In traditional belief, a
ghost is the
soul or
spirit of a deceased 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 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 they were associated with in life, though stories of the phantom armies,
ghost trains,
phantom ships, and even ghost
animals have also been recounted.
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