Ghosts

In the wizarding world, it is not uncommon to encounter a ghost at some point or other. Hogwarts is the only place where it has been confirmed that ghosts freely roam around, but the existence of the Headless Hunt, and the impressive attendance at Nearly-Headless Nick’s Deathday Party indicate that ghosts are fairly common. It may be that these other spectres inhabit the houses of witches and wizards, but nobody has said anything about it. In fact, the only other reported haunting in the books is that of the Shrieking Shack, and that was just a hoax.

Ghosts are described as being almost transparent (obviously not fully transparent you wouldn’t be able to see them) and are an exact resemblance of their living self – a resemblance based presumably on the time of their death judging by Nearly-Headless Nick’s neck. The Gryffindor ghost himself told the following to Harry in Order of the Phoenix:

“Wizards can leave an imprint of themselves upon the earth, to walk palely where their living selves once trod ... I was afraid of death. I chose to remain behind. I sometimes wonder whether I oughtn't have ... Well, that is neither here nor there ... In fact, I am neither here nor there..."

This quote tells us quite a bit about the process of becoming a ghost and what a ghost actually is. They are not their living selves, yet they are a figure of themselves which they have chosen to leave behind. This may be done in response to fear of death, as Nick mentioned, or perhaps that they were too attached to their life to enter whatever it is that may come beyond. Clearly ghosts can interact with beings both living and dead, and access the memories and experiences that they had when they were alive, but the fact remains that they are not the person they were before they died – rather like the portraits that line the walls, they are an image and a memory of that person which has remained behind and nothing more.

They are certainly not solid beings either, and many a Hogwarts student has walked through them at one point or another. In fact ghosts are not in need of food, or drink for that matter, and they float rather than walk around. This indicates quite clearly that Peeves, the other ethereal creature that inhabits the school, is not a ghost of any kind, nor indeed was he ever alive – he is certainly solid, although he does appear to be able to float.

The four genuine school ghosts are associated with their particular houses: Nearly-Headless Nick (or Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington as he prefers to be known) represents Gryffindor, The Bloody Baron is Slytherin’s house ghost, Hufflepuff have The Fat Friar, and finally there is the The Grey Lady of Ravenclaw.

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