The Problem

**The Problem** is the term used for the massive issue of hauntings by ghosts in the British Isles. Hauntings happen almost exclusively at night.

The Problem began around five decades before Lucy Carlyle joined Lockwood & Co..

## History

The first successful removal of a ghost was done by Marissa Fittes, a skilled listener, and Tom Rotwell, who had the Talent of Sight. They rose to fame with their skill in handling spirits.

Eventually, agencies were formed to control the Problem. DEPRAC, or the Department of Psychic Research and Control, was founded to learn about and find new ways to control the Problem and monitor the agencies.

Many discoveries were made and large corporations rose to prominence as results of the Problem. Two such corporations are Fairfax Iron, who manufactures chains and seals to contain or keep away ghosts, Sunrise Corporation, who produce flares and seals and other products to deal with the Problem. Those and others companies that positioned themselves as working to a solution of the Problem became big and rich in the following decades.

## Defences

*Main article: Defences against ghosts*
Companies made to defend against the Problem are rich and popular among Visitor defenses. Visitor defenses include silver, iron, and salt. Things like lavender and running water are also said to deter the otherworldly spirits, although nearly not as effective as the others. Products like Greek Fire, or Magnesium Flares, are made of almost all known and popular Visitor defenses, like salt and iron filings.

Other materialistic defenses against ghosts include: a curfew to help commoners stay safe during nighttime, ghost-lamps, rapiers (the official weapon of agents), salt bombs, and salt guns.

People (living) also defend against ghosts. People like Sensitives, Agents, and Night-watch children have a certain Talent. The three Talents are Listening, Touch, and Sight. Listening is the act of yes, *listening* to the voices and other "sound effects" included in hauntings. Sight is the ability to see Visitors clearly, as well as death-glows. Lastly, the gift of Touch makes people feel as if they are at the scene of the psychic trauma imprinted on an object. This can be emotional residue, voices, sounds, or any other sensations. Touch isn't only triggered by Sources: there are many circumstances where Lucy touches floorboards, panels, tables, and other seemingly random objects and is able to pick up sensations from them. Agents are people who fight and destroy the Sources of ghosts for a living. Night-watch children are children between the ages of 7 and 13 who have a Talent and defend a private area for an amount of money. Sensitives are people who, even though they have a Talent, do NOT defend against Visitors or fight them, instead they are hired to find out if a portion of land is haunted.

## Trivia

* The opening sequence of Netflix's *Lockwood & Co.* TV series provides an outline of the history of the Problem. The problem first arose with a wake of unexplained deaths, culminating with the first newspaper reports of ghosts on Sunday, 20 February, 1973. At the time, there were only about 200 reported deaths in history attributable to ghosts. The spread of the Problem quickly resulted in a economic shock, particularly in the crash of technology stocks and the stunting of technological development. It was quickly discovered that Talented youths could sense ghosts, but the Problem nevertheless escalated, with over 1.5 million deaths by 2015 and the total continuing to rise at an escalating rate with each year on.

The timetable of the Problem is pushed forward somewhat within the television series to set the events seen within the episodes more-or-less in the present day as of the time of the show's broadcast. As such, certain technology such as VCRs and computers exist, but in a primitive state, despite apparently being absent within the world as depicted in the original novels.

## References

1. ↑ *The Screaming Staircase*, **I: The Ghost**, Ch. 2
2. ↑ *The Screaming Staircase*, **II: Before**, Ch. 5