are you afraid of ghosts I’m willing to bet that every person on this planet has or will have some sort of spooky experience in their lifetime, whether it’s the unmistakable sight of your dead grandma in your child’s bedroom mirror or hearing footsteps in the attic overhead late at night Night or find your hairbrush elsewhere in the room if you swore you left it on your dresser. One of the highlights of being a kid was turning off all the lights on a sleepover, sitting in a circle on the floor with a lone partygoer with a flashlight and telling the scariest ghost stories until someone collapsed in fear and turned to look at the lights.
Ghosts are often viewed as malevolent and deceptive creatures, but they are really nothing more than a once-human being who passed into the spiritual realm after death. Sure, maybe you should fear the ghosts of people you’ve wronged who are fixated on haunting you for the rest of your life – who wouldn’t want to be a ghost wreaking some havoc on their enemies? Or if you’re one of those people who likes to hang out in cemeteries and play with the tombstones, you’re definitely asking to be visited by a vengeful spirit as well.
But for the most part, ghosts are just chilling on their own metaphysical level and not trying to hurt anyone or get in their way. I would like to think that when I see or feel a ghost in my daily life, it has just slipped for a second by exposing itself to our mortal selves, or got bored and decided to fuck with us by moving or swinging our things around has left a door open. Above all, they usually do no harm. At least that’s my theory.
Now, may I draw your attention to a list of ghosts we all know and love – some who intend to scare you to death and some who just want to be your friend. From movies to shows to video games, ghosts have been portrayed as menacing characters; Of course there’s the Pac-Man Ghost Gang: Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde and King Boo from the Mario games. But what about the gentle giants and pure souls like No Face and Casper? These guys are living — well, maybe not “living” — proof that not all ghosts are out to get you.
What I find most appealing about ghosts in media is that there are literally endless ways to portray them. Slimer from Ghostbusters looks different from SpongeBob’s Flying Dutchman, and Ghostface from Scream is a very different beast from Samara from The Ring. Each of these characters possess different personalities, from hateful to grumpy to lovable, but all proudly share their common phantom forms. That being said, who are some of your favorite ghosts from your childhood? Which ones scared you and which ones were your comfort character? We want to know! And on that note, please refrain from dancing around a cemetery and inviting a new friend into your home. We warned you.
NO FACE (Spirited Away, 2001)
CASPER THE KIND SPIRIT
GHOST GROUP (Pac-Man 1980)
KING BOO (Luigi’s Mansion, 2001)
SLIMER (“Ghostbusters”, 1984)
GHOST SPONGEBOB (“SpongeBob SquarePants”, S1 E13, 2001)
THE FLYING DUTCHMAN (“SpongeBob SquarePants”, S1 E13, 2001)
DANNY PHANTOM (Danny Phantom, aired 2004)
GHOSTFACE (“Scream”, 1996)
SAMARA MORGAN (“The Ring,” 2002)
BEETLE JUICE (“Beetle Juice”, 1988)
MOANING MYRTLE (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 2002)
RYUK (“Death Note”, aired 2006)
BLAIR WITCH (“The Blair Witch Project”, 1999)