Ghosts are a really popular subject in our culture today. There are all sorts of movies made about them and we have been hearing stories about ghosts since we were little kids. In most cases, ghosts represent something very scary that we don’t want to deal with.
However, ghosts don’t always have to be scary. If we look at them as just a spirit that hasn’t passed on to the afterlife yet, it makes it a little easier to cope with and maybe we look at it as a family member watching over us.
No matter how you choose to look at ghosts, they are a big part of our lore and history. This makes them hot topics in many cases and there is a fan base of people that are interested in ghosts and movies that include them. There are even shows where people go “ghost hunting”. The people who love this genre of our culture have been known to get ghost tattoos as well. What do they mean though? This is why we are here today.
In this post, we will be talking about ghosts and the history and lore behind them. We will discuss the ghost tattoo meaning and what the tattoo might mean to somebody who has it. We will also talk about some of the fun ghost variations that we have seen over the years and talk about what they mean. You might be running out of the house to get your own ghost tattoo by the end of this post.
About the Ghost
In our lore, a ghost is the spirit or soul of a dead being that appears to the living. They are also known as phantoms, haunts, apparitions, shades and poltergeists to name a few. The descriptions of ghosts vary greatly from person to person. Ghosts can also be undead creatures like demons or zombies. However, most of us think of the translucent or invisible presence in a room. In many cases, we can only feel them but many claim to have seen them and many stories and movies revolve around that.
The fear of ghosts is for a lot of reasons. First of all, a ghost is a person that has passed but is still in the material world in the form of a ghost and that is regarded as an undesirable and unnatural state of being. The unknown is also scary because we are so used to knowing what is happening in the world and when something goes unexplained, it makes us uncomfortable.
Sometimes the soul of a human is literally or symbolically shown in ancient cultures as an animal or a bird, it has been widely accepted that the human soul is almost an exact replication of the person that passed even down to the clothes they were wearing. You can see this in different artwork in all sorts of ancient documents from all over the world.
Ghost Tattoo Meaning
The ghost tattoo meaning can go in a variety of directions. First, people get ghost tattoos because they are fans of ghost stories and movies. There is an entire subculture of horror fans and ghosts fit right into that.
Outside of that, the ghost tattoo’s meaning can be a lot of different things and you are going to have to talk to the person who has it to get an accurate meaning. Sometimes, people get a ghost tattoo to represent the spirits of the family that is around them at all times. In this case, the ghost tattoo is a happy tattoo and represents all the people looking out for you.
The ghost tattoo is also a symbol of the unknown. Many people like to put themselves in uncomfortable situations as a form of growth and a way to learn. The ghost tattoo is a representation of the unknown and when start to accept that there are things in the world we will never understand, it will make us that much stronger and wiser. Accepting that is most of the battle and the ghost tattoo is a symbol to look at and remind you that aren’t always in control.
Ghost Tattoo Variations
There are different ways to get a ghost tattoo and but many of them or based on ideas we have had as children. Below are some of the fun ways that people have had the ghost tattoo inked on their body and we wanted to share them to give you a better idea.
Ghost with Sheet Tattoo
The old-fashioned ghost with sheet tattoo. This is the way we thought of ghosts when we were children. They looked like the Pac-Man ghosts and we are pretty sure Pac-Man got the idea from the old tales of spirits and ghosts. A sheet with two holes poked in it for the eyes is the “Band-Aid” of ghost images. If you asked someone to draw a ghost, this is what they would come up with and that is what makes it so recognizable.
Mario Brothers Ghost Tattoo
The Mario Brothers ghost tattoo is a popular one for fans of the video game series and it is another fun way to portray a ghost in a tattoo. Also known as Boo, it is the common ghost enemy of the Mario franchise and first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3. Boo looks like a spherical, white ghost with sharp teeth, a red tongue and little “arms”.
However, the most notable thing about boo is how shy it is. Boos will attack when your back is turned but as soon as you face them, they freeze. The ghost tattoo, in this case, can be a show of loving the game but also to someone’s shy nature.
Slimer Tattoo
Slimer is well known for his role in the Ghostbuster movies. He is made of pure Ectoplasm and is characterized by his green, frumpy look. Slimer floats around with arms and no legs and leaves a lot of slime on anything he encounters. He is able to pass through solid objects but they will not go “un-slimed” through the process.