Ghosts

**Ghosts** are spiritual beings that are a result of an individual dying, and furthermore not having moved on to the afterlife.

## Characteristics

After death, the spirit of a human or animal will typically either reincarnate into another living being or move on into the afterlife. If however the individual has “unfinished business” that was not completed during their lifetime, their spirit will remain on Earth as a ghost addressed.

As they are the result of a death, ghosts take on the appearance at which the individual actually died, such as one ghost dying with his head in a pot of fondue, and thus being stuck with it on his head. Ghosts can vary in appearance; ghosts brought back via séances appear translucent, emitting glowing blue light. They are formed of a gooey white substance known as ectoplasm. All humans and vampires are capable of seeing ghosts. Séances can be used to summon ghosts and make troublesome invisible ghosts (known as poltergeists) appear visible.

Ghosts are able to be both corporeal and incorporeal, a choice they can seemingly make themselves. They can also disappear on a whim, though they may also be tied to a particular location (such as the party guests at 23 Tukariri Street in Khandallah, Wellington). Ghosts are capable of flight, becoming invisible and possessing people and objects. Some ghosts are capable of temporarily shapeshifting.

Many ghosts are unfortunately unaware that they have died, which can lead to issues that have led the Wellington Police Paranormal Unit to investigate on multiple occasions. A ghost will remain in the world until they agree to move on to the afterlife. Some rituals, such as the horn tooting in Mount Victoria Tunnel, can keep ghosts away from an area.

## History

After a large number of deaths at an anniversary party in the 1970s, including Raymond St John, those individuals were turned into ghosts, continuing to party for the following 40 years. They were only stopped, however, when Officers Minogue and O'Leary intervened, alerting them to the fact that St John was keeping them all there. They were subsequently allowed to leave to the afterlife.

During the 1930s, police officer Bill Miller died while on duty in Mount Victoria Tunnel. For years, drivers who went through this tunnel practiced a tradition of tooting their horns as they passed through. This briefly stopped in 2019 when O’Leary and Minogue put up a sign to stop them tooting unnecessarily. The resulting silence caused Miller’s ghost to return to the site as well as all the other places in Wellington he used to patrol. The Paranormal Unit eventually lured him back to the tunnel and put him on duty there before altering the sign, causing his ghost to disappear again.

In 1989, a young man named Shane Thompson killed himself by driving his car off a bay. The car was eventually recovered, sold and refurbished. Shane’s ghost haunted the car and drove it away from its new owner Trent, causing havoc as it sped around Wellington. Shane eventually agreed to leave the car for the afterlife after negotiation from his ex-girlfriend Sharon.

In 2001, six rugby fans dressed as Where’s Wally died in a car crash on their way to a Wellington Sevens game. Twenty years later they returned as ghosts and started mistaking strangers for Wiremu, their surviving friend, and tried to abduct them. The Paranormal Unit successfully reunited the ghosts with the real Wiremu and encouraged them to travel to Hamilton for the (cancelled) Sevens match without him.

While filming a *Police Summer Safety* PSA on drunk driving, O'Leary and Minogue met Gary, the ghost of a man who died while driving under the influence of alcohol.

On Christmas Eve 2019, a ghost claiming to be that of a murderer possessed a creepy-looking doll and attacked the family it was gifted to. O’Leary fought back by destroying the doll with a cricket bat.

A ghost may have haunted the Wellington Paranormal COVID-19 Crisis Communications Command Centre during the coronavirus pandemic. Officer Phil, a mannequin, kept moving by himself while O'Leary was filming a series of PSAs.

In 2020, the Staten Island vampire residence had a poltergeist infestation. The residents held a séance and brought back the ghost of Nadja’s former lover Jeff Suckler and were unable to get rid of him. The group held a second séance to bring back the ghosts of their human forms which died when they became vampires. Laszlo and Nandor helped their ghosts achieve their unfinished businesses, the latter of which solved theirs by reuniting his ghost with that of his deceased horse, Jahan. Meanwhile, Nadja grew fond of her ghost and decided to keep her in the mortal world by letting her secretly possess a doll in the house.

## Known ghosts

* Bill Miller
* Colin's grandmother
* Gary
* Nadja's ghost
* Raymond St John
* The Sevens Ghosts
* "Cake Girl"
* "Cheeseface"
* Jahan
* Laszlo's ghost
* Nandor's ghost
* Jeff Suckler
* Peter
* Rochelle
* Shane Thompson

## Appearances

* *Wellington Paranormal*
	+ "Things That Do the Bump in the Night"
	+ "Mt. Vic Hooters"
	+ "Haunted Nissan"
	+ "Christmas Special"
	+ "The Sevens Ghosts"
* *Police Summer Safety - Ghost*
* *Important COVID-19 messages from Wellington Paranormal*
* *What We Do in the Shadows* (TV series)
	+ "Ghosts"

## References

Clement, Jemaine (writer) & Waititi, Taika (director) (March 27, 2019). "Pilot". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 1. FX.
Simms, Paul (writer) & Newacheck, Kyle (director) (April 15, 2020). "Ghosts". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 12. FX.
Ward, Nick (writer) & van Beek, Jackie (director) (25 July 2018). "Things That Do the Bump in the Night". *Wellington Paranormal*. Episode 3. TVNZ 2.
Bracewell, Melanie (writer) & van Dammen, Tim (director) (30 October 2019). "Mt. Vic Hooters". *Wellington Paranormal*. Episode 9. TVNZ 2.
Yates, Paul (writer) & van Beek, Jackie (director) (13 November 2019). "Haunted Nissan". *Wellington Paranormal*. Episode 11. TVNZ 2.
Gonzalez-Macuer, Cori (writer) & van Dammen, Tim (director) (17 March 2021). "The Sevens Ghosts". *Wellington Paranormal*. Episode 17. TVNZ 2.
7. ↑  "Police Summer Safety – Ghost" - Vimeo
Yates, Paul (writer) & Hewison, Dean (director) (19 December 2019). "Christmas Special". *Wellington Paranormal*. Episode 13. TVNZ 2.
9. ↑  "Important COVID-19 messages from Wellington Paranormal: Ep 16: The Wrap Up" - New Zealand Police