Growing up in Brooklyn with their Caribbean parents, Zora and Sasha Porter's days were enchanted by stories from the islands - stories of the spider god, the trickster, of transformation and betrayal. Now they are teenagers, and their mother is desperately ill, while their father is living with another woman. As life at home becomes unbearable, both sisters turn inwards to escape - Zora journals and dreams of being a writer, and Sasha discovers desire, sex and chest binding. But they can't hide forever. The Anansi Stories that captivated them as children are truer than they realise, and much darker than they imagined. Blending myth and reality, The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts celebrates the power of stories and asks questions. What happens when ours are erased? Do we disappear? Or do we come back as haunting reminders of who we once were?