Ghosts

A ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased animal or person who can appear in visible form or other manifestation 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.

They are one of the most recurring "monsters of the week" in the series, appearing in several episodes -- "Pilot", "Dead In The Water", "Bedtime Stories", "The Real Ghostbusters" and "Yellow Fever".

General Characteristics
A ghost is the spirit of a deceased person that for some reason or another was unable to pass on to the next life, or who's rest had been disturbed. Ghosts are neither good nor evil, as their behaviour is ultimately dictated by who they were in life and how they died.

Normally, a ghost will start out confused and disorientated before realizing they are dead. In some cases, a trauma of sudden death can so great that a ghost will think that are still alive and countinue in a routine from their lives, oblivious to the fact they are dead.

A reaper explained to Dean Winchester that the longer a ghost remains on earth the more dangerous and violent it becomes. Sam once explained to the ghost of a woman they helped that ghosts can get like injured animals--they become so angry and upset that all they can do is lash out at anyone who crosses their paths.

It's also been stated as a fact that ghosts are the most common type of paranormal activty that hunters uselly encounter and hunt on a daily basis.

Summoning
On rare occasions, it is possible to summon a spirit back to earth for any reason. However, this is a risky practice considering the unpredictable nature of ghosts. Ghosts summoned thanks to black arts can turn violent if the summoner loses control of them, as a result of their anger at having their rest disturbed and being forced to murder against their will.

It can be possible to obtain information from a ghost if having something or being able to do something that will please them. This is shown when Bobby summons Crowley's human son, Gavin McLeod, in order to find information. Upon learning Bobby's predicament and his father's involvement, the spirit was more than happy to tell Bobby anything in return for someone putting his dad in his place.

Types
There are many diffrent types of ghosts in the series, as they are created through different kind of deaths and situations they were in when alive. They include:

Violent Spirits
Generally the ghosts of violent people or people who died from violent deaths. They are the most dangerous type of spirit and will attack anyone that reminds them of their deaths. Benevolent ghosts also have the potential to turn violent as a result of staying on earth too long or emotional stress.

Death Omens
While they appear violent and intimidating, they are not dangerous ghosts but rather trying to warn people who may be murdered by the person who killed them. They are tied to the earth because they wish to find out who killed them.

Death Echo
An ocasional byproduct of murder by a ghost; a Death Echo is considered one of the more pitable spirits in the the series. They are spirits who are trapped in an endless cylcle of their murder and the pain of death. An Echo can be shocked out of the cycle and then pass to the afterlife if they are confronted or calmed by a person they share an emotional link with. They then disappear in a flash of light

Vengeful Spirits
While dangerous and violent, these ghosts are not evil in nature. They are simply seeking vengeance for a wrong committed against them or a loved one. This can range from exposing the truth to attacking those involved with the wrongdoing untill they feel the score has been settled. On the rare occasion they can still be attached to their body--such as with Calie, in "Bedtime Stories", who had grown frustrated that her father did not know the truth about her death and that he would not let her pass on.

Buru Buru
This kind of ghost is born from fear, so it strikes fear into its victims--in other words; ghost sickness. It is found in Japanese lore. The only way to kill a buru buru (if there is no body to burn) is to kill it with fear. Sam and Dean encounter this spirit in "Yellow Fever", when Dean gets ghost sickness. The spirit doing it was Luther Garland.

Powers & Abilities
Ghosts possess several powers, though it is speculated that some have not been revealed yet. A brief list of powers displayed by ghosts (not all of them could do so) so far:

They are also skilled at whatever they did during their lives.
 * Invislibility - Ghost remain invisible to the living, but they may apper as a blur or faint light. However,when they want, they can appear as they are.
 * Intangibility - As a spirit, they can phase throught solid matter without any kind of injuries.
 * Astrol Projection - Altough invisible to the liviing, ghost can appearance and reveal thier true ghostly form to humans and hunters at will. Thier appearance varies depending on how they died, but they they always appear pale and undead.
 * Teleportation - Ghosts can teleport (be able to move in the blink of an eye to other locations). It is usually followed by a flickering light.
 * Enhanced Strength - They are also incredibly stronger when they were humans (although it can be just be a extension of their telekinetic abilities).
 * Telekinesis - They are able to move virtually anything with their minds if they have enough concentration on the objects.
 * Death Inducement - Some ghosts are powerful enough to kill someone by touching them. Sometimes a ghost can just scare a human so bad, the person dies with out being touched by a ghost.
 * Environment Manipulation - Most ghost have show to have the ability to manipulate the elemenats like wind, fire, electricity, water, and droping temperature. Manipulating electricity and droping temperature are the two common signs that indicate a ghosts presence.
 * Disease Manipulation - Some ghost can infect people sickness and disease. They can infect people with supernatural disease called ghost sickness,
 * Possession - A rare ability, a ghost can possess humans like demons do, but only a really angry ghost would do it.
 * Madness Warping - Angry, vengeful ghosts can sometimes drive people crazy and can then manipulate the people they drove crazy to do their will. Changing personality and turing them violent and suicidal. As shown in the episods Home and Bedtime Stories.
 * Hydrokinesis - Some Ghosts (Like ones that drowned, or death was linked to water or the sea) can to an extent manipulate and even create water.



Weaknesses
Dissipatments - Hunters have only two methods to repel ghosts. The list below are...

Salt - Ghosts can be repled by salt and can't cross a line made of salt. Most hunters just rock shot rounds and dissipates ghosts by blasting them with rock salt. Salt is also useful when ever a ghost is poesseing a human. Feeding salt in the mouth the person a ghost is posessing, will cause the ghost great pain and forse the ghost out a nd free the human form the ghosts control.

Iron - Like salt, keeps spirits at bay. Most hunters use an iron crowbar. One swing with it will dissipate a ghost for a couple of minutes.

Putting a Ghost to Rest - There are generally four ways to defeat a ghost and putting them to rest. the first is,

Salting and Burning the Bones - The best and most common method to put a ghost to rest. Digging up a ghost remains and salting and buring the boones, will help the spirit to cross over to the next life. When a ghost bones are succesfully salted and burned, it will go up in flames. This methed is used for violent and vegenful spirits

Destroying the Haunted Object - Salting and Buring the object the ghost is useing to stay active in the human world, will putt a ghost rest if their is no bones to burn.

Resolveing the ghosts issues - Helping a ghost resolve its issues can put a ghost to rest. This methed is rare but it used to help benevolent spirits find pease.

Ghosts - If two ghosts fight each other, they both will destroy each other and will no longer exist.

Season One

 * Pilot
 * Dead in the Water
 * Bloody Mary
 * Hook Man
 * Home
 * Asylum
 * Route 666
 * Hell House
 * Provenance

Season Two

 * In My Time of Dying
 * No Exit
 * Roadkill
 * The Usual Suspects
 * Playthings
 * Houses of the Holy
 * Hollywood Babylon
 * Folsom Prison Blues

Season Three

 * Bedtime Stories
 * Red Sky at Morning
 * Ghostfacers

Season Four

 * Are you there, God? It's me, Dean Winchester
 * Yellow Fever
 * It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester
 * After School Special
 * Death Takes a Holiday
 * Its a Terrible Life

Season Five

 * The Real Ghostbusters

Season Six

 * Appointment In Samarra
 * Mannequin 3: The Reckoning

Season Seven

 * Defending Your Life
 * The Mentalists
 * Death's Door
 * The Born-Again Identity