If this is the wrong forum, please could the powers-that-be move it to the right one? Well, at the moment, I'm writing a screenplay revolving around a group of people hunting a ghost of a serial killer from the past, and I've got the main bulk of the mystery sorted out with just one problem left - How Do You Kill Something that is already dead? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Exorcism or a similar ritual is the most obvious. Most stories suggest there is unresolved business that prevents the ghost moving on - discovering what this is and fixing it could release them. A psychic could mentally battle with the ghost and force them to leave or disperse them. They would put there minds at risk by attempting this.
Exorcism ...WITH STYLE and not just the boring one hehe... Or a railgun that shots ghosts back to the underworld (ghost busters)
So, you have the beginnings of a story idea and you want us to fill in the minor details like the resolution of the central plot? Sit on the idea for a while. Play with it in your head until you come up with a solution that is all yours. Meanwhile, work on other stories.
Despite Cogito's valid comments I will still add my personal pet peeve, however you decide to chase said ghost away, either your story is religious or it's not. If it's not, then calling up priests, holy water, and crosses ruins a story for me. Just sayin....
Well not necessarily. Considering that ghosts are more often than not lost souls that have come to haunt or who's rest has been disturbed in some way, technically they aren't dead.
Force the ghost to possess someone then kill that person. Maybe that person could replace the serial killer as a ghost.
Trap it in a box. Command them to "Go into the light!" (watch Ghost Whisperer) In my novel, I have an immortal, soulless character who needed to die and my resolution was inspired by the Bible. However I don't wanna tell you this particular resolution 'cause it's the ending to my novel lol. I don't think it'd work for yours anyway as mine only works within a specific premise that I'd set up as part of the plot.
Actually, the best way to kill it would be with doubt. There's usually very little proof of existence when it comes to ghosts. Simply getting all characters to doubt the existence of said ghost would be even better than killing it.
Depends on what ghosts are. If they are actual souls, which some people consider incapable of being destroyed, then yeah. Then again maybe destroying a ghost results in oblivion. No afterlife at all. In which case stay away from that poor ghost girl you monster! If they are simply psychic echoes left behind after an intense death, then nope. You can totally destroy those. As Harry Dresden showed in one of his terrible, terrible books. And watch out for those demons pretending to be ghosts. This is actually why necromancers (those who claimed to speak to the dead; raising zombies is for Hollywood) were despised by Christianity and many other religions. You weren't speaking to your mother fool, but a demon in disguise. Yeah, you need to decide WHAT the ghost actually is first. Which will be determined by the tone of your story.
It can be as simple as a touch by "the choosen one" which reduce the ghost to dust, or as difficult as climbing Everest to get the ingredient of a brew which is to be poured on the ghost on a fullmoon night. Killing a ghost is a myth, so come up with your own way which suit your story
Not offering any concrete ideas here, just expressing a wish that do it in a way that hasn't been done before, or at the very least steer clear from the most common ideas; do something original, something the reader hasn't encountered a dozen times before. I find one of the biggest draw backs of fantasy is the lack of imagination and new ideas by authors.
summon a demon. then after the ghost is dead, which a demon will destroy it. then send said demon back to hell. Or use witchcraft, some good wiccan chants could probably destroy the ghost for you, or at least set it free and moving on. I'd personally go with the demon aspect though, depending on what gene your story is though. OK heres another thought: A ghost is a non-corporial life form, as in they exist not completely in our plane of existense. Best way to kill a ghost would be to make it corporial again, as in ressurect it back into its original form, or forcefully make it possess another body, but it should be its own, so doing a seance to bring the spirit back from the dead into its own body would be the best bet if its recently died. Or it can be sent into still living human, one that offers him/herself to be taken over. Once the spirit is trapped into a living body it can again be destroyed, but heres the kicker. It would have to be drawn into a body so it can feel human feelings agian, that would make it doubt its recent actions and feel sorrow for the evil things it has done. It can then be killed again and would then choose wether or not it deserved the fate it gets. Thus destroying the ghost, unfortunatly the person would have to die, but if they chose to sacrifice themselves in order to destroy the ghost, then that persons soul would move on to heaven, and taking the ghosts soul with them.
Actually it's impossible! A better word would be "banish" or perhaps "set free". This is a topic I've been fascinated by since I was a kid. Certain elements of this (since I believe in the reality of this phenonema) are simply unchangable and can't be original. But there are always ways to shine different 'lights' to give a different perspective, which of course is the goal. But no "wiccan spells" can destroy a spirit. All sentient beings original from a divine source, whether they've subsequently chosen to rebel or not. As for setting a ghost free, summoning a demon will actually serve the opposite effect, plus invite a host of other not-easy-to-fix problems! The way to set a negative (but not demonic) spirit free is to encourage it with positivity while being authoritative about it (along with other occultic devices if necessary).
Iron rods or sawn-off shotguns loaded with rock-salt to repel or slow them down. Then dig up the ghost's remains, salt em and burn em. No SPN fans here? Or call the ghost-busters...
