Home Among Graves: The everyday life of Keta's ghost neighbours

When they woke up one morning to realise a tomb had been constructed in their neighbourhood, residents of this Keta community didn’t give it much thought because they thought it was a result of a dispute that would cease within a short time.

But as the days turned into weeks; weeks into months, and months into years, the number of graves kept increasing.

Then they came to the realisation that, as long as they stayed in this neighbourhood, they would have dead people as their neighbours.

Initially, they were scared of this development.

“At night, ghosts come from the cemetery to fetch water but you don’t see anyone when you come out. We hide in our rooms out of fear when that happens,” one resident said.

Residents who shared their various encounters with ghosts with the GhanaWeb Special team in 2020 when this video was recorded, said they are no longer frightened by the presence of the cemetery.

“I was at the gate when I saw a tall woman come to pass, I was dumbfounded. I saw another lady again and I asked her if she is human or a ghost. I also saw a big man standing over there and I was holding a torchlight so I turned it towards his direction but there was no one there,” one said.

An elderly woman in the community said “I am not afraid because they are also people. Others may be afraid but I am not. I am also human so there’s no need to be afraid. I cannot see my fellow human being and be afraid.”

Another resident said “I am not afraid. I walk through the graveyard without any fear. These are just stones, there’s nothing in them.”

This phenomenon is not exclusive to communities in Keta, in various parts of Anloga and in fact, the entire Volta Region, cemeteries are located within neighbourhoods.

In most cases, the homes were built by families before the cemeteries sprung up. But as is common in the Volta Region, family lands are given out for various purposes, this includes the establishment of large cemeteries.

Mawunyo, a resident living in Keta explained to GhanaWeb that the practice has become more common because there are no more spaces in designated burial sites for graves to be dug.

He also said the grounds had become hard and digging graves had become difficult.

Watch the full video below:





ADG/MA