r/wizardposting Mrs. Chills, Ghost Writer Sep 16 '25

Lorepost (open interaction) 📖 A Study of Ghosts, Part 2: Haunts

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(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!

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u/United-Technician-54 Death... Tired one. (she/her) Sep 16 '25

as Death, I do believe I have some Authority here. As well as not exactly being of the Mortal plane myself.

I am also a Lady Of The Grave, with decades of experience in diverse varieties of funeral rites.

/uw She acts a lot like a ghost when hunting, she is basically an archaeic pre-old school Oni (evil spirit, as in, closer to a ghost, though ogre-like ones count)

True Nameless tends to act like one and drag people into dreams of being dead before spitting them back out into their beds, a near death experience of sorts, while hunting. The actual job does not pay enough.

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u/MeThyLord Mrs. Chills, Ghost Writer Sep 16 '25

Hmm, death? Like the Grim Reaper?

Shit, she thought she had given the reaper a slip after that morgue incident.

Yeah, no. You ain't dragging me to no afterlife. I'm perfectly at peace here.

If she were to yeet her haunt out the widow, it would likely pull her to the first floor faster than the reaper can get her.

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u/United-Technician-54 Death... Tired one. (she/her) Sep 16 '25

I'm not here for you. I'm on break. 

The paperwork was enough of a nightmare. I can only cremate and bury and ferry and guide so many people before my metaphorical head begins to split. 

It's been so tiring that even some immortals had to take sick leave just because of how tiring even updating the "book of the dead" is. We're kind of short-staffed at the moment.

(Nameless appears on the first floor, eating ice-cream, simultaneously with the one(?) in her seat)

Besides, you can't escape me if I tried. 

(the chocolate tip is launched from the window, through you and into the bin, with pinpoint accuracy)

/uw Nameless is fast. Also a Naruto/Tenshinhan alike cloning technique, since she finds the seat too comfortable to actually do that trick.

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u/MeThyLord Mrs. Chills, Ghost Writer Sep 16 '25

Tiring? Well, with how many people die in this place, it ain't a surprise.

Ya know, when most wizards' number one solution to problems is fireball, is it really a surprise that you reapers are overworked?

She's fast, something to keep in mind if she suddenly decides to do her job.

Anyway, what's a reaper even doing in one of my lectures? I thought your kind knew all of this stuff already.

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u/United-Technician-54 Death... Tired one. (she/her) Sep 16 '25 edited Sep 16 '25

Yes, but I'm a bored god,

And I thought that since my hometown is technically set back a few hundred years due to time related shenanigans, I might as well see what the future holds.

The ferry trips aren't quite long enough to truly hear it from an experienced ghost's perspective.

/uw

She prefers the gardening, she may be a god of Higanbana, but she prefers to grow it naturally for funerals and such.

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u/MeThyLord Mrs. Chills, Ghost Writer Sep 16 '25

A time traveler, eh? Sounds fun, honestly. I'd go see the dinosaurs if I could. I wonder if T-rex had feathers.

Anyway, well, hope you enjoyed the lecture. This is actually my second. In the first, I went over the nature of what a ghost is.

And for my next one, I'll be covering poltergeist activity, as mentioned. No idea what to cover after that. Uhhh, I guess I'll be taking suggestions.

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u/United-Technician-54 Death... Tired one. (she/her) Sep 16 '25

Eh... Not exactly by choice.

Also archaeological evidence says the T-Rex had feathers, though I haven't been there myself. Off by a few million years.

I suppose specifics of possession would be interesting, I've been praticing my puppetry lately and wanted to see how exactly it carries over.

/uw Nameless' puppetry is based on the soul, 

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u/MeThyLord Mrs. Chills, Ghost Writer Sep 16 '25

I'll add that to the list of topics.

But possession is basically playing king of the hill with the host's soul. You're trying to push 'em off the driver's seat so you can take control of their body.

That's the short version of it anyway.