What ghosts can do...

You can make your own rules can´t you? Maybe it´s a ghost/spirit that moves between planes and thus can interact physically on our plane. As long as you give a good explanation, I´d say it´s your ghost, it can do what you want it to (within reason based on the limitations you place on it).

More things in heaven and earth ... and all that.

Perhaps he died with that cigar, so it's there and he can access. In my mind it's much like a ghost would fiddle with clothing. So yes, I see it in my mind as a ghost cigar.

The living wouldn't smell it, and he couldn't catch the house on fire.

Seeing as how ghosts can manipulate things in the living's life (move furniture, etc.), perhaps he is using a real cigar, but according to all things I have learned, he would derive no pleasure from the cigar and it would take effort for him to even hold it.

Good questions! What came to mind while reading your post is: sometimes you think you smell something burning, but there's nothing actually burning?

I've smelled their cologne or scent. I've seen a wavey vision. I've heard knocking and no one was at the door. I've been touched at least 3 times and more times than I can count I know I've been watched. It's when the hair raises on my neck and/or arm, I know it's happening. I've been held and another time asked to be forgiven.

All true, not a figment of my imagination, pardon the pun I've lived with and helped take care of my grandfather and his 3rd wife's ghost was there after her murder and left when my grandfather died. I can tell you some eerie stories about things she's done to spook people or make sure he was looked after.

Stew21 said:

In the WIP novel, the ghost just lit a cigar. Can ghosts do that? And if they can, would the living smell the burning tobacco? It couldn't be a real cigar, it would have to be a ghost cigar, wouldn't it?
Are there rules about what ghosts can do?

Help please!

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Nope-but when in your book you decide the ghost has to give the MC or anybody else a wedgy-well that might be problamaticalascious

Oh, I think the living could smell it... just think of the instances where a whiff of perfume is caught in a room.

Of course, the cigar wouldn't smell nearly so nice.

Stew21 said:

If the rule is like M.Knight Shamaylan's where they can only use what they had when they died, then I'm afraid my ghost will only have a shot gun...and he'd be old instead of the young version of himself (who may or may not have actually smoked cigars.)

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In my experience, this is not true...

1. Alice turned on an electric shaver. Martha, the caregiver, heard the buzzing and went to the bathroom and found the shaver running. It wasn't plugged in and there were no batteries.

2. The Hospice nurse came to check him. Martha and the nurse were talking about grandfather and his hospital bed began to lower. The nurse told Martha to leave the bed up because she needed to check him out. Martha told her the control was by her at the end of the bed.

3. While I was in another building on the farm, my cell phone rang and I answered it. Martha answered the house. We both said Hello then discovered both phones rang.

So Stew, I believe you can have your ghost do just about anything.

I experienced cigar smoke while touring the Whaley House is San Diego. Being an old museum exhibit designer, I was tut-tutting to a friend about how people were not allowed to smoke in a museum/house. Went upstairs to find a room of people hearing from the staff about how cigar smoke would fill a room when one of the resident ghosts stopped by.

I was thrilled, then horrified that I - after many years experience huntings ghosts - hadn't picked up on it. Duh. LOL

I went to London with a girlfriend where she took a photo which I posted last week on This thread shall die...check it out!!!

See if you can see the ghost's leg.

Largely, in a novel you can do what you want. As a ghost hunter I proclaim that what we know as ghosts is really just stored energy. While a ghost might move things, or even destroy things, they cannot speak except to cause wind or air to blow through a physical object. They are a ghost - no vocal cords. Now, as to holding things...in the true ghost hunting realm, I would say possible, not probable. A cigar smoking ghost in their previous life might have been attracted to a cigar, therefore were a cigar in the room, the ghost (or energy) would move toward the cigar.

For information on ghosts, you can google ghost hunters. You will find multiple associations in every state.

hope this helps -- boo dwb

I don't know. That would take a lot of energy to light a cigar and light a lighter for that matter. Then have to puff it.

If it were my wip I would say the room smelled of cigar smoke.

Hi Stewie!


Dork.

I'm out!

DeborahM said:

I went to London with a girlfriend where she took a photo which I posted last week on This thread shall die...check it out!!!

See if you can see the ghost's leg.

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Oh cool, I'll have to go check that out.

Trish, in the movie Ghost with Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze, he had to learn how to make things move when he was a ghost. They did show him moving a penny up and down a door, so I guess if a ghost can do that, he can probably smoke.

Okay...the picture is on pg. 527, post 13175

wyntermoon said:

I experienced cigar smoke while touring the Whaley House is San Diego. Being an old museum exhibit designer, I was tut-tutting to a friend about how people were not allowed to smoke in a museum/house. Went upstairs to find a room of people hearing from the staff about how cigar smoke would fill a room when one of the resident ghosts stopped by.

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I went to the Whaley house! I never saw anything, though I wanted to.

Not wishing to rain on your parade, but I do not trust people who run supposedly haunted houses. I've heard too much from a friend of mine who worked on a certain TV programme...

Could they have had someone wafting the cigar smoke somewhere in the house, 'coincidentally' just before they discussed the ghostly cigar smells? I'm not saying the Whaley people did that, just that one cannot entirely rule it out.

But on a fictional note, I think if you take the wide experience of people who claim to have seen/heard/smelled ghosts, there's little ghosts can not be 'allowed' to do in fiction, as long as it is done convincingly and well.

DeborahM said:

Okay...the picture is on pg. 527, post 13175

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Now you post that. After I dun did all the searching and found it on my own.

Le sigh.

zahra said:

I went to the Whaley house! I never saw anything, though I wanted to.

Not wishing to rain on your parade, but I do not trust people who run supposedly haunted houses. I've heard too much from a friend of mine who worked on a certain TV programme...

Could they have had someone wafting the cigar smoke somewhere in the house, 'coincidentally' just before they discussed the ghostly cigar smells? I'm not saying the Whaley people did that, just that one cannot entirely rule it out.

But on a fictional note, I think if you take the wide experience of people who claim to have seen/heard/smelled ghosts, there's little ghosts can not be 'allowed' to do in fiction, as long as it is done convincingly and well.

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I hear ya. I also know people who have a very popular TV ghost hunting show, lets just say some of the "events" are more coincidental than others. I'm not saying it wasn't perfect timing at the Whaley House, just that is what I experienced.

I'm pretty sure there's a different name for a ghost that can physically manifest itself enough to do something like light a cigarette... I'll have to look it up.

Correct names aside, the only limit to ficticious ghosts is your own imagination. Outline (or keep in mind) what your ghosts can and cannot do and stay consistent.