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Sally
Ghost
Species information
Sentience

Identical to living humans, but may lose sense of self as time passes.

Related to
Alternative names
  • Spirit
  • Poltergeist (a ghost that torments a living human)
Distinction(s)

Disembodied life force in a humanoid form

Status

Common

For the version of ghosts found in the original BBC series, see Ghost (BBC) 

Ghosts are supernatural beings that are the disembodied souls of once-living humans.

Characteristics

Creation

Spirit

A spirit passing between worlds.

A ghost is created when a mortal person dies before they can resolve certain issues in their lives. Most ghosts were human, but it is shown that werewolves can become ghosts after dying as well.

A ghost's spirit is trapped in the mortal world, and will only be allowed to pass on to the next life through their door if they have overcome whatever unfinished business is keeping them on Earth. The details of the afterlife that awaits ghosts that move on are not elaborated on, but it is suggested to be a wholly good place where the dead are reunited with their departed loved ones.

Appearance

Ghosts appear at the same age they were when they died and in the same clothes they had when they died, and they cannot change anything about their appearance. While

They are almost always invisible to humans (except for rare individuals like mediums), but can be innately perceived by other supernatural beings such as werewolves and vampires, and by other ghosts.

Despite appearing solid, the forms of ghosts often behave like smoke or mist, especially when a living being passes through them, or when they touch other ghosts.

Abilities

Ghosts are in possession of many abilities unique to them, including:

  • Teleportation - Ghosts can disappear from one place and reappear somewhere else; enabling them to instantly travel great distances. At first, Ghosts may do this unconsciously, however with practice, they can learn to travel at will.
  • Intangibility - Ghosts have no mass, and cannot touch or be touched by any physical beings or objects. Any matter that comes into contact with a ghost will simply phase through it.
  • Invincibility - Ghosts are unable to get physically hurt and do not age beyond their death. However, it is possible for ghosts to be harmed in some ways, such as with iron objects or magic.
  • Telekinesis - Ghosts can move objects with their mind, sometimes unintentionally; as Sally has unwillingly caused the house to shake, lights to flicker and plumbing to clog while she was in distress. If a ghost is under enough emotional duress, they will purposefully move objects as large as furniture and even make them fly around the room at great speeds; as Sally did when she haunted her murderer's house. Danny, who became a vengeful ghost, was able to consciously pull an iron bar out of Sally's hand with seemingly no difficulty.
  • Invisibility - Ghosts are almost never visible to humans, but can always be seen by supernatural beings such as vampires and werewolves. They are also visible to certain rare humans known as mediums. Poltergeists also have the ability to affect the perceptions of humans, causing them to hallucinate or hear voices.
  • Possession - Ghosts have the ability to possess mortals. When they do this they will be able to drink, eat and even touch people again. Possession has been shown to be very euphoric for ghosts, even addictive, but possessing a person for too long weakens the spirit which in turn can make exiting the possessed body incredibly difficult . If this happens, the host may end up having memories of the ghost confused with their own, which usually results in people thinking that the possessed person has gone mad. Ghosts can possess not only humans, but also werewolves when they're in their human form; although possessing a werewolf will afterwards cause the ghost to become temporarily sick and catatonic.
  • Shredding - A ghost is vulnerable to other ghosts as they can be shredded by them; shredding destroys a ghost's essence and sends them to Limbo.
  • Dream manipulation - The ghosts Beth and Holly were able to enter Aidan's dreams and haunt him.
  • Tangibility - With enough concentration, a ghost can touch objects for only short amount of time.
  • Mind manipulation - With enough practice, a poltergeist is able to create illusions in the mind of the person they are haunting.
  • Crossing over - All spirits can cross over to the afterlife when their unfinished business is complete and they choose to go. When a spirit transcends to the next plain, they become more powerful. Magic and shapeshifting are limitless wonders now in this place.

Weaknesses

A ghost, while intangible, is not without weaknesses.

  • Iron - A ghost can be dispersed by being struck with an iron object. This is not permanent, and dispersed ghosts reappear at the place of their death within a few minutes.
  • Shredding - A ghost is vulnerable to other ghosts as they can be shredded by them, shredding destroys a ghost's essence on Earth and sends the ghost to Limbo.
  • Witchcraft - Ghosts are vulnerable to magic, and witches can consume ghosts to retain their youth.
  • Mental health - Ghosts exist in a very fragile mental state, and a ghost who stays in the material world for too long or who dabbles in dark behavior (i.e possessing and shredding) can become aggressive and unstable, or even lose touch with reality completely. Sally for example, developed an alter-ego that was malevolent.
  • Salt - Ghosts cannot cross a line of salt, which can be used to either contain a ghost or make a barrier to prevent them from entering certain areas. Zoe used salt to prevent ghosts from entering the maternity ward where she worked.
    S03 e0305 04 135976721300 CC 640x360

    A Soul Lock works as a shield to ward off ghosts.

  • Soul lock - Certain charms, such as the necklace that Zoe gave to Sally, have the power to prevent ghosts from possessing their wearer.
  • Exorcism -  It is possible to sever a ghost's connection to the place they haunt if a ritual called an exorcism is performed. It isn't clear what happens to exorcised ghosts, but Zoe suggests that they are simply cut off from the area, forcing them to haunt a different location.

Post-destruction

Though it is possible to destroy ghosts on Earth, what happens to the ghost beyond this usually depends on how it was destroyed. Ghosts who are shredded will be sent to Limbo, where they are in a constant state of torturous oblivion. Ghosts whose energy is completely drained by life-restoring witchcraft, however, apparently fully cease to exist without any chance of an afterlife, according to Donna; although Sally was somehow able to slip this fate and gain an afterlife on the Other Side after destroying herself this way.

During the eclipse, the possible existence of a hell-like realm even worse than Limbo is hinted at.

Resurrection

There are multiple methods through which a ghost can live again. Ghosts can become reincarnated through connecting their spiritual energies with the living energies of babies to permanently possess them. Witchcraft is also capable of bringing ghosts back to life; witches could restore one ghost to a fully-living human by sacrificing another ghost's energy, and a complex spell (involving the heart of someone whom the subject ghost's friend had murdered) could be used to reanimate a ghost as a zombie. When time-travelling due to her possession of Donna's magical knowledge, Sally was able to retroactively regain her original human state in an alternate timeline by permanently possessing her past self before her death.

Relationships

Vampires

Ghosts that were killed by a vampire will often haunt them out of spite or a desire for revenge. Since both vampires and ghosts can exist on Earth indefinitely, ghosts may be especially invested in their relationships with vampires when compared to their relationships with mortals, as shown with Sally and Aidan.

Werewolves

Being both mortal and aware of the existence of ghosts, werewolves are the supernatural beings ghosts interact with that most remind them of the lives they had before their passing. Some ghosts (such as Stu) were killed by transformed werewolves as opposed to surviving and being turned by them.

List of known ghosts

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