Giovanni Battista de' Cavalieri 1585 depiction of "Monsters from all parts of the ancient and modern world" (Mostri de tute le parti del mondo antichi et moderni). The drawing depicts a Wewe Gombel
The Bell Witch was a poltergeist said to haunt the family of John Bell near the town of Adams, Tennessee in 1817. The spirit was said to have manifested itself as various animals and a disembodied voice and cited Bible scripture. The Bell Witch partly inspired The Blair Witch Project and the events of her story were depicted in the film An American Haunting.
Emily, the ghost of a young girl who supposedly haunts a covered bridge in Stowe, Vermont. The bridge is dubbed "Emily's Bridge", and she is said to be seen only at midnight
Oscar Washburn, the ghost of a black goat farmer who allegedly haunts Old Alton Bridge in Copper Canyon, Texas. He is commonly known as "the Goatman" as he is said to appear as a half-human, half-goat-like entity. The bridge has been nicknamed "Goatman's Bridge" by locals as a result of the legend.[9]
Joe Bush, a legendary ghost that allegedly haunts the Sumpter Valley Gold Dredge in Sumpter, Oregon. He is said to leave wet, bare footprints on the decks of the dredge, cause lights to flicker, and doors to open and close
The ghost of Resurrection Mary allegedly haunts roads and buildings around Resurrection Cemetery near Justice, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
Ghost of Queen Esther, the ghost of an Iroquois woman who allegedly mourns the massacre of her village in Pennsylvania.
Ghosts of the American Civil War
Greenbrier Ghost, the alleged ghost of a young woman in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. In a court trial, the woman's mother claimed that her daughter's ghost told her she had been murdered.
Kate Morgan, a ghost which is said to haunt the Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, California
Minnie Quay, a legendary ghost of Michigan
Old Book is the name given to a ghost or spirit which allegedly haunts a cemetery at Peoria State Hospital in Bartonville, Illinois
Pedro Benedit Horruytiner, colonial governor of Florida. Alleged encounters with his ghost have been reported there
President Abraham Lincoln's ghost has been reported in the White House numerous times, many of those by prominent people such as President Theodore Roosevelt, First Lady Grace Coolidge, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, and Winston Churchill
The Red Lady of Huntingdon College is a ghost believed to haunt the former Pratt Hall dormitory at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama
The Ridgeway Ghost of Wisconsin Folklore is believed to terrorize people along a 25-mile stretch of old mining road
Slag Pile Annie, a ghost said to appear as an elderly woman working in a remote and hard-to-access location in the former Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation mill in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The Wizard Clip was a ghost said to have clipped articles of clothing and visitors' hair at a home in Middleway, WV after a Catholic traveler died there in 1794 without receiving any last rites
La Llorona, a ghost of Latin American folklore who is said to have murdered her children
Sihuanaba, a shapeshifting spirit of Central America who lures men into danger before revealing her face to be that of a horse or a skull
Headless priest, the spirit of a decapitated priest
South American folklore
Sayona, a Venezuelan vengeful spirit who appears to unfaithful husbands
The Silbón, a legendary figure in Colombia and Venezuela, described as a lost soul
Oceania
Australia
Fisher's ghost - The legend of Fisher's ghost is a popular Australian ghost story or folk tale dating to the early 19th century.
Flinders Station Ghost - The legend of a fisherman's ghost who died from a fishing accident said to inhabit Flinders Station in Melbourne, often told to leave a puddle of water some nights on Platform 10 where it stands facing the Yarra River.[10][11][12]
Frederick Baker ("Frederick Federici") of Princess Theatre, Melbourne
Monte Cristo Homestead of Junee, New South Wales; allegedly Australia's most haunted house[13]
Annie Sawyer and Alex Millar from the television series Being Human, and Matt Bolton from the spin-off Becoming Human
Casper the Friendly Ghost[14] and his uncles, the Ghostly Trio also known as of Fatso, Stinky, and Stretch
Danny, a human-ghost hybrid child from Nickelodeon's animated TV series, Danny Phantom.
The Dead Men of Dunharrow in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Also, the Nazgûl in the same work; nine former men resurrected as wraiths to do Sauron's bidding
Ghosts (2019 TV Series) includes the Captain, Mary, Robin, Kitty, Thomas Thorne, Julian Fawcett, Lady Fanny Button, Pat Butcher, and Humphrey
The Grudge: Kayako Saeki, the onryo, and her homicidal husband Takeo Saeki, the evil yurei
Harry Potter series:
The Bloody Baron
The Fat Friar
The Grey Lady
Moaning Myrtle
Professor Cuthbert Binns
Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, aka Nearly Headless Nick
Sir Patrick Delaney-Podmore
Lonesome Ghosts from the Mickey Mouse series
Penny Halliwell, Patricia "Patty" Halliwell from Charmed
Barbie creator Ruth Handler appears as a ghost in the 2023 film Barbie
Scratch and several others from the Disney animated series The Ghost and Molly McGee
Slimer from Ghostbusters and its sequel
Spectra Vondergeist, daughter of the ghosts from Monster High
Comics
Deadman (DC Comics): Boston Brand was originally a trapeze artist who assumed the mantle of Deadman as part of his performances, donning a red costume and white body paint. After Brand is murdered by the Hook, his spirit is empowered by the goddess Rama Kushna, who gives him the ability to possess any living being to assist him in finding his murderer and bringing justice.[15][16]
Gay Ghost (DC Comics): The Gay Ghost was originally an 18th-century Irish earl named Keith Everet who was killed by three footpads while traveling to propose to his lover, Deborah Wallace. Everet's three killers are swiftly captured and executed, but Deborah dies of a broken heart shortly afterward. Following his death, the spirits of Everet's ancestors manage to keep his spirit on the mortal plane. However, Everet remains in an incorporeal form until the 1940s, when he manages to possess Mike Collins, the fiancé of Deborah Wallace's descendant.[17]
Gentleman Ghost (DC Comics): Gentleman Ghost (Jim Craddock) originates from the 19th century and is a notorious highwayman and robber known as "Gentleman Jim". After being killed by Nighthawk, Craddock learns that he is unable to leave the mortal plane until his killer dies as well. However, he is unable to do so as Nighthawk is an incarnation of Hawkman, who is cursed to continually reincarnate.[18][19]
Ghost (Dark Horse Comics): The main protagonist of her series, Elisa Cameron, is an assassin with the ability to become invisible and intangible. Due to having her memories erased, Cameron believes herself to be a ghost.
Homer the Happy Ghost (Atlas Comics)
Red Ghost (Marvel Comics): A supervillain and enemy of the Fantastic Four who derives his codename from his ability to become invisible and intangible, resembling a ghost.[20]
Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost, a comic book and animation ghost related to Casper
Timmy the Timid Ghost, a comic book ghost
Literature
Rudrayamala Tantra, Kaulajnananirnaya): Discuss various spirits, their invocation, and control for spiritual or worldly purposes.
Vetala Panchavimshati is a collection of tales and legends within a frame story, from India. Internationally, it is also known as Vikram-Vetala.
"Pretasiddhanta": Treatises on preta (ghosts) and ways to liberate them. No authentic copy available.
"Vetala Tantra": Focused on controlling spirits like vetalas.
Banquo from William Shakespeare's 1606 play Macbeth[21]
The Canterville Ghost of Oscar Wilde's popular 1887 short story of the same name
Captain Daniel Gregg, a sea captain from the 1945 novel, The Ghost of Captain Gregg and Mrs. Muir, later adapted into a 1947 film and 1968–1970 television series
Charles Dickens' 1843 novel A Christmas Carol which includes Jacob Marley, The Ghost of Christmas Past, Ghost of Christmas Present, and The Ghost Of Christmas Future
Emily, a ghost from the single volume graphic novel Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol
The Flying Dutchman, originally from A Voyage to Botany Bay (1795) by George Barrington
Hamlet's father from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet[22]
Hugh Crain from the 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House, its 1963 film adaption and the 1999 remake
The Little Ghost Godfrey a Swedish children's book character
Marion and George Kerby, ghosts who haunt Cosmo Topper in the two novels by Thorne Smith, the film Topper and its sequels Topper Takes a Trip and Topper Returns, and the television series Topper
Video games
Boo (formerly Boo Diddley) and King Boo, an enemy in the Mario series of games.
LeChuck of the series of graphic adventure games Monkey Island
Pac-Man's ghosts Blinky (red), Pinky (pink), Inky (blue), and Clyde (orange), and Sue
↑Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2010). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. pp. 175–176. ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9.
↑Green, Paul (2017). Encyclopedia of Weird War Stories: Supernatural and Science Fiction Elements in Novels, Pulps, Comics, Film, Television, Games and Other Media. McFarland & Co. p. 76. ISBN978-1476666723.
↑Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 119. ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
↑Wallace, Dan (2008), "Gentleman Ghost", in Dougall, Alastair, The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, pp. 137, ISBN978-0-7566-4119-1, OCLC213309017
↑Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains. New York: Facts on File. p. 294. ISBN0-8160-1356-X.[1]