Aspects of the supernatural pop up in media all the time. From vampires and magic to demons, fantastical elements help add something extra to games. Spooky creatures that video games love to add are ghosts, like the boos from the Mario franchise or Chozo ghosts in Metroid Prime.
While there are plenty of groups of enemies that are marked as ghosts, some that stick most with players are the ghosts that are characters in themselves. These individual ghosts stand the test of time in gaming history and will be remembered for years to come. Whether they are helpful, hurtful, NPCs, or important plot characters, these ghosts greatly impact the games they are from.
8 The Hero’s Shade – Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Many ghosts appear in The Legend of Zelda series. One of the most notable ghosts is The Hero’s Shade from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. He is the reincarnation of Link from Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask and laments not being remembered as a hero.
Despite looking intimidating, he’s a mentor figure who passes his knowledge on to players in the form of different moves, techniques, and hidden skills. The Hero’s Shade sometimes looks like a spooky spectral skeleton that is mostly transparent excluding his armor. Other times, he can be seen as a golden wolf.
7 Sae Kurosawa – Fatal Frame 2
The Fatal Frame series is built around the supernatural and ghosts, both passive and hostile. One such aggressive ghost is Sae Kurosawa, the main antagonist of Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly and the older twin sister of Yae. She was killed during a ritual, but it was done incorrectly, turning her into a vengeful ghost that wreaks havoc on her town.
She is depicted wrapped in a bloody kimono and surrounded by red mist. During the game, players can hear Sae’s crazy laughter in the dark corners of the village, and she’ll slaughter anyone she sees.
6 Aiden – Beyond: Two Souls
Beyond: Two Souls is about a young girl named Jodie and a ghost named Aiden that has been tethered to her since birth. They can communicate telepathically with one another. Both are playable characters and Aiden helps Jodie solve crimes in the CIA.
One power Aiden provides is he allows Jodie to see into the recent past. On top of that, he can manipulate objects, create energy fields to protect Jodie from bullets, and leave messages on bathroom mirrors. He can even heal, possess, and strangle other characters to help her. Their bond is so powerful that Jodie is in pain when she is too far from Aiden.
5 Alma Wade – F.E.A.R.
Alma Wade is the main antagonist of the F.E.A.R. games. She looks like an eight-year-old little girl with a blank expression and because of her ability to link to others’ minds and create hallucinations, it is unclear if she’s even real. Alma possesses terrifying psychic powers and constantly sneaks up on the player.
Tests were conducted on her by the Armacham Technology Corporation, and she was later pacified by scientists by being forcefully put into a coma and locked in a vault. Because of this, Alma is violent and fueled with rage. Her psychic powers seem to attune to the negative emotions of those around her, and she is a strong enough ghost to overpower nearly anyone.
4 Polterpup – Luigi’s Mansion
Polterpup is the playful ghost of a dog in the Luigi’s Mansion series. He is the only ghost Luigi doesn’t fear. Luigi is often friendly with Polterpup when he isn’t being an annoyance by taking and hiding the keys Luigi needs to progress in the game.
Polterpup acts playful and energetic like a normal dog despite being a ghost and becomes very loyal once Luigi adopts him. He still acts mischievously after this but will guide and help Luigi when it is needed. He is very friendly to other characters as well, such as trying to befriend Polterkitty.
3 Pokemon Ghost Types – Pokemon
Ghost is one of the eighteen types of Pokemon. They are the last type to be officially owned by Ash in the anime. Ghost types are immune to two types, normal and fighting, and no other type has double immunities. From Generation VI onward, no Pokemon can possess a double resistance to Ghost type, and the only not paired typing with Ghost yet is Rock.
Not all ghost types look like supernatural spirits. Some examples of ghost types that look like classic floating phantoms are Shuppet, Duskull, Marshadow, and Phantump. Others look like monsters, such as Banette, Dusclops, Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar. Other notable spooky ghost types that float include Mismagius and Phantump.
2 Blinky, Pinky, Inky, And Clyde – Pac-Man
The iconic arcade game Pac-Man features four different colored ghosts. These are the first ghosts to appear in a video game, and each has its own movement patterns. The ghosts have had several names over the years, but the most common consensus is on Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde. They chase Pac-Man on the screen and try to make players lose all their lives.
However, Pac-Man can eat an energizer to turn the tides and allow him to eat the ghosts back. This puts them into frightened mode and turns them blue. The ghosts will reset to the middle if Pac-Man catches them, but the ghosts never truly die.
1 King Boo – Mario Franchise
King Boo is the leader of all boos, the villain of the Luigi’s Mansion series, and an ally of Bowser. His powers include materializing objects, creating illusions, and spitting fire. He enjoys scaring, tricking, and entrapping his enemies. He has a deep cackle and wide grin, but when scared he still covers his face bashfully as the other ghosts do.
King Boo has had two different looks over the years. In most Mario games, he looks like a slightly larger normal white boo but with a golden crown that has blue and red jewels in it. However, he got a new appearance in the Luigi’s Mansion games to look more sinister. In those, he is given dark eyes with shadows around them, a blue tongue and mouth, and a slightly greener complexion. In addition, his size is increased and the color of the gems in his crown is different.
