Ghosts: What has Patience been doing in the sand all these years? Mary Holland answered that question for me

In the run-up to Ghosts’ Season 4 premiered at the TV program 2024I wondered about the Puritan spirit stuck in the mud called Patience. First of all, I’m curious about what she has been up to there for hundreds of years. While the show hasn’t answered that question in detail yet, I did get to ask Mary Holland, who plays the ghost, that question.

During an interview with CinemaBlend I spoke with Mary Holland on Patience history and lore, delving deeper into what she’s been up to since she was separated from the ghosts in the mud all those years ago. The actress answered the question by explaining how devout her spirit was when she was alive, and how that continued after her death:

She was banished from this Puritan community for being too strict and judgmental. She vowed to start her own community. I think she did. And so I think after death, when she’s in the mud, she does a lot of what she did in life, which is taking care of the mud, like maybe trying to build a home and a life for herself there.

After Patience kidnapped Isaacwe got to see what was probably her house as he was taken to her hole in the ground. So we witnessed her ‘taking care of the dirt’ in a way. We also know that she hasn’t left the dirt for a long time, because modern life in the mansion – and I say this with such emphasis – is not her jam.

To that point, Holland told me how she thinks Patience spent her time in the ground, noting that it’s probably not that different from how she lived when she was alive:

And I think she’s making the same moves: she’s done her prayers, she’s doing everything she did in life because she’s so devout and so committed to her faith. And so I think for her there was really no difference between life and death in that way.

As we have seen, this newest spirit in the Ghosts form is the most extreme and stuck in her ways. She is ultra-religious, was ostracized by her community and is quite judgmental. So I understand why she didn’t leave the dirt behind, it sounds like she was able to live down there the way she wanted.

However, it’s extremely fun to see her completely out of her element and learning about the modern world now that she isn’t literally. six feet under.

Now I can’t wait to see how she reacts on Halloween…when Ghosts’ special spooky episode airs tomorrow, October 31, at 8:30 PM ET on CBS, or if you say “PATIENCE!” you can stream it with a Paramount+ subscription the next day.