Ghost vs. Incubus — What's the Difference?

In folklore, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to realistic, lifelike forms.

An incubus is a demon in male form who, according to mythological and legendary traditions, lies upon sleeping women in order to engage in sexual activity with them. Its female counterpart is a succubus.

An apparition of a dead person which is believed to appear or become manifest to the living, typically as a nebulous image

A male demon believed to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women.

Act as ghostwriter of (a work)

An evil spirit supposed to descend upon and have sexual intercourse with women as they sleep.

Glide smoothly and effortlessly

A nightmare.

End a personal relationship with (someone) by suddenly and without explanation withdrawing from all communication

An oppressive or nightmarish burden.

The spirit of a dead person, especially one that is believed to appear to the living in bodily form or to haunt specific locations.

(medieval folklore) An evil spirit supposed to oppress people while asleep, especially to have sex with women as they sleep.

A person's spirit or soul

A feeling of oppression during sleep, sleep paralysis; night terrors, a nightmare.

A returning or haunting memory or image.

(by extension) Any oppressive thing or person; a burden.

A slight or faint trace

(entomology) One of various of parasitic insects, especially subfamily Aphidiinae.

The tiniest bit

A demon; a fiend; a lascivious spirit, supposed to have sexual intercourse with women by night.

An unwanted image on a television or radar screen caused by reflected waves.

The nightmare. See Nightmare.

A displaced image in a photograph caused by the optical system of the camera.

Any oppressive encumbrance or burden; anything that prevents the free use of the faculties.

An unwanted spectral line caused by imperfections in a diffraction grating.

A male demon believed to lie on sleeping persons and to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women

A displaced image in a mirror caused by reflection from the front of the glass.

A situation resembling a terrifying dream

(Informal) A ghostwriter.

Someone who depresses or worries others

A nonexistent publication listed in bibliographies.

A fictitious employee or business.

(Physiology) A red blood cell having no hemoglobin.

(Informal) To engage in ghostwriting.

To move noiselessly like a ghost

(Informal) To cut off all communication with someone, especially a romantic or sexual partner, without providing an explanation

To haunt.

(Informal) To ghostwrite

(Informal) To cut off all communication with (someone), especially a romantic or sexual partner, without providing an explanation

The spirit; the human soul.

The disembodied soul; the soul or spirit of a deceased person; a spirit appearing after death.

Any faint shadowy semblance; an unsubstantial image.

A false image formed in a telescope, camera, or other optical device by reflection from the surfaces of one or more lenses.

An unwanted image similar to and overlapping or adjacent to the main one on a television screen, caused by the transmitted image being received both directly and via reflection.

A ghostwriter.

A nonexistent person invented to obtain some fraudulent benefit.

A dead person whose identity is stolen by another. See ghosting.

(Internet) An unresponsive user on IRC, resulting from the user's client disconnecting without notifying the server.

(computing) An image of a file or hard disk.

(theatre) An understudy.

(espionage) A covert (and deniable) agent.

The faint image that remains after an attempt to remove graffiti.

(video games) An opponent in a racing game that follows a previously recorded route, allowing players to compete against previous best times.

Someone whose identity cannot be established because there are no records of him/her.

(quantum physics) An unphysical state in a gauge theory.

A formerly nonexistent character that was at some point mistakenly encoded into a character set standard, which might have since become used opportunistically for some genuine purpose.

(countable) ghost pepper

(uncountable) A game in which players take turns to add a letter to a possible word, trying not to complete a word.

White or pale.

Transparent or translucent.

(attributive) Abandoned.

(attributive) Remnant; the remains of a(n).

(attributive) Perceived or listed but not real.

(attributive) Of cryptid, supernatural or extraterrestrial nature.

(attributive) Substitute.

To haunt; to appear to in the form of an apparition.

(obsolete) To die; to expire.

(literary) To imbue with a ghost-like hue or effect.

(ambitransitive) To ghostwrite.

(nautical) To sail seemingly without wind.

(computing) To copy a file or hard drive image.

(GUI) To gray out (a visual item) to indicate that it is unavailable.

To forcibly disconnect an IRC user who is using one's reserved nickname.

(intransitive) To appear or move without warning, quickly and quietly; to slip.

(transitive) To transfer (a prisoner) to another prison without the prior knowledge of other inmates.

(slang) To kill.

To perform an act of ghosting: to break up with someone without warning or explanation; to ignore someone, especially on social media.

(film) To provide the speaking or singing voice for another actor, who is lip-syncing.

The spirit; the soul of man.

The disembodied soul; the soul or spirit of a deceased person; a spirit appearing after death; an apparition; a specter.

Any faint shadowy semblance; an unsubstantial image; a phantom; a glimmering; as, not a ghost of a chance; the ghost of an idea.

A false image formed in a telescope by reflection from the surfaces of one or more lenses.

To die; to expire.

To appear to or haunt in the form of an apparition.

A mental representation of some haunting experience;

A writer who gives the credit of authorship to someone else

The visible disembodied soul of a dead person

A suggestion of some quality;

Move like a ghost;

Haunt like a ghost; pursue;

Write for someone else;