A ghost - or spirit or apparition - is the energy, soul or personality of a person who has died and has somehow got stuck between this plane of existence and the next.

Most researchers believe that these spirits do not know they are dead. Very often they have died under traumatic, unusual or highly emotional circumstances.

Ghosts can be perceived by the living in a number of ways: through sight (apparitions), sound (voices), smell (frangrances and odors), touch - and sometimes they can just be sensed.

1. Ghost/Spirit- The soul of a dead person, a disembodied spirit imagined usually as a vague, shadowy form or something that fades quickly, as wandering among or haunting living persons. 2. Orb- The manifestation of a spirit which appears in the form of a sphere, this is the most common form of manifestation but is not very credible due to the fact that dust, mist, bugs, and other small particles also appear as orbs in photos and videos.

3. Ectoplasm- The manifestation of a spirit which appears in the form of a smokey mist.

4. Streak- The appearance of a orb moving in fast motion, streaks can be found in photos 5. Full-Bodied Apparition- A supernatural appearance of a spirit in which the full body of that person can be seen. This typically only lasts for a second or so. 6. Shadow Person- A spirit which manifests as a dark, shadowy silhouette, usually in the form of a person. Shadow people can move very fast but mainly last about a second or so.

7. Elemental- A rare form of manifestation in which the spirit takes on a full physical appearance and form. Typically bad news, because they can be quite violent. 8. Demon- An entity that is malevolent in nature, very bad news for anyone to come in contact with. Usually something violent (like a mass murder), horrific (torturing or sacrificing people or animals), or stupid (someone who inadvertently summons one through a ritual) must transpire in order for demons to inhabit an area.

Test your understanding of the text.1.How many forms do ghosts appear in? Can you remember what they are all called?

2 Which ghostly forms are bad news?

3 Do ghosts smell?

Apparition.............................................................................Traumatic.............................................................................Disembodied.........................................................................Manifestation......................................................................Supernatural ......................................................................Silhouette.............................................................................Malevolent...........................................................................Inadvertently.......................................................................

What do these words mean?

The White Lady

In medieval times in England, The White Lady would act as a harbinger of death – appearing night and day in a home where someone is about to die.

The Scottish version of the White Lady is said to be the ghost of a young disgraced girl who got stuck up in a high tower and flung herself out of said high tower, and since then she haunts the grounds of the castle and the room of her banishment.

The Drummer Boy

There are various ghosts of Drummer Boys throughout the UK. There is the ghost of a poor boy who was sent down into a tunnel big enough only for a small boy, by the local council men of Edinburgh to find out where it led. He was to beat his drum whilst in the tunnel so that they could follow his progress up above. Unfortunately when he stopped drumming they decided that it was not safe to send down another boy to find out what had happend to him. Instead they sealed up the tunnel, basically leaving the boy to die.

Another resided at Dover Castle, this ghost however is said to be a headless ghost of a drummer boy. who was murdered during an errand involving a large sum of money. It is believed the boy was decapitated by his assailants who took the money that he was carrying.His decapitated spirit has been seen numerous times across the castle grounds, often heard banging his drum.

The Nurse

Nurses are also another common ghost which are often seen in hotels , large house as well as hospitals as many of these places were used during the first and second world wars as hospitals for wounded soldiers.St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, In the depths of the hospital there is a elevator, which generations of doctors and nurses have come to know as the “coffin lift.” In the silent hours of early mornings, it has been known to take bemused passengers down to the basement, irrespective of which floor they have pressed for. Once there, its lights go out and it will not move. After a few moments of madly pushing the buttons, staff will pull open the gates and walk back to the ground floor. Here they find the lift waiting, its gates open and its lights on. Should they then choose to walk up to the required level, they suffer the unnerving experience of having the elevator follow them up the lift shaft, around which the staircase twists. Tradition maintains that the ghost of a nurse, who was once murdered in the lift in the basement by a deranged patient, is responsible for the malfunction.

The ghosts of children are perhaps the most eerie. Stories of children haunting schools, castles or houses can be found all over the UK.

One of the most famous is the 19 century tale. An orphanage known as the York Industrial Ragged School was the site of ghastly murders. A greedy, money grabbing schoolmaster spent little on clothing and feeding the children, and so they died in great numbers. He left the bodies to rot in a locked cupboard, and then one day thought he heard their terrified screams. Out of fear he killed the remaining children. The ghosts of the children are said to remain, their spirits alternating between laughter and horrifying screams.

School children

Monks and nuns, have haunted monasteries, churces and chapels for hundreds of years, scaring churchgoers who dare to enter those premises at night or even the surrounding graveyards.

The legend of Boreley Rectory built in 1362 is a sad tale of a nun who fell in love with a monk from the monastery. They had decided to elope to be together, but the elders discovered their plans. A friend of the monk was to drive a carriage to help them escape. On the fateful night they were captured by the elders. The coachman was beheaded, the monk hanged and the nun was bricked up alive in the walls of the vaults beneath the rectory. Their ghosts have haunted the site ever since.

Monks and Nuns

James Street Railway station was opened in 1886 and is home to numerous ghosts due to accidents and suicides, but there is one ghostly passenger, a soldier, which rides the train from Birkenhead Central to James street which gives anyone who travels on that train a fright at night.This spectural soldier wears a sergeants uniform, has a pencil thin moustache and carrys a sergeants swagger stick. A medium claimed the ghost was of a soldier who committed suicide on the line after returning from the horrors of WWI, but no one knows the real story behind this repetitive apparition.

The Soldier

Test your understanding of the text.1 What is a “harbinger of death”?

2 What happend to the drummer boy who went down a tunnel?

3 What was the elevator in one hospital called?

4 What did the school master do with the bodies of some school children?

5 Who was bricked up in a wall?

6 Who rides the train from Birkenhead Central to James street?

What do these words mean?Disgraced ..............................................................................Banishment...........................................................................Decapitated...........................................................................Horrifying..............................................................................Monastery.............................................................................Spectural...............................................................................Swagger.................................................................................

1.Do you believe in ghosts?

2.Would you talk to a ghost?

3.Do you know any good stories about ghosts?

4.Do you know anyone who has said that they have seen a ghost?

5.Have you ever been to a place that has a reputation for ghosts?

6.Would you spend the night in a very old uninhabited house, church school that was known to have ghosts?

7.If you were a ghost who and where would you haunt?

8.If you don't believe in ghost, why don't you believe?

9.Can you recall any strange or unexplained events in your life?

Discussion

GhostSpirtOrbEctoplasmStreakFull-bodied apparitionShadow-personElemental

DemonApparition Traumatic Disembodied Manifestation Supernatural SilhouetteMalevolent

Disgraced Banishment Decapitated HorrifyingMonastery Spectural

Find the "spooky" words below within the box

Q1 Test your understanding

8, Ghost/spirtOrbEctoplasmStreakFull-bodied apparitionShadow-personElementalDemon

What do these words mean

Apparition - a ghost or ghostlike image of a person.Traumatic - deeply disturbing or distressing eventDisembodied - separated from or existing without the bodyManifestation - something nothaving a physical or concrete existence. Supernatural - something that is beyond scientific understandingSilhouette - the dark shape and outline of someone or something visible in restricted light against a brighter background.Malevolent - having or showing a wish to do evil to others.Inadvertently - without intention; accidentally.

Q2Test your understanding

What is a “harbinger of death”? - WHITE LADYWhat happend to the drummer boy who went down a tunnel? - HE WAS LEFT TO DIE AFTER THE COUNCIL MEN SEALED UP THE TUNNELWhat was the elevator in one hospital called? - THE COFFIN LIFTWhat did the school master do with the bodies of some school children? - LOCKED THEM IN A CUPBOARD TO ROTWho was bricked up in a wall?- A NUNWho rides the train from Birkenhead Central to James street? - A SOLDIER GHOST FORM THE FIRST WORLD WAR

What do these words mean?

Disgraced - having fallen from favour or a position of power or honour; discredited.Banishment - to force someone to leave an area or country as punishmentDecapitated - having cut off the head of someoneHorrifying- filled with horror; shock greatly.Monastery - a building or buildings occupied by a community of monks living under religious vows.Spectura l- something that is ghost likeSwagger - walk or behave in a very confident and arrogant or self-important way