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headphonesplay_arrowA Comprehensive Summary of the Lore of the Band GhostHello ladies, gentles, peoples and ghouls ! I've decided to compile all of my knowledge of the lore of the band Ghost (a.k.a Ghost B.C.) into one brief (imo) guide, so that I may direct curious people to it if they wish to learn more about why the musical troupe responsible for that "Mary On A Cross" song is so funny looking. I will focus mainly on official canon, though I will include important aspects of the fandom, such as widely used nicknames for characters. (I will also share some of my opinions oops) <center><i>This guide contains mentions of Satanism and death [fictional] Updated April 2025</i> ⛧═════════════════⍖═════════════════⛧ <img title="Ghost" src="https://i.imgur.com/iqOZyWp.png"></center>WELCOME TO THE MINISTRY OF GHOST. It is the world's greatest, and possibly most ancient, church of Satan, which has had locations in the crypts of Linköping, Sweden as well as near Los Angeles, California. The members of this church call themselves “The United Clergy of Ghost”. We will refer to this group as simply "The Clergy". The Clergy's mission? Building churches. Converting world leaders. Birthing the Antichrist. Toppling governments. Dominating the entire world in the name of the Evil One. The usual church stuff. Any announcement Ghost makes to the public is preceded by the words [MESSAGE FROM THE CLERGY]. <img style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px" title="The Grucifix" src="https://i.imgur.com/uDYxebd.png" height="30%" width="30%" align="right">The inner workings of The Clergy are shrouded in mystery, but small amounts of information concerning their internal hierarchy have been revealed over the years. The most important member and leader of The Clergy is called the "Imperator”. Working directly below the Imperator are a group of Cardinals, in a similar fashion to the real-world Catholic Church. The Clergy also has a missionary branch led by a single Clergy member chosen and given the title of “Papa”. Though the Imperator role is gender-nonspecific, the Papa has always been male and descended from a single bloodline, resembling more of a hereditary monarchy. Papa’s ultimate mission is spreading The Clergy's unholy propaganda across the globe, functioning as a sort of spiritual figurehead for Ghost's ministry. The Imperator and Papa act as co-leaders of The Clergy, though the Imperator has the ultimate authority over Papa. General Clergy members ranking under the Cardinals are referred to as Brothers, Sisters, or Siblings of Sin. Among The Ministry's lower rankings are Ghouls: a peculiar, horned humanoid species of demon brought upon the Earth through The Clergy's unholy rituals. ERA ZERO - SEVEN INCHES OF SATANIC PANIC <table><tbody><tr><th><img title="Seestor" src="https://i.imgur.com/elI8y3L.png"><i>Sister Imperator</i></th><th><img title="Dickhead" src="https://i.imgur.com/RZUdKHo.png"><i>Nihil Emeritus</i></th></tr></tbody></table><img style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px" title="Seven Inches of Satanic Panic" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/af/Ghost_-_Seven_Inches_of_Satanic_Panic.jpg" height="30%" width="30%" align="right">The main storyline of Ghost begins around the 1960's, when The Clergy's leader at the time, Sister Imperator (addressed by most as simply "Sister"), and the missionary branch's Papa Emeritus Nihil (addressed by some as "dickhead") discovered a new method to preach Satanism to the masses: ROCK N' ROLL. They decided to create the band Ghost, composed of Papa Nihil as the lead singer, and a few musically-gifted Ghouls who would play the instruments while wearing masks to hide their ghoulish faces. This first iteration of the band didn't last very long, only recording three songs (Mary on a Cross, Kiss the Go-Goat, and The Future is a Foreign Land (all bangers)) and performing at a single Ritual (this is what Ghost calls their concerts) in 1969. Sister pulled the plug on the operation when she saw Nihil cheating on her with some Ghost fans (Nihil and Sister were dating at the time). Sister rightfully dumped him, but not before getting pregnant by him. She decided to keep the pregnancy a secret from everyone (we'll get to that later). Nihil would continue to pine for Sister Imperator for the rest of his life despite her adamant refusals to ever get back together with him. ERA ONE - OPUS EPONYMOUS <table><tbody><tr><th><img src="https://i.imgur.com/cHYErQ6.png"></th><th><img title="Primo Emeritus" src="https://i.imgur.com/9ZhbHyU.png"></th></tr></tbody></table>The band lay dormant for about 40 years, until it was revived around 2006 when Nihil's eldest son, Primo Emeritus, was elected as The Ministry's new Papa, known formally as "Papa Emeritus I". He and Sister Imperator summoned a new group of Ghouls, called the Nameless Ghouls, to play for the band and write songs for Papa Primo to sing. Now, these Ghouls are not quite "nameless". In fact, the perceptive Ghost fan can tell the Ghouls apart using certain characteristics and have nicknamed them accordingly. Every Ghoul in the band is classified under an elemental symbol, which signifies what instrument they play. Element Symbol Instrument Fire 🜂 Lead guitar Water 🜄 Bass guitar Air 🜁 Keyboard Earth 🜃 Drums Quintessence Ꝿ Rhythm guitar Sun / Multi ☉ Backing vocals or misc. The band has had around 20 different Ghouls filling these roles over the years. (I might make a separate "Ghouldex" to catalogue all of them and their timelines.) Their uniforms and masks have also undergone several design changes. Here are some notable Ghouls and their nicknames: <img style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px" title="Omega Ghoul" src="https://i.imgur.com/ST6dSup.jpeg" width="30%" align="right"> 🜂 Alpha - The original Fire Ghoul and one of the two Ghouls that have been given official names by a Papa (the other being Omega). He had absolute godlike guitar playing skills. Ꝿ Omega - The original Quintessence Ghoul. He was a tall boi described as being "stompy", but very sweet. He was a good songwriter and helped write a couple of Ghost’s greatest tracks. 🜄 Rain - A very elegant and lovable Water Ghoul and very gay. He is actually the band's 7th bass player, but has kept the role for longer than all previous Water Ghouls. ☉ Swiss - Called "Swiss" because he's the Swiss-Army-knife of Ghouls. He plays two guitars, percussion, and even lends his lovely voice for backing vocals. He has a lot of admirers among Ghost fans.<img style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px" title="Sodo Ghoul" src="https://i.imgur.com/P6yJ485.jpeg" width="30%" align="right"> 🜂 Sodomizer / Sodo / Dewdrop - A smol Water Ghoul who transitioned into a Fire Ghoul. He's sassy and a menace on stage. Also extremely gay for Rain. One of his horns is cracked because it broke off during a Ritual. 🜁 / ☉ The Ghoulettes - Female Ghouls who play keyboard, backing vocals, and tambourine. Sweetest creatures ever! ☉ Cowbell Ghoul - The only Ghoul to have ever mastered the Cowbell. The world was not ready for his power and he didn't last in the band for very long. 🜂 / ☉ Special Ghoul - An eccentric Ghoul who doesn't play in the band, but writes a majority of Ghost’s songs, and was often the Ghoul participating in interviews. He worships cats, sniffs glue, and has an adorable laugh. He proclaims that the Swedish band ABBA makes him hard. He has a human alter-ego named "Tobias Forge". <img style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px" title="Opus Eponymous" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Opus_eponymous.jpg" height="30%" width="30%" align="right"> Like his father before him, Primo became the band Ghost's lead singer and frontman. He and the Ghouls produced Ghost's first complete album titled <i>Opus Eponymous</i> in 2010. Some fans say Ghost "peaked" with this album. Others say it sounds like "gay scooby doo chase scene music". It's really neither; it's not a flashy album, it's quirky and gloomy, but listening to it really makes you FEEL like you're part of an evil Satanic church. People overlook this album but it contains some real Ghost classics. Papa Primo himself is often overlooked as well. Little is known about his personality except that he was a fan of Tina Turner, and The Clergy called him "The Old One". Primo retired from being Papa in 2012. ERA TWO - INFESTISSUMAM <table><tbody><tr><th><img src="https://i.imgur.com/EUXYudh.jpeg"></th><th><img title="Secondo Emeritus (bald)" src="https://i.imgur.com/M3zzyx9.png"></th></tr></tbody></table><img style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px" title="Infestissumam" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/31/Ghost_-_infestissumam_cover.jpg" height="30%" width="30%" align="right">Replacing Primo was his younger brother, Secondo "Papa Emeritus II". Nicknamed "The Dark One", he could probably kill a man with one stare. I would describe Papa II as stuck-up and a ladies man. He's also bald and looks like an Italian Pitbull. Papa II and his Ghouls recorded a new album <i>Infestissumam</i> in 2013; it has a funkier retro sound than the previous era, but it still conveys horrific themes like the coming of the Antichrist. It's honestly an amazing album, where some of Ghost's greatest bangers can be found. Secondo released an EP in addition, <i>If You Have Ghost</i>, containing mostly cover songs. <img style="padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px" title="If You Have Ghost" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/89/Ghost_-_If_You_Have_Ghost.jpg" height="30%" width="30%" align="left"> Another notable contribution Papa II made was start the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thebandGhost">Ghost official YouTube channel,</a> and filmed/uploaded the band's first music videos. He and his Ghouls began to tour more and participate in interviews, and were filmed in a short documentary titled <a href="https://youtu.be/woE4lBE615I">"Papaganda "</a>, with Secondo choosing to speak in his native language of Italian. This gave a bit of insight into the enigmatic ministry behind the band. Secondo's reign as Papa ended in 2015 after Sister Imperator deemed his missionary leadership a "disgrace". ERA THREE - MELIORA <table><tbody><tr><th><img src="https://i.imgur.com/6lqYaAx.jpeg"></th><th><img title="Terzo Emeritus" src="https://i.imgur.com/BiHd3VA.jpeg"></th></tr></tbody></table>There to take up the mantle was the third Emeritus brother, Terzo "Papa Emeritus III". <img style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px" title="Meliora" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3d/Meliora.JPG" height="30%" width="30%" align="right">The Clergy nicknamed him "The Flamboyant One" probably to make fun of his... flamboyance. He was only the youngest (at the time) Emeritus Brother by three months but he still had bratty baby brother energy. As the one true master of the golden Kazoo of Destiny, he became the greatest kazoo player of all times. Terzo would often succumb to fits of sinfulness during a Ritual and start humping imaginary people on stage and grabbing Ghoul asses. He fell down or off the stage on several occasions. His iconic stage presence brought more fans than ever to Ghost's Rituals, and his 2015 album <i>Meliora</i> is an absolute masterpiece, telling a story about living in a godless world ruled by sin. <img style="padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px" title="Popestar" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/89/Popestar_cover.jpg" height="30%" width="30%" align="left"><i>Meliora'</i>s "Cirice" won a Grammy for best metal performance, bringing Terzo and his Ghouls all the way to the Red Carpet to receive their golden idols. Terzo made an additional EP, titled <i>Popestar</i>, whose track "Square Hammer" became one of Ghost's signature anthems. In 2016 he introduced an official Clergy currency, "Infernal Reserve Notes", minted in the form of paper bills worth $666 USD, nicknamed "mummy bucks", which were shot out over audiences during Terzo's live performances of "Mummy Dust". Ghost has continued this tradition in years since, minting new series of mummy bucks decorated with the faces of various Clergy members. <img style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px" src="https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1748004431_16.jpg" title="Ceremony and Devotion (epic)" height="30%" width="30%" align="right"> Terzo just couldn't stop winning. He also couldn't stop being the gayest Papa and fooling around with his Ghouls instead of doing his missionary duties. This angered Sister Imperator to the point where she had Terzo dragged off the stage during his last Ritual in 2017 and had him stripped of his Papa title. Even so, Terzo managed to release his final album <i>Ceremony and Devotion</i>, recorded live from one of his Rituals (my personal favorite album). ERA FOUR - PREQUELLE <table><tbody><tr><th><img src="https://i.imgur.com/u8mPmaC.png"></th><th><img title="Cardinal 'Cardi C' Copia" src="https://i.imgur.com/NymgIBh.png"></th></tr></tbody></table>With Terzo dethroned, his father Nihil, now half-blind and old as heck, came out of retirement and reassumed the Papa role until The Clergy could find a new leader for their missionary branch (none of the Emeritus Brothers had managed to produce an heir). Sister proposed Cardinal Copia, winner of The Clergy's second most number of Employee of the Month awards. Nihil scoffed at Copia not being part of the Emeritus bloodline (a family tree which includes every Ministry Papa for the last 9000 years, Dracula, the Phantom of the Opera, and Leonard Cohen, among others). He also believed that the painfully awkward, tricycle riding, juicebox drinking, rat loving Cardinal was a childish moron. But Sister was absolutely positive that Copia could bring the band to the next level. Nihil allowed the Cardinal to become Ghost's new frontman, but under the condition that Nihil keep the duties of missionary Papa for himself. <img style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/55/Ghost_-_Prequelle_(album).jpg" title="Prequelle" height="30%" width="30%" align="right"> "Cardi C" and his Ghouls worked hard on recording a new album and released <i>Prequelle</i> in 2018. It's a real banger, and very digestible for new fans. The main theme of the album is a global plague, and The Clergy prided itself in having prophesied the COVID outbreak only a year later. In reality, Copia probably used the pandemic theme as an excuse to make songs about rats. The success of these new songs reassured Sister Imperator that Cardi C could be The One. In one of the biggest upsets in the Ghost lore, Sister decided to interrupt Primo, Secondo, and Terzo's UNO game and execute them all, embalming their corpses to bring them along on Copia's next Ghost tour for fans "to worship, honor, and take selfies with". It was later revealed that Sister's hatred for the three Emeritus Brothers may have stemmed from the fact that they were Nihil's children from different mothers, while Copia.... was actually Nihil and Sister's secret son! Copia was also revealed to have a superpower: despite having -1000 rizz, once he stepped onto a stage he transformed into a legendary showman. <img style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px" src="https://i.imgur.com/YHeaoNf.png" title="Elderly Nihil playing his sax" width="30%" align="right">The crowds went wild for Cardi C and his loveable charm. Papa Nihil even started to participate in the Rituals and lent his saxophone skills for brief solos during "Miasma". Being on stage again made Nihil feel nostalgic for the old days when he led the band, so he "re-released" his EP <i>Seven Inches of Satanic Panic</i> ("Kiss the Go-Goat" and "Mary On a Cross") in 2019. To Nihil's glee and Copia's (and Sister's) annoyance, "Mary On a Cross" ended up becoming Ghost's most popular song ever made. Copia put The Clergy's merch department (probably the best merch designers for any band at the moment) to work on selling a lovable plush doll of the Cardinal's likeness for fans to cuddle and worship. However, they must have infused them with a bit too much demonic energy, since the plushes turned out a bit... interesting looking, to say the least. <center><img title="The almighty Plushia" width="70%" src="https://i.imgur.com/MHTjhPC.png"></center>Why is this relevant to the Ghost lore, you may ask? Well, becoming acquainted with the infamous Copia Plush is one of the requirements for being a Ghost fan. Not informing you of this crucial pillar of Ghost culture would be highly irresponsible of me. Thou shalt worship and fear the almighty Plushia. Anyways,. ERA FIVE - IMPERA <img title="Copia as Papa Emeritus IV" src="https://i.imgur.com/CBPopyS.png">All went well until one fateful Ghost Ritual in 2020, where the elderly Papa Nihil had a heart attack after finishing one of his sax solos and died on stage. With Nihil out of commission, Copia was immediately promoted from Cardinal to The Clergy's new Papa, Papa Emeritus IV. <img style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b0/Ghost_-_Impera.jpg" title="Impera (one of the greatest album art of all times)" height="30%" width="30%" align="right">Papa Copia debuted a brand new look (Copia and Sister got a 2-for-1 plastic surgery deal), complete with his own signature papal facepaint, and helped his Ghouls record another Ghost album for 2022: <i>Impera</i>. This album has a more political theme about modern empires, and an 80's rock sound; basically it's another banger album. Despite being deceased, Nihil managed to manifest himself as a literal ghost who lives(?) in The Ministry crypts.... somehow. For every Ritual thenceforth, Nihil has been temporarily "resurrected" on stage by a defibrillator to do his sax solo. His ghost enjoys possessing his corpse again to perform for all the Ghost fans, though he always dies immediately afterwards and turns back into a ghost. The rules for being a ghost in the Ghost universe are unclear, but Nihil still seems to want to do mortal things such as eat, sleep, ride in cars, and shart himself. It's also implied that only high-ranking Clergy members are able to perceive him. <img src="https://i.imgur.com/YqOBXwb.png" style="padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px" title="Mr. Psaltarian" width="30%" align="left">As the new Papa, Copia found himself mired in unsavory responsibilities such as paperwork and taxes in addition to leading his own band. Luckily, Sister Imperator was there constantly mothering him and making sure he kept on top of things. Another high-ranking Clergy member named Mr. Psaltarian also offered Copia advice and assistance. Mr. Psaltarian assumed the role of father figure throughout Copia's life, married to Copia's aunt. He has been involved with The Clergy since at least 1969 when Nihil was Papa. He also appears to be a martial arts master and gives Copia sparring lessons at Psaltarian's beachside mansion. <img style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cc/Ghost_-_Phantomime.png" title="Phantomime" height="30%" width="30%" align="right"> Copia's term as Ghost's frontman turned into a much longer reign than all of the previous Papas, surprising everyone (even himself). Could it be because of the explosive growth of the band's popularity under his care? Or because he was the momma's boy to The Clergy's head honcho? (Ok, it was definitely the latter.) Copia recorded another EP in 2023, a collection of covers called <i>Phantomime</i>. These covers are in a similar style to <i>Impera</i>, and deviously bombastic. With the release of this album came the introduction of a new character: Father Jim DeFroque. <img style="padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px" src="https://i.imgur.com/BjEcMwT.png" title="This jerkass" height="30%" width="30%" align="left">He's a Bible-thumping Christian pastor and TV personality who preaches the teachings of Jesus but is actually a huge hypocrite, only caring about money, cocaine, and debauchery. He hasn't yet been shown interacting with any members of The Clergy, but he did hijack the official Ghost YouTube channel to stream an episode of his podcast <a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/r17b-FfepuQ">"Jesus Talk with Father Jim DeFroque".</a> The Clergy even produced a piece of merch called the "DeFroque sock", a single sock made for the use of... not your feet. RITE HERE RITE NOW By 2023, Copia knew his days as Papa Emeritus IV were numbered. <img width="30%" style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px" title="Rite Here Rite Now" src="https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a4099223787_16.jpg" align="right"> Aware of the fate of the previous three Papas, Copia became increasingly anxious about The Clergy killing him upon the conclusion of the Impera Era, at the end of his United States Re-Imperatour. During his final Ritual, he attempted to prove to his mother Imperator that he was worthy enough to stay being Papa, no matter what. Sister assured him that all things must come to an end, and he shouldn't fear death. Copia let go of his fear and completed the final Ritual, bringing his last tour to a close. <img style="padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px" src="https://i.imgur.com/x6PIJE4.png" title="Copia as Frater Imperator" height="30%" width="30%" align="left"> Afterwards, Copia went backstage and fell over, hallucinating himself flying into outer space. Looking down he saw Sister waving goodbye at him and a vision of Sister giving birth to TWINS. Copia then woke up to see Sister laying on the floor, passed away from an unknown health condition. Mr. Saltarian gave a grieving Copia a letter written by Sister, requesting that her son Copia become the next Clergy leader, FRATER IMPERATOR. Sister then manifested herself in the living world as a ghost just like Nihil (the characters are starting to live up to the band's name). As Frater Imperator, Copia prepared to meet the new Papa, Papa V… ERA SIX - SKELETÁ <table><tbody><tr><th><img src="https://i.imgur.com/7Lual7v.png"></th><th><img title="Papa V Perpetua" src="https://i.imgur.com/HdaNvyP.png"></th></tr></tbody></table>When Copia's welcome party for the new Papa experienced some technical difficulties (Papa V was unable to open the Ministry's front door), The Clergy decided to cut the formalities and introduce Ghost's new 2025 album: <i>Skeletá</i><img width="30%" style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px" title="Skeletá" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/97/Ghost_-_Skeletá.png" align="right">. The star of this album was revealed to be named "Papa V Perpetua", the long-lost fraternal twin of Copia. (There is a possibility that Perpetua was originally a Christian monk who left his godly service to join a much more welcoming, albeit evil, Clergy, but I will need more evidence to confirm this theory.) Perpetua differs from the previous Papas in that he wears a shiny half-mask in addition to the traditional corpse paint makeup. Following Papa V's debut, the ghosts of Sister and Nihil informed Copia that they were both retiring from their work in The Clergy. After being handed the keys to the Ministry, Copia faces leading an entire cult by himself... well, with the help of the mysterious Perpetua, of course...<center><img title="OOPS..." width="70%" src="https://i.imgur.com/mVLAyj2.gif"> ⛧═════════════════⍖═════════════════⛧</center>