Ghost

"They surround us all the time. Most of them can't hurt us. Most don't even want to hurt us. But there are exceptions."

― Dennis (Thir13en Ghosts)

"I was afraid of death. I chose to remain behind. I sometimes wonder whether I oughtn't to have...well, that is neither here nor there..in fact, I am neither here nor there. I know nothing of the secrets of death, Harry, for I chose my feeble imitation of life instead."

― Sir Nicholas

Ghost is a non-corporeal manifestation of a dead person (or, rarely, an animal or a vehicle). It is often thought to be a manifestation of the spirit or soul of a person which has remained on Earth after death. According to some beliefs, a ghost may be the personality of a person after their death, and not directly tied to the soul or spirit. Every culture in the world carries stories about ghosts, though they often disagree as to what ghosts are and whether they are just figments of imagination or a part of reality.

Overview[]

Ghosts are commonly believed to be victims of accidents or murder and remain in the places they were killed, haunting those locations until they resolve whatever business keeps them bound to the mortal world. In many cases, a ghost may not even remember what business it has to complete and is forced to haunt its place of death forever. Ghosts cannot normally interact with the material world; they cannot be seen, heard and cannot touch anything. However, people with strong psychic ability may be able to sense the presence of ghosts and similar apparitions, and may be able to tap into this latent power and communicate with a ghost on some level. Some types of electronic equipment can detect ghosts as well, though usually the presence of ghosts interferes with the functions of machines. Certain animals (especially cats and dogs) are also said to be able to sense a ghost's presence.

Ghosts are often thought to appear as they did in life, though their ghostly form may appear transparent or deathly white. Some accounts of ghosts describe the spirits appearing fully material, but they appear to bare whatever injuries resulted in their deaths (eg. a ghost who had been killed by decapitation might have a scar on its neck or may even hold its head in its hands). Less serious depictions of ghosts in modern media describe them as appearing to be draped in white sheets and hang in the air.

Characteristics[]

You'll stay here for years, disembodied, scared, and over the decades it'll probably drive you mad. Maybe you'll even get violent. (...) How do you think angry spirits are born? They can't let go, and they can't move on."

A Ghost is the spirit of a deceased person that, for some reason or another, was unable to pass on to the next life, or whose rest had been disturbed. Ghosts are neither good nor evil, as their behavior is ultimately dictated by who they were in life and how they died.

Normally, a Ghost will start out confused and disoriented before realizing they are dead. In some cases, the trauma of sudden death can be so great that a Ghost will think that they are still alive and continue in a routine from their lives, oblivious to the fact they are dead.

A reaper explained that the longer a ghost remains on earth the more dangerous and violent it becomes. Once explained to the ghost of a woman they helped that ghosts can become like injured animals - they become so angry and upset that all they can do is lash out at anyone who crosses their paths. Ghosts have skewed views of existence as Sam puts it, "ghosts only see what they want to see."

It's also been stated as a fact that ghosts are the most common type of paranormal activity that Hunters encounter and hunt on a daily basis.

Ghosts are often bound to an object or a place, normally the building they died/lived in or the area where they died, as such their movements are restricted, but this isn't universal, and some very powerful ghosts can move over larger distances, but unless they can move what they're bound to, they can never be totally free. They are also sometimes bound to their bodies unless their bodies have been put to rest.

An interesting attribute, is often ghosts bring more or other things from their lives, as well as their spirit. An object that is very closely linked to ghost during their life, or linked strongly to their death, are sometimes recreated for their ghosts. This is the reason why ghosts of cars and ships exist. A very minor example of this is, ghosts often wear the clothes they died in.

While it was generally not known where ghosts go after their remains are burned, it was revealed that reapers still indeed take them to their final resting place. However, if a Reaper is influenced by an outside source, they may take the soul to the wrong place.

Appearance[]

HellGhost — A damned soul fleeing a corpse.

Normally ghosts appear in the form of the physical body which they had when they were still alive. These forms will often be pale compared to the bodies of the living. Sometimes the ghost's form will look as it did when they died, and will show physical effects of the way that they died. Ghosts are also able to appear in a smoke form, similar to demons. Their smoke form, however, is more of a transparent grey than black.

Types[]

There are many different types of ghosts, as they are created through different kind of deaths and situations they were in when alive. They include:

Buruburus
Death Echos
Death Omens
Ghost Banshees
Poltergeists
Pontianaks
Revenants
Specters
Vengeful Spirits
- Ghost Rider
- Mylings
- The Last Calusa
Violent Spirits
- The Shadow People
Women in White

Powers & Abilities[]

Ghosts possess several powers, though it is speculated that some have not been revealed yet. The following is a brief list of powers displayed by ghosts so far. Not all ghosts have the same abilities, but many of them share similar powers. Often a ghosts power will have a link to how they died. These abilities make ghosts one of the most powerful beings.

Common Powers[]

Electromagnetic Interference - All ghosts disrupt nearby electronics with their presence.
Thermokinesis - Nearly all ghosts can lower or drop the surrounding temperature with their presence.
Invisibility - Ghosts can remain invisible to the living, but they may appear as a blur or faint light. However, when they want, they can appear as they were in life though it takes a while to gain that level of strength. They appear in wispy, distorted, flickering forms.
Telekinesis - They are able to move virtually anything with their minds if they have enough concentration on the objects. With practice, they can become stronger telekinetics, able to manipulate many simple objects at once. Very powerful ghosts are highly capable telekinetics, able to throw people like demons can.
Teleportation - Ghosts can teleport (be able to move in the blink of an eye to other locations). They often display a flickering appearance when using this ability. They appear in wispy, distorted, flickering forms that allow them to move at great speed, as when they flicker, can end up either inches away each time they flicker or several feet or miles away. One powerful ghost could teleport while possessing someone but had also been active for over 500 years which may explain this as she had a great level of power.
Superhuman Strength - They are also much stronger than when they were as humans, being incorporeal and able to generate great amounts of force without discomfort. Many have demonstrated being strong enough to easily beat down, lift, toss, maul or mutilate the strongest humans, as well as overpowering some monsters. Vengeful, angry ghosts, have proven to be strong enough to fight with much higher beings, such as Higher-tier Demons, and even the head Leviathan. Their strength can be considered a manifestation of their will power.
Superhuman Speed - After Death, many ghosts are able to move at incredible speeds, especially through teleportation. They appear in distorted, flickering forms that allow them to move at great speed, as when they flicker, can end up either inches away each time they flicker or several feet or miles away.
Clairvoyance - After death, ghosts can see beings that are naturally invisible like Reapers, Demons and other Ghosts.
Intangibility - Without a body, these spirits are able to move without hindrance even if objects are in their way, as they can phase through them with ease. They are naturally intangible, as such they can phase through solid matter unfazed, however it requires them to get angry or alternatively very calm, to become tangible. They can phase their hands through people with intangibility and cause internal injuries or stop the heart.
Environment Manipulation - Most ghosts have shown to have the ability to manipulate the elements like wind, fire, electricity, water, and dropping temperature. Affinity to fire or water is usually because of the manner of a person's death and the ghost's origin. Manipulating electricity and dropping temperature are the two common signs that indicate a ghost's presence. Ghost usually have a natural affinity to what killed them, such as if they drowned, some, if not all of their victims are drowned by either the ghost pulling them into water with ease and making it impossible or nearly impossible to get the victim out of the water.
Material Attachment - Ghosts could latch their essence to objects that have been very close to them in their life. Until these objects are destroyed, the ghost could continue to manifest itself and haunt. Other ghosts could relocate the objects, allowing them to move around and away from their original haunting location.

Uncommon Powers[]

Ectoplasm Creation - Very angry ghosts, can create Ectoplasm, but it is generally beyond the anger range of most spirits, even most violent spirits.
Possession - A rare ability, a ghost can possess humans like demons do, but only a really angry ghost could do it.
Electrokinesis - A step up from Electronic Manipulation, rather than simply interfering with electronics, some stronger ghosts can generate electricity themselves, control and manipulate machinery, and even use electricity offensively.
Photokinesis - The only ghost able to produce and manipulate light was Father Thomas, enabling him to produce powerful yet calming light aura from his being similar how angels manifest without their vessels.
Biokinesis - Some ghosts can inflict wounds like the ones they received on others. Stronger ghosts can create the wounds in the victims, without needing to have received the wounds themselves. Some ghost can infect people with sickness and disease. Some, can infect people with a supernatural disease called ghost sickness, which is flu-like and causes extreme fear and anxiety, to the point of hallucinations and fatal heart attacks.
Pyrokinesis - Some ghosts can manipulate and can control fire. Example of this is Mary Winchester when she was haunting the house she died in and could manifest in the form of fire and aimed her power at the poltergeist that attacked Sam.
Mental Influence - Angry, vengeful ghosts or spirits can sometimes manipulate peoples minds and drive them crazy and can then manipulate the people they drove crazy to do their will. This will change the person's personality and turn them violent and suicidal.
Hydrokinesis - Some Ghosts (Like ones that drowned, or whose deaths were linked to water) can, to an extent, manipulate or even create water. Such ghosts can cause any victim that goes into or near a body of water, sometimes even bathtubs, can be drowned.
Reality Warping - Some angry, powerful ghosts can bend the rules of reality and affect people, such as giving them enhanced strength, endurance, and speed. Many ghosts are able to use this to always or almost always be able to find and kill their victim despite any preventative measure done by the person, essentially a curse done upon them. This can be countered if a ghost's weaknesses are used.
Voice Mimicry - Some powerful ghosts can perfectly imitate others' voices.
EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) - A rare ghost ability, where they can communicate through electronic devices, cassette records, cell phones etc.
Soul Absorption - A powerful ghost, can destroy other ghosts, absorbing their essence and thus increasing their own power.
Shapeshifting - Some ghosts have displayed the ability to alter their form, shifting between what they looked like when they were alive, and a more disturbing and decayed version of themselves.
Flight - Ghosts can fly or hover off the ground.
Immunity - Very powerful ghosts are immune to holy ground.
Soul Control - Rarely, ghosts can control the souls of those they have murdered.
Soul Channeling - Rarely, ghosts can draw power from the souls of those they have murdered.
Empathy - Jo Harvelle could sense the guilt and "all kinds of crap" Dean carried. She reveals that, after death, spirits become empathic.

They are also skilled at whatever they did during their lives.

Weaknesses[]

Salt - A Ghost cannot interact with salt. Ghosts can be repelled by salt and can't cross a line made of salt. Some hunters use rock salt rounds to dissipate natural ghost spirits, while shooting the person with it will also break a ghost's possession making it useful whenever a ghost is possessing humans. Feeding salt in the mouth of the person a ghost is possessing, will cause the ghost great pain and force the ghost out and free the human from the ghost's control.
- Salt Water - Items either wet or soaked with sodium can render Vengeful Spirits powerless when possessing a human.
- Salt Water Soaked Ropes - Ropes/Strings laced with salt can temporarily nullify and negate spirits ghostly abilities as long as they're attached to them.
- Salting and Burning The Bones - The best and most common method to put a ghost to rest. Digging up a ghost's remains and salting and burning the bones, will help the spirit to cross over to the next life. When a ghost's bones are successfully salted and burned, it will go up in flames. This method is used for violent and vengeful spirits.

SamGhost — Iron poker dissipates a ghost into mist.

Iron - Like salt, iron keeps spirits at bay. Some hunters uses an iron crowbar or fire poker up physical contact against it which will dissipate a ghost for a couple of minutes. When touching the skin of a person possessed by a ghost it'll break their possession.
Magic - Ghosts are susceptible to the powers of magic. Hoodoo can be used to stop ghosts, and keep them under control, however, this is not a solution and is merely a preventive measure. As such it will stop working eventually. Due to this, hunters rarely use this method.
- Repelling Spell - The Witch Mother was capable of expelling Eileen Leahy's ghost from her presence by reciting the words, Umbra, ability.

GhostDeath — A ghost spirit getting defeated.

Putting a Ghost To Rest - Generally there are four ways to permanently defeat a ghost by putting them to rest:
- Destroying The Haunted Object - Salting and burning the object the ghost is using to stay active in the human world, will put a ghost to rest if there are no bones to burn, or if the objects they considered to be extensions or remains of the spirit.
- Cat's Eye Shells - Using the eyeball shells of a feline could ward off the ghosts.
- Resolving The Ghost's Issues - Helping a ghost to resolve its issues can put a ghost to rest. This method is rare but is used to help benevolent spirits find peace. Sometimes, if a vengeful spirit is not too far gone, a loved one can reach them through this method.
- Holy Ground - Much like demons, most ghosts can't walk on holy ground, although unlike demons, rather than literally being unable to walk on it, ghosts can't or it will destroy them. Stronger ghosts, are immune to this limitation though.
- Last Rites -The Last Rites performed by a priest over at least a willing ghost will send that ghost to rest.
- Overstraining - If a ghost is too weak, and/or overstretched its abilities, it can stop them for a while until they recover.
- Ghosts - If two ghosts fight each other, they will both destroy each other and will no longer exist. At least one ghost had the ability to destroy other ghosts and make himself stronger through their energy in the process.
Deities - Deities are capable of sending souls to the afterlife.
Reapers - Reapers can encourage ghosts to go to the afterlife.
Angels - Angelic celestial beings can overpower all types of ghost entities even in the afterlife.

Gallery[]

Known Ghosts from TV shows[]

Sally Malik (Being Human)
Sam Wheat (Ghost)
Katie Harwood (Ghost Ship)
Freddy Krueger (Nightmare on Elm Street)