The ancient Egyptians believed that the spirit left the body when it died. These ghosts, called khu, were considered responsible for illnesses and misfortune of the deceased person's family. Rituals were often held in which people would offer flesh offerings to appease the khu.
Not too far away in Assyria, the belief in ghosts was very serious. Within the broad category of evil spirits called utukku, there were several kinds of ghosts, who lacked limbs and made horrible wailing sounds, which terrorized the ancient community. These ghosts were believed to manifest as a result of failing to perform a burial ritual when someone died.
Speaking of burial rituals, a tribe in Nigeria included in their own local funerals an open plea to the newly dead not to return to terrorize the tribe.
Chinese culture believes each person has two spirits, a good spirit known as "Shin", and a bad known as "Kuei". If the body of the dead does not get a proper burial the Kuei is left to wander. Like in India and Egypt, the Chinese would offer cakes to the ghosts in the hope that they would not bother the family. The offerings would be in concurrence with a sixty day cycle in which the ghosts were believed to manifest. Sometimes the offerer would be a witness to this manifestation, during which a mist would descend, then materialize into an incomplete human form.
The shojo are a class of Japanese ghosts believed to haunt the seas. Sailors claim these ghosts mean no harm, and enjoy offerings of sake. Not so friendly in the Pacific to the Japanese was the umi bozu, a giant black sea phantom.
India was believed to be populated with four types of ghosts--the bauta, the paisachi, the virika, and the mumiai. This last type of ghost haunted the lower caste, particularly lazy people. Seeing one of these ghosts could foretell your impending death. Hindus have erected shrines throughout their country for giving gifts to these ghosts, and to Rudra, their god. Wise men were also called upon to dispel these wretched spirits.
A famous spirit is the djinn, also known as the jinnee or genie. While not necessarily the spirit of the departed, the djinn is known for pranks (often done at the bidding of its master). These spirits are supposedly born from fire, or created by a crafty magician.
April 30 is Walpurgis Night. Although it was named after St. Walpurga, a lifelong crusader against evil magic, Walpurgis Night is known for witch ceremonies and heightened ghost activity.
Icelandic law once provided judicial protection against spirits. Victims of ghostly persecution were allowed to summon spirits before the court in order to place a restraining order on the offending ghost.
Another type of ghost manifesting in part due to justice is that of ladies who died after their lovers jilted them. If she died in illegitimate childbirth, or because of her shame, she would haunt the family of the man responsible for her seduction and downfall.
Spunkies are the ghosts of unbaptized children. Some folk tales note that these lonely ghosts often gather together, while other tales claim they turn into white moths so they can travel among humans unnoticed.
There are many tales of ghosts who would do domestic chores for the houses they haunted, provided the inhabiting family treated the ghost with respect. In Slavic folklore, this spirit was called a kikimora. In England it was a silkie, while in Russia the ghost was called a domovoy. (Any one in my house would be fine with me.)
Irish folklore is full of tales of tash--ghosts of people who had died violent deaths. These ghosts typically haunt the place where they died as punishment, in an effort to prevent another foolish death. These and other spirits--headless people, phantom animals--make Ireland one of the most historically haunted places in the world. The Irish love of a good tale could be one significant contributing factor for this activity.
The Irish would
bury the corpse of a person suspected of being the victim of a vampire, face
down. The theory was that if the individual did indeed become a vampire
himself, he would dig himself down into the hell, rather than up and out of
the grave.
The Irish would also never mention the "devil"
in idyle conversation, since the mention of the word could be an invitation
to manifest. Instead he was referred to as "himself".
The term nightmare is derived from mara, an evil spirit in French folklore. Maras are said to descend upon sleepers and give them horrible dreams.
Romans called evil ghosts lemures. These spirits would attack and annoy their living relatives. Every year in May, Romans would walk around their neighborhood beating on drums, and burn beans at tombs to ward the lemures away with the horrible smell.
According to the Romans, however, not all ghosts were bad. Lares were the spirits of virtuous people, and were believed to assert their presence much like a poltergeist--by throwing items about.
Native American folklore had numerous tales of ghosts. The spook was a spirit who could take over a person's body imperceptibly. These spooks were occasionally credited with a person's sudden or unexplainable rise in status or success.