Ghost dreams are fairly common, but not everyone will admit to them. They often spark an unsettling edge to your day, and without knowing what the dream might mean to you, you may worry that ghosts in your dream indicate that there’s death in the future.
Just like we think of ghosts as souls who have unfinished business, most dreams of spirits draw your attention to something unresolved.
These dreams are your subconscious’s way of letting you acknowledge feelings and memories you’re reluctant to face in waking life, such as past regrets, unresolved emotions, frustration, and guilt. They may also point to people who are jealous of you, or who mean you harm in some way.
As you might imagine, it’s worth interpreting a ghost dream as soon as you can, as this will help you move on, and dispel any fear that’s haunting you.
Let’s get started.
Common Ghost Dreams And Their Symbolism
It’s worth taking a look at the most common ghost dreams to help pinpoint the underlying themes behind your dream.
While every dream is different in its way, stitched together of so many individual details, common dreams involving the same theme will help shortcut the process of figuring out its significance.
Being Haunted In Your Dream By A Ghost
Dreaming of being haunted by a ghost suggests that you’re refusing to face something. The longer you manage to avoid dealing with something, the worse it will get, and the worse you’ll feel.
Procrastination attracts more problems, and if you’re not careful, you will get overwhelmed. You’ll develop a distorted perspective of life, where you won’t be able to recognize the good things coming your way.
Remember to live in the present, not in the past. Confront anything you’ve been putting off.
If you dream of being chased by a ghost, this points to a series of obstacles blocking your current path in life. You’ll need to be prepared to face them, and this dream is a way of doing that.
Dreaming of running away (see also article titled ‘Running Away Dream Meaning‘) from a ghost implies that you cannot let go of someone who has died or a situation that has ended. You’re holding on with all your might, and this will tire you out eventually.
Several Ghosts Haunting Your Dream
Several ghosts appearing in your dream indicate that there are a lot of unresolved emotions lying in your unconscious mind.
While a traumatic experience is over, the emotional turmoil is not. Unless you move to unpack and resolve your emotions, this horrible experience will always be at the back of your mind, influencing your future.
Dreaming Of A White Ghost
A white ghost is a good sign. It suggests that you’ll soon find a deeper spiritual meaning or purpose in your life, which will serve you well in making the right decisions, and how you might approach troubling situations.
A white ghost in your dream also points to positive news and an optimistic future. You might change your life’s course as a result, and gain a whole new perspective.
Seeing A Black Ghost In Your Dream
A black ghost in your dream points to dishonesty. Someone may be lying to you. When you discover these lies, you’ll be tempted to act only on your hurt feelings, and this won’t end well.
Dreaming Of A Haunted House
A haunted house (see also article titled ‘What Does A Haunted House Mean In Your Dream?‘) in your dream implies future frustration and anxiety. You may find it difficult to make a concrete decision.
If the haunted house was your childhood home, this implies that your inner values won’t help you with a present problem. Or, something terrible in your past is still unresolved, and you need to work on reconciling yourself to it.
Dreaming Of A Friendly Ghost
A friendly ghost denotes that you’re craving affection and a real connection. It may be time to try and meet new people or reach out to your loved ones.
Fighting A Ghost In Your Dream
Dreaming of fighting ghosts points to inner conflict soon, but as long as you defeat the ghost in your dream, this is a good sign. It reflects how you will soon overcome your problems, and you’ll be much better for it.
Dreaming Of Being Strangled By A Ghost
A dream like this implies that something stands in the way between you and success. You may have to readjust your approach or your long-term dreams.
Or, being strangled by a ghost in your dream indicates that while you are avoiding being honest, this will not help you in the future.
Becoming A Ghost In Your Dream
A dream of becoming a ghost indicates that you are overwhelmed by guilt or regret, and you can’t see a way forward right now.
Alternatively, this dream reveals something which is sapping all of your time and energy.
Trying To Banish A Ghost In Your Dream
This dream points to future conflict with someone you love deeply, perhaps because of a long-standing problem you can’t find a way past.
Try to consider their point of view, and come to a mutual understanding.
Dreaming Of Being Terrified By A Ghost
A dream where you’re terrified of ghosts implies that your security or standing in waking life is about to be affected. You’ll suffer from stress and worries, so take some time out to reevaluate your situation and where your priorities lie.
Dreaming Of A Dead Person’s Ghost
Dreaming of a dead person coming back as a ghost may be a visitation dream. More likely, this is your subconscious’s way of trying to come to terms with their death, and while it may feel harrowing in your dream, it will help you move on.
Seeing Of The Ghost Of A Living Person
Dreaming of a ghost of someone alive in waking life is a bad sign. It reveals that you don’t fully understand or trust this person, and you need to be careful of their intentions, and your actions.
Why Am I Dreaming Of Ghosts? 8 Possible Reasons
Ghosts in dreams symbolize something you cannot let go of. Just as we view ghosts as people who cannot let go of their old hurts in life, ghosts appearing in your dream represent something unresolved, such as a generalized fear, nostalgia, or refusing to accept the end of something.
Nostalgia And Memory
When nostalgia creeps in like an uninvited guest and refuses to leave, slowly taking over your life until all you do is reminisce, you may dream of ghosts.
Like the ghosts in your dream, you’re hanging onto something you can no longer touch, but you still can’t let go of it. Your dream draws your attention to what you already know: doing this will only hurt you, and blind you to the amazing opportunities in the present.
Ghost dreams can also happen when a situation in waking life seems to be repeating a past event. You thought you were done with something, but life has a funny way of repeating itself, like a bad joke.
Your subconscious may also be telling you that your experiences gained from your past are useful in waking life right now, especially if you’ve been feeling confused or unsure as to how you should move on.
Maybe it’s time to apply the lessons you’ve learned, and you might be surprised at just how far this can take you.
Deep-seated Fear
There’s a reason that so many horror stories include ghosts. While death is a guarantee, what happens afterward is something we’ve never managed to figure out for sure, not after all the years humans have been on the planet.
This uncertainty is deeply rooted in fear, especially over something we cannot control in the slightest. As such, your dream of ghosts reveals the great fear you’ve been harboring lately.
You may not have told anyone about what terrifies you, but it won’t go away on its own. Maybe you’re afraid of committing to something and it turns out to be the wrong decision, you’re afraid of losing someone important to you, or you don’t want things to change.
Dreams of this nature urge you to move past your fear. Do what scares you, if you’re afraid of something good. Don’t let anxiety and uncertainty make your decisions for you.
Long-standing Problems
A ghost in your dream can point to problems that you haven’t got round to solving.
These may be issues that you’ve never managed to resolve, such as a rift between you and someone else, or never processing emotions leftover from a terrible situation.
Perhaps you’ve been putting something off for a good while, hoping that the problem will go away on its own. This may be in terms of your health, money worries, debt, or something else.
Your dream of a ghost is calling on you to confront these issues, to move forward. That may be something as simple and as difficult as apologizing to someone, being honest about how you feel, or coming up with a plan to pay someone back.
A ghost in your dream appears to remind you that you’d feel much lighter if you weren’t dragging these problems around with you.
Comparing Yourself To Others
Dreams involving ghosts can imply that your focus has shifted from improving your own life to comparing yourself to others.
Dreams like this let you know that you’re stagnating, or that playing the comparing game will only make you miserable. Envy can motivate you to do strange things that you’d never consider if you were in a good place.
Alternatively, dreaming of ghosts can suggest that someone is deeply jealous of you. They are envious to the point where they are planning to steal something from you or dismantle your life bit by bit.
Dreaming of an unfriendly ghost with a very familiar face can reveal a discord between you and that person. Your subconscious warns you to be cautious and to do what you can to avoid a confrontation.
Longing For A New Adventure
Sometimes, we dream of ghosts when we long for something completely different. Waking life might seem like a repeat, where you’re living the same day over and over.
Maybe you’ve been staying in your comfort zone for far too long. Yes, it’s a safe place, but nothing truly amazing will happen while you refuse to come out. Your dream urges you to be brave and do something daring.
If you feel wonder at seeing the ghost in your dreams, this represents the great things lying in wait beyond your imagination, just past your comfort zone.
Alternatively, if you feel scared when a ghost appears in your dreams, this points to risk-taking and possibly self-sabotaging behavior.
Ill Health
Ghosts in dreams can embody disease or illness that plagues you in waking life. These ailments affect your waking life to the extent that they’re holding you back, or the fear of illness (see also article on dreaming about cancer) is getting in the way of living your life how you would want to.
This may not be your physical health that malevolent spirits embody, either. It could be your spiritual well being, where you have lost your sense of purpose or appetite for new experiences.
Dreams of ghosts can also present discord in your emotional health or even your finances. Negative dreams of ghosts usually come as a warning, so make sure you set some money aside, and take care of yourself.
Regrets
One of the most common meanings behind ghost dreams is regret. A past decision or action may be influencing your everyday life or how you make your choices now.
This might be something that you’re completely unaware of, and after a dream heavily involving ghosts, it’s worth doing some introspection to find out what this might be.
Maybe this is something you can never resolve. Your dream urges you to find a way past it. If you dwell on it forever, you may make the same mistakes by trying to avoid them, and there’s no worse irony.
Doubt
Dreaming of ghosts you can hardly see, but you are scared of points to doubt and uncertainty. You may be paralyzed by indecision and fear of how your own actions will affect your life, but this is no way to live.
More regrets lie in the way of the paths you don’t take, so make a decision.
Final Thoughts
As terrifying as ghost dreams can be, they are usually a good sign. They demonstrate exactly which area of your life needs your attention the most, and they can prepare you for coming misfortune or bad luck.
They can also embody fears, which you can confront in your dream, leading to a more proactive approach in waking life.