What Color Is A Ghost?

No, ghosts are not always white, or black, or translucent—and they’re certainly not always invisible.

And how do we know, one way or the other? Because, regardless of whether ghosts are “real,” thousands of people have seen them, and some of those people have shared the details of their experiences with scientific researchers. Between 1968 and 1974, the Institute of Psychophysical Research in Britain interviewed 1,800 people who said they had seen one or more ghosts. The fascinating results were published in the 1975 book, Apparitions, by Celia Green and Charles McCreery.

Concerning the coloring of ghosts, between one half and two thirds of the people who had seen visual apparitions reported that they were at least partially colored—with colored hair or clothing. The remainder of survey respondents described their visible spirits as being black, white, gray, or a combination of those shades, or monochrome. However, it’s important to note that most ghosts are seen at night, when visibility is not good; it is possible that more ghosts would look colorful if more of them manifested themselves during the day.

As discussed elsewhere on this site, a specific kind of ghost known as a white lady almost invariably appears dressed entirely in white.

In rare cases, people described an apparition’s features, clothing, or immediate surroundings as being unusually vivid in color.