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?

What do these words mean?

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

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 Bartholomews 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.

School children

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.

Monks and Nuns

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.

The Soldier

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.

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.................................................................................

Discussion

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?

Find the "spooky" words below within the box

Ghost
Spirt
Orb
Ectoplasm
Streak
Full-bodied apparition
Shadow-person
Elemental

Demon
Apparition
Traumatic
Disembodied
Manifestation
Supernatural
Silhouette
Malevolent

Disgraced
Banishment
Decapitated
Horrifying
Monastery
Spectural

Q1
Test your understanding
8,
Ghost/spirt
Orb
Ectoplasm
Streak
Full-bodied apparition
Shadow-person
Elemental
Demon
What do these words mean
Apparition - a ghost or ghostlike image of a person.
Traumatic - deeply disturbing or distressing event
Disembodied - separated from or existing without the body
Manifestation - something nothaving a physical or concrete existence.
Supernatural - something that is beyond scientific understanding
Silhouette - 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.

Q2
Test your understanding
What is a harbinger of death? - WHITE LADY
What happend to the drummer boy who went down a tunnel? - HE WAS
LEFT TO DIE AFTER THE COUNCIL MEN SEALED UP THE TUNNEL
What was the elevator in one hospital called? - THE COFFIN LIFT
What did the school master do with the bodies of some school children?
- LOCKED THEM IN A CUPBOARD TO ROT
Who was bricked up in a wall?- A NUN
Who 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
punishment
Decapitated - having cut off the head of someone
Horrifying- 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 like
Swagger - walk or behave in a very confident and arrogant or selfimportant way