Casper

His image is second only to Mickey Mouse’s as far as worldwide recognition is concerned. Created by Joe Oriolo and Sy Reit in 1945, Casper first appeared in the Paramount/Famous Studios animated cartoon, The Friendly Ghost. Ever since, he has been known as just that — everyone’s pal. He certainly lives up to his reputation. And you know what' Casper went through a series of 55 theatrical cartoons and was adjudged the studio’s biggest animated star after Popeye.

Canterville Ghost

When Hiram B. Otis, the American diplomat, decides to buy the Canterville Chase he is warned by the owner that the house is haunted. Otis dismisses the warnings and moves in with his family. The Otis twins are the first ones to discover the presence of the ghost of Sir Simon De Canterville who was believed to have killed his wife and then disappeared. After several ghostly incidents, the Otis family adults also begin to believe in the ghost. And by the time this Oscar Wilde story ends, the family manages to solve an ancient riddle, which allows the spirit of Lord Canterville to finally rest in peace after 300 restless years.

Dracula

He is the terror from Transylvania who drinks human blood. Immortalised by Bram Stoker in his book published in 1897, Dracula is one vampire that every admirer of horror books loves to fear. He has been portrayed on the silver screen again and again, most famously by Bela Lugosi in the 1930s and 1940s, and by Christopher Lee in later years. The ways of warding off vampires, especially Dracula, are legion — the funniest involving the use of garlic! But did you know that there was an actual prince Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler of Romania, who was the inspiration behind the fictional character'

Harry Potter

Remember Nearly Headless Nick , the resident ghost of Hogwarts' The area around Harry’s school is teeming with such supernatural creatures. The dementors, though they aren’t ghosts, are bad enough to freeze the blood of the most fearless of wizards. And how can we forget Moaning Myrtle , the unfortunate spectre in the U-bend of the second floor toilet, who has a thing for Harry' The actor who plays Myrtle in Chamber of Secrets, Kelly Henderson, was over 30 when she was cast, making her the oldest actor to play a student in the movies.

Bhooter Raja

He has been immortalised on the silver screen by Satyajit Ray. Had it not been for Bhooter Raja, Goopy Gyne — the singer — and Bagha Byne — the drummer — would still have been roaming the countryside, sitting backwards on a donkey. Based on a story by Upendrakishore Raychaudhuri, the film is talked about even today as much for the two simpletons it stars as for the king of ghosts. And, there is some wishful thinking involved. After all, who wouldn’t love to be granted three wishes of his or her choice' Let’s hope you meet him, too, one of these days. Maybe you could ask him to wish away exams.

Hamlet

Shakespeare’s plays use ghosts to maximum dramatic effect. For example, there are Banquo’s ghost and the three witches in Macbeth. But perhaps the most famous of all ghosts in Shakespeare’s plays is the ghost of Hamlet’s father. It is from him that Hamlet learns how Claudius had poisoned him in life. Hamlet takes this information to heart and brooding over his father’s death, decides to avenge it — resulting in his own death.