Almost 20 Years Later, We Finally Know Who The Ghostwriter Is
One of the longest running mysteries in TV history was one that might have gone unsolved forever. In the early ’90s, a group of kids got together to solve mysteries based on clues given to them by the mysterious titular “Ghostwriter.”
The show was cancelled in 1995, long before the mystery of who the ghostwriter was could ever be revealed. But now, via Twitter, I just learned that the answer was given in 2010 in a New York Times article about the show.
“Ghostwriter was a runaway slave during the Civil War. He was killed by slave catchers and their dogs as he was teaching other runaway slaves how to read in the woods. His soul was kept in the book and released once Jamal discovered the book.”
How the book got into Jamal’s basement was never revealed, but the story fits in with Fort Greene’s history – the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church was a stop on the Underground Railroad.
“We wanted the history, even though we never got to tell the story,” Ms. Nealon said. “Fort Greene was a place that Ghostwriter, when he was alive, would have stopped in.”
Whoa. That’s some intense shit right there. And sort of awesome. Now I’ll be able to sleep easier knowing that one of the most enduring mysteries from my childhood is solved at last.
