Top 9 World’s Most Famous Ghosts

If you believe in ghosts, you probably know that they exist both everywhere and nowhere. Science hasn’t confirmed them, but that hasn’t stopped them from haunting movies, TV shows, books, campfire tales, and pretty much every child’s mind when something creaks at night. They have even influenced everyday customs, such as saying “Bless you” after someone sneezes, which was once believed to prevent the devil from snatching your soul.

Here are nine of the most famous phantoms ever to rattle their spooky chains.

The Ghost of Christmas Past

In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, this shimmering spirit kickstarts Ebenezer Scrooge’s redemption arc by taking him on a guided tour of his own holiday history. Dickens, who adored Christmas and filled his own home with feasting and games, used the ghost to explore memory, regret, and the warmth of the season. Without this spectral time-traveler, Scrooge might still be hoarding coins and muttering his iconic grump, “Bah, humbug.”