Ghost

John Dee and Edward Kelley invoking the spirit of a deceased person (engraving from the Astrology by Ebenezer Sibly , 1806). According to traditional belief, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person, taken to be capable of appearing in visible form or otherwise manifesting itself to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely: the mode of manifestation can range from an invisible presence to translucent or wispy shapes, to realistic, life-like visions. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy , or in spiritism as a séance . The belief in manifestations of the spirits of the dead is widespread, dating back to animism or ancestor worship in pre-literate cultures. Certain religious practices—funeral rites, exorcisms , and some practices of spiritualism and ritual magic —are specifically designed to appease the spirits of the dead. Ghosts are generally described as solitary essences that haunt particular locations , objects, or people with which they were associated in life, though stories of phantom armies, ghost trains , phantom ships , and even ghost animals have also been recounted.

In folklore , mythology , and modern media such as literary fiction , a ghost (sometimes known as a spectre (British English) or specter (American English), phantom , apparition or spook ) is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to realistic, lifelike visions. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy , or in spiritism as a séance . The belief in manifestations of the spirits of the dead is widespread, dating back to animism or ancestor worship in pre-literate cultures. Certain religious practices—funeral rites, exorcisms , and some practices of spiritualism and ritual magic —are specifically designed to rest the spirits of the dead. Ghosts are generally described as solitary essences that haunt particular locations , objects, or people they were associated with in life, though stories of phantom armies, ghost trains , phantom ships , and even ghost animals have also been recounted. The encyclopedia of ghosts .

Soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living For other uses, see Ghost (disambiguation) . Engraving of the Hammersmith Ghost in Kirby's Wonderful and Scientific Museum , a magazine published in 1804 In folklore , a ghost (sometimes known as an apparition , haunt , phantom , poltergeist , shade , specter or spectre , spirit , spook , and wraith ) is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living. In ghostlore , descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to realistic, lifelike forms. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy , or in spiritism as a séance . The belief in the existence of an afterlife , as well as manifestations of the spirits of the dead, is widespread, dating back to animism or ancestor worship in pre-literate cultures. Certain religious practices—funeral rites, exorcisms , and some practices of spiritualism and ritual magic —are specifically designed to rest the spirits of the dead. Ghosts are generally described as solitary, human-like essences, though stories of ghostly armies and the ghosts of animals rather than humans have also been recounted. They are believed to haunt particular locations , objects, or people they were associated with in life. According to a 2009 study by the Pew Research Center, 18% of Americans say they have seen a ghost. The overwhelming consensus of science is that ghosts do not exist. Their existence is impossible to falsify , and ghost hunting has been classified as pseudoscience . Despite centuries of investigation, there is no scientific evidence that any location is inhabited by spirits of the dead. Historically, certain toxic and psychoactive plants (such as datura and hyoscyamus niger ), whose use has long been associated with necromancy and the underworld , have been shown to contain anticholinergic compounds that are pharmacologically linked to dementia (specifically DLB ) as well as histological patterns of neurodegeneration . Recent research has indicated that ghost sightings may be related to degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease . Common prescription medication and over-the-counter drugs (such as sleep aids ) may also, in rare instances, cause ghost-like hallucinations, particularly zolpidem and diphenhydramine . Older reports linked carbon monoxide poisoning to ghost-like hallucinations. In folklore studies , ghosts fall within the motif index designation E200-E599 ("Ghosts and other revenants"). The encyclopedia of ghosts . Philosophy of Science: From Problem to Theory . Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia . Committee for Skeptical Inquiry . The encyclopedia of psychoactive plants: ethnopharmacology and its applications . A case of progressive posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) with vivid hallucination: are some ghost tales vivid hallucinations in normal people? PMID 30891388 . : CS1 maint: article number as page number ( link ) CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI ( link ) Odd, The Body (30 October 2009). There may be a medical reason" .

Spirit of the dead as perceived by the living For other uses, see Ghost (disambiguation) . An engraving of the Hammersmith Ghost appears in Roger Kirby's Wonderful and Scientific Museum , a magazine published in 1804. The "ghost" turned out to be an old local cobbler who used a white sheet to get back at his apprentice for scaring his grandchildren. In folklore , a ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or non-human animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore , descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes to realistic, lifelike forms. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy , or in spiritism as a séance . Other terms associated with it are apparition , haunt , phantom , poltergeist , shade , specter , spirit , spook , wraith , demon , and ghoul . The belief in the existence of an afterlife , as well as manifestations of the spirits of the dead, is widespread, dating back to animism or ancestor worship in pre-literate cultures. Certain religious practices—funeral rites, exorcisms , and some practices of spiritualism and ritual magic —are specifically designed to rest the spirits of the dead. Ghosts are generally described as solitary, human-like essences, though stories of ghostly armies and the ghosts of animals other than humans have also been recounted. They are believed to haunt particular locations , objects, or people they were associated with in life. According to a 2009 study by the Pew Research Center, 18% of Americans say they have seen a ghost. The overwhelming consensus of science is that there is no proof that ghosts exist. Their existence is impossible to falsify , and ghost hunting has been classified as pseudoscience . Despite centuries of investigation, there is no scientific evidence that any location is inhabited by the spirits of the dead. Historically, certain toxic and psychoactive plants (such as datura and hyoscyamus niger ), whose use has long been associated with necromancy and the underworld , have been shown to contain anticholinergic compounds that are pharmacologically linked to dementia (specifically DLB ) as well as histological patterns of neurodegeneration . Recent research has indicated that ghost sightings may be related to degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease . Common prescription medication and over-the-counter drugs (such as sleep aids ) may also, in rare instances, cause ghost-like hallucinations, particularly zolpidem and diphenhydramine . Older reports linked carbon monoxide poisoning to ghost-like hallucinations. In folklore studies , ghosts fall within the motif index designation E200–E599 ("Ghosts and other revenants"). The encyclopedia of ghosts . Philosophy of Science: From Problem to Theory . Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia . Committee for Skeptical Inquiry . The encyclopedia of psychoactive plants: ethnopharmacology and its applications . A case of progressive posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) with vivid hallucination: are some ghost tales vivid hallucinations in normal people? PMID 30891388 . : CS1 maint: article number as page number ( link ) CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI ( link ) Odd, The Body (30 October 2009). There may be a medical reason" .

Supernatural being originating in folklore For other uses, see Ghost (disambiguation) and Ghostly (disambiguation) . An engraving of the Hammersmith Ghost appears in Roger Kirby's Wonderful and Scientific Museum , a magazine published in 1804. The "ghost" turned out to be an old local cobbler who used a white sheet to get back at his apprentice for scaring his children. In folklore , a ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore , descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes to realistic, lifelike forms. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy , or in spiritism as a séance . Other terms associated with it are apparition, haunt, haint, phantom, poltergeist , shade , specter, spirit, spook, wraith, demon , and ghoul . The belief in the existence of an afterlife , as well as manifestations of the spirits of the dead, is widespread, dating back to animism or ancestor worship in pre-literate cultures. Certain religious practices—funeral rites, exorcisms , and some practices of spiritualism and ritual magic —are specifically designed to rest the spirits of the dead. Ghosts are generally described as solitary, human-like essences, though stories of ghostly armies and the ghosts of animals other than humans have also been recounted. They are believed to haunt particular locations , objects, or people they were associated with in life. According to a 2009 study by the Pew Research Center, 18% of Americans say they have seen a ghost. The overwhelming consensus of science is that there is no proof that ghosts exist. Their existence is impossible to falsify , and ghost hunting has been classified as pseudoscience . Despite centuries of investigation, there is no scientific evidence that any location is inhabited by the spirits of the dead. Historically, certain toxic and psychoactive plants (such as datura and hyoscyamus niger ), whose use has long been associated with necromancy and the underworld , have been shown to contain anticholinergic compounds that are pharmacologically linked to dementia (specifically DLB ) as well as histological patterns of neurodegeneration . Recent research has indicated that ghost sightings may be related to degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease . Common prescription medication and over-the-counter drugs (such as sleep aids ) may also, in rare instances, cause ghost-like hallucinations, particularly zolpidem and diphenhydramine . Older reports linked carbon monoxide poisoning to ghost-like hallucinations. In folklore studies , ghosts fall within the motif index designation E200–E599 ("Ghosts and other revenants"). The encyclopedia of ghosts . Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia . Committee for Skeptical Inquiry . The encyclopedia of psychoactive plants: ethnopharmacology and its applications . A case of progressive posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) with vivid hallucination: are some ghost tales vivid hallucinations in normal people? PMID 30891388 . : CS1 maint: article number as page number ( link ) Odd, The Body (30 October 2009). There may be a medical reason" .