Etymology: fury or anger

Also Knowns As: apparition, haunt, phantom, poltergeist, revenant, shade, specter, spirit, spook, wraith, demon, and ghoul

It is generally accepted that a ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or non-human animal that after death, still has some part of them that lingers on and remains.

In many cultures and religions around the world, when a person dies, their spirit or soul is believed to pass onto an afterlife, some version of Heaven, Hell, or the Underworld. When that soul or spirit comes back or refuses to pass on, that is when it becomes a ghost. The belief in some sort of afterlife is very widespread and dates back thousands of years.

In modern beliefs of ghosts, the number of unfortunate accidents, suicides, violent deaths and murders, and unfinished business leads some people to continue to believe in the presence of ghosts. After all, looking at Western Culture, a lot of people love a good ghost story and being scared. It’s an adrenaline high that they enjoy. For other cultures, not so much, help that spirit or ghost move on quickly and put them to rest.

There are whole books and documentaries that go into and cover a lot of ground for ghosts and the various ghost stories around the world.

What’s In A Name?

The word ghost comes from the Old English word “gast” and likely stems from Proto-Germanic “gaistaz,” the Old Frisian “gast”, the Old Saxon “gest”, the Old Dutch “gest” and Old High German “geist.” There is also a Proto-Indo-European word that is reconstructed from a root word of “geys” that can be found in Old Norse words of “geisa” meaning to “to rage” and “geiski” meaning “fear.”

Other sources point towards both the word “Geist” and “guest” having roots in the Germanic language for an ancestor spirit.

We know the Germanic word that has been recorded is the masculine version and continues into a gender-neutral word in English. It is thought the original Germanic word would have an active part, in motion for being excited or fury. We see in Germanic paganism, the “Germanic Mercury” and then Odin, the “lord of fury” in his role as the Leader of the Wild Hunt.

Getting into a couple of other words within the English language, we have spirit from the Latin word for “breath” and soul coming from an Old English word sāwol, sāwel meaning “life” or “animated force” as in a person’s consciousness. Of course, once we start mentioning the spirit and soul, we do lean into the spiritual, and religious aspects of many Christian Denominations and other religions where the soul is regarded as encompassing all of a person’s intellect, emotions, personality, and morality. Everything that makes a person them.

We also see the word spirit used in the English language to denote any entity that was never human and that these spirits could be good or bad, much like angels and demons. If we’re dealing with an evil spirit, that’s where possession could happen.

Then we get alternative names for a ghost such as wraith from the Scottish language, spook as a loan word from Dutch, specter, phantom from French, and ultimately from the Greek word phantasma and apparition. The term shade is a reference to classical Greek mythology where the spirits of the dead would find their way from the Underworld or Umbra in Latin to the physical world or living.

Other more specialized terms for a ghost or the German poltergeist for a “noisy ghost,” a spirit that manifests by moving objects. The word Bogey has appeared as a term for ghost in the Scottish poet John Mayne’s Hallowe’en in 1780. Fetch, an Irish term for a person’s visible ghost for while the person is still alive, and revenants for those deceased who return as either a ghost or in a more corporeal form to take their revenge upon the living.

This largely covers a lot of the various European cultures whose name for a spirit have made their way into the English language to become synonymous with the word ghost.

Description

If we’re talking Western, European culture, a ghost is going to have a few different ways in which it manifests. Some people will report an invisible presence, to seeing a transparent or barely visible, silvery, misty ethereal shape in its full lifelike form appearing much as they did in life. Yet others will describe a dark, shadowy presence much like a shade or shadow person. In some cultures, the ghost of a person will manifest as a bird or other animal.

There are countless, numerous stories of ghosts from a solitary entity haunting a particular location, object or even person to stories of ghostly armies after the fall of a battle and even stories of ghostly animals better known as gytrash.

Ectoplasm – Parapsychologists refer to the misty “substance” that makes up ghosts when they manifest themselves visually for the living to be able to see.

Anthropology also takes note that the belief of ghosts having a misty or ethereal quality to them is very likely linked to ancient cultures noting how a person’s breath comes out as a white fog or mist when it is cold out. It’s easy to see the connection of how the Latin “spiritus” or Greek “pneuma” for breath becomes linked to a person’s soul or consciousness.

Pop Culture – An attempt to mimic the misty, ethereal quality that ghosts will have, this is why simple depictions will show a white blob or if a person dresses in costume, a white sheet with eye holes cut out for them to see. Chains come about to show ghosts being bound by the chains of Hell or the Underworld.

Sometimes a ghost is said to be able to affect the material world by moving objects, causing electrical disturbances, and creating noises.

Why Do Ghosts Say Boo?

There is a fun and cute internet meme I came across and I had to look it up.

It has to do with being a Latin verb. Meaning that a ghost that is saying “Boo!” is literally saying “I alarm/I am alarming/I do alarm!” or that they’re yelling.

Boo, verb

present active boō, present infinitive boāre, perfect active boāvī, supine boātum

All related to calling loudly, bellow, cry, shout or roar.

I just find it amazing that this is a thing.

What Makes A Ghost?

With the human need to categorize and sort the various denizens that are deemed to be part of the supernatural world.

Ultimately, a ghost will be the spirit of a deceased person who comes back or still lingers after death. Why a spirit will return is going to have as many reasons as there are individuals, meaning the ghost could be benevolent or malicious. Maybe there is unfinished business, maybe there was an improper burial, revenge, or some piece of vital information that they’re trying to pass on.

Some cultures believe a soul is going to be made of multiple parts. In Melanesia for example, the soul splits into two parts, the adaro, the part part of the soul and the aunga, the good part of the soul. These ghosts will travel to different islands where they’re divided up based on their good or bad nature. The adaro will eventually perish and have a final death and the aunga will continue on, having a blissful afterlife.

In other cultures like Egypt and China, the soul will have multiple aspects, and depending on the part of the soul depends on how well it survives.

Spirits

In broad general terms, a spirit is agreed by most to be an incorporeal entity. However, not every spirit will be a ghost, the spirit of a deceased person.

There’s some overlap here, depending on the entity in question and the beliefs of the individual or family for what they may determine a spirit to be.

Demons

In a lot of Christian beliefs, encounters with a ghost, especially if it gets really malevolent or dangerous are often described as actually being demons or demonic in nature.

Faeries

Another type of entity is described as spiritual in nature. Some lines of thought put forward that where people describe encountering balls of lights as ghosts, these may have been fairies. Taking note of the more prankish ghosts that can be called poltergeists, there may be a fairy involved. If a room is messy, a fairy is likely to hide things from you and you’ll know when it turns up where you least expected it. Another potential sign you’re dealing with a fairy is if they’re tormenting pets, that won’t always be the case, but something to consider. A fairy will have wings, not the ghost of a dead person.

Jinn

This Arabic entity has been suggested for some potential ghostly encounters. The Jinn are usually invisible to humans, but some descriptions say when they do appear, it is that of black smoke that may or may not have a vaguely humanoid outline.

Shadow People

Some ghostly encounters describe a dark, shadowy being. Older folklore will connect the descriptions of the misty, ethereal ghost and the dark, shadowy shade as being spirits and both ghosts. More modern folklore and urban legends will classify some ghostly encounters as actually being a Shadow Person.

Thought-Forms

Also known as Egregores or Tulpas. It is possible because expect there to be a ghost, that they could create one.  A strong enough belief and enough people believing can also cause manifestations. Especially if people believe, want to believe, say they saw something, jumping the “me too” bandwagon. This could explain some instances of certain ghosts.

Ancestor Worship

Some cultures are known for ancestor worship, the return of the dead is taken in stride, and they’re seen as part of the household. Many cultures also have rites to prevent the return of revenants, vengeful spirits that were seen as starving and jealous of the living. Such rites would involve sacrifice in terms of giving food and drink to the dead. Or a ritual that would banish a particular problematic spirit.

We see ritual feeding of the dead in traditions such as the Celtic Samhain, the Mexican Dia de Los Muertos and the Chinese Ghost Festivals to name a few.

Mesopotamia – In the cultures and religions of Assyria, Babylon, Sumer and other city-states, there is a belief of a ghost being created at the time of a person’s death. This ghost has all the memories and personality of the deceased and would travel to the underworld, continuing a life similar to when they were living. Relatives of the deceased would make offerings of food and drink to avoid a vengeful ghost returning to cause misfortune and disease among the living. Many illnesses in Mesopotamian culture were believed to be causes by ghosts, gods and demons.

Egypt – The soul and spirit were believed to exist after death and have the ability to either help or harm the living. Many beliefs have been recorded on hieroglyph inscriptions, papyrus, and tomb paintings showing an evolving belief about the nature of the afterlife over 2,500 years.

It’s a product of the modern era to have stories of mummies coming back to life to exact revenge upon the living.

Greece – We see ghosts or shades of the dead make appearances in both Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad where they appear as mist or vapor that vanishes, gibbering and moaning as they return to the earth and Underworld. These ghosts could do little to interact with the world other than give advice or prophecies. In a few other places, the ghost would appear much as they had in life at the time of their death with any wounds that killed them.

Once we get into the 5^th century B.C.E. for classical Greece, ghosts now took on a more frightening aspect as they could haunt the places where their corpses rested such as cemeteries. The ancient Greeks of this era now held annual feasts to placate the dead with offerings of food, libations and ceremonies and then asked to leave until the next year.

Rome – Among the ancient Romans, they believed that ghost could be used to exact revenge upon an enemy by scratching out a curse on a piece of lead or pottering and then putting it into a grave.

In the 1^st century C.E., Plutarch describes how the baths at Chaeronea were haunted by the ghost of a murdered man. The moans got so bad, that the people of the town sealed up the doors to the bathhouse. Another account given by Pliny the Younger around 50 C.E. tells of a haunted house in Athens that had been bought by the philosopher Athenodorus a 100 years ago. Knowing the house to be haunted, Athenodorus set up a writing desk in the room where the ghost would appear and would stay up late writing into the night until he was interrupted by a ghost bound in chains. Athenodorus followed the ghost outside where it pointed out a spot on the ground. Later, in the morning, when Athenodorus dug up the ground, a skeleton bound in chains was found. The haunting stopped when the skeleton was given a proper burial. Other writers, Plautus and Lucian also wrote of haunted houses.

Lucian of Samosata in the 2nd century C.E. is the first person to claim a disbelief in ghosts. His satirical novel, “The Lover of Lies” is about a man by the name of Democritus who lived in a tomb in order to prove that cemeteries aren’t haunted.

Africa – Among the Igbo, a person is believed to have both a physical and spiritual presence and that the spiritual part is eternal. Among the Akan, there are five parts of a human, the Nipadua (body), the Okra (soul), Sunsum (spirit), Ntoro (character from father), Mogya (character from mother). The Humr people from southwestern Sudan make a drink called Umm Nyolokh that is prepared from the liver and bone marrow of giraffes. This drink is believed to cause hallucinations of giraffes that the Humr say are the ghosts of giraffes.

Europe – There are two categories of ghosts reported during medieval Europe, the souls or spirits of the dead and demons. The souls of the dead would return for specific reasons and purposes. While demonic ghosts would torment the living.

Where much of Europe is now Christianized by this era, the living could tell these two types of ghosts apart by demanding what they’re there for in the name of Jesus Christ. The soul of a dead person would say what they had come for and a demonic ghost could expect to be banished.

There are stories of medieval ghosts having physical form and being capable of being restrained and held until a priest could come to hear their confession. Stories of knights being challenged to combat by a phantom knight that would vanish when defeated. The majority of these ghosts are all reported as being male. There are stories of ghost armies, still fighting their battles even in death. These ghosts would also be described as paler and more forlorn than when living, dressed in tattered graying rags.

Ireland – It’s noted that human souls trapped in the bodies of animals could be released on Samhain and be allowed to reincarnate as humans. This idea would lend itself to early Christian beliefs of human and animal possessions by spirits.

Britian – On the Elizabethan stage, it was not uncommon to depict ghosts wearing armor to convey a sense of antiquity. Stories such as the Child Ballad of “Sweet William’s Ghost” show the British belief how the dead would come back to haunt their lover if they took up a new romantic interest without releasing them.

Other stories, not just in Britain but around the world depict a hero arranging for the burial of a dead man. Later, the hero is joined by a companion who aids them and later at the end of the story reveals that they were the dead man. Such stories include the Italian fairy tale of “Fair Brow” and the Swedish “The Bird Grip.”

Renaissance – The Renaissance Age in Europe saw people take on a renewed interest in magic, the occult and necromancy. During the Reformation era and even Counter Reformation there was a lot of backlash against any occult and mysticism deemed to be of the dark arts.

China – The belief in ghosts has close associations with Chinese ancestor worship with later beliefs influenced by Buddhism. Like other cultures and religions, a person can contact the spirits of their ancestors with a medium, and those ancestors are likely to help their descendants when properly respected and given offerings. China also celebrates the annual Ghost Festival held in autumn when ghosts and spirits will come from the lower realm. Part of the festival and rituals will see Hell Bank Notes being burned, luxury items made of paper, pouring wine three times on a grave and offerings of food left for them. In Chinese lore, a ghost will happen if someone refuses to be part of the cycle of reincarnation due to unfinished business. This is where an exorcist can help the ghost or drive it away or force it to reincarnation. In Chinese traditions, ghosts can also become immortals and in turn, become demigods or they can suffer in hell to suffer for eternity.

India – In Hindi, a ghost is called bhoot or bhut. Depending on the region of India in question, there are numerous ways that bhoot may happen, any transgressions in life, unable to obtain nirvana, violent deaths, unfinished business and improper burials are among them.

Thailand – Phraya Anuman Rajadhon, the first Thai scholar has noted that while ghosts and spirits are a part of local folklore, there are no paintings or artwork that depict a ghost. Not until film, were there any depictions of some of these ghosts. The most feared ghost in Thailand is the Phi Tai Hong, the ghost of a person who died from a violent death. Thailand’s folklore also says that sleep paralysis can be caused by the ghost known as Phi Am.

Tibet – In Tibetan culture, ghosts are widely recognized. There are the Hungry Ghosts that have small throats and huge stomachs and are never satisfied. Ghosts can be killed with a ritual dagger or caught in a spirit trap then burnt thereby releasing them to be reborn. Many ghosts can be exorcised, and an annual festival is held just for this purpose. One ghost, Dorje Shugden, who was a 17^th century monk in life is thought by some to be a deity. The Dalai Lama however, says they are an evil spirit.

Christianity – Depending on the version of the Bible, in the New Testament, Luke 24: 37-39, this passage sees Jesus, after his resurrection having to persuade his Disciples that is not a ghost or spirit. During the story of Jesus walking on water, Jesus’ followers believed him at first to be a ghost or spirit.

In the 5^th century C.E., Constantius of Lyon records how the improperly buried come back to haunt the living and will only lay to rest once properly buried.

Many ghosts find themselves in Purgatory to atone for a period of time for their sins. These ghosts could appear to the living to persuade them to confess their sins before dying lest they suffer the same or similar fates.

Spiritualism – Originating in the United States, this belief system holds that the spirits of the dead can be contacted by mediums who conduct séances to pass on information to the living from the dead. Adherents and followers of Spiritualism tend to be a lot of women and it has spread to other regions such as Europe and Latin America.

Buddhism – There a several planes of existence to which a person can be reborn into, one of these is the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. As a result, there is a Ghost Festival that Buddhists celebrate where the hungry ghosts will be fed so that they don’t bother the living.

Judaism – There is plenty of reference in the Torah (Old Testament for Christians) where mediums, necromancy, and consulting spirits are grouped with witchcraft and other forms of divination into a category of forbidden occult activities. Jewish folklore makes mention of dybbuks which are malicious spirits thought to be the dislocated soul of a dead person. In the Kabbalah and Talmudic lore, this evil spirit is called ru’aḥ tezazit and once it has finished whatever goal or task it set out to do, it will leave the body of the person it possessed.

Islam – In Arabic, a person’s immortal self, soul, or spirit is called a Rūḥ. This same term is also used for ghosts. The souls of the deceased will reside in barzakh. Places such as cemeteries are easy for Rūḥ to cross over to the world of the living. An improper burial can also cause a Rūḥ to remain behind, roaming the earth. Pure souls, like those of saints are called rūḥ, while those souls seeking revenge are referred to as afarit. Pure souls will stay close to the site of their burial where the living may try to communicate with them to gain knowledge. Most encounters with ghosts happen through dreams.

Necromancy

Not the modern version that Hollywood and movies depict with raising the dead. Nowadays, people will think of séances and spiritism as the means by which to contact the dead and learn information from them. In the historical definition, that’s what necromancy is, contacting and speaking to the dead.

Omen Of Death

The appearance of a ghost has been regarded by some cultures as an omen of death. In Ireland for example, seeing your Fetch or double meant that you would die soon. Another is the White Lady, a woman who died tragically or suffered a major trauma in life. Such ghosts could attach themselves to a family and be a harbinger of death in a manner similar to the Banshee.

Hauntings

Many places will be haunted by ghosts, especially if there is any major trauma or tragedy, often violent deaths through murder or suicide. Houses, Hospitals, and Asylums are frequently popular buildings that can gain a reputation for being haunted.

Battlefields are frequently regarded as being haunted as well. These places will be popular for stories of ghostly armies appearing.

Places reputed to be haunted will have sudden changes in temperature becoming colder, smells, flickering lights, and faulty electricals, and people will report hearing noises such as voices and footsteps.

I Ain’t Afraid Of No Ghosts!

Since the early 1800’s, there have been scientific studies trying to prove or disprove and even explain the persistence in the belief in ghosts.

Optical Illusions – In 1813, physician John Ferriar wrote “An Essay Towards a Theory of Apparitions” where he says that people claiming to see ghosts are the result of optical illusions. The French physician, Alexandre Jacques François Brière de Boismont published “Alexandre Jacques François Brière de Boismont” in 1845 that also says ghost sightings are the result of hallucinations.

There is a study conducted in 2009 by the Pew Research Center revealing that a good 18% of Americans claim to have seen a ghost. True to fiction like the movie series Ghost Busters, many people will claim to be ghost hunters, coming up with different means to try and record or document ghostly encounters. As intriguing as that is and makes for some great science fiction or paranormal stories, science tends to look at the endeavors for ghost hunting as a pseudoscience.

Psychoactive Plants – And other toxic plants such as datura and hyoscyamus niger that have long been used in necromancy to summon the dead are known to have a biochemical compound that has been linked to dementia and neurodegeneration.

Current research does point to ghost sighting likely the result of degenerative brain diseases, even over-the-counter medication could cause hallucinations that can cause someone to think they’re seeing ghosts.

Benjamin Radford writes in his 2017 book “Investigating Ghosts: The Scientific Search for Spirits” how “ghost hunting is the world’s most popular paranormal pursuit.” Radford continues that many ghost hunters don’t seem to agree on what a ghost is or offer concrete proof.

Yet, we do have those paranormal investigators and ghost hunters who will claim they’ve recorded the voices of ghosts, evidence of their activity, and even have them caught on video.

Possible Reality Behind The Myth

As I commented in my post for Shadow People, human beings are pattern seekers, we’re prone to letting our minds and thus imaginations fill in the blanks on vague shapes and patterns, putting a recognizable form or image to something. This tendency is called Pareidolia, to think we saw something out of the corner of our eye and then to fill in the blanks on what it might be.

Many people who believe in the supernatural and paranormal are likely to have stories of ghost sightings. I will say, that it does and can frustrate Science for anything that cannot be weighed, measured, or recorded for proof of its existence. One of the things I came across in an article is how all humans are believers, even if such belief is Science and Atheism.

I will say we cannot all be lying. By the same token, there should be a Scientific Approach and method to remove the impossible so that whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.

Overactive Imaginations – To shine a light on things, figuratively and literally, you do have to rule out possible overactive imaginations involved. I know I’m repeating myself, human beings are prone to pattern-seeking and if we see a vague human outline in the shadows, we are likely to fill in the blanks to see something that isn’t there.

I know that explanation puts a damper on many people who claim to have seen Ghosts or other entities or study the paranormal and believe. When it comes to ghosts, a healthy bit of skepticism can help as most ghost sightings are noted to happen at night when our minds are going to be filling in the gaps on anything we can’t see or think we hear.

Apply a little bit of the Scientific Method here. Is it the active imagination of a child who is having trouble going to sleep at night? Everybody loves a good ghost story and stories of encounters with Shadow People tend to be remarkably similar. As such, these accounts can also be very anecdotal and subjective with no real good way to verify them.

Hallucinations – Are you sleep-deprived and not getting enough sleep? Is there a particular substance or drug that was taken known to cause hallucinations? Mental Illness?

Electromagnetic Fields – There are theories that in the right conditions, electromagnetic fields can mess with human perceptions, causing both audio and visual hallucinations. It could allow for people to believe they saw any manner of things from ghosts, to spirits, aliens, fairies, and Elvis.

Are any old buildings with substandard wiring, power plants nearby, or a place with strong magnetic fields? Researchers have been able to recreate in laboratories the experiences that people have had with such hallucinations, including those of seeing Ghosts or Shadow People.

Rule out the impossible before whatever remains, no matter how improbable is taken as the truth.

Pareidolia – I’ve mentioned it before, humans are wired and have a tendency to see patterns, mostly faces and other human characteristics. Pareidolia is what it’s called.

Sleep Paralysis Attacks – This can be frightening for those who have experienced one. It is when you wake or have a lucid dream and are unable to move while sleeping, especially during REM sleep. Some people will claim terrifying images of dark, shadowy beings surrounding them, in the room or trying to attack them.

From the folkloric view, the description of a Ghost or Shadow Person trying to choke or suffocate someone in their sleep matches the classic Nightmare and Hagging Attacks.

Sleep Walking – This is close on the heels of the Sleep Paralysis Attacks, only instead of paralyzed, the person sleeping is getting up and moving around. Some sleepwalkers report dreams where they’ve seen shadowy figures or beings as they move around the house.

Substance Abuse – Is the person using drugs known for causing hallucinations?

Mental Illness – I’m not trying to make light of this, is it possible that a person claiming to see Ghosts or anything else prone to seizures and other mental health issues such as delusions or hallucinations?

Substance Abuse and Mental Illness can be why some of the descriptions of Shadow People are inconsistent.

Ghost Folklore

Protection – If you feel you’re being followed by an unfriendly ghost, try stepping over a broomstick to prevent it from disturbing you.

Running Water – In European folklore, it’s generally accepted that ghosts are unable to cross running water as seen in Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” notably retellings where the character Ichabod Crane is able to cross the bridge to safety.

Types Of Ghosts & Ghostly Phenomenon

Doppelgänger – In Germany, meaning Double Walker, to see one’s double could be an omen of death.

Fetch – In both British and Irish folklore, a Fetch is a person’s double. To see one during the day wasn’t as ill-omened, however, to see it at night meant an impending death.

Ghost Ships – Since the 18^th century, there have been legends of ghost ships and derelicts encountered at sea. The most famous of these ships is the Flying Dutchman.

Lady in Red – A ghost of a jilted lover or prostitute.

Poltergeist – German for noisy ghost, some people claim encounters with this variety of ghost, that depending on it’s nature, could take on a more malevolent, violent, and demonic nature.

Revenant – This is a person who died and then returned, not just as a ghost that is typically incorporeal, but as a corporeal being. Some revenants may be mute, appear and disappear suddenly or leave no footprints. The Scandinavians call them gjenganger, the Romanian strigoi, the Serbian vampir, the Greek vrykolakas to name a few.

White Lady – A common legend around the world, most white ladies are reported to have died tragically or suffered a trauma in life. The White Lady is known to attach themselves to a family and be a harbinger of death much like the Banshee.

Yūrei – The Japanese term for a ghost or spirit that has been prevented from having a peaceful afterlife.