What are the Different Types of Ghosts?
Who are you gonna call? Yes, that’s right, Ghostbusters!
The first film came out in 1984 and was a jaw-dropping documentary revealing the dark underbelly
of the paranormal world where four guys nearly lost their lives fighting the forces of evil.
Joking, by the way. It was actually a humorous film that, to this day, can still entertain audiences. Even the sequel was really good with its river of slime and baby-eating bath.
But, besides fictional films, if you’re into the paranormal and perhaps watch compilation videos on YouTube featuring alleged ghost clips, then you might have wondered if there are different types of spirits out there.
On watching these regularly, you will have noticed there do seem to be different types of spooks - some good, some bad - but they all vary. Whether it’s a repeated haunting (sometimes called the “Stone Tape Theory”) or something more intelligent that responds to a person’s requests, there does appear to be differences.
Let’s take a look at some of the different types of ghosts/spooks/ghouls/phantoms (pick your preference) that haunt the corners of our vision and move stuff around, like when your mother cleans your room without telling you.
Repeated Haunting
By this I mean a spirit that repeats the same action, retracing their route over and over again. There are many examples of this which you can often find in very old buildings such as castles, crumbling monasteries, old manor houses either abandoned or not.
Here, a ghost or fading outline of one will walk their favoured route, perhaps along a landing or through a room, and disappear through the wall where a door once stood. Attempting any communication with them is pointless. It is almost as if this is nothing more than a memory of the person long after they have died, retracing the steps they took while alive.
Over the passage of time, these replays can fade, going from a more clearly defined figure to a grey mist. In Rufford Old Hall, England, there is even a phantom called the Grey Lady.
Shape Changers
An unusual form of spirit. Shape changers, as the name suggests, can alter their shape at will. Many investigators will liken them to demons, elementals, or even imps. Whether they are the same thing remains to be seen.
Whatever they are, they are regarded as intelligent and can communicate with us should we be brave enough. Many are considered malevolent and appear to take delight in frightening us when we least expect it. It’s as if they feed on the fear.
Photo by Julie Myers
Although they can often take the form of animals, the form will not be complete and will appear a little shapeless. They can move incredibly fast and delight in giving you the runaround, flitting from room to room and back again.
They can take on a human shape as well, but again, this will not be very defined and may appear crouched or hunched. Within the famous Waverly Hills Sanatorium in North America, there is such a creature that roams the decaying corridors often seen as a shapeless blob skittering across the ceiling or along the floor.
No one knows if they were once human or are some other creature we’ve yet to understand until we ourselves die.
Shadow People
One of the more well-known types of spirits. Shadow people are usually considered human and will almost always take on the shape they were when they were alive. Sometimes this can be exaggerated, I suppose, depending on their personality before they died.
Most investigators have come to realise that if you were a bit of an ass when you were alive, chances are you will be one when you die. So it stands to reason, those who were not very nice when alive will probably take on a slightly more monstrous appearance in the afterlife just for the hell of it.
I mean, think of it this way, if you liked being a power-mad control freak in your more lively days, is that going to change when you die? Doubtful. Getting a kick out of tormenting the living will give them a sick joy as they fill an empty void that is the dark eternity of death. Moving forward, the shadow people seem to come in two types - benign and malevolent.
The benign types are the most frequently caught on videos and you can spend hours watching such clips. They are often spotted lurking in corners of rooms, silently rushing upstairs, so their pitch black forms are seen through the spindles. Most of the time they do little besides watch the living. Who knows what thoughts are going through the echoes of their minds?
Sometimes they are malevolent, though this is less so. All the videos I have seen appear to be the benign types. And when I say benign, I mean indifferent, not kindly or helpful. I don’t think these spirits care for us or hate us.
The malevolent ones don’t appear to chase after us and throw us around; that’s poltergeist territory. They have more of a tendency to frighten us much the same as the shape changers. Simply appearing when least expected is enough to startle most people. There are also reports from witnesses who claim the malevolent ones will usually have red eyes, thus making the observer aware they are not friendly.
Shadow people don’t seem to be attached to a place in the same way repeated hauntings are. From what I’ve seen, they roam freely and don’t require permission to enter a home, leaving at will, often on their own terms, not ours.
Imps
A curious little creature that derives its fame from folklore. Small, mischievous and rarely kind, these creatures are often blamed for leaving scratch marks on people. Some investigators claim they accompany demonic entities and act like minions on the demon’s behalf.
These don’t shy away from attention and like to be in the spotlight, often causing minor mayhem, hence the scratch marks. They typically have three claws, which is why scratch marks on a person’s body will consist of three claw marks.
They are not bound to a building and don’t always have to accompany demons. Some believe they are solitary beings that continuously seek the company of the living and will get a kick out of causing direct harassment to us, such as hiding our house keys, leaving knots in things, minor stuff, really.
Elementals
Often referred to as nature spirits, these creatures behave in ways we can never understand, at least not in human terms. Some would class imps as elementals, although while imps tend to congregate inside buildings often near humans, elementals will prefer the outdoors, seeking more natural settings.
Deep forests and woodlands where humans are not seen often are places where these guys like to hang out. Although gardens with plenty of foliage may have the odd elemental knocking about.
Image by Schmeckerel
Many claim these non-human beings are linked to the four elements: earth, air, fire, water. So, gnomes, sylphs, salamanders, and undines respectively. They are regarded as guardians of the natural world. Though they must be working overtime in recent years, if that’s the case, given the state of the climate right now.
Although there are many drawings depicting the appearance of such beings, it’s hard to say what they really look like. We can only go on old sketches from the past, but in all honesty, whether these creatures can create an image of themselves that they know humans will make sense of or it’s what they actually look like, is all conjecture.
Poltergeists
Coming back indoors and settling down for a nice cup of tea (or coffee if you prefer), we may find ourselves struggling to find the tea bags after a poltergeist has moved in and thrown them in the bin.
Yes, these pesky and often nasty beings can wreak havoc. The literal translation of this is knocking spirit. These are considered the most active and, for that reason, the most dangerous of all the spirits mentioned here. Some even claim they are not spirits at all, rather the outward psychic projection of adolescents, usually girls.
There are plenty of video clips on YouTube alone that show kitchen cupboards being flung open and everything inside being tossed out and smashed on the floor. For some unfortunate people, activity like this can go on for hours, for others, it can be brief and intermittent.
The chair-stacking scene from Poltergeist
No one really knows why these beings (if you can call them that) appear and to what end? While many state it’s because of the fluctuating hormones of teenage girls that cause these, I'm a little sceptical regarding that.
Personally, I believe these are some kind of spirit (non-human) that simply latches on to humans for whatever reason and takes advantage of whatever narrative the living provides. I have seen too many clips of such occurrences involving people who are way past the teenage stage of their lives and aren’t even female.
Perhaps it’s just that young girls provide the best fodder energy wise? Who knows? Whatever the reason, once you have them, they aren’t easy to get rid of. Past evidence has shown that those who try to rid themselves of poltergeists only make things worse.
Many people who believe they are experiencing such an event set up cameras in their home in the hope of capturing the poltergeist in action. It seems such beings prefer to act up the most when there is no one around. Objects will be thrown in all directions; cups, plates and crockery will smash on the floor and large items of furniture can move by an invisible force.
There seems to be no logic in such events where the energy causing havoc seems to lack all sense of reasoning and communication. Most people are left with two choices in such situations - put up with it or move out. Although some people have found the poltergeist will travel with them to their new home and reappear soon enough, much like nail fungus.
Demons
The darkest of all the spirits. These are nothing but negative and hateful of the living. They are often tricksters who have the ability to change their appearance, similar to the shape changers. They can appear as innocent children playing on the sympathy of unsuspecting adults, before completely transforming into nightmarish entities.
While other spirits seem to be bound to one type of behaviour, demons can not only change appearance, they can do all the things mentioned above: appear as shadows, fully formed beings, throw items, choke, and scratch. They can also create freezing gusts of air, foul smells, slam doors. They have even been known to shout, growl and whisper threats into a person’s ear.
Buer the 10th spirit who teaches moral and natural philosophy
It seems, though, that while some other spirits can enter your home at will, these can only enter if summoned via a portal such as a Ouija board. There are countless stories of people accidentally summoning such beings into their home, thinking they are talking to a spirit child. Again, this behaviour plays into the helpless ghost narrative that people often fall for.
These can often prove difficult, but not impossible, to remove from your home. While it may take a person of the cloth (a priest, not a tailor) to banish such entities, some will refuse to leave and continue to cause utter despair for the residents.
Needless to say, if you’re wondering if it’s a demon in your home, the atmosphere should feel heavy and negative. Arguments can result and couples have often split as a result of such hauntings. Others claim to have been possessed by a demonic entity and only demons seem to have the ability to do this.
Intelligent Hauntings
Last, but not least, is the main spirit and one which is definitely human. Intelligent hauntings refers to spirits who can communicate with the living and use doors and stairs much like us. They have also been observed floating and passing through walls when they want.
As with the living, their personalities remain intact in death, so if they were great in life, they probably will be in death. However, going from the evidence we have accumulated in video footage and retelling of experiences, the majority of these spirits do err on the side of negative.
Boo!
Not to say they are evil, though some can be, many it seems can end up frustrated at not being able to communicate. Most of us can’t speak with the dead and if we do hear them, it’s fleeting. Not to mention the scaredy cats who run away screaming at the slightest creak or groan. It's understandable to be unnerved in an unfamiliar place in the dark, but if you're there to investigate, then do that. There’s nothing more annoying than paranormal investigators running away, screeching like toddlers and refusing to return.
Most of this type of spirit can appear as they did when alive, so you should see all their facial features, hair colour, and even clothing. The one thing that separates them from the living, and the most disconcerting, is the illuminated eyes. Very often, such entities will have eyes that reflect light much the way animals do. Is this a perk we develop when we die? Who knows until we do, for the dead rarely reveal such secrets.
The ghosties getting their steps in
These types can often be found lurking around corners or hiding just out of sight, darting away when spotted. Do they fear the living? Do we give off an energy they do not like? Again, we cannot know until we ourselves shuffle off our mortal coils.
Other features that often allow us to know these are spirits of the dead, are the skin colour, which can sometimes be of a greyish pallor. It’s almost as if their ‘skin’ resembles the decaying skin of a corpse. Grim, I know.
There have been occasions where only a body part of the person will be visible. There is a clip filmed somewhere in the world showing a pair of trousers with shoes running along a path. The person filming catches a glimpse of this, though it’s not clear if they are aware of the phantom runaway trousers. I recall the people owning a pet white rabbit that appears very startled the moment it spots these running ghost trousers and scurries away from them.
So, there we have a list of different types of spirits. Whether you are a sceptic or a believer, it’s hard to ignore many of the claims and clips out there. While it’s agreed that some people do fake such videos, I feel that there are many people out there who have better things to do with their time than spend hours in front of a computer mastering video editing software just so they can produce a 20 second clip of a ghost peeking around a wall.
Very often, the ones that appear far too good to be true are usually the ones that are faked, but then there are those that really stick with you and it’s quite clear they’ve caught something strange.
Until we die, we shall never truly know what happens beyond the veil and what creatures and dark things roam in the shadows.
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