Ghosts

Ghosts as seen in the game.

Ghostly figures are occasionally visible while wandering the island, with some being more difficult to spot than others. They appear randomly on fixed spots in the game, and are believed to be representatives of any of the 5 characters in the story.

Overview

There are six known ghostly figures which all together appear at a maximum of eleven times in Dear Esther:

• A man
• A woman
• A second woman
• A cowled figure
• A hooded figure in a short apparently ragged 'coat'
• A figure with a disfigured skull

It is not possible to get particularly close to any of the ghosts before they either run off or fade away. Some 'vanish' if you look directly at them, yet can still be seen towards the edges of the display if you slowly look away.
If you use the developer console, then you can use noclip to get to most of the Ghosts without them disappearing. Some ghostly figures can also be seen in some candle reflections in pools of water in the last chapter 'The Beacon' - so instead of seeing the candle's reflection, the player will see a ghostly figure.

List of Known Ghosts:

1. The first ghost that can be seen is in the very beginning of the Lighthouse chapter. When the player approaches the window closest to the doorway, a flash of a figure goes past the the window from the inside. It is difficult to notice, and seems to correlate to the ringing sound the player can hear when looking in the window.
2. In the same lighthouse, there is a ghost at the top of the broken spiral staircase. The player can see it briefly at the top, and then it will disappear.
3. In the Lighthouse chapter, at the entrance of a cave, there is a morse code "ghost", which may or may not be signalling the word "DAMASCUS".
4. In the Buoy chapter, upon approaching the shipwreck, a figure can be faintly seen moving along the cliff pathway to the left of the wreck. It will then be seen standing at the end of this cliff pathway, though only when not directly looked at.
5. When approaching the bothy, there is a ghost that walks into the building.
6. To the back of this bothy, there is a cave in the distance. If the player walks a little bit forward toward the cave though not down the path, a ghost will be seen faintly walking in the cave.
7. During the Caves chapter, before entering the dream that occurs after plunging into water, there is a ghost that can be seen walking behind a waterfall.
8. In the Beacon chapter, there is a tall cliff with a candle lit on top of it. Standing next to the candle is a ghostly figure. This ghost can be seen twice, from two different perspectives. The first one is above. The second is when on a path curving up and around this cliff. The player can faintly see the figure from a little distance away, but it will disappear, as will all of these ghosts when the player gets too close.
9. In the Beacon chapter, the player can walk along the beach, with cliffs and rocks to the right, and the water to the left. There are candles scattered along the way. There is one candle that has water underneath it, and in this water puddle, there is a ghostly reflection that can be one of three figures. It can be a hooded figure, a person with a deformed face/skull, or a transparent man or woman.
10. At the end of the game, when reaching the tower, there is a ghostly figure standing in the corner of the fenced in area. It also may be one of the three figures as the reflection ghost.

Screenshots of Known Ghost Locations:

First ghost location, Behind the window. Very hard to see, as it passes very quickly.

Second ghost location, at the top of the staircase.

Third ghost location, in the cave. Without noclip, only the light is visible.

Fourth ghost pictured at the upper left cliff on the screen.

Fifth figure, can be faintly seen near the entrance of the bothy.

Sixth ghost location, can be seen walking from right to left in the back of the cave.

Seventh ghost location. This figure in the caves is very hard to notice, but it will be at the top of a path behind the waterfall.

Eighth ghostly figure seen on top of the cliff by a lit candle.

Ninth ghostly figure, seen in the reflection in the puddle underneath a candle on the beach.

Eighth ghost seen a second time while on the way to the beacon.

Final ghost shown here in the corner of the fence surrounding the beacon.

Coming up on the shipwreck area, the ghost is visible on the path on the far left.

Trivia

• The model used for the ghost of Esther is a reskinned 'female 01' citizen model of Half-Life 2.
• The "Disfigured skull" ghost is a reskin of the 'Citizen corpse' model of Half-Life 2.