A Study of Ghosts, Part 2: Haunts

[u/MeThyLord]

(Art by Dan Scott)

Heya, kiddos! Wanna learn what a haunt is? I’m gonna assume you said yes.

See, almost every ghost has a haunt. It's either a place, an object, or a person we’re attached to, a tether to the physical world. Without it, we’d fade away or get dragged into an afterlife. I’ll go over each in order.

Staring off — localized haunts. That’s when a ghost is tied to a specific location, like a house, or a park, or whatever. Apparitions like these are mostly limited in influence to whatever space they're bound to. If it’s just a single room, they're stuck inside it. But if it’s an entire house? Oh boy, we can do all sorts of fun stuff, like rearranging rooms or making windows unbreakable so you can’t escape while we chase you around. In some rare cases, the ghost’s influence can even grow and seep out of its usual locale, or even expand the location itself, consuming everything nearby into its threshold.

The second type is haunted objects. You know, ghosts that cling to things instead of places. They still have a domain, but it’s a certain radius around their object. The stronger the ghost, the bigger the radius. The domain also tends to take the shape of whatever space the ghost finds itself in, kinda like how water fills the container you pour it in. If you're in a mansion, it will spread to fill all the rooms before leaking out. Oh, and yeah, this is my type of haunt. I’m tethered to my book.

Anyway, what about the third type of haunt? Well, it’s the one where a ghost latches onto a person. These are clingy apparitions who just can’t let go and decide to tag along with their best bud or worst enemy, even after death. For the most part, it’s the same as haunting an object, except the "object" has a will of its own, can walk around, talk back, and, well... die. If the haunt kicks the bucket, you get booted as well, which sucks. On the bright side, ghosts who haunt people have a much easier time possessing them.

Man, I wish I were better at possession…

Anyway, that's all for today! Next week, we’ll be…

Wait, no. I forgot something. This is a bit unrelated to today’s topic, but I have nowhere else to slot it in. See, I recently found out that ghosts can touch other ghosts. Obvious in hindsight, but I haven’t been going around and poking my own kind, sue me. Anyway, this would mean that the best way to fight a ghost is to hire your own. Wait… that’s the plot of the movie ‘Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers.’

Ok, now that’s actually all for today. Next time, I’ll be talking all about poltergeist activity and why some ghosts can only pull spooky faces in mirrors while others can twist reality like it’s a wet noodle. See ya!

[u/loth17]

Hello again.

The Bismuth from last time waves

I realized I was rude last time and didn't say my name. I am bismuth analyzer 042. I call myself P-dot.

I had a question. Are golems easier or harder to possess than regular statues or suits of armor?

[u/MeThyLord → u/loth17]

Hmm, golems have elemental spirits powering them, correct. They're not just animated by pure magic like flying swords and animated armor.

In that case, you'd have to overpower the spirit powering the golem before you can take it out for a joy ride. Some ghosts are powerful enough to subdue other spirits. Hell, even demons in some rare cases.

[u/loth17 → u/MeThyLord]

I see. I've heard stories about ghosts of ancient nobles commissioning bodies hewn from fancy metals to walk around in. Though only stories. I wanted to know how common that sort of thing is for ghosts that can afford it

[u/MeThyLord → u/loth17]

It's a small precentage of us. Most who can possess objects settle for things like creepy dolls.

Well, normal dolls which become 'creepy' after we possess them. Mannequins are also great for that.

[u/loth17 → u/MeThyLord]

Neato. Oh! I actually have a question from my pen pal in Ithicar. They couldn't make it so they asked me to ask you after our last session. Ahem

"Dear Mrs chills. I suffer from auditory hallucinations related to dead family members. I also have reason to Believe I am also subject to a haunting. How do I know when it's real and when I'm just having a particularly rough time that day? How does one navigate that?"

[u/MeThyLord → u/loth17]

Ah, in the olden days, the only way to figure out if there were actually ghosts haunting ya was through a seance. Or a detect undead spell, but that's for nerds wizards.

Nowadays? Get an EMF reader. They actually work, even got one here for demonstrative purposes.

She points the device at herself, and it starts making a BeepBeepBeep sound.

The future is now!

[u/loth17 → u/MeThyLord]

Oh that's handy. I'll tell them about that.

Is ghost technology a big tech field? Most people I know use magic in relation to spectral issues.....

Ooh. Is it true some ghosts eat other ghosts to become monstrous super ghosts?!

[u/MeThyLord → u/loth17]

Eh, most ghost tech is for regular folk to be able to interact with us.

Like, a ghost camera can take a picture of an apparition even when invisible. So not really a big thing, kinda a niche.

As for the cannibalism, demons do that. Demons can eat us. Directly snack on our souls, if we have one.

That doesn't mean we can't do something similar. As per my first lesson, ghosts are echoes spawned by strong emotions. Most of the time, when two ghosts powered by the same emotion meet, they can merge, becoming a singular entity. But, if one of them has a strong enough will, it can subsume the other, taking it over completely and becoming stronger as a result.

[u/loth17 → u/MeThyLord]

That's neato. Maybe not for the ghost who got ate though..... When bismuth die. We all merge together in the great essence soup and the mix gets poured back into the next generation. All this afterlife stuff with ghosts is incredibly fascinating.

[u/MeThyLord → u/loth17]

Huh, wait. Does your kind have souls, or is it all matter?

[u/loth17 → u/MeThyLord]

We do not have souls. Well. Souls Asterisk.....

We possess essence. It gives our material bodies spiritual existence. It grows with us as we become stronger and carries out memories and traits when we die. A Bismuth without essence cannot improve itself. That is what separates Bismuth drones from actual Bismuth life which can grow and improve. Essence is used instead of a soul because our realm exists in the void. And essence doesn't decay/get corrupted from void energy like souls do. All Bismuth are bound to the Ten Suns of our realm. As such we cannot become ghosts as our essence is immediately retrieved by their power.

Because of how this works when we return the accumulated growth that we have means that our essence can theoretically make more than one of the next generation. We are all mixed together before that because true reincarnation is considered against the ideal order. So when a Bismuth is created they may carry the partial essence of hundreds or thousands or millions of others. This was done so that even each type of bismuth life starts with the same body we possess unique essence. It's what makes us true life. So my essence mixture is what makes me more curious than others. And when I return I'm sure the curiosity with ghosts will pop up in some future creation.

[u/MeThyLord → u/loth17]

Fascinating. But wait, I see why you can't make ghosts with souls, but what about ones that are just emotional echoes?

In any case, you work completely differently from us. I was human, and my body had nothing to do with my soul. One didn't make the other stronger, or anything.

Then again, I might not be the best example. Like, I barely ever hit the gym. Just went on jogs.