Hi all, I'm a newbie here on the form. I'm curious to know how many known types of ghost there are. Poltergeist, spirits, demons, & shadow ghost are a few that I'm most familiar with. Are there any others anyone has heard of?

Hello Sabrina, and welcome to UM.

In one of the books I have by author John Spencer, he breaks down ghosts into the following catergories:

Recordings,
Anniversary ghosts,
Presences,
Poltergeists,
Interactive Ghosts,
Time Slips,
Doubles/Bi-locations/Doppelgangers,
Crisis Apparitions,
Haunted Objects,
Phantom Hitchhikers

It's pretty generalised, but most cases fit somewhere into one of them. Mind you, there are always exceptions.

Welcome Sabrina

Thanks for the welcome Cufflink & thefirstman!

Cufflink thanks also for the listing. I didn't actually realize there were so many types of ghost till recently. I am very facinated with anything paranormal.

That list is pretty good. I don't know what you think but, I find the usually excellent Peter Underwood's list a bit unhelpful:
Atmospheric Photo Ghost
Historical or Traditional Ghost
Anniv Ghost
Modern Ghosts
Ghost of the Living
Crisis or Death Bed Vision
Family Ghosts
Haunted Objects
Fraudulent Ghoat
Survival After Death
and, as Cufflink correctly concludes with, Mixed Hauntings.

The Spencer list could have included phantom sounds and smells, elementals and folk memories; it is useful in that it classifies ghosts as to how they operate. There could be an endless list of types of ghost as they appear: Monk, White Lady, Horseman, Black Dog, King X and Queen Y..... (Even invisible cat killer or wardrobe inhabitant! ).

Also, Spencer's Doubles, Bi's and Doppels could be separated and added to by ghosts of the living. Any human figure apparition could be said to be a doppelganger?

Welcome aboard LadySabrina ,
Enjoy your stay , I think you'll find it likely that we can even extend on that list of Cufflinks when the debate is lively enough ..

Oops and A21's list sneaky little devil beat me to it ...

Hi Kismit, thanks for the warm welcome. And thanks also Agent_21 for listing some more.

I knew that in general Ghosts could appear in full or partial apparition, or as mist, orbs, & ectoplasm. Even that you may not see them at all but feel them tingling down your neck instead. Most of them seem to have the ability to make noise, create odors, & move objects to get your attention. But, I never knew there were so many different catergories to put them all in. LOL

A21 and Cufflink had a majority of them but the one that still stands out in my head is a re-run ghost. I know it sounds stupid but , I guess it is a ghost that does the same thing once every monday, on the same day everyday month or for a week straight every year, those are just examples but you understand right?
anyways they say they want nothing to do with you and will never make any contact at all. But the one warning was NEVER INTURUPT IT. From what they say it can become very violent. Hope that helps

O ya welcome, im new here also

Thanks so much for the welcome U.S Veteran! I had never heard of a re-run ghost, but it's actions seem to fit it's name.

The name for the Polterguist is Noisy Spirit (or something) in German.

I think your right Cuda, about it meaning that.

There are only 6 different types of ghosts according to one book i have, they are:

Replays - ghosts thast exactly re-enact previous events

Presences - strange feelings that emanate from a place or object

Poltergeist - ghosts that disrupt objects and people, usually in the presenxce of a particular person.

Interactive ghost - ghosts that appear with message, or respond to the observer in some way

Time Slips

Living Ghosts - this can be further broken into 3 catagories - Doubles. Doppelgangers and Vardogers.

Can someone explain these a bit further?I'll start
Yes you are correct about poltergest being a translation of noisy spirit in German from what I've read. I've also heard the part about being around a particular person. To elaborate usually a young female on the virge of puberty as if the high emotional levels are acting out. For those of you with some sort of psychic/psychokintic ability you will know what I am talking about from when you are first learing to use your abilities or like me still in the process of learning to control it. A good example would be the smurl haunting(made into a fox tv movie the haunted) Any info on time slips would be appreciated, I have only heard of a few such as on unsolved mysteries about a specific room in a hotel where a ghost hunter had experienced an episode of clairinsitience where he traveled to the early 1900's and witnessed an unsolved crime, the others being the video game ShadowMan where he is able to travel to different locations through the use of his dead brother's teddy bear, lastly a book I read in 7th grade by a ghostwriter named AVI about a kid who moves into an old house that has a bloodstain in the attic and is able to travel to slavery times through use of a keychain.

i think there rn't any 'kinds' of ghosts, they r just like humans. u dun put em in2 categories.

I think they are 3 types.
- orbs
- mists
- apparations

Thanks for all the replies so far everyone! I always thought that there was just one type of ghosts/spirits. Actually don't think I had put much thought into it, till I seen all kinds of different categories of them on the net. LOL

so wats ur conclusion after seeing so many possibilities?

We all have our own perception, so I think it depends on how you look at it. Which means, who knows whos right! LOL There does seem to be a lot of possibilities out there.

so tell me bout ur perception.

The jury is still kinda out for me yet. lol I think it is okay to classify different ghosts by their behavior. If the spirit has ever lived, I believe they probably have a personality very much like they did when they were alive.

I have recently been doing some research on haunted places here in Indiana, where I live, for my site. I had noticed this before, by hearing about different ghost stories, but most of them seem to be attatched to a place or area they loved in life. Or a place they died tragically at. Even tho they loved it in life, or suddenly died there, I find it kinda sad that they seem to be stuck there now.

I dunno it is all theroy to me yet, as I am sure it is for most.

these are some of the ghost that i found or heard about


Orbs
Plasmoids
Streamers
Ghost Lights
Apparitions
Spirits
Residual
Ectoplasm
Vortex
Shadow Ghosts
Poltergeist
Incubus and Succubus
Demons
Monks