlet not only sees the ghost but also interacts with it.  

The second appearance of the ghost in the play is very significant. Dr. Greg puts forward the hallucination theory in this regard . He suggests that the ghost in Hamlet is nothing but a freakish fancy of Hamlet’s imagination. The ghost indeed is the manifestation of externalized spectre of the psychic disturbance of Hamlet.

It must be kept in mind that Shakespeare’s characters Hamlet, Macbeth and Brutus are gifted with imagination and highly susceptible to the phenomenon of supernatural. Banquo’s ghost in the royal banquet may be the hallucination of Macbeth and Caesar’s ghost might be Brutus’ imagination. But here in Hamlet the presence of the ghost is felt not only by Hamlet but also by Horatio and night watchmen. Hence the ghost must be objective phenomenon. Then why not the ghost has been notified by the queen? It is interpreted that the queen is  unable spiritual visions of the ghost as she stands far from the path of honour.

To reconcile this subjective, objective controversy; one has to restore to Dower Wilson who delves deeper into the problem and concludes:

“The ghost scenes in Hamlet cannot rightly be understood without some study of Elizabethan spiritualism which was very difficult thing from modern the spiritualism.” Elizabethan audience believed in  ghosts, witches, portents, omens and their harmful effects. The introduction of the ghosts and witches was a revolutionary innovation in Elizabethan drama.

To sum up, the presentation of the ghost in Hamlet is an artistic triumph. Without it there would have been no tragic suspense or curiosity, no suitable atmosphere and consequently no interest.