Rules for Ghosts
Ghosts are as dry as gunpowder.
Ghosts can maintain a complete human consciousness for centuries after they die if they are passive. The more active they are the quicker they use up their energy. Ghosts can move from location to location on their own but this burns a lot of energy they can't replace so they prefer to travel in human conveyances. Ghosts know from experience that there is an afterlife but they don't understand the nature of their condition. The agonize over whether they are they moving towards oblivion or new life.
Ghosts wear the clothes they were buried in.
They are as afraid to move on from this stage of life as they were afraid of death before they died...
They are obsessed with trying to control what is going to happen to them. Ghost who become visible or who cause objects to move in the mortal world lose enormous amounts of energy and this changes their behavior.
When they interact with the mortal world they become first erratic and then disinhibited. As their energy fails they begin to behave like people with dementia. Old ghosts turn violent and nasty and finally end up as poltergeist.
When they lose the ability to express themselves they cling to younger ghosts. Younger ghosts sometimes set fire to them to be rid of them.
Ghosts cannot sleep.
Ghosts become bored.
Ghosts are fascinated and terrified by the light that follows them around. The light is passive. It never ambushes a ghost. It takes the form that the ghost wants it to take. Usually someone who the ghost knows and loves. It invites them into a conversation.
Ghosts are narcissistic, egotistical and profoundly insecure. They tell tale tales and take credit for things that they have not done. Their stories reveal the delusion they are living under.
People who are sensitive to the presence of ghosts often experience the smell of the ocean and the sound of waves on a shore when they are near. When ghosts are interacting with the mortal world they can become visible. They are perceived as small dust devils that hover near ceilings and in corners.
Ghosts can see their reflections in a mirror.