Ghosts Aren't Metaphors, They're Literal Reality

The oldest son in the house was responsible for offerings of food and drink to his dead family. They often were buried under the floor of the courtyard in the house where people lived. And they needed water and food, because the understanding of the underworld was it wasn't very hospitable. In mesopotamian text, how does this belief in ghosts as an everyday reality connect to the wider belief system of deities and gods? Should we see it as part of that system, or should wesee it as something independent? That's a very good and very interesting question. There were two crucial things: one is, they had no idea. One is, they were very lucky that bad behaviour in