Ghost

The Ghost is a classic monster from the Castlevania series and is known for constantly haunting heroes that enter the castle.

Overview
Ghosts aren't too tough in small numbers. A couple of hits will usually take them down, and they don't have any special attacks either. All they do is appear in a seemingly random spot in open space or within a wall, and then slowly float towards the heroes in order to give them a chilling touch that will damage their health. Normally, they only take one hit and are pretty weak, but they sometimes take two or three depending on the hero's strength. Usually the most fearsome in large numbers.

Ghosts are also sometimes referred to as "Spirits", but it should normally be assumed that Spirits are slightly stronger versions of Ghosts when they appear. Although in the case of the Playstation 2 3D Castlevania games, the Ghosts and Spirits are VERY different.

Naming Conventions - What about Simon's Quest?
In Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, there are a couple of different enemies that have the same "home in on and follow till you hit" attack patterns of the common Ghost. However, oddly enough, the Ghost is not called a Ghost in this game, even in the original Japanese version of the game and the English version.

Instead, the monsters that COULD be Ghosts are called different things.

First is the monster called "The Skull" in the original English translated manual. In Japan, he was called SHARIKOUBE which, oddly enough, translates to Skull (especially one that's pretty beaten up). Also sometimes called the "Skull Head", as written in Mr. P's Castlevania Realm, the monster STILL acts the same as the common ghost. In essence, this monster closely resembles the original Ghost from Vampire Killer, where the monster made it's debut appearance.

Another curious monster that acts the same is the "Pirate Skeleton". This ghostly half of a skeleton is surrounded in flames and likes to wander towards heroes, just like the regular ghosts. However, it's NOT called Ghost in the Japanese manual, but rather AKURYOU which translates to "Evil Spirit". Where "Pirate Skeleton" came from is anybody's guess, but the fact is that the so-called "Pirate Skeleton" actually better defines the ghost's cousin known as the Spirit.

So to sum it all up, there TECHNICALLY are no Ghosts in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, but there might as well be given that a number of different monsters either look or act like them.

Types
The common Ghost trapped inside the castle has many relative ghosts which haunt the walls of Dracula's home, such as:


 * Ectoplasm
 * Flying Skull (Floating Skull)
 * Ghost Dancer
 * Ghost Knight
 * Ghost Soldier
 * Ghost Warrior
 * Great Ghost (Big Ghost) (Skull Lord) (Giant Ghost)
 * Spectre
 * Spirit