六朝志怪中的鬼怪敘述綜結了魏晉之前的傳統死亡觀念與知識，也適時回應一時興起的佛、道二教，以及魏晉玄學的論題中有鬼、無鬼和相關的形神之論，採用雜傳、雜記體的怪異敘述，建立了一種根據「導異為常」原則的鬼怪敘述模式。本文選擇六朝志怪中，以三組分別代表傳統、道教、佛教的鬼怪敘述為例證，詮釋文本中所透露的時代「消息」，並論證這種隱喻敘述形式，如何以巫與道、佛諸派的儀式專家為主，解決人鬼之間的糾葛，並象徵地表現一個變動時代的「常」與「非常」的辯證，以及有關「神」之歸往的終極想像。從而發現鬼怪敘述往往藉由亡者「形見」開始，展開一連串怪異情節；然「形見」的目的則是藉由鬼道解決人生未決的問題，而將主題意識扣上「報」這個本土心理中人際關係的基本課題。換言之，鬼怪的「形見」正是以違常、異常形式，解決人世間的諸多不平與不公，報怨、報仇或報恩，或解釋亂世中的福報與果報；其終極目的都是想要藉此「導異為常」，以期回歸於超乎現世之終極「秩序」與「常道」。此一模式不僅在敘事文學中形成一種怪誕文學的審美趣味，也成為此後鬼怪文化的模型；而其間涉及國主、世族、庶民與鬼神信仰的關係，反映的既是一種「地方性知識」，也具有一種普世性的經驗，足與世界各民族的經驗相互比較。

Anomaly tales of the Six Dynasties (222-589 A.D.) synthesized pre-Wei- Jin traditions; integrated Buddhist and Daoist teachings; addressed issues prominent in Wei-Jin Arcane Learning such as discourses about the existence or non-existence of ghosts and the relationship between a person’s bodily form and his/her spirit; and drew from a variety of miscellaneous records and unofficial writings narrating the anomalous. This synthesis was based on the principle of “guiding the deviant to the normal.” Using as evidence three sets of narratives, which represent traditional, Daoist, and Buddhist tales of the strange, I demonstrate how this form attempts to solve the problematic relationship between the human and spirit worlds through rituals informed by shamanic, Daoist and Buddhist practices; and how it symbolically expresses a dialectic between “normal-normative” and “anomalous” in an age of upheavals, as well as the fantasy of the soul’s return. I have found that anomaly tales usually open with the appearance of the dead and then proceed with a series of strange happenings. The purpose of these ghostly manifestations is to solve, within the realm of the dead, problems that remain unsolved in the realm of the living, and to affirm the principle of retribution. The manifestation of ghosts, as a form that deviates from the norm, matches and solves imbalances in these ghost tales; it constitutes a kind of aesthetic interest in the paranormal, strange literature. This model, which is the paradigm for subsequent ghost culture, concerns the relations between the rulers of countries, aristocrats-gentry, commoners and the belief in ghosts and gods. In the human realm, it is concerned with matters such as social inequities, unrealized vengeance, and unrequited kindnesses. It also resolves karmic debts in a fallen age. It ultimately aims to restore a cosmic order and rationale that transcends the current age. Also, this kind of ghost narrative offers a sort of local knowledge that simultaneously reflects a universally shared experience that is comparable to the experience of other peoples of the world.