History Main / Ghost

* For the episode of the show ''Series/{{Revolution}}'', go [[Recap/RevolutionS1E12Ghosts here]].

* ''Film/{{Ghost}}'', the movie starring PatrickSwayze, DemiMoore, and WhoopiGoldberg

* The 2010 [[ForeignRemake Japanese Remake]] of the movie Ghost

* The 2010 [[Japanese Remake ForeignRemake]] of the movie Ghost

* ''Literature/{{Ghost}}'', the first novel of JohnRingo's ''Literature/PaladinOfShadows'' series

You may also have been looking for one of the tropes in the HauntedIndex.

[[quoteright:210:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Ghost_Movie.JPG]]
[[caption-width-right:205:[-Mmm, [[SexyPackaging ghost sex]]-].]]

Ghost is a 1990 movie starring PatrickSwayze, Demi Moore, and WhoopiGoldberg in the performance that won her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar (which she attributes to Swayze insisting on her being cast in the part).

Executive Sam Wheat and his artist girlfriend Molly are a pair of yuppies living in [=SoHo=] New York. They're in love, though Sam seems to [[CanNotSpitItOut have a little difficulty coming right out and saying it]], and can only manage "ditto" when Molly tells him she loves him.

On their way home one night, Sam is mugged and killed. Here the real story begins, as the violent murder plus the fact that Sam had the unfinished business of never truly telling Molly he loves her causes him to stick around as a ghost. Then Sam discovers there's more to his death than just making him an unfortunate statistic in mugger-prone New York.

If you've ever thought to yourself, "Great movie, but you know what ''Ghost'' was missing? [[TheMusical Musical numbers!]]," you're in luck. ''Ghost'' hits Broadway in 2012.

Not to be confused with the 1997 short film ''Ghosts'', starring MichaelJackson. Nor the GuiltyPleasure book ''Literature/{{Ghost}}'' by JohnRingo.
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'''Examples:'''

* AloneWithThePsycho - Averted. [[spoiler:Carl]] was trying to keep Molly's good opinion of him, and only revealed himself as the psycho as he became desperate.
* AndIMustScream: The fate of Willy and [[spoiler:Carl]] when they die.
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence - Sam, and a man on an operating table.
* BadassLongcoat: The Train Ghost.
* BigApplesauce: Hodgepodge piecing together of Brooklyn and Manhattan.
* BittersweetEnding: With a little help from Oda Mae, Sam saves Molly from [[spoiler:Carl]], also bringing an end to the money laundering he was behind, and he finally tells her he loves her. But after all is said and done, he's ''dead'' and can never come back.
* BodySurf: Oda Mae is nonplussed to discover that she is a ''vehicle'' for ghosts, as well.
* [=~Chekhov's Skill~=]: Sam encounters a ghost in the subway who somehow breaks a window. Later on, Sam tips over a picture frame. So he comes back to the ghost to teach him how to touch solid objects.
** Molly's [[EvilDetectingDog ghost-sensing cat]].
* CouldntFindAPen: Sam writing "BOO" on the steamed bathroom mirror in Willy's apartment. Cheap but effective!
** Later, Sam freaks out the BigBad by typing "SAM" repeatedly on his computer monitor.
* DeadPersonConversation - inverted, as Oda Mae's conversations with Sam make everybody think she's crazy, but she's not.
* DeathByIrony: [[spoiler:Carl]] impotently swings a hook at Sam's ghost -- only for it come back and him and smash into a glass pane, killing him.
* DeathIsDramatic - Sure as Hell it is...
* DraggedOffToHell - Willy, and later [[spoiler:Carl]]. The Hospital Ghost implies this is the fate of other evil people when they die.
* TheDragon - Willy is this to [[spoiler:Carl]].
* [[EvilDetectingDog Evil Detecting Cat]]: [[ExploitedTrope Exploited]] - Molly's cat goes berserk when it senses Sam's ghost. It lashes at Willy's face, alarming Molly and foiling his break-in attempt.
* FinalSpeech - Subverted. Sam gets a poignant goodbye to Molly...after he's already dead, and has been dead for some time.
* FindingJudas - Subverted. [[spoiler:Carl]] was plotting behind the scenes, but it wasn't for the greater good, and he really was the villain. He was perfectly willing to seduce Molly or kill her to forward his plans.
-->'''Sam:''' ''WHY! YOU WERE MY FRIEND!'' I HAD A LIFE, YOU BASTARD! ''I had a life...''
* FriendsRentControl - how else could Molly, an artist, stay in that SoHo apartment after Sam dies?
** Because he's only been dead for a few days? Also, it's possible he named her as a beneficiary in his life insurance policy.
*** There are legal cases, mostly from the early days of the AIDS epidemic (when a lot of gay men wound up outliving partners whose name was on the lease), of existing leases and rent control laws being construed to protect a surviving unmarried roommate.
* ForeignRemake: Would you believe a [[http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2010/12/14/ghost-the-japanesekorean-remake/ Japanese-Korean version]]? With a GenderFlip, yet?
* FourIsDeath: ''Four'' million dollars was the cause of this tragedy...
* FrightDeathtrap
* GhostlyGoals - Protect his girlfriend.
* GoIntoTheLight - the way Sam [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascends]].
* HandsOnApproach: The SignatureScene with the pottery machine.
* HeAlsoDid: Directed by one of the Zucker brothers. Yes, ''[[{{Airplane}} those]]'' [[TheNakedGun Zucker]] [[TopSecret brothers]].
* HeyItsThatGuy: [[RoadHouse Dalton]] / [[PointBreak Bodhi]] returns from the dead to protect [[{{Striptease}} Erin Grant.]] [[TheStand The Rat Man]] is in cahoots with [[TheLastSamurai Colonel Bagley]] in a money laundering scheme. [[SisterAct Sister Delores]] can hear dead people. In the 2010 remake, actress Nanako Matsushima (who plays the Japanese version of Swayze's character) is known for her role as [[GreatTeacherOnizuka Azuza Fuyutsuki.]]
* IUhYouToo: "Ditto."
** [[spoiler:Inverted at the end: when Sam finally manages to say "I love you" to Molly, thereby ensuring his [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascension to a Higher Plane of Existence]], it's her who replies with "ditto".]]
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler: Carl]], courtesy of a shattered window pane.
* InvoluntaryCharityDonation: Whoopi Goldberg's character, the psychic Oda Mae Brown, does a variation of this to the villain - with Sam's help, she's able to steal the money from a special account, turn it into a check and donate it to a nuns' charity.
* JacobMarleyApparel - Sam spends the entire movie in the burgundy polo and jeans he was wearing when he was murdered.
* JerkAss: The Subway Ghost.
* KarmicDeath - Willy and [[spoiler:Carl]], who surely did have it coming.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm - Oda Mae leaves both Sam and Molly to their own devices after Sam mentions "there's somebody else involved". She probably doesn't want to be added to that list.
* LargeHam: Vincent Schiavelli as the Subway Ghost.
-->''LIKE '''TRAINS?!''' [[GetOut GET OFF MY TRAIN! GET OFF! GET OFF!!]]''
* LookBothWays: While fleeing from Sam's ghost, Willy gets sandwiched between two speeding cars.
* LoudOfWar: Sam terrorizes Oda Mae with Herman's Hermits until she agrees to help him.
** '''''♪ OHHH I'M 'ENRY THE EIGHTH, I AM! 'ENRY THE EIGHTH, I AM, I AM.... ♪'''''
** [[BrokenRecord Second verse, same as the first...]]
* TheMafia: It's hinted that [[spoiler:Carl]] is laundering drug money for a mob boss.
* MagicalNegro - Oda Mae, who for a good part of the movie does NOT want to become one.
** She inherited from her mother, who got it from her grandmother. They say she'll get it too, but never believed them.
* MidlifeCrisisCar: Carl's new sports car. It later turns out to be unfortunate foreshadowing.
* MurderByMistake: [[spoiler:Carl]] never wanted Sam dead -- he just wanted his ''wallet''.
* NearDeathClairvoyance - though the near death experience just ended up as -- death.
* TheObiWan: The Hospital Ghost, sort of. He tells Sam he'll be a ghost for a long while. He then disappears to meet up with his deceased wife, right after he and Sam see a dead person ascend into Heaven.
* OneSceneWonder: Vincent Schiavelli as the Subway Ghost.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent - the poltergeist effect of throwing things around is described as coming from the emotions, but the ghosts still kick and hit and shove things to make them move as if they were alive.
* PhonyPhonyPsychic - Oda Mae comes from a family of mediums, though she doesn't really believe in spirits and exploits her customers for cash. That is until she meets Sam, at which time she realized she really ''could'' [[ISeeDeadPeople hear dead people]].
** [[LaserGuidedKarma After which she gets swamped by ghosts]], even though Sam didn't actually tell any of them about it.
--->Oda Mae: ''"Orlando, Orlando, is there an Orlando here?"''
*** Some other ghost must have been eavesdropping. Oda thought he told everyone about her.
*** The movie was OscarBait, but [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot that would make a great TV series!]]
* {{Poltergeist}}: Apparently this is a skill that can be learned.
* ThePowerOfLove - It's what keeps Sam there to look after Molly and what allows Molly her chance to hear him and say goodbye when he [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence goes into the light]].
* RepurposedPopsong - "Unchained Melody", by the Righteous Brothers, originally about a prisoner hoping his girl will wait for him (hence "unchained"), becomes the love theme for this film. It also put the song back on the charts.
* ResurrectedRomance
* RomancingTheWidow: Inverted - Carl took a shortcut by bumping off her hubby first.
* SenseiForScoundrels: The Subway Ghost is a madman who fell in front of a train, possibly intentionally. He begrudgingly agrees to teach Sam how to manipulate solid objects. Once the lesson is concluded, the ghost succumbs to his delusions and vanishes into the tunnels again.
** ''[[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness They pushed him.]]''
* SexByProxy: Sam uses Oda Mae's body for a Makeout By Proxy with Molly.
* SinisterSubway: "Like '''[[BigWordShout TRAINS?!!]]'''"
* SpiritAdvisor: Several ghosts throw out little tidbits of pertinent information for Sam, but notably the Subway Ghost, who teaches him how to move objects. Slightly different in that the character being advised is himself a ghost...
* TeachHimAnger: The Subway Ghost laughs his ass off when Sam fails to move a soda can. This causes Sam to get furious enough to kick the can like David Beckham, earning a friendly congratulations from his tutor.
* TemptingFate: Sam jumps into Oda Mae's body to share a last dance with his fiancee, which had already been [[ChekhovsGun shown to weaken ghosts.]] Naturally, ''that's'' when a psychotic [[spoiler:Carl]] [[ItGotWorse chooses to attack]].
* TwoRoadsBeforeYou: Sam sees a light emanating from the sky after he dies. But he turns away from it to be with Molly, and it seals shut.
* VillainousBreakdown - Starting when [[spoiler:Carl realizes he can't access the stolen money]] and lasting somewhere around the entire third act.
** Culminating at the end, where he winds up getting a [[spoiler:KarmicDeath]] as a result of trying to win a physical fight against a ghost.
* VisualInnuendo - Featuring [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative the world's only PG-13 rated clay-pottery-throwing scene]].
** Until of course, the AffectionateParody as seen in ''WrongfullyAccused''.

* ThankYouMisterEvil: Whoopi Goldberg's character, the psychic Oda Mae Brown, does a variation of this to the villain - with Sam's help, she's able to steal the money from a special account, turn it into a check and donate it to a nuns' charity.

* MurderByMistake: [[spoiler: Carl]] never wanted Sam dead -- he just wanted his ''wallet''.

* DraggedOffToHell - [[spoiler:Willy]], and later [[spoiler:Carl]]. The Hospital Ghost implies this is the fate of other evil people when they die.
* TheDragon: [[spoiler:Willy]] is this to [[spoiler:Carl]].

* [[spoiler:DraggedOffToHell]] - Willy, and later Carl. The Hospital Ghost implies this is the fate of other evil people when they die.

* VisualInnuendo - Featuring the world's only PG-13 rated clay-pottery-throwing scene.

-->''LIKE '''TRAINS?!''' GET OFF MY TRAIN! GET OFF! GET OFF!''

* OhCrap - and ''how''

* FridgeHorror - More like fridge {{Squick}}. The big romantic scene of the couple dancing together one last time is sort of dampened when you remember that she's actually dancing with a (Very unattractively dressed) Oda Mae, and is only imagining it's his body.
** "I wish I could just touch you." Um... [[ForgotAboutHisPowers why can't he?]] [[FridgeLogic He can touch everything else!]]
*** He can affect physical objects but he doesn't feel them. He's a ghost, he doesn't have a nervous system.

* CannotSpitItOut: "Ditto".
** [[spoiler:Inverted at the end: when Sam finally manages to say "I love you" to Molly, thereby ensuring his [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascension to a Higher Plane of Existence]], it's her who replies with "ditto".]]

* BodySurf: Oda Mae is nonplussed to discover that she is a ''vehicle'' for ghosts, as well.

Not to be confused with the 1997 short film ''Ghosts'', starring MichaelJackson. Nor the GuiltyPleasure book ''[[PaladinOfShadows Ghost]]'' by John Ringo.

* KarmicDeath - Willy and [[spoiler:Carl]], who surely did have it coming.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm - Oda Mae leaves both Sam and Molly to their own devices after Sam mentions "there's somebody else involved". She probably doesn't want to be added to that list.

* MurderByMistake: Carl never wanted Sam dead -- he just wanted his ''wallet''.

* TemptingFate: Sam jumps into Oda Mae's body to share a last dance with his fiancee, which had already been [[ChekovsGun shown to weaken ghosts.]] Naturally, ''that's'' when a psychotic [[spoiler:Carl]] [[ItGotWorse chooses to attack]].