Ghost

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Ghost
Powers and Abilities Varies; can include telekinesis and possession.
Vulnerabilities Varies; one standard is the salting and burning of the ghost's physical remains.
Appearance Varies; the form of the deceased, which may have visible signs of trauma or decay.
Episode(s) Various in Seasons 1-6 (see below).

Ghosts or spooks are controversial phenomena which have several possible definitions:

  • The spirit or soul of a person who has died, especially one which haunts a place which was of emotional significance to that person when living.
  • The personality of a person after his or her own death which is not directly tied to the soul or spirit. A sort of psychic memory-imprint.
  • The character or memory of some being or thing which has died or, if it was never alive, been somehow destroyed or disassembled, which nevertheless remains existent (and sometimes detectable) in a semi-corporeal form.

According to reported sightings, ghosts have taken the shape of humans, animals, and even vehicles. There are reports of ghosts (usually of deceased humans) in most cultures throughout the world. There is a great deal of dispute whether ghosts are figments of the imagination or part of objective existence. Ghosts are among the subjects studied by parapsychologists.
from Wikipedia

Ghosts in "Supernatural"

Guest Ghosts

Ghost Lore

A ghost or spirit remains connected to the mortal realm because it is attached to it through unfinished business or an unwillingness to move on. Many have a desire for revenge against those who they perceive to have caused their deaths, for example Peter Sweeney and Constance Welch. Others like Dr Ellicott, Dr. H.H. Holmes and Nurse Glockner were evil in life and continued this after death.

From 2.01 In My Time Of Dying

Tessa the Reaper: Well, like you said. There's always a choice. I can't make you come with me. But you're not getting back in your body. And that's just facts. So yes, you can stay. You'll stay here for years. Disembodied, scared, and over the decades it'll probably drive you mad. Maybe you'll even get violent.
Dean: What are you saying?
Tessa: Dean. How do you think angry spirits are born? They can't let go and they can't move on. And you're about to become one. The same thing you hunt.

From 2.16 Roadkill (episode)

Molly: I don't understand how a guy like this can turn into that monster.
Sam: Well, spirits like Greely are like wounded animals. Lost... in so much pain that they lash out.
Molly: Why? Why are they here?
Sam: There's some part of them that... that's keeping them here. Like their remains, or unfinished business.
Molly: Unfinished business?
Sam: Yeah. It could be revenge. It could be love, or hate. Whatever it is, they just hold on too tight. Can't let go. So they're trapped. Caught in the same loops. Replaying the same tragedies over and over.
Molly: You sound almost sorry for them.
Sam: Well, they weren't evil people, you know. A lot of them were good, just something happened to them. Something they couldn't control.

One common theory of ghosts is that they have the ability to manipulate electromagnetism, hence although they cannot always communicate in the normal human spectrum of hearing they can manipulate electronic equipment to communicate by EVP.

When they materialize, they may exude ectoplasm as Dr. H.H. Holmes did in 2.06 No Exit.

A ghost who move objects is referred to as a Poltergeist.

In 4.06 Yellow Fever, it is discovered that ghosts might infect a person with Ghost Sickness - a disease that will make the sick person experience the ghost's feelings in slow motion. In 4.06 Yellow Fever Dean gets infected, and experiences the torture and death of Luther Garland.

From 4.02 Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester and 4.07 It's The Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester, it is known that ghosts may be summoned by demons. In 4.02 Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester, Lilith raises the Witnesses to attack hunters. In 4.07 It's The Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester, the Halloween demon Samhain summons ghosts and reawakens Zombies.

Dispatching Ghosts

The boys commonly dispatch a ghost by salting and burning its corpse. In 2.16 Roadkill, Sam admits that "My dad always said it's like death for spirits. But the truth is, we never know."

This method is successful in most cases, including those of Dr Ellicott, Nurse Glockner and Jonah Greely. In 5.09 The Real Ghostbusters, the final salting and burning is performed by Demian and Barnes. With the Hook Man Legend, the Winchesters salt and burn the corpse but also have to melt all the silver from his hook. Cyrus Dorian is salted and burned but only banished when he is lured onto holy ground. Other ghosts' bodies have been disposed of, but a small amount of DNA is preserved and must be destroyed. This is true of Melanie Merchant and Dirk McGregor, whose remaining hair is burnt. In the case of P.T. Sandover, his gloves needed burning. Though Rose Brown's body is burned by Sam, she cannot be dispatched because she donated her kidney to her still living sister, Isabel. Sam and Dean consider using hoodoo is keep Rose in check, but Isabel's sudden death causes Rose to disappear.

Iron repels ghosts. Sam uses an iron poker to protect himself and Sarah from Melanie Merchant in 1.19 Provenance. The use of iron to repel ghosts has another link with the electromagnetism theory, as striking a ghost with an object made of iron grounds their electric charge, disrupting them - and warding them off until they're able to recover.

In 4.06 Yellow Fever Sam and Bobby Singer "scare a ghost to death" by making him relive his torture and violent death, thus effectively dispatching him.

Occasionally, a ghost is dispatched when it is forced to deal with its unfinished business, such as the Sailor’s Ghost in 3.06 Red Sky At Morning. Others must make the choice to cross over, like Molly McNamara and Cole Griffith.

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