Ghosts (幽霊, Yūrei) are undead beings and objects featured throughout the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series and other works by Hirohiko Araki. They feature prominently in Diamond is Unbreakable, Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan, and Deadman's Questions, generally acting either as allies to the living or vague forces that seek revenge on them.
When a person dies, their soul (魂, tamashī) passes on to the afterlife. In the case of a fundamentally virtuous person such as Muhammad Avdol, Joseph Joestar, or Bruno Bucciarati, their soul can be seen ascending to heaven as an incorporeal manifestation of themselves. Individuals whose souls are incapable of passing through to the other side for any reason (usually either by becoming revenants or being trapped by a Stand) are forced to wander the earth in this incorporeal form as ghosts. Entire locations and the objects therein are also capable of becoming ghosts themselves if they are fully destroyed (such as by being burned or bulldozed). Though the ghosts of people are rather common and can be found almost anywhere, most tend to remain out of sight and seek places where they are not likely to encounter the living.[1]
There is little difference in appearance between a person and their ghost, as the soul is a reflection of the person. Moreover, a ghost will generally retain the injuries they had at their time of death; these injuries are also a manifestation of the soul, however, and will not appear if the relevant memories are repressed.[2] Unlike living beings, ghosts are unable to develop physically or mentally, though they retain their personalities and are fully capable of rational thought.[3]
Ghosts are invisible to ordinary people, but not to animals.[4] However, they can still make themselves heard by normal people. Stand users are able to see ghosts automatically, and Reimi Sugimoto theorizes that their powers allow them to see and travel to ghost locations such as Morioh's Ghost Girl's Alley.[3] Due to their proximity to the spiritual realm, monks can also develop the ability to see ghosts.[1] Stand users can use their Stand abilities on ghosts, as Rohan Kishibe does against Reimi, but it is unknown whether or not a Stand could inflict pain onto a ghost or damage their spiritual form.
The ghosts of objects and locations can be felt and manipulated by the ghosts of people. These "ghost objects" are incapable of affecting other physical objects, but can be used to attack other spirits.[1] Ghost objects and locations such as Ghost Girl's Alley or Green Dolphin Street Prison's music room can easily be hidden from living beings, as they are able to fit into narrow spaces such as cracks in walls, gaps between adjacent buildings, or even the inside of a jacket.[5]
Ghosts exist under certain arbitrary rules. For instance, they can only enter a room if it is empty or if they are given permission. However, the nature of "permission" is loose: even opening a mail slot is sufficient to invite a ghost into a room. Open windows and doors also qualify as invitations for ghosts.
Ghosts can freely toggle their tangibility with the physical realm. They are naturally intangible and can freely move through objects, but retain the ability to manipulate objects, albeit without the capacity to feel them. Should someone overlap with a ghost against their will, however, the latter loses the overlapped part of their form, and so most spirits exist in hiding to avoid running into people.
Ghosts who previously had a Stand in life can still use them. Under certain conditions, however, a ghost's Stand can be destroyed after their death, as Yoshikage Kira's Killer Queen is by the spirits of Ghost Girl's Alley.[6]
Those who die with grudges in their hearts may become revenants (地縛霊, jibakurei),[3] lingering out of sheer determination to accomplish a particular goal. Revenants defy many of the typical rules for ghosts. For instance, they are capable of appearing before ordinary people, and can also possess the bodies of others.[7] While some are bound to a specific location, others are capable of splitting their spiritual form across large distances. Additionally, some revenants display a degree of power over nature: the spirit of a vengeful vagrant is able to manipulate his killer's fortune to bring him prosperity,[7] and the spirit pursuing Sarah Winchester gloats of an incoming earthquake that will destroy her labyrinthine mansion.[8] Once a revenant's grudge is satiated, they are free to pass on to the afterlife.[6]
As ghosts tend toward overpopulation by nature, certain entities known as spirit cleansers (魂の掃除屋, tamashī no sōjiya) exist to purge the world of any spirits that cross their path. Spirit cleansers hatch from eggs touched by a spirit. Cleansers lunge toward any ghost people or objects they detect, attempting to eat their way inside their forms; afterward, they destroy the ghost from the inside by transforming them into new lifeforms such as plants or insects. They can be killed either by cracking their eggs or inflicting damage on them with a ghost object.[1]
In the Japanese town of Morioh, a particular place called the Ghost Girl's Alley is said to be the border between the world of the living and the afterlife, essentially serving as a purgatory. The alley is a closed space, looping back on itself in all directions but one. The one path toward the exit, however, is haunted by the hands of malicious spirits. Those who look back and see the spirits while crossing toward the exit are grabbed by their hands and dragged into death. The spirits of the alley yearn to drag living beings away, and are capable of mimicking sensations and voices in order to trick potential victims into turning around.[9]
Burning Down the House is a Stand that allows its user, Emporio Alnino, to interact with the ghost of Green Dolphin Street Prison's music room, as well as various ghost objects from within the room, including a computer, a piano, a gun, and food. Emporio is able to enter the ghost room through cracks in the prison walls, and even bring other people into the room by the same method.[10] In addition, the properties of ghost objects allow Emporio to bring objects from the room outside with him, and even store physical objects within them to make them "disappear."[11]
The spirits of Ghost Girl's Alley reach out to grab Koichi
Polnareff remaining as a ghost inside Coco Jumbo
A dead vagrant appears as a revenant
The vagrant and a dead servant stalk their killer
Nanase Fujikura's ghost, bound to Under the Moon
The amnesiac ghost of Yoshikage Kira
The spirits of Ghost Girl's Alley reach out to grab Koichi
Polnareff remaining as a ghost inside Coco Jumbo
A dead vagrant appears as a revenant
The vagrant and a dead servant stalk their killer
The spirits of Ghost Girl's Alley drag away a Clinging Yokai
Supernatural Beings | |
|---|---|
| Vampires | |
| Zombies and other Undead | |
| Pillar Men | |
| Ghosts | |
| Rock Organisms (Rock Humans) | |
| Miscellaneous | |
