Hauntlings

Pity not the dead child,
Pity the living. . .
For they create us
We simply haunt ourselves

Ghosts, also called Spirits, are incorporeal entities who have unfinished business on or are bound to the mortal realm by various means. The word Ghost often is used as a common term to describe a soul of recently deceased individual(s) that did not move on to an afterlife after they perished. However there are many different variations of them, making them one of the more diverse members of the spectral family next to demons.
Wherever there are dead things there are ghosts. Simple as that. There are Ghosts around us all the time. Most of them can't hurt us. Most of them don't want to hurt us. Many simply have no choice but to stay in the mortal realm. A little Ghost here, a little ghost there, no one really cares. However unlike on earth where the existence of ghosts and spirits and the general supernatural is a highly debated topic frowned upon by most men of science, on Elysium they are all too real. And many can be just as dangerous as the Living fauna who still draws breath.

How do Ghosts become Ghosts

For some reason or another, a Ghost becomes a spirit when the person who has become deceased, is unable to pass on to the next life, or has had their final rest disturbed. As such, Ghosts are neither good nor evil, as their behavior is ultimately dictated by who they were in life and how they died.
Ghosts usually appear the moment after death. Usually after a dead body is unable to properly support the existence of the soul inside of it, the soul separates from its mortal form and the body naturally decays over time. During this process either one of two things can happen. Normally, a Ghost will start out confused and disoriented before realizing they are dead in which case they can decide to move on or not. In some cases, the trauma of sudden death can be so great that the Ghost will think that they are still alive and continue on a routine from their lives, oblivious to the fact they are dead. Overtime, the spirit may eventually "pass on", meaning it moves on to a realm specifically designed to support its existence, or it stays in the mortal realm.
However, staying on earth has its downside. Because earth (or Elysium in this case) even with all its magic can not properly sustain a souls existence, the soul will start to decay in a process similar to an almost Alzheimer like "disease", where the degradation of a ghost can become so severe the longer a ghost remains on earth that they end up losing more and more of themselves until they become little more then angry balls of energy or some other horrific being.
This becomes a problem for the Living overtime because you cannot "kill" a ghost again. As ghosts have no physical forms there is nothing to "put down" should a ghost become feral, and the act of expelling an incorporeal is a task built only for those with the talents to do so.

Appearance

Normally ghosts appear in the form of the physical body of which they had when they were still alive. These forms will often appear pale in comparison to the bodies of the living, or take on an almost “ghostly” blueish or whitish hue, often showing the physical effects of the way that they died. The older a ghost is, the more translucent they are as their energy saps away, unable to hold even the most noticeable of physical forms.

Types

As they are often products of their situations, Ghosts often come in various forms, leading them to be a relatively diverse group, next to demons. These types can include:
Poltergeist
Poltergeists are a type of spirit that will seek active recognition and attention, doing anything to receive it, usually in violent, disruptive ways. They are one of the more unique types of spirit because generally speaking a Poltergeist is not a human spirit; it is a separate being of its own. Leading certain Conventional methods of dispersing them ineffective. When in a state of distress, they’re strong enough to bench press a piano. They can also be quite powerful, able to perform multiple telekinetic attacks, in different areas at once, and when concentrated can display very powerful telekinetic displays of power, able to throw grown men around like rag dolls.
Specter
Specters are a type of ghost that possess the living and cause them to act on any grudges they may hold, no matter how small or old they may be. Their death usually involves some type of betrayal, such as being killed by a family member or a lover.
Death Omen
A Death Omen is a ghost that is used as an indicator that the person who is visited by it is going to die. While they appear violent and intimidating, they’re not dangerous ghosts but rather are trying to warn people who may be murdered by the person who killed them, or give warning to those who are close to death. A majority of the People who have encountered death omens often comment that the apparition takes the form of deceased family members, while a slim majority account that they look like total strangers.
Vengeful spirits
Vengeful spirits are a dangerous type of ghost, and since after the war, one of the most common to encounter throughout the lands of Elysium. To put it simply, a Vengeful spirit is one who has had some great wrong done to them in their lives, normally what has killed them. This often causes them to remain after death, to try and avenge what they believe has wronged them. Over time they slowly become obsessed with this until it is the only thing they can think of, an “itch that you just can’t scratch“ if you will. As such they act violently, their obsession with revenge often leading to them too harming innocent people.
Many locations throughout Arkael and beyond tend to be full with Vengeful Spirits who died in the war or during/afte traumatic events. Because of this, locations such as Abandoned Bunkers, Military Outposts, Abandoned buildings, and oftentimes Graveyards can be filled with them. Oftentimes these Vengeful Spirits will not have one specific target, but will lash out at anyone, leading to such a high kill count that they may actually be capable of driving out entire settlements.

Abilities

Please note: Being supernatural creatures, Ghost Powers can vary greatly between creatures. Below lists just a few notable powers of the many that they can have
Invisibility
Ghosts can remain invisible to the living, but they may appear as a blur or faint light. However, when they want, they can appear as they were in life though it takes a while to gain that level of strength. They appear in wispy, distorted, flickering forms
Super Strength
Being incorporeal Ghosts able to generate great amounts of force without discomfort. Many have demonstrated being strong enough to easily beat down, lift, toss, maul or mutilate even the strongest of humans, as well as overpowering some monsters. Vengeful, angry ghosts, have proven to be strong enough to fight with much higher beings, such as Higher-tier Demons.
Astral Perception
After death, ghosts can see beings that are naturally invisible to the naked eye.
Material Attachment
Certain Ghosts can latch their essence to any object that had been very close to them in their life. Until these objects are destroyed, the ghost could continue to manifest itself and haunt. Other ghosts can relocate the objects, allowing them to move around and away from their original haunting location. Though this is rare.
Ectoplasm Creation
Ectoplasm, also referred to as Ghost Slime and Ectoplasmic Residue, is a substance that comes from ghosts and otherworldly beings. It usually appears in a form of a slimy, sticky substance, but has been known to come in different forms and colors.
A thick, viscous tar-like substance, ectoplasm is formed when ghosts interact with the physical world though it is often rare to see. Usually seen as a viscous, mucus-like slime, ectoplasm has also been encountered in mist-like and even dusty-crystalline forms. Ectoplasm is a rare thing to find, and finding it is often a good indicator to the entity you’re about to deal with. Vengeful/Angry Spirits are known to Produce Thick-Black Tar like Ectoplasm, while weaker ghosts are known to produce off white Ectoplasm.
Possession
A rare ability, a ghost can possess humans like demons do, but only a really angry ghost could do it. Hatred gives energy,
energy=power
Hydrokinesis/Biokinesis/Pyrokinesis
Depending on how a certain ghost has died, they can have the power over the element that caused their Demise. For example, ghosts of people who have Drowned have the ability to manifest water seemingly out of nowhere. While ghosts who died due to heat/fire can manifest fire or take traits of fire, and so forth. Biokinesis is generally rarer then all the other ‘kinesis’ and range from two types. The first type involves the spirit being able to inflict wounds on a victim similar to what they had sustained in real life (stronger ghosts are able to do it without having to suffer the wounds themselves).The second type Involves Illness. While Rare, ghosts with this power are able to infect victims with various illnesses’. Similar to wound Biokinesis, certain ghosts don’t have to suffer from the illness to inflict it.

Ghosts in Elysium

Ghosts can be found throughout the world of Elysium as either kindly spirits looking for aid or just someone to talk to or Enemies. Both often vary in appearance, and although they are usually poorly equipped to deal with the living, enemy spirits may prove to be a threat to adventurers early on due to their resistance to “earthly” weapons. Both can be killed however when the right weapon is required, and friendly Ghosts will become hostile should they be attacked.
no shit
Most Ghosts will occasionally make comments indicating gratefulness for release from their undeath upon defeat. However until the player garners weapons to make this possible, this undeath is only temporary, as they will respawn shortly after death should the player go back to an area or linger for too long.
Ghosts, both evil and friendly, both have a wide range of attacks. Although they do not possess a material body, these spirits should not be underestimated in combat. They can deal significant damage with their hands at close combat but also possess a wide range of other attacks such as variations of Draining which can not only drain health, but also stamina, leaving even the most trained adventurers slow and weak.
While ghosts can not be killed right away when first encountered, they CAN however be dealt with in defensive methods until the proper weapons can be obtained to put them down permanently. An old method dating back generations, Salt is often used as a barrier against the supernatural and ghosts are no exception. Protection appears as a force field barrier that inhibits the spirit’s movement as long the spirit is not powerful enough to break through the barrier.
When salt is thrown, the ghost will be enveloped within a reddish orange barrier.
Salt barriers have an increasingly difficult time confining Angry/Vengeful Spirits, who may require more salt or Holy Salt to be thrown in order for the initial resistance to break down.
When it came to weapons, ghosts could only be harmed by those that are enchanted or made of silver. They could also be harmed by holy water while in their semi-material form. Many also have some form of weakness tied to their former life — the ghost of a tortured person could be harmed by the implements that had been used to torture them.

Putting to Rest

Putting a ghost to rest can be a tough nut to crack. For many "religious folk" the best and most common method to put a ghost to rest is to simply burn and salt their bones. Digging up a ghost's remains and salting and burning the bones, is said to help the spirit to cross over to the next life by means of force. When a ghost's bones are successfully salted and burned, it will go up in flames. This method is often used for violent and vengeful spirits, and the flames will glow blue or green.

The Brotherhood of the Final Cradle

Helping a ghost to resolve its issues can also help put a ghost to ease enough to rest. This method is rare but is used ofte to help benevolent spirits find peace. Sometimes, if a vengeful spirit is not too far gone, a loved one can reach them through. However, in many places the simple act of burying bones and giving them proper funerals in accordance with the person's last wish may also help sooth a rogue spirits ire. However this act became especially hard to properly ordain especially during a period of time that would become known as the Inquisition years.
During this long and lengthy time frame, similiar to earth, The Inquisition was a powerful office set up within the main leading body Church to root out and punish heresy throughout what would soon be known as Arkael and spread across the ocean to Gudeth. Similar to the Spanish and Medieval Inquisitions of earth, they were established in response to movements considered apostate or heretical to the main leading Church. Beginning sometime during the ending of the First-Era and the beginning of the Second and continuing for hundreds of more years, the Inquisition became infamous for the severity of its tortures and its persecution against those they perceived as heretics and blasphemers. Mostly Beast-folk who refused to convert, but also many other races who the Church had deemed Unworthy.
However, unlike on earth the people of Elysium were not all that lucky. On Earth much of the brutality commonly associated with the Inquisitions of Medieval times were actually more previously common in secular courts instead.
According to historians and documents:

-like the inquisitorial process itself, torture was an ancient Roman legal practice commonly used in secular courts. On May 15, 1252, Pope Innocent IV issued a papal bull entitled Ad extirpanda, which authorized the limited use of torture by inquisitors. Much of the brutality commonly associated with the Inquisition was actually previously common in secular courts, but prohibited under the Inquisition, including torture methods that resulted in bloodshed, miscarriages, mutilation or death. Also, torture could be performed only once, and for a limited duration. . .

According to the governor general of earths Order of the Holy Sepulchre, recent studies "seem to indicate" that "torture and the death penalty were not applied with the pitiless rigor" often associated to the Inquisition. Other methods such as threats and imprisonment seem to have proven more effective:

"The most extreme penalty available in anti heretical proceedings was reserved for relapsed or stubborn heretics. The unrepentant and apostates could be "relaxed" to secular authority, however, opening the convicted to the possibility of various corporal punishments, up to and including being burned at the stake. Execution was neither performed by the Church, nor was it a sentence available to the officials involved in the inquisition, who, as clerics, were forbidden to kill. The accused also faced the possibility that his or her property might be confiscated." For example, of the 900 guilty verdicts levied against 636 individuals by the Dominican friar and inquisitor Bernard Gui, no more than 45 resulted in execution.

On Elysium however, these acts of brutality were all too real. Whatever mirror Elysium was of earth obviously did not extend this far, and as a result the death toll for the Inquisition that plagued it were actually much higher than that of the infamous Witch Trials:

". . . García Cárcel estimates that the total number prosecuted by the Inquisition throughout its history was approximately 150,000; applying the percentages of executions that appeared in the trials of 1560–1700—about 2%—the approximate total would be about 3,000 put to death. Nevertheless, some authors consider that the toll may have been higher, keeping in mind the data provided by Dedieu and García Cárcel for the tribunals of Toledo and Valencia, respectively, and estimate between 3,000 and 5,000 were executed. . .
In either case, this is significantly lower than the number of people executed exclusively for witchcraft in other parts of Europe during about the same time span as the Spanish Inquisition (estimated at c. 40,000–60,000). . .

Of all the most popular methods of torture one could find in the Elysium Inquisition's, was not even done to the person when they were alive. But when they were dead.
During this time, it became true, especially in more religious parts of the world, the demonstrated belief that in many places, a proper burial involved keeping the body of the deceased intacted, or at least burying the body parts in the same place. Not doing so meant that the soul would not be able to cross over. As such a common punishment for heretics, included the process of having their bodies separated to prevent their souls from being at rest. As a result of this heinous act, many a battlefield and execution grounds swarmed with angry ghosts and spirits unable to rest, with their only choice to vent their anger out on the living.
Because of this many churches within Elysium enacted what was known as The Last Cradle rite. The Last Cradle, was an act to ensure that everybody was given a proper burial, as per the order's Charitable Rule in order to cull the number of ghost's popping up. This act, supposedly has origin in the more religious days of Arkael, but many historians believe it to have started in Gudeth and had traveled to Arkael after the brotherhood who started it, heard tell of Arkael's bloody wars and drastically violent Inquisitions.
As per the orders mission The members of the Order travel all over the land reuniting lost and desecrated bodies in order to provide them with "their second burial", allowing them to finally pass to the other side and find eternal peace, the process involving the action of gathering up the remains of those who were separated and once forgotten, so that they can grant them holy burial.

Name: - Anima umbrabilis
Type: Incorporeal Entity.
Aliases: Haunt, Spooks, House Thumpers, apparition, poltergeist etc etc.
Status: Highly Active