Exorcism is one of the biggest ones that is said to get rid of ghosts. Burning sage is also said to work.
Note that I say said because I’m not saying that ghosts do or not exist, but rather I’m wondering what they say will get rid of them.
Living in the real world an not fantasyland will get rid of ghosts.
Taking anti-psychotic medicines will get rid of ghosts.
Aside from that it’s all mythology, and every culture has its own definitions and types of ghosts and its own ways of getting rid of them.
:rolleyes: Thanks
And that’s somehow different from what I said…?
Ghosts for the most part are dead people who don’t know they are dead. They can wander around in a confused state (i.e., haunt) for several hundred years before “getting it.” The best way to send them on their way to the proper Afterlife is to employ a psychic medium, who can actually talk to them. You could also try prayer or rituals, such as the burning of sage you mentioned.
There’s always the hands-together-in-the-dark type thing where you get to ask the ghosts to leave…
In the movies, you just have to solve a crime and find out who the murderer is or something and everything’s great. 
I personally don’t believe in ghosts. Misunderstood demons, yes, but ghosts, no. Nonetheless, I shall provide a couple related ways I’ve encountered of ridding oneself of supernatural pests.
Some of those who say there are ghosts believe that they are the spiritual remains of people who died prematurely, with unfinished business, and/or without accepting the reality of their corporeal demise. They sometimes will make contact with ghosts, via mediums, ouija boards, hi-tech gadgetry, or other means with the goal of discovering the reason the ghost exists in the first place. After contact is made, they will often help the ghosts come to grips with reality–this frequently takes the form of some sort of new age cognitive or gestalt therapy–and sometimes they will help the ghosts finish whatever business it is that they left undone. I don’t have cites handy for any of this, but their are enough books and movies (some non-fiction, most horror-aisle fiction) out there that I’m sure you can quickly find stories that include some of the above elements. I’ve certainly seen television shows about the paranormal, both dramas and documentaries, that depict the above mentioned methods of ghost removal.
I am curious why you want to know what they say is the best ways to get rid of ghosts. Are you doing a research project? Living in a haunted house? Just wanna have fun? Whatever the reason, I hope this has been in some way helpful to you.
Once again, on preview, I see that some have already posted replies similar to mine, but with much more concision (is concision a word? would conciseness be better?). Once again, I find myself hitting the Submit Reply button anyway.
Have a great night, all.
In Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, ghosts are beings who died with some task in their lives left undone, and they can fade if they complete this task. For one ghost, it was finishing a telephone call to his sister. Dirk got rid of him by providing a big-buttoned, easy-to-dial phone. Ghosts have poor grip.
Note that an exorcism requires someone to be possessed by a spirit; a ghost “exists” independent of that.
Oh, and also, if you eat a power pellet then ghosts will turn blue and you can consume them, leaving only their eyeballs. Be careful on the pretzel or banana levels, though, because it doesn’t last very long.
Actually, I think this is pretty common, at least as a literary/movie/plot device.
Call ghost busters?
GIGObuster–I thought, in the Roman Catholic tradition anyway, that exorcisms could also be performed on physical structures. That is, I was under the impression that the priest or priests could drive unwanted spirits from buildings in much the same way that they can drive unwanted spirits from human bodies. Although I in my earlier post talked about stuff drawn in large part from horror movies, I am now talking about the actual ritual of exorcism as it is performed and believed to work in reality. In other words, an exorcism really doesn’t require someone to be possessed by a spirit. And I assure you, this nit-picking of mine isn’t really meant to be argumentative. But I could swear I’ve read about cases of priests exorcising haunted houses and the like and not just people. Then again, I could be misremembering–there’s certainly a precedent for that.
This should be moved to IMHO, as there seems to be no factual answers to the question.
“Who ya gonna call?!? Someone else!!!”
-Dan Ackroyd (cameo) in Casper!
Mephisto: I do remember that in Japan and other parts of Asia they do:
http://www.daimyo-shi.com/shinto1.htm
Mostly a symbolic thing, but in fiction, I do remember the Asian exorcists do have their hands full. Especially in Anime.
Why?
I’m asking about what people(cultures/myths) do to get rid of ghosts. Not whether or not they exist. For example, is it not a fact that in Christianity, it’s suggested to perform an exorcism to remove ghosts?
Is this somehow not tolerable because it has to do with ghosts? :rolleyes:
According to this story, shouting “TEN!” did the trick. It was part of that whole “breaking the ghost’s ritual” thing.
And, according to a lot of movies, if the ghost is of someone who’s murder or ruin went unavenged, bringing the guilty party to justice* will let the ghost find peace.
*You might have to kill said guilty party for this to work. On the bright side, since the gulty party was probably an ***hole anyway, their death’ll be no big loss. But don’t tell the judge I said that. 
I always use Ghost-B-Gone® because it doesn’t leave any nasty odors or sticky residue.
A while back I tried the Ghost Motel™ (“they check in, and then go quietly off to the afterlife”) but it caught a couple of poltergeists, and some of the little buggers ended up dragging the thing into my bedroom and I stepped on it in the middle of the night. Nothing worse than ghost guts all over your feet. I couldn’t get the glow out of the carpet for weeks.
That’s not what you asked, or maybe you phrased your question poorly.
Take it easy, Aslan. I think what you’re asking here is how various beliefs stipulate the removal of ghosts, is that correct?
If so, that’s a fairly wide field of enquiry, bring in customs, traditions and even a touch of anthropolgy. You might find some information in the following articles: here, and here. However, I think you have some library research ahead of you for the full details.
Yes.