We all have read about supernatural elements somewhere but never seen them. In literature, supernatural fiction is used against realism and rationalism because it defies natural laws and science (due to reason and logic).

Supernatural elements include ghosts, spirits, witch, monsters, etc. Let’s discuss them in detail to have a good knowledge of them.

Phantom

Phantom refers to something non-existent, non-apparent, dread, vision, or mental image. It considers something having no physical existence but only exists in mind, e.g., an illusion. It is interchangeably used with ghosts and spirits. It belongs to the unseen and unknown world that is hard to see. It also considers the soul of dead persons appears to people who are alive.

Ghost

A ghost is regarded as a supernatural being characterized as wicked and evil. Consciously or unconsciously, we are afraid of ghosts, although we have never seen them. People claim of seeing the ghostly entity and declare some places to be haunted. Science claims that there is no ghost-like thing in the real world. The physicians named John Ferriar and Alexandre Jacques Francois argued in their writings that sighting ghosts is a result of hallucination and optical illusion.

Spirit

The word spirit has roots in Latin, meaning “breath” and considered to be alive. It is a supernatural element that is viewed as the soul of a deceased or dead person. E.g., “This house is haunted by an evil spirit.” In the book “Society for Psychical Research,” spirit refers to a personal ‘stream of consciousness.’

It conveys double meanings as it is also related to feelings, enjoyment, courage, energy, and enthusiasm. E.g., “That’s the team spirit.”

Phantom Vs Ghost Vs Spirit

Concept

Phantom is something illusive; feared; non-existent; sensed having no physical entity. Ghost is something that haunts and appears in the form of an apparition. Spirit is also known as the soul, the eternal essence of a human being.

By Science

Science refuses the existence of phantoms and ghosts as phantoms are illusions and apparitions, whereas ghosts are seen due to optical delusions, infrasound, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations. Spirit is seen as a soul and not separable to body and mind.

By Religion

Christianity

According to the Holy book of Christians, called the Bible, a person can’t return to earth after death. The apparition is demonic manifestation. Phantom does not exist; sometimes, we imagine a man like figure of dead relatives out of stress having no reality at all.

Christians believe in the existence of the ghost. For them, there are good and bad ghosts; good ghosts don’t harm anyone, but evil ghosts distract the people from the path leads to God. In a church, a priest teaches ghosts to live a good life.

Spirit is believed as a “Holy Spirit” in Christian theology. A spirit is pure, fine, and innocent, made up of matter, and can only be seen through the purest eyes. The Bible hints that no one could return to earth or makes appearances once he dies. Jesus narrated the event when a wealthy person asked Abraham that he wanted to go to his brothers to warn from hell. Abraham replies that no one could ever go back to earth after death, and man is destined to die once; after that, he has to face judgments.

Islam

In Islam, phantoms are not appreciated as it does not have any physical appearance or existence. It is just an illusion or a mental image and also called “weham;  وہم.”

The ghost has no physical appearance, but it does exist. Muslims believe in the concept of the ghost as “Jinnat; جنات” as they are living creatures. In the Holy Quran, it is stated that Allah (God) has created men and ghosts for His worship”. There are two types of ghosts; good and evil. They born and die as humans do.

According to Islam, the spirit is considered “a soul of a person; روح.” A soul helps a man to stay alive. When a person dies, his soul is taken out of the body by an angel. A spirit can be good and evil as well. There is a concept of eternal life after death. The two places heaven and hell justify the idea of eternal life after death. The good spirit (which has done good in the world) will be destined to heaven, and evil spirits would have been placed in the hell. Muslim scholars view the soul as a passive entity that can’t interfere in the life of living people.

Conclusion

From the above discussion, we can conclude that phantom, ghost, and spirit are synonymous terms. However, they are differentiated with little variations according to the context. In different religions, they convey different meanings.

Hopefully, this article will give you an insight into the deeper meanings of these terms. Share your valuable thoughts with us.