The Ghost Knife

A few days ago while visiting my mother I noticed that there was a thin,sharp knife (almost a stilleto)on the bed next to her.She is in the habit of eating fruit while watching TV so I didnt give it much thought untill a few minutes later I realaised that there was no fruit and the knife didnt serve any purpose.
I wondered if she was scared of being alone at home(dads in hospital) but what could a knife like that do.It was too slender and in my opinion far to blunt to inflict any damage.Also even under severe circumstances (assuming my mother uses all her energy) that knife would be quiet useless if the house were to be burgled or if intruders tried to attack.All this ran through my mind and after having eliminated all possibilities,I ventured to ask her the reason for the knives presence.
Its important to understand that my mother spent her childhood in unspoilt pristine kerala with forests as playgrounds and ghost stories as bed time stories.Those were the days of oil lamps and rampant witchcraft(practised in Kerala with great ease).My mother was brought up to believe in spirits and ghosts(probably the parents way of keeping large families under control).My mother thereofre has a healthy respect for the spirit world and has been taught that the best weapon against a bad spirit is a metal knife,a cross and some garlic.My mother chose the knife.Perhaps her long association with city living has taught her that the knife might serve two purposes,the flesh and the spirit.
She keeps it with her while she is alone and when questioned,she explained that the fear of man was not in her psyche but the spirits she is terrified of.So the normally frugal mother will ensure that all lights are on(even the ones not required.....the spirits are know to love darkness)knife is close at hand and the Tv is one at high volume(its usually a soppy malayalam story where the daughter in law is subjected the some morbid form of witchcraft,or a true blue kerala style ghost story)and my mother feels secure.
The knife comes back to the dining table when all of us are back at the house,so we now have a ghose knife at home and I dread to think of what will happen to the fruit when we use the ghost knife.....it may turn into a fruity spirit I guess but my mother would be very offended if we didnt take her seriously so we rest our case.