ontrol the story. These elements are not only for fear. They show memory, trauma, and slavery’s deep scars. The supernatural connects the past with the present. 

The Haunted House: The novel opens with a ghost. Morrison writes in Part One, Ch. 1,

 “124 was spiteful. Full of a baby’s venom”. 

The house itself becomes alive. It shakes and glows red. It drives Sethe’s two sons away. The house shows how slavery’s past still controls life. The haunting is not only a ghost but also a memory made visible.

Beloved’s Return: The strongest supernatural element is Beloved’s return. She first appears from the water. Morrison writes in Part One, Ch. 5, 

 “A fully dressed woman walked out of the water”. 

She is strange but familiar. Her name is the same as the word on Sethe’s baby’s tombstone. Slowly, it becomes clear she is the murdered child. She demands Sethe’s full attention. Beloved represents how the past refuses to die. 

The Ghost as Memory: Beloved is more than a spirit. She is a symbol of memory that cannot be forgotten. Sethe sees her daughter and says in Part Two, Ch. 20,

 “Beloved, she my daughter. She mine”. 

This shows Sethe’s deep guilt and love. The supernatural here is a metaphor for trauma. It forces Sethe to face her painful choice.

The Exorcism Scene: The community also meets the supernatural. When thirty women gather at 124, they sing and pray. Their voices grow stronger. In that moment, Beloved disappears. The narrator says, “It was not a story to pass on” (Part Three, Ch. 28). This shows that memory and haunting can only be eased when the community joins together. The exorcism scene blends spiritual faith with social healing.  

The Supernatural as Ambiguity: Morrison never explains Beloved clearly. Is she really a ghost? Or just a lost girl? The text remains uncertain. Paul D feels uneasy, Denver feels joy, and Sethe feels love. The ghost is both real and symbolic. This ambiguity makes readers think deeply. It shows how the supernatural is tied to human memory and history.

Impact on the Characters: The supernatural changes every character. Sethe is trapped by Beloved’s demands. Denver grows brave by facing Beloved’s power. Paul D feels his “tobacco tin” heart break open under her pressure: “that tobacco tin buried in his chest where a red heart used to be” (Part One, Ch. 7). The ghost forces them to face themselves. After Beloved disappears, Paul D tells Sethe, “You your best thing, Sethe. You are”. This moment shows healing and hope. 

Supernatural and Slavery: The ghost also connects to slavery. Beloved is not only Sethe’s child. She stands for the many lives lost in slavery. She is the past that never rests. The ghost shows that slavery’s pain cannot stay hidden. 

Collective Memory: The haunting is not just personal. Beloved carries the voices of dead slaves. She speaks of a dark place under water, full of suffering. This shows slavery is not one family’s pain but the pain of a people.

Water Imagery: Beloved’s link with water adds mystery. She rises from the river, like Denver was once born near it. Water here means both life and death. It connects Beloved to birth, memory, and return.

In short, Morrison uses supernatural elements in Beloved with great purpose. Ghosts, hauntings, and disappearances are not simple fantasies. They are memory, history, and trauma made alive. They remind us that slavery never truly ended in hearts and minds. The supernatural shows that the past must be faced before healing can begin.