A nonconformist among phantoms, his fondest wish is to befriend humans, not frighten them.Īlthough I enjoy being scared, I’ve always been drawn to the figure of the benevolent spirit. The initial image of Casper on screen shows him asleep under a copy of Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. I believed, I wanted to tell Frank Gallop I was in the former category, even though I’d never yet been lucky enough to see one. And if you’re the don’t-believe-in-ghosts-kind, well, just for fun, this story is about one anyway.” If you’re the believe-in-ghosts kind, then this story is about one. The first installment opened with baritone radio announcer Frank Gallop intoning: “There are some people who believe in ghosts, and there are some people who don’t. Scarier than the thought of ghosts is the thought of no ghosts.Įver since I was a kid, watching re-runs of ancient cartoons at my Grandma Marge’s house in Hubbard, Nebraska, I’ve been a fan of Casper the Friendly Ghost, especially the original episodes from the late 1940s.
