Haunted Index

23 Following

Image by snuapril01. Used with permission.

This index is haunted by the spirits of those who have passed.

Here is a list of tropes about ghosts.

Compare Mummy Tropes, Skeletal Tropes, Tropes of the Living Dead, and Vampire Tropes for other undead creatures. See also (or don't) Invisibility Index.

Tropes:

• Afterlife Express: A train or other vehicle that takes souls to the afterlife.
• Astral Projection: A spirit/soul acting elsewhere while its body lies unconscious.
• An Astral Projection, Not a Ghost: A "ghost" is not actually a ghost, but a living person's astral projection.
• Barred from the Afterlife: A dead character cannot enter any form of an afterlife and is thus stuck wandering the mortal plane as a ghost.
• Bedsheet Ghost: A white sheet with eyeholes to look like a ghost.
• Beware of Hitchhiking Ghosts: Hitchhiking ghosts cause trouble for those that pick them up.
• Big Boo's Haunt: Haunted Video Game level.
• Boy Meets Ghoul: A living human falls in love with a ghost.
• Creepy Cemetery: As graveyards are filled with a lot of dead people buried under the surface, ghosts or other undead entities will often dwell there.
• Curse of the Pharaoh: Egyptian pyramids are often haunted by undead mummies or the spirits of ancient pharaohs, threatening to inflict supernatural harm upon anyone who dares to mess with their tombs.
• Cute Ghost Girl: The adorable ghost of a dead girl.
• Dead All Along: A character is revealed to have been dead the whole time.
• Dead Person Conversation: A conversation with someone who has died, possibly through haunting or séance.
• De-aged in Death: A person's soul looks young even though the person in question died at an older age.
• Death-Based Ghost Powers: A ghost with powers, quirks, and/or a theme based around how they died.
• Demonic Possession: When someone or something is possessed by a demon or ghost.
• The Disembodied: A character has not actually died, but their spirit has been separated from their body.
• Ectoplasm: Slimy substance associated with the paranormal.
• Electromagnetic Ghosts: The presence of the paranormal causes electromagnetic oddities.
• Ethereal White Dress: White clothing worn to make a character look otherworldly.
• Evil Elevator: Sometimes controlled by a ghost or similar malicious entity.
• Evil Tainted the Place: The site of a tragic and violent event becomes haunted.
• Fairy Feline: Supernatural cat-like spirits from European folklore that may be ghosts.
• Faux Flame: Supernatural flames that only look like fire.
• Fearless Undead: Characters who are undead and have no self-preservation instincts.
• Fog Feet: Ghosts with wispy tails in place of legs and feet.
• Friendly Ghost: A ghost who is genuinely well-meaning.
• Ghastly Ghost: A ghost who is horrifying and/or malevolent.
• Ghost Amnesia: A ghost who has forgotten details or the entirety of their former life.
• Ghost Butler: The door behind a character shuts behind them without anyone doing so.
• Ghost Invasion: Ghosts invade the Earth.
• The Ghost King: Ghost royalty that rules over other ghosts and sometimes other undead creatures as well.
• Ghost Pirate: A pirate who keeps up the business even after death.
• Ghost Reunion Ending: When a work ends with the spirits of deceased characters appearing together.
• Ghost Ship: Creepy and/or haunted abandoned ships.
• Ghost Song: A song sung by a character who's died and become a ghost.
• Ghost Story: Stories about ghosts.
• Ghost Train: A creepy train conducted or used by ghosts.
• Ghostly Animals: The spirits of dead animals.
• Ghostly Chains: Ghosts wear chains and shackles.
• Ghostly Chill: When paranormal forces draw near, the temperature drops.
• Ghostly Death Reveal: A character's offscreen death is revealed by their appearance as a ghost later in the story.
• Ghostly Gape: Ghost are often depicted with wide, hollow mouths.
• Ghostly Glide: Ghosts who float instead of walk.
• Ghostly Goals: Benevolent or malicious reasons for why a ghost has not passed on yet.
• Ghostly Wail: Ghosts groaning, moaning, or screaming for added creepiness.
• Ghosts Abhor a Vacuum: Ghosts can be captured with an ordinary vacuum cleaner.
• Giving Up the Ghost: Someone astral projects for a little bit while unconscious, but neither dies nor has a significant out-of-body experience.
• Glowing Eyelights of Undeath: Ghosts with glowing eyes.
• Haunted Castle: The typical dark-castle-surrounded-by-fog setting.
• Haunted Fetter: A physical object that binds a ghost to the living world.
• Haunted Headquarters: Haunted primary setting.
• Haunted Heroine: A female character being haunted by ghosts.
• Haunted House: House filled with ghosts.
• Haunted Technology: Technology housing or being controlled by ghosts.
• Haunting the Guilty: A character is haunted by the visions of those they've murdered.
• Headless Horseman: A headless rider who haunts certain areas.
• Healthy in Heaven: Characters who die become their ideal forms (young, able-bodied, etc) in spirit.
• Hellhound: An evil, supernatural dog that may be a ghost.
• Hellish Horse: A scary horse that may be a ghost.
• Hitodama Light: Orbs of flame that surround Japanese ghosts/possessed people.
• Indian Burial Ground: Supernatural activity is caused by the restless spirits haunting an Indian burial ground underneath the location.
• Intangibility: Being able to phase through solid objects is a common ghost power.
• Invisibility: Being able to disappear from view is another common ghost power.
• I See Dead People: Characters with the ability to see or communicate to ghosts.
• I See Them, Too: A character who sees things no one else sees finally finds someone who has the same ability.
• It Won't Turn Off: A device won't turn off no matter what a character does.
• Jacob Marley Apparel: Ghosts match the appearance of the moment they died.
• Jury of the Damned: A trial in which the jury is composed of the spirits of the worst people.
• Living Ghost: A living being with many of the abilities of a ghost.
• Magnetic Medium: A character who can see or talk to ghosts has to deal with said ghosts following or pursuing them.
• Medicate the Medium: Supernatural powers or being haunted is confused as a mental illness.
• Monochrome Apparition: Ghosts appear in single colors.
• Mourning Apparition: A character sees an apparition of someone they knew and lost, representing how they haven't fully processed their departure.
  • Banish the Mourning Apparition: A character sends the mourning apparition away to denote closure and moving on.
• Murder Into Malevolence: Someone who was murdered becomes an evil ghost.
• Old School Building: A spooky abandoned schoolhouse.
• Our Banshees Are Louder: The various portrayals of banshees, Celtic portents of doom who take the form of a crying woman, in fiction.
• Paranormal Investigation: A Hybrid Genre centered around characters who specialize in investigating ghosts and other paranormal/supernatural occurrences.
• Paranormal Palette: Color Motifs used to represent or symbolize ghosts and other paranormal/supernatural phenomena.
• Phantom Zone: An alternate dimension that may, or may not, be populated by actual ghosts/phantoms/spirits.
• Poltergeist: Ghosts whose haunting causes objects to move.
• Possessing a Dead Body: A dead body that is reanimated by an inhabiting spirit.
• Silly Spook: Instead of being scary, this ghost is funny.
• Soul Power: Stock Superpower centered around commanding ghosts and spiritual energy, or simply becoming a ghost yourself.
• Spirit Advisor: A ghost who appears to mentor or give advice to a living character.
• Spirit World: A world where ghosts and spirits reside.
• Spooky Photographs: Ghosts caught on camera.
• Spooky Séance: A creepy scene in which characters attempt to contact a deceased person via séance.
• Spooky Silent Library: Libraries become ten times scarier when empty or abandoned.
• Stingy Jack: A folk tale of a pumpkin-headed trickster.
• Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl: The ghost of a girl with long hair that curtains her face.
• Supernatural Light: Ghosts and paranormal entities emit a glow.
• Treacherous Spirit Chase: The apparition of a lost loved one appears to a character, but in following them, said character is put in danger.
• Undead Barefooter: Ghosts who don't have or wear shoes.
• Undeathly Pallor: Ghosts with pale skin.
• Unfinished Business: Ghosts stick around until they've finished a task.
• Unholy Ground: A land haunted and dangerous to any living creature.
• Vengeful Ghost: A ghost who comes back from the afterlife for revenge.
• Whispering Ghosts: Background whispering sounds for creepiness.
• Who You Gonna Call?: Characters who go after ghosts.
• Wight in a Wedding Dress: A female ghost dressed in a wedding dress.
• Will-o'-the-Wisp: An eerie light that appears to lead travelers astray.
• Winds Are Ghosts: Wind carrying the spirits of the deceased.
• You Can See Me?: A character who goes unnoticed by everyone (invisible, ghost, etc.) is finally seen by someone.
• You Look Like You've Seen a Ghost: Frightened characters are said to have looked like they've seen a ghost.