Things That Go Bump In The Night

The current inadequate taxonomy for Ghosts places them all within a single specie. The new system differentiates from this considerably, in great part along the lines of the (meta)physical composition of the ghosts' bodies. All such creatures, however, share the direct link of ectoplasmic derivation, even if their forms are composed of Protoplasm or Ichor. Accordingly, Ghostly beings are categorized at the Family level as Family Larvae, to differentiate it from the previous Genus designation.

«««Ugh... does that mean what I think it does? -- Shadowjack»»»

«««Yep: Solidly physical beings are ghosts too on occasion. Not that that's a big-time surprise... you've met Voudois, haven't you? Well, Zombies are DEFINITELY a protoplasm-ghosts example. Don't ask. :-) And, well... the existence of Toxic Spirits of the Dead is another one I have to personally attest to. And REALLY don't ask about THAT one... in fact, I'd as soon we forgot I ever said anything... -- Silence»»»

• Genus Caducusa consists of lesser spirits... most so faint that the daily waxing and waning of the ectoplasm that forms them eradicates them entirely for great stretches of time, and none show any true sentience or semblance of mortal consciousness. Paterson's "Apparitions" are perfectly exemplary of this genus, and "Apparition" is a general name for the entire genus.

• Genus Inquietumanes is by far the largest segment of the ghostly population in terms of noticeable numbers and sheer variety «««Though in point of fact, "Phantasms" (Caducusa Umbrae) are all OVER the place, they aren't generally noticeable unless you look HARD for them. See the section on "Casting Ghosts" for details -- GP»»». These are the ghosts generically lumped together as "Spectres" by Paterson's, and represent the conventional public image of ghosts: conscious spirits believing themselves to be the spirits of deceased metahumans, non-corporeal entities manifesting in sundry ways for sundry purposes. These spirits too often vanish entirely in the ebb and flow of ectoplasmic energy, but virtually always retain memory of their existence, thus demonstrating sufficient difference from the incohate and non-sentient behavior of Genus Caducusa.

• Genus Animorticinus are those ghostly beings in material form: Generally, though not always, inhabiting the dead body of the metahuman whose death created them, they are NOT actually composed of flesh, dead or otherwise -- the material of their bodies is protoplasmic in nature, formed by the reaction of ectoplasm and necrotic organics. That said, it is true that in the bulk of cases, the protoplasm formed conforms to virtually all appearances as the body itself. Such creatures have varying levels of consciousness, ranging from the mindless state of Corpse Cadavre to the generally malign intelligence of the rarely observed Litch. This variety defies easy vernacular designations, but the research team at the Zenshöan Center has adopted the general designation of "Revenant" for the Genus.

«««Um... Zombie flesh isn't meat? -- Concrete George»»»

«««Not technically, at least. That explains something Sam (my Talismonger) once told me -- Haitians believe that Zombie flesh has special properties even after the animating spirit has been "disposed of"... I guess Zombie Soup is a big thing if you're under attack by evil Vodoun magic. I dunno... I couldn't stand the thought even then... ANYthing's gotta be better'n THAT cure, y'know? -- Silence»»»

«««Zombie meat? Wonder if THAT'S why the burgers at Grunk's taste strange... -- Jett»»»

• Genus Avitalarum consists of the more powerful but less defined ectoplasmic entities -- Ancestral Spirits who guide their descendants and act materially on their behalf such as the Sorei venerated here in Nippon, Celtic Bean Nigh, etc... these spirits are, when manifesting directly, documentably composed of ectoplasmic material, but just as clearly are not limited to the constraints of such a nature... their closest equivalent among the Genus Anima spirits would be the as-yet-taxonomically-unclassified Totem Spirits, though often of far less power than Totems exhibit. Such spirits are virtually never constrained by Conjuration, though some, in the interests of those they watch over, will appear voluntarily in response to the proper rituals. As a group, they are referred to in less-scientific terms as "Ancestral Spirits".

• It should be noted that, under normal conditions, only metahumanity creates ghosts in any manner -- non-human ectoplasmic entities DO NOT form. While the reasons for this are not yet clear, it HAS been shown that Animal and other non-human spirits DO exist based on Ichor, rather than normal untainted ectoplasm. Accordingly, ALL non-human and Ichor-based ghosts are categorized under Genus Teneblemurae -- the importance of this qualification is due to the fact that while the bulk of specimens of genus Teneblemurae are malignant in the extreme, several species do NOT exhibit the characteristic tainting of the astral normally associated with Toxic Spirits. They ARE however, universally lacking in any ties to metahumanity, and should be considered extremely dangerous due to this fact.

«««Right on both counts, Doc Oi -- ran into a Grim once on a run, didn't sense the fragger until he was on TOP of me... not a twitch on the astral, Dual-Nature or not, and usually I can smell a Toxic a mile away. As to dangerous... well, the thing wasn't EVIL, but it acted a hell of a lot like a cat with a mouse... it wasn't pretty, I assure you. -- Shade»»»

• Finally the most problematical category, Genus Metaplasmus. I'm given to understand that the Taxonomic Standards Committee has the most question concerning this group of "Ghosts"... and I must admit that despite it being my own work, I too have questions regarding this Genus. Metaplasmus specimens represent LIVING ghosts, which is a difficult subject at best. I myself have only directly observed a single member of this taxon in all my years of study, but in the encounter was able to engage in an extensive dialogue with the subject and make detailed observations as well, though circumstances prevented lab-study of the individual.

  «««Gee, you mean the ghostie objected to being experimented on and/or vivisected? Wonder why THAT would be? -- Cynical Sal»»»

  «««Heh. But LIVING ghosts? Isn't that a contradiction in terms? -- Ferret»»»

  As best as I could determine, Genus Metaplasmus individuals arise from the extremely rare situations where BOTH a> Protoplasm infuses and transforms living cellular material at a molecular level AND ectoplasm or ichor infuses and transforms the Living Aura at a precisely equal pace. My informant/subject was of a group he referred to as Duende, and research of third and fourth hand reports indicates a specie referring to itself as Sluagh are found, oddly enough, in the Caribbean and environs. Both my colleagues here at the Plasm Metaphysics department and myself have theorized that the Human/MetaHuman Vampiric Virus may, in fact, also perform this function as well, making Vampires et. al. also members of the Genus, though we have yet to conclusively test this hypothesis. Ironically, I'm informed that it is AGREEMENT with this conclusion that the Genus designation of Metaplasmus is being questioned by the Committee... they are considering the alternate Genus Designation of "Nosferatus", though I personally felt such an assumption may well be quite premature.

«««I KNEW this Vampire thing would pop up somewhere in there -- Buffy»»»

«««ROFL. Well, it DOES offer an explanation for Vampires' abilities and consistent labeling of them as "Undead" throughout recorded folklore, yet allowing for the documentable nature of HMHVV... not that the Doc sounds REAL convinced about it, but a virus that kills normal cells and excretes protoplasm patterned by the genetic structure, and has an ectoplasmic aura seems a LOT more reasonable to THIS layman than that a TRULY living being can subsist on Essence and dissolve and reform its body. Or that a truly DEAD being can come back to even animation based on a bunch of germs in his blood. -- GP»»»

«««Hm... hadn't thought of it quite that way, GP... -- Buffy»»»

«««Ahm glad dat I'm not de only one t't'ink dat de Congo Bokor Hellbound callin' d'selves Sluagh i' odd... Mama was from England, an' I wa' raised on plenty of d'tales of the Host -- Daddy was a Houngan, an' when I run inta tales of Sluagh down in d'Islands, I was sure SOMEBODY wa' nuts -- Voodoo Sam»»»

«««Ran into one of these suckers in Germany once, actually... Well, I THINK that's what it was. Sorry for quoting ahead, but some of the descriptive skat in the specific what's-what part struck a bell... I myself am originally from the Dominican, so Congo Bokors aren't exactly something I've never heard of, so when our Mr. J in Germany was doing the "witchcraft is just persecuted" speech with a Carrib accent way down in that weird voice of his, I did a quick peek past the mirror to see what he was hiding under his oh-so-druidic robe [shudder]. I guess he didn't expect the Sammie to have the Sight, and we didn't HAVE a Wiz at the time, so he didn't bother to screen there, the way he did on the physical. After we left the meet, we relocated... *I* sure's drek wasn't gonna work on the same CONTINENT as that... thing. Let alone FOR it. On the astral, his skin was LITERALLY crawling with fungus. Ever see a puffball mushroom wiggle it's way across where a guy's cheek should be? -- Space Case»»»

«««Ohhhh DREK. FUNGUS? PLEASE tell me you didn't say that, SC. -- Silence»»»

«««Yeah, 90% of him looked like a tree so rotted with the stuff you couldn't see the tree... of him... any more. From the way his robe was... kinda... lumpy... I figure his physical body was a lot like his astral. He was pretty fraggin' spook-show, but drek, he's in rural Germany, man... some mountain or other, running some nutball cult. A bad scene, I admit, but even Caped Crusaders have to have SOME kinda limit to how far away to worry about drek, don't they?. Why? -- Space Case»»»

«««Oh... WONDERFUL. A mountain too. I wish I could REALLY believe that Germany was far enough away not to worry... Pink's gonna drek if I start havin' nightmares again. -- Silence»»»

«««??? -- Space Case»»»

«««Never mind, just... stay clear of Europe'd be MY advice. -- Silence»»»

«««EUROPE? C'mon Si, get a grip. -- Ferret»»»

«««I'm with Silence...I was on that run, and I saw drek that I NEVER want to see again in ten of my lifetimes. Once was enough to give me bad dreams for the rest of my life. -- Jett»»»

«««Actually, having read the parts of the upload about the Baka, and knowing what I do about Si's last tangle in the Cascades... hm... anybody got any serious save-the-world kinda contacts near Germany? Tell 'em to stay on their toes... -- Voodoo Sam»»»

«««I can honestly say that all that saved me that night was a lucky shot. It's disheartening to know that the only people standing at that time were the two mundanes. Yet another show that sometimes, it's better not to have the "Ground Your HellBlast Here" signs that Jett is so fond of. -- Pink»»»

«««Reason #563 Mundanes should never be overawed by Wiz bang... respect it, sure... just like you Magicians out there BETTER treat your Sammie Bud's right :-), but NEVER think that Magic is always the best answer for everything. Sometimes, what Magic makes you is wide-fraggin'-open to an attack. -- Silence»»

«««Hey, I resemble that remark! I was mundane at the time, and I went down just as hard as the magickers, if not harder. I'm very glad I wasn't dual natured then, that came later. (Ironically, I have Grond to thank for the ability to do magic.) I still shudder to think what would have happened to me down there if I HAD been magically active at the time...-- Jett»»»

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