Ghosts have found their way into stories since the beginning of literature. Humanity has only recently discovered the power of the human mind. Chemical derangements, mental instability, and delusions are some of the ailments that can plague the human mind. In "The Queen of Spades" by Alexander Pushkin, Hermann accidentally contributes to the countess. In the following days Hermann believes to see the dead countess wink at him and visit him at night. Hermann eventually goes mad due to believing that the countess had deceived him in order to act her revenge. In present day, with the advanced knowledge humankind, one could say that the ghost of the countess plagued Hermann or the gambler's madness was simply a result of a guilty conscious haunting his mind.
Hermann knew he had a gambling problem, thus his reason for not gambling. He didn't consider gambling again until he heard the story of the countess's three magic cards. After he accidentally killed the countess, Hermann tried to go on with his life supposedly with no emotion in regards to the death of the countess. .
Incidents of the paranormal in "The Queen of Spades" began when Hermann saw the countess's corpse wink at him. Shortly after Hermann came home after he spent some time drinking and fell asleep. During that night, he saw a shadow move outside the .
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window. Soon after, the ghost of the countess appeared to him. He was told the three magic cards to win at "Tarot" (3, 7, A) and the conditions that he must meet: only play one card a night, never gamble again after the three cards are played, and wed Lisaveta.
Today, psychologists would say Hermann was either suppressing his guilt or denying the incident all together. This could have lead to the subconscious manifestation of the ghost of the countess within his dream. It is possible that Hermann dreamed the countess up because he was drunk that night when the ghost appeared.