Whitman Van Ness was a man who died alone and became a ghost in his home. There, he trapped other ghosts for his own amusement.
Background
While he was alive, Whitman Van Hess lost his fortune and let the house become a bordello. He later killed his fiancée on the eve of her wedding and framed his groundskeeper Dexter for the crime. After Whitman died, he became a ghost that haunted his old house and kept the ghosts of his victims around for amusement and to prolong his own existence. He is destroyed when Sam and Dean burn his bones. (Of Grave Importance)
Powers and Abilities
As a ghost, he naturally possess all of the innate ghost powers, however he, as a higher-level ghost, was much more powerful.
- Invisibility - He can only be seen when he so chooses, otherwise he can't be seen by humans, but can be detected by an EMF meter.
- Super-strength - He proved to be able to physically deal with humans easily, he tossed and punched Sam and Dean around.
- Intangibility - Like all ghosts, he's not physical and can walk through walls. As he is so powerful, he can stick his arm inside humans or even other ghost's bodies, initially causing them great discomfort, but eventually they will fall dead.
- Teleportation - Able to move from place to place in the blink of a eye
- Telekinesis - Could move objects with his mind, he made the car Dean was driving speed up, and a door slam behind Annie.
- Electronic Manipulation - Able to cause flash lights to flicker.
- Draining - It appears as though he has gained, through his "Zen" outlook on the afterlife, the ability to "drain" ghosts, similar in appearance and effect as to when Castiel absorbed the souls of Purgatory.