Editing 1393: Timeghost

[[Megan]] has been haunted by a ''Timeghost'' for some time. It is obviously not the first time the ghost arrives to let Megan know that "...ooOOOOOOOOooo... Tiiiime is passiiiing!" The ghost is dedicated to making people feel old by having them think about the passage of time. It is shown to reference time periods related to well-known people and events, such as famous actors and the release of movies and TV shows. Megan is just annoyed that it is back and wishes it to go away.

But then when [[Cueball]] ask "How long has it been doing this?" the ghost suddenly predicts that Megan and Cueball will die in a shorter amount of time than the time that has passed since the ghost began its hauntings. This disturbs Megan who stops her complaining and asks "'''What!?'''" This is not the first time she has been haunted by the ghost but it has probably not been that long, so this is a very scary thought to her (and Cueball).

We do, however, not know how long the ghost has been haunting Megan. Also the "staaaaart of my haunting" may refer to the first time the ghost haunted anyone, not just Megan. This could be a long time ago and thus be true for anyone it meets today. Or it could mean since the start of this particular manifestation, meaning their deaths are imminent! It is also possible Timeghost is being deliberately ambiguous in an effort to frighten them even more. This is of course only scary if you believe the ghost can predict the future, which is not what it has been doing so far. There is no example in the comic where it makes a prediction that we know is accurate - only comparing time spans we can look up - see below.

But one thing about the prediction is true - they will eventually '''die'''. And this is the scary part about realizing how old you are and that you are quickly getting older: You will die, and "soon" (for some value thereof).

The comic seems to be using "factoid" to mean a small fact. "{{w|Factoid}}" can also mean a "questionable or spurious statement presented as a fact", but this does not seem to be intended usage here. In this instance, some of the factoids are easily verifiable, while others are reasonable assumptions based on the number of years passed since the individual events. Several sources advocate the use of the word "factlet" to express a brief interesting fact, while using the word "factoid" for unverifiable or untrue statements passed as fact.

While ''factoids'' tend only to have mostly only entertainment value, the last ''fact'' from the ghost is a prediction of the future (Megan and Cueball's death) which is actually of some practical value if it can be trusted.

"Timeghost" might be a literal interpretation of {{w|Zeitgeist}}, which is a German term for "spirit of time" and refers to the school of thought that influences or dominates the art and culture of a time period. All the events and people mentioned in this comic may be considered influences on present day art and culture.

[[Randall]] has covered making people feel old several times in [[647: Scary]], [[891: Movie Ages]], [[973: MTV Generation]] (in which White Hat utters Cueball's "That can't be right" line), and [[1477: Star Wars]]. Also see the blag post [http://blog.xkcd.com/2012/09/29/odd-temporal-milestones/ Odd Temporal Milestones]. This is, however, so far the only one that makes a prediction of anyone's death. A similar ghost with a much different agenda was seen in [[1108: Cautionary Ghost]]. Similarly annoying fact(oids) were given in [[1272: Shadowfacts]]. [[926: Time Vulture]]s make you feel old because the entire remainder of your life is only perceived as a few moments by them.

:[Timeghost floats around.]

:[Megan clutches her head, possibly attempting to cover her ears.]

:[Megan and Cueball looks up at the Timeghost as it delivers its most scary message.]