Ghost or Spirit?

I remember hearing this once before I cant remember from where it was so long ago. Anyways I rememeber hearing that a Ghost is something that attached to one area and cant really leave. Well a spirit is one that can move around attached it self to anything that it wants to and move from place to place. Is this true? I am just trying to get some terms straight

Hi Natasha,

I suppose you are right, but there are several distinct differences.

A Ghost is the soul of a deceased person or animal, that can often be attached to a place, object or in rare cases a person. If during their living years, they were closely associated with something like a place of work for example, the soul or spirit can and often return and remain bound to that place in the spirit world. This is called a haunting. Ghosts can not really change their form and would appear in very much the way they did in the living years.

Sometimes an event which had created very strong emotional energies at the time can leave a very deep electromagnetic imprint on the area in question. In many situations this event can often get replayed over and over again almost like a tape recorder. This is often referred to as a residual haunting. It is a playback of a past events, and the apparitions involved are not spirits or ghosts, they are "recordings" of the event. A great example of this is when you see the same apparition doing the same things all the time, or hear the same noises, possibly at the same time of day, each time they are heard. The apparition seems not to even realise that you are there watching in awe.

Ghosts

1. A ghost does not have a defined form but does not change its form willingly and cannot change their appearance significantly. A spirit on the other hand cannot change their form and have a defined form.

2. Ghosts are just lingering memories and therefore have a very short term memory and tend to forget things easily. Spirits are actually the soul of the person they used to be.

3. Ghosts are not often seen by the naked eye but people tend to see them as a flash of light from the corner of their eye. Spirits can be seen whenever they want to be seen.

4. Ghost can also inhabit anywhere they want to live. But Spirits only inhabit something or somewhere that has a strong emotional tie to them, example water if they drowned, or even a locket that has been past down through generations in their family.

In my opinion: A ghost is someone who has passed on and is "stuck" between the physical world and the Afterlife. They do not cross through the 'light' to go on to the afterlife, but stick around in this "netherworld" for one reason or another or until their memory just fades into the past!

Spirits

1. Spirits can focus on one extremely strong emotion which can make their form solid and touch things including people. Spirits can also take over peoples minds and bodies.

2. Spirits can be seen whenever they want to be seen.

3. Spirit's don't haunt a place or object but depending on where they live they will protect whatever it is no matter what. But they can also guide people only when they have to, and never to their own amusement or gain.

Thanks Ecto, I appreciate the clarification I was sure I heard something about them being different some where. But then I would hear others use the terms like they are one in the same. Glad I asked on hear what was what