If you’ve spent any amount of time in the corners of the internet where feelings go to be processed, you’ve seen the phrase. It’s haunting. Not even ghosts are this empty. It’s the kind of line that stops your thumb mid-scroll. You don’t just read it; you feel it in your chest, like a cold draft in a house you thought was sealed tight.
But where did it actually come from?
A lot of people think it’s just a random Tumblr quote from 2014. Others swear it’s from an old Sylvia Plath poem or a lost Brontë sister manuscript. Honestly, the truth is much more modern and a bit more specific to the world of indie music and digital poetry. It’s a line that has outgrown its origin, becoming a shorthand for a very specific type of hollowed-out grief that defines a generation.
The Origin Story of a Heartbreak Anthem
The line actually belongs to Rudy Francisco, one of the most recognizable names in modern spoken word poetry. Specifically, it appears in his poem "Adrenaline." If you’ve ever watched a Button Poetry video on YouTube, you’ve likely seen Francisco. He has this way of delivering lines that feel like a gut punch wrapped in velvet.
In "Adrenaline," he’s navigating the wreckage of a relationship. He talks about the aftermath—the silence, the space where a person used to be. When he says "not even ghosts are this empty," he’s making a profound observation about the nature of haunting. A ghost, by definition, is a presence. It’s a memory with mass. It takes up space in a room. To be "emptier" than a ghost is to be a vacuum.
It’s about that stage of a breakup where the person isn't even a haunting memory anymore. They’re just... gone. And the space they left behind is so absolute it feels heavy.
Why the Internet Can't Let It Go
Why does this specific string of words continue to trend on Pinterest, TikTok, and Instagram decade after decade?
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It’s the imagery.
Most metaphors for sadness are heavy. We talk about "carrying a burden" or "the weight of the world." Francisco flipped the script. He made sadness about lack. It’s the lightness that’s the problem. It’s the terrifying realization that you have become so hollow that even a supernatural entity—something literally made of nothing—has more substance than you do right now.
Social media thrives on "vibe-based" content. This phrase is the ultimate "vibe." It fits perfectly over a grainy, black-and-white photo of a rainy window or a blurry city street. But beyond the aesthetic, there’s a real psychological resonance here. Mental health experts often talk about "depersonalization" or "anhedonia"—that feeling of being numb and hollow.
Francisco gave a poetic name to a clinical feeling.
The Misattribution Rabbit Hole
One of the funniest—and most frustrating—things about the internet is how it eats credit.
If you search for "not even ghosts are this empty" today, you’ll see it attributed to:
- Lana Del Rey (it sounds like her brand of tragic glamour, but no).
- Unknown.
- "A notebook found in an abandoned asylum" (classic "creepypasta" fabrication).
- Various fanfiction writers.
This happens because the line is "clean." It’s a complete thought. It doesn't require the rest of the poem to make sense. Because of that, it’s been stripped from its context and used as a caption by millions of people who have no idea who Rudy Francisco is.
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In the world of SEO and content, this is what we call a "floating signifier." It’s a piece of culture that everyone recognizes but nobody can quite place. It’s a bit like the "S" we all used to draw in middle school. It belongs to everyone and no one.
Comparing the "Ghost" Metaphor in Pop Culture
Ghosts are usually scary. They’re intruders.
Think about The Haunting of Hill House or even Casper. Ghosts represent something that won't leave. But in the context of "not even ghosts are this empty," the ghost is actually the "fuller" option.
- The Traditional Ghost: Full of unfinished business, rage, or love.
- The "Empty" Person: Lacking even the energy to haunt.
There’s a deep irony there. To be a ghost is to have a purpose. To be "this empty" is to be a shell. We see similar themes in the lyrics of bands like The Wonder Years or Modern Baseball, where the house isn't haunted by spirits, but by the absence of people.
How to Actually Use This Feeling Productively
If you’re vibing with this quote because you actually feel that way, there’s a bit of a silver lining. Poetry like Francisco’s isn't meant to keep you in the hole. It’s meant to show you that someone else has been in the hole and found a way to write their way out of it.
The "ghost" phase of healing is usually the midpoint. You’ve moved past the screaming, crying, and throwing things phase. You’re in the quiet part. The quiet part is where you can actually start to rebuild.
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Actionable Insights for the "Empty" Phase
If you find yourself identifying a little too closely with the idea of being emptier than a specter, here’s how to start filling the room again:
- Stop the Doom-Scrolling of Sad Quotes. Seriously. The "sad girl" or "sad boy" aesthetic is addictive. When you’re feeling hollow, looking at more content about being hollow acts like a mirror. It validates the feeling, but it also traps you in it.
- Reconnect with Physicality. The quote is about being less than a ghost—something without a body. To counter that, do things that remind you that you have a body. Heavy lifting, cold showers, or even just cooking a meal with strong smells (garlic, onions, spices). It sounds basic, but it’s the fastest way to "re-occupy" your own space.
- Read the Rest of the Poem. Don't just stick to the quote on a JPEG. Go find Rudy Francisco’s book Helium. Read the poems that come after "Adrenaline." See how he moves from the "ghost" feeling into something more resilient.
- Create Something "Bad." The fear of emptiness often comes from a lack of self-expression. You don’t have to be a world-class poet. Just write a terrible paragraph. Paint a messy circle. Put something into the world so that the "empty" space has something in it, even if that something is flawed.
The legacy of "not even ghosts are this empty" isn't just about being sad. It’s about the power of language to pinpoint a feeling that feels unpinnable. Rudy Francisco caught lightning in a bottle with that line. It continues to resonate because, at some point, we’ve all looked around a room—or into ourselves—and realized that the silence was a lot louder than any ghost could ever be.
Knowing where the line comes from doesn't make it less cool. If anything, it makes it better. It’s a reminder that someone sat down, felt that exact same void, and turned it into art that millions of people used to find their way back to themselves.