50+ Beautiful Ghost Quotes From Across Literature And Culture

Supriya Jain
Dec 12, 2023 By Supriya Jain
Originally Published on Feb 09, 2021
Edited by Luca Demetriou
Scared little girl reading ghost book in bed

Mostly everyone thinks about ghosts when darkness falls, Halloween has come to be the scariest night, and children believe that all the haunting ghosts come out on the night of Halloween.

However, we get scared all the time with the hauntings ghost stories seen in movies, songs, or by our imaginations. We are haunted by food, people, memories, somebody from our past and present, and we try to run away from them.

Sometimes if we have terrible nightmares, we are haunted by it, and we try to change from that experience. In 'Macbeth', in Act 3 and scene 4, Banquo’s ghost appears to remind Macbeth of his evil deeds.

Similarly, Caesar’s ghost’s statement stirs Brutus’s conscience for his past acts and disturbs him as he ponders his future battle. Read along to find beautiful ghost quotes from across literature and culture. In this article, you'll find 'Hamlet' quotes, quotes about the dead, the human body and death.

If you enjoy this article, check out our articles on worship quotes and activism quotes as you finish with this one.

Famous Quotes About Ghosts And Spectres

Ghosts are almost always a metaphor in literature as they carry the weight of the past, and they are not there in the traditional sense, says author Tabitha King. Destiny ghost quotes, going ghost quotes, 'Hamlet' ghost quotes are some popular variations of ghostly quotes. Read along to find funny ghost quotes along with cute ghost quotes.

1. “What are these,

So wither’d, and so wild in their attire;

That look not like the inhabitants o’ th’ earth,

And yet are on ’t?”

- William Shakespeare, ‘Macbeth’.

2. “One need not be a chamber to be haunted. One need not be a house. The brain has corridors surpassing material place.”

- Emily Dickson.

3. “Monsters are real, ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.”

- Stephen King, ‘The Shining’.

4. “This inhuman place makes human monsters.”

- Stephen King, ‘The Shining’.

5. “There are horrors beyond life’s edge that we do not suspect, and once in a while man’s evil prying calls them just within our range.”

- H.P. Lovecraft.

6. “We ask only to be reassured about the noises in the cellar and the window that should not have been open.”

- T.S. Eliot, ‘The Family Reunion’.

7. “Everyone is a moon and has a dark side, which he never shows to anybody.”

- Mark Twain.

8. “Terror made me cruel . . .”

- Emily Bronte, ‘Wuthering Heights’.

9. “In one aspect, yes, I believe in ghosts, but we create them. We haunt ourselves.”

- Laurie Halse Anderson, ‘Wintergirls’.

10. “The house smelled musty and damp, and a little sweet, as if it were haunted by the ghosts of long-dead cookies.”

- Neil Gaiman,’ American Gods’.

11. “Now I know what a ghost is. Unfinished business, that’s what.”

- Salman Rushdie, ‘The Satanic Verses’.

12. “Oh, very good,’ interrupted Snape, his lip curling. ‘Yes, it is easy to see that nearly six years of magical education have not been wasted on you, Potter. ‘Ghosts are transparent.”

- J. K. Rowling, ‘Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince’.

13. “For when all else is done, on­ly words re­main. Words en­dure.”

- Kate Mosse, ‘The Winter Ghosts’.

14. “The graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead

Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets.”

- William Shakespeare, ‘Hamlet’.

15. “Now it is the time of night

That the graves, all gaping wide,

Every one lets forth his sprite

In the church-way paths to glide.”

- William Shakespeare, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.

16. “The muses are ghosts, and sometimes they come uninvited.”

- Stephen King, ‘Bag of Bones’.

17. “I can call spirits from the vasty deep.

Why so can I, or so can any man;

But will they come when you do call for them?”

- William Shakespeare, Part 1, ‘Henry IV’.

18. “We’re all ghosts. We all carry, inside us, people who came before us.”

- Liam Callanan, ‘The Cloud Atlas’.

19. "I believe-I know that ghosts have wandered the earth. Be with me always-take any form-drive me mad. Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!”

- Emily Brontë, ‘Wuthering Heights’.

20. “How can I go, meeting and exorcising my own ghosts here! I’ve made some new ones now.”

- Sylvia Plath, ‘The Unabridged Journals Of Sylvia Plath’.

21. “Maybe all the people who say ghosts don’t exist are just afraid to admit that they do.”

- Michael Ende, ‘The Neverending Story’.

22. “To be haunted is to glimpse a truth that might best be hidden.”

- James Herbert, ‘Haunted’.

23. “He could not shake the feeling - reportedly common among ghosts - that it was not he but those he haunted whose lives were devoid of matter, sense, future.”

- Michael Chabon, ‘The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier & Clay’.

24. “A world in which there are monsters, and ghosts, and things that want to steal your heart is a world in which there are angels, and dreams and a world in which there is hope.”

- Neil Gaiman.

Quotes About Ghosts From Culture

Ghosts are viewed diversely across borders and as a result there are different types of ghost quotes that are popular everywhere. Space ghost quotes, holy ghost quotes, starcraft ghost quotes, King Leopold's ghost quotes, 'Call Of Duty' ghost quotes, Casper the friendly ghost quotes being the most popular variations amongst the readers and viewers.

They play different roles in different cultures, and ghost hunting is popular in various cultures. Read along for some of the most famous hauntings quotes about ghosts.

25. “Ghosts seem harder to please than we are; it is as though they haunted for haunting’s sake — much as we relive, brood, and smolder over our pasts.”

- Elizabeth Bowen.

26. “In Eastern culture, people see ghosts, people talk about ghosts… it’s just accepted. And in Western culture, it’s just not.”  

- Jessica Alba.

27. “I like to say I believe in ghosts so I don’t get haunted by one.”  

- Ella Henderson.

28. “Whatever its origin, a belief in spirits seems to have been common to all the nations of the ancient world who have left us any record of themselves. Ghosts began to walk early, and are walking still, in spite of the shrill cock-crow of Wir haben ja aufgeklärt.”  

- James Russell Lowell.

29. “I believe in ghosts now because of New Orleans. I never did before. I was so skeptical, but now I’ve seen one, which sounds insane, but it’s true.”

- Brett Dier.

30. “The Supernatural is the Natural, just not yet understood.”  

- Elbert Hubbard.

31. “Well. I don’t suppose you have to believe in ghosts to know that we are all haunted, all of us, by things we can see and feel and guess at, and many more things that we can’t.”

- Beth Gutcheon.

32. “I figure I basically am a ghost. I think we all are.”

- John Astin.

33. “"I think ghosts want to be seen. They want to be reassured that they truly exist.”

- Emily X.R. Pan, 'The Astonishing Color Of After'.

34. “There are an infinite number of universes existing side by side...through which our consciousnesses constantly pass.

In these universes, all possibilities exist...You are alive in some, long dead in others, and never existed in still others. Many of our “ghosts” could indeed be visions of people going about their business in a parallel universe or another time -- or both.”

- Paul F. Eno.

35. “In the main, ghosts are said to be forlorn and generally miserable, if not downright depressed. The jolly ghost is rare.”

- Dick Cavet.

36. “Death is no more than passing from one room into another.”

- Helen Keller.

37. “Ghosts, like ladies, never speak till spoke to.”

- Richard Harris Barham.

38. “A person terrified with the imagination of specters is more reasonable than one who thinks the appearance of spirits fabulous and groundless.”

- Joseph Addison.

39. “All we can do is move forward, against all odds, into the uncertain future. The past is over, the doors are closed; there’s nothing left back there but sentimental ghosts.”

- D. Michael Hardy.

40. “The more enlightened our houses are, the more their walls ooze ghosts.”

- Italo Calvino.

41. “Some people go to mediums to bring them into contact with the spirit world, but most go to bartenders.”

- Evan Esar.

42. “Ghosts are never just ghosts; they provide us with an insight into what haunts our culture.”

- Andrew Smith.

43. “Ghosts are a metaphor for memory and remembrance and metaphorically connect our world to the world we cannot know about.”

- Leslie What.

44. “When thoroughly reliable people encounter ghosts, their stories are difficult to explain away.”

- C. B. Colby.

45. “On Halloween, witches come true; Wild ghosts escape from dreams. Each monster dances in the park.”

- Nicholas Gordon.

46. “There is no ghost so difficult to lay as the ghost of an injury.”

- Alexander Smith.

47. “Following the Romanian tradition, garlic is used in excess to keep the vampires away.”

- Calvin Marshall Trillin.

48. “An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself.”

- Charles Dickens.

49. “There is a day coming when there will be a religion without repentance, a salvation without the Holy Ghost, a Heaven without Hell.”

- William Booth.

50. “I say I’m an atheist but I wouldn’t mind being visited by a ghost.”

- Natalie Dormer.

51. “The greatest help you will ever have in this life is the Holy Ghost!  Cultivate him as a friend and constant companion.”

- Barbara W. Winder.

52. “The Holy Ghost unveils God’s Word to us; He reveals the things of God to us.”

- Chris Oyakhilome.

53. “The Bible says, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”

- Chris Oyakhilome.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for ghost quotes, then why not take a look at universe quotes, or 'Until We Meet Again' quotes.

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Written by Supriya Jain

Bachelor of Commerce, Master of Business Administration specializing in Marketing

Supriya Jain picture

Supriya JainBachelor of Commerce, Master of Business Administration specializing in Marketing

As a skilled member of the Kidadl team, Shruti brings extensive experience and expertise in professional content writing. With a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from Punjab University and an MBA in Business Administration from IMT Nagpur, Shruti has worked in diverse roles such as sales intern, content writer, executive trainee, and business development consultant. Her exceptional writing skills cover a wide range of areas, including SOP, SEO, B2B/B2C, and academic content.

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