Ghost Sickness

“	Some cultures believe that certain spirits can infect the living with a disease, which is why they stopped displaying bodies in houses and started taking them off to funeral homes.	”
	— Sam Winchester about Ghost Sickness in Yellow Fever

Ghost sickness is a supernatural disease spread by a specific class of spirit known as the Buruburu. In order to be infected, one must encounter a Buruburu or come into physical contact with a victim of ghost sickness.

Symptoms[]

“	Sam: Symptoms are you get anxious, then scared, then really scared, then your heart gives out... Once a spirit infects that first person, ghost sickness can spread like any sickness, through a cough, a headshake, whatever. It's like the flu. Dean: So now what, I have 48 hours until I go insane and my heart stops?.	”
	— Sam and Dean Winchester about Ghost Sickness in Yellow Fever

Ghost sickness first appears as nightmares and subtle signs of irrational fear. The fear gets greater and greater as the illness progresses. Soon after the initial symptoms, wounds mirroring those the originating ghost received while dying appear on the victim without an apparent cause; basically, the victim experiencrs the ghost's death in slow motion. As the ghost sickness progresses further the victim begins hallucinating and feels queasiness that degenerates into vomit. Toward the ending stages the vomiting degenerates further into vomiting blood. At the final climax of the illness the victim will experience intense terror that will cause a fatal heart attack.^[1]

“	Dean: So why me? Why not you? you got hit with the spleen juice. Sam: Yah, see, Bobby and I have a theory about that too. Turns out all three victims shared a certain personality type... all three victims used fear as a weapon, and now this disease is just returning the favour.	”
	— Dean and Sam Winchester about Ghost Sickness in Yellow Fever

However, not everyone is susceptible to ghost sickness. Apparently, ghost sickness only infects people who use fear as a weapon - basically, it returns them the favour and gives them a taste of their own medicine. As Buruburu appearntly only form via a harrowing death, the Buruburu's killer, who most definitely used fear against them while killing them, is generally fitting this description.

Cure[]

The cure for ghost sickness is to destroy the ghost who began spreading the ghost sickness. However, in case the ususal method to distached the spirit are precluded, there is another option: as the Buruburu is fear incarnate, it can be "scared to death" by recreating its original death.^[1]

History[]

Season 4[]

Sam and Dean are investigating a series of deaths, when Dean starts to act strangely. They call Bobby, who diagnoses the problem as ghost sickness.^[1] As Sam and Bobby race to find a means to save Dean, Dean suffers from the symptoms, which include itchiness on his arms, fear about everything, and hallucinations of Azazel and Lilith.