Restless Spirits and Ringing Bells

From very early times, there has been a link in myths and legends between bells, water and spirits. Many years ago in Celtic, Saxon and Viking times, water was seen as the element that joined the world of the living and the world of the dead. Spirits could make contact through water and the idea of spirits coming out of the sea would not have seemed strange. 

From early times, it was also believed that the spirits of people who died suddenly or violently, or who had not had a proper burial, would not rest and would wander the earth. This included the many sailors who were drowned in stormy seas; their bodies were often never found. 

Why are ringing bells so common in myths? 

Why was the fog thought to be ghostly? 

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