Ghost

**Ghosts** are the souls of humans who died an unfulfilling death and now haunt the area they once resided in.

## Description

Ghosts are spectral entities, depicted as being translucent ethereal shapes which take the form of their once living body. Much like demons and monsters, ghosts come in all different shapes and sizes with the only difference being is that they still retain some of their more humanly attributes and characteristics and are not outright chimeric or monstrous.

Ghosts can be identified by their corpus (a term used to describe their 'body') which almost universally consists of having various shades of green with their 'bodies' themselves being an obvious ghostly greenish white. Most of them, like any ghost, also have translucent bodies which showcase portions of their skeletons. In terms of clothing, ghosts still retain the piece of clothing they once wore before their deaths.

They are comprised of ectoplasm, the substance that makes up the majority of the underworld and the "outer malleable shell" of their soul. Plasm is a non-material "stuff" that houses a ghost's soul, with the outer shell a ghost unconsciously shapes into a form resembling their living body. Moreover, despite a majority of ghosts that have their corpus showing their skeletons and even internal organs, they are still solid plasm - which is to say that if a ghost were chopped in two, there would be no internal organs, just a consistent mass of "stuff" throughout the body.

## Overview

Ghosts are often said to be the remnants of a human's soul with these remnants being comprised of elements where the soul did not feel fulfilled during certain moments in the human's life. Ghosts are common but not **too** common, as it is estimated that only 5% of people become ghosts after death according to Azrael. However, the number of ghosts can surge if these humans died under times of great calamity and suffering, such examples include raids, plagues, and wars with the ghosts usually manifesting from the common folk who sadly got caught in the crosshairs.

Essentially, ghosts are souls that are stuck in the tunnel that leads to the light according to Death and the longer they are stuck the more violent and unstable they become. Many ghosts are tied to the living world by a personal effect or an unresolved wrong. Trapped for years, the ghosts cannot fully pass on until they find the item, often a lost sentimental piece of their past, or perform the act that might put them to rest.

She also describes them as souls that did not "pass on right" and so are taken to Necropolis, a city of the dead, for processing where Reapers "incubate" them in their own personal hauntings within Necropolis so as to properly shape them up to pass on to the afterlife. It is unknown how long this process takes as time moves very differently in the land of the dead. In addition, ghosts incubate inside coffins.

## Hierarchy

Surprisingly, ghosts seem to have a hierarchy of their own though it generally differs from the normal hierarchy seen among angels and demons. Instead, ghosts are identified by their strengths and will which can also correspond to power that they can harness through such strengths either found in Necropolis or Purgatory. They can be identified by the class they are categorized in.

The strength of a ghost is reliant on their place in the grand scheme of the underworld's economy. Wraiths for example are often used for guarding a ghost that is in the midst of its incubation, and though seemingly a waste of the wraith's abilities, it has an important economic and social activity in ghostly society, and many wraiths operate under governmental aegis while few being under the equivalent of a privateer's license.

* **Shade**: The lowest type of ghost is known as a Shade, a ghost that does not have any will or personal identity, and as such are condemned to eternally act out their personal tragedies repeatedly. They are normally found by the shores of Acheron.
* **Ankou**: Ghosts that are self-aware are known as Ankou, whom are able to preserve their will especially when having a desire to move onto the afterlife. Ankou can be found doing blue collar work within Limbo or Purgatory, taking job positions such as baggage handlers, a PSA, and even security. These ghosts work for their right to earn their place in the afterlife.
* **Wraith**: Wraiths are another well-known type of ghosts that are significantly more powerful than regular ghosts with the exception of poltergeists. Wraiths are ghosts who not only managed to preserve their will but also managed to consciously manipulate their very being while also channelling the chthonic power that courses throughout the underworld itself.
* **Wight**: Wights are perhaps the most dangerous and volatile ghosts to ever threaten the living world. They are the ghosts of those whose plasm become corrupted by dark emotions. What makes them so dangerous is that they can affect the world of the living, causing mayhem and destruction in whatever area they decide to haunt and destroy for their leisure.

## Trivia

* 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.
* Ghosts are shown to have their own type of registration to a warrant an entry in Necropolis which comes in the form of an obituary.
* According to Macaria, those who have died but have not come back as a ghost as they lived a fulfilling life, have a "one trip" pass from the afterlife in which they can briefly visit Earth.