High Spirits is a musical with a book, lyrics, and music by Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray, based on the play Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward, about a man's problems caused by the spirit of his dead wife. Martin and Gray adhered closely to Coward's original text, although they expanded the medium's character to make it the star role. The playwright was delighted with their adaptation, then entitled Faster Than Sound, and agreed to direct it himself.