Ghosts of the City: A Spectrology of Cinematic Spaces

Abstract

This paper investigates how, in early cinema, in-between spaces were created that were receptive to scenes of haunting. Adopting Derrida’s notions of a hauntology and a spectrology it argues for a genuine productivity of cinematic space that is able to build ghostly environments without incorporating an actual specter. This productivity is described as ‘making appear’ and ‘making act’. Furthermore, the paper explains how, in the era of silent cinema, cinematic techniques were used to create scenes of haunting.