Ghost

The Ghost, also commonly known as Spirit, is a classic monster from the Castlevania series and is known for constantly haunting heroes that enter the castle. Ghosts come in many forms. The classic type of ghost consists of a skull and perhaps some of the upper body or arms and is usually, but not always, surrounded by an aura.

Description
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's 3-D Castlevania games, the Ghosts and Spirits are very different.

Castlevania-style (skeletal torso)
The ghost introduced in the original Castlevania materializes from out of a wall in the background and slowly moves toward the hero, turning back and forth when it is directly above or below him. It is not possible to strike the ghost until it has materialized completely. This kind of movement appeared again with the Ghostly Eyeball from Simon's Quest. The Ghost reappeared in its original form in Dracula's Curse, Super Castlevania IV, Chronicles and Symphony of the Night.

Vampire Killer-style (ghost waves)
The aura-less skull ghost (which has an aura in the manual, but not its sprite) introduced in Vampire Killer starts from one end of the screen and moves up and down in an erratic pattern towards the other end of the screen. There are an unlimited stream of such ghosts (or "skulls"). They are similar to Medusa Heads in this manner. In the parody game Konami Wai Wai World, the Ghostly Eyeball moved exactly like a Medusa Head and the skull moved like an extreme Medusa Head, whose height could go from the top of the screen to the bottom. In hard mode in Dracula's Curse, this skull replaced Medusa Heads and had a random up and down motion as it went from one end of the screen to the other, making it difficult to avoid or destroy.

Haunted Castle-styles
Haunted Castle introduced several different kinds of ghosts and spirits.

The first such spirit encountered was a unique "skeleton ghost". After destroying certain skeletons, a ghost would spring forth from them and hurl itself quickly towards or over the player's character. These could be catch the player off guard, and are difficult to destroy.

Another type of ghost looked more like a traditional white ghost, as it lacked any skeletal parts and only see the upper half of the human-like silhouette could be seen. It raced towards the player with arms outstretched and then turned back for another try after reaching the edge of the screen.

The Poltergeist spirit was seen for the first time in this stage and consisted of a table with silverware that would be hurled towards Simon.

The jaw-less skull ghost introduced in Haunted Castle generally keeps its distance and hovers in one place, but will occasionally make fast, large circular movements around the screen. This kind of ghost reappeared in Rondo of Blood and Harmony of Dissonance. It is also used as Alucard's Ghost Familiar in Symphony of the Night.

Simon's Quest-styles
An aura and aura-less ghost appears in this game. The one with the aura and upper body is referred to as a Pirate Skeleton and is shaped somewhat like a large egg. It moves up and down quickly while pacing back and forth. The Skull in this game starts at a certain height, moves quickly diagonally downwards until it is at the hero's level, and then oscillates slightly up and down towards the hero.

Rondo of Blood-style (phantom skull)
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood introduced a phantom skull that floats in a certain place for a while, clacking its jaw occasionally, and then swoops diagonally in the direction of the hero again and then stops. This type of ghost appeared again in Symphony of the Night (known as the Phantom Skull) and Portrait of Ruin (known as the Flying Skull). A giant version of this ghost is generally referred to as the Giant Ghost.

Rondo of Blood-style (empty clothes)
After killing the dark priest Shaft in Rondo of Blood, his spirit, wearing a cloak but with an invisible body, returned for another boss battle. It summoned various creatures as Shaft had done before. A ghost resembling this form appeared again as a boss in Dracula X and it would again summon more creatures (although it is not mentioned to be Shaft's ghost). It appeared a third time in Circle of the Moon, where it was known as the Necromancer.

Similar regular enemy ghosts filling out empty robes were slated to appear in Castlevania: Resurrection, but that game was ultimately canceled. They made their 3D debut appearance in Lament of Innocence, where they appeared as a robed figure with red eyes carrying a lantern and a sword. When killed, its lantern would be thrown and cause damage if it hit the player. Most variants of this ghost were soldiers of some kind, donning armor instead of robes and a shield instead of a lantern. This style of ghost would appear again in Curse of Darkness. Most of its variants would appear wielding magic staffs. The type of ghost with the lantern made its 2D debut in Order of Ecclesia, where it would float high in the air, pacing back and forth, and would drop its lantern if struck.

Other types
The common Ghost trapped inside the castle has many relative ghosts which haunt the walls of Dracula's home, such as:
 * Ectoplasm
 * Great Ghost (a.k.a. Big Ghost, Skull Lord or Giant Ghost)
 * Ghost Dancer

Spirit-type ghosts
This type of ghost usually appears as a human or animal head or skull, with perhaps the upper torso and/or hands reaching out, surrounded by a fiery aura.

Vampire Killer
Although the manual artwork shows a Ghost, Vampire Killer has replaced all ghosts with Skull Heads, which behave differently (kind of like a slower moving and more erratic Medusa Head) and do not have an aura behind them.

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
A 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, there technically are no ghosts in Simon's Quest, but there might as well be given that a number of different monsters either look or act like them.

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (LCD watch)
Fire ghosts float towards the player from behind. They take one hit to destroy and are worth 5 points.

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (LCD handheld)
Fire ghosts only appear during night and float towards the player from behind. They take one hit and give 20 points.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Strangely, ghosts in Order of Ecclesia resemble Mr. Hed from Super Castlevania IV.

Specter-type ghosts
The main characteristic of this type of ghost is that they appear to be empty clothes or armor.

Subtypes:
 * Ghost Knight
 * Ghost Soldier
 * Ghost Warrior

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (LCD handheld)
The ghosts in the Simon's Quest (LCD handheld) game come in from behind but do not attack the player. They are only vulnerable to high attacks to the head, take two whip hits, and are worth 20 points. While they are not a threat, all ghosts must be destroyed before it will become night time.

Dracula X
The Ghost is the boss of Stage 4' in Dracula X. His appearance and general characteristics are based on Shaft's ghost from Rondo of Blood, although there is no indication that it is actually Shaft's Ghost in this game. It is also very similar to a Necromancer. The Ghost flies around the room, firing energy bolts that slow Richter, and raising skeletons. After taking enough damage, the Ghost will surround himself with a shield of tombstones, occasionally tossing them at Richter. In his second form, he can also summon Mud Men and Skeletons.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Saturn version)
A ghost that cannot be harmed by simple weapons and arms, this form of ghost waits until a hero approaches. Afterwards, it will try to chase the hero until one side is defeated. Only through the use of attacks that possess holy power, such as most of the game's sub-weapons, can such a foe be killed.

Castlevania: The Arcade
Ghosts of tortured souls haunt the dungeons of the Underground stage.

Skull heads
Skull Heads are somewhat like a cross between a Ghost and a Medusa Head. There's an endless stream of them that travel from one end of the screen to the other (or directly to the player), but they move in more erratic up and down patterns.

Vampire Killer
All ghosts from the original Castlevania have been replaced with Skull Heads in this game.

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Skull Heads in Dracula's Curse only appear during the second quest. They are placed in areas they were not previously in in order to make those areas more difficult.