In my story how can a ghost be defeated?

Question

I am writing a horror story sort of and the main character gets involved with a ghost and how in the end like what are some ways that they can over come a ghost and "win?" I mean the ghost is already dead so they can't kill it....

Answer 1

Ghosts/phantoms/spirits in stories are usually ultimately "defeated" by putting the spirit at ease. For example, the ghost wants the hero to bring justice upon his/her murderer or settle some affairs that may have been left unsorted when he/she died.

If the ghost is an malignant entity, it won't be to cooperative of course.. In which case you could go with destroying whatever it is that binds it to this world? Like a piece of jewelry? Amulets are very popular when it comes to this sort of thing.



When it comes to more ""realistic"" cases of hauntings, the entity is often exorcised or eventually leaves on its on accord. A more drastic matter to stop a haunting would be to move away from the house that's haunted or demolish it.

Answer 2

I'm currently writing a novel as well, about supernatural creatures and mythology. Ghosts are actually quite tricky to stop in "real" mythology. You can, of course, try to put their spirit to rest, by completing the pattern of the ghost or breaking the pattern. You see, ghosts are forced to follow a pattern, like killing people for a certain reason (race, territory, looks...).



There ARE however a lot of different apotropaics for ghosts. Iron, silver, salt (symbol of purity), obsidian and chalcedony are all supposed to make a ghost go away. In modern fiction, like the tv show Supernatural, shotguns loaded with rock salt rounds can hurt a ghost. Iron rods being stabbed in a dead person's remains is said to work as well.



You can, however, use other methods. You can create symbols on the ground to catch a ghost or even do a ritual. It is all about the ideas of an author to use the mythology and turn it into something special.



Good luck.

Answer 3

Maybe you could find some ritual or incantation that banishes the ghost back to the spirit world... hell, heaven, limbo... wherever you feel your ghost should go.