Ghost

October 17, 2007 7:55 AM

Does anyone remember a children's game called Ghost? (Not Ghost in the Graveyard.) My dad recalls playing it, but can't recall the rules. Any long memories here?
posted by pipti to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (13 answers total)

You mean this?
posted by cerebus19 at 7:57 AM on October 17, 2007

We had a spelling game called ghost. The rules were, you go around in a circle saying letters. They have to be a string of letters that it is feasible to make a word from, but the moment someone says a letter that actually completes a word, they lose. Penalty for losing is one letter of the word "GHOST." First person to spell the work ghost completely, looses.

Kind of like horse, but spelling.
posted by piratebowling at 7:58 AM on October 17, 2007

Damn, should have previewed.
posted by piratebowling at 7:59 AM on October 17, 2007

Response by poster: Oh, I should have said, it is an outdoor game, (I think) a variation on tag. Thank you, though.
posted by pipti at 8:02 AM on October 17, 2007

We used to play something called "No Ghost Out Tonight", that was sort of like hide and seek that you played in the dark, and there was a weird little song that you sung. But I can't remember the exact rules.
posted by kimdog at 8:18 AM on October 17, 2007

We used to play a variation of tag called Starlight Starbright that we also called Ghost. It's pretty much exactly like regular tag except everyone except the tagger stays together, and you play it at night.

"Starlight, starbright, I hope I see a ghost tonight!"
posted by iconomy at 8:23 AM on October 17, 2007

Where did your dad grow up? My aunts and uncle played an outdoor game with "Ghost" in the title, but I think they (or someone nearby--in the Catskills) made it up. It involved (among other things) people getting turned into imaginary pies.
posted by needs more cowbell at 8:26 AM on October 17, 2007

We used to play this in CLUE at least once a week.
posted by charlesv at 9:23 AM on October 17, 2007

Response by poster: needs more cowbell: I think they played it when they were living in Virginia. I'm intrigued by this game of imaginary pies, though.
posted by pipti at 9:46 AM on October 17, 2007

I played something that I think was called Ghost a while back. I was something along the lines of:
- You play at night in an outdoor area with places to hide
- One person started as the ghost
- The ghost has to find the other players - once they've tagged someone, the tagee is taken back to the "base" and turns into another ghost.
- The game continues until everyone has been found and turned into a ghost.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 11:24 AM on October 17, 2007

The game EndsofInvention described is what I played as a child. We called it Ghost in the Graveyard.

For those who mentioned a chant up thread, our chant was: "One o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock, four. Five o'clock, six o'clock, seven o'clock, more. Eight o'clock, nine o'clock, ten o'clock, eleven. Twelve o'clock, midnight! Hope we find a ghost tonight!"
posted by Bella Sebastian at 11:38 AM on October 17, 2007

After reading the thread intro I immediately remembered playing Ghost with my grandfather - the word game, not tag. He was unbeatable. Much of my recent memory of him was of his years-long battle with parkinson's and dementia. Ghost is way back from happier days in my childhood but the memory was buried until now. You just made my day.
posted by PercussivePaul at 12:34 PM on October 17, 2007

Now you're making me crazy. We played a game called Ghost in the 60s in Philly, but it wasn't the word game and I don't think it was tag. I think it was a story game, everyone sitting in a circle. Aaack. This is going to keep me awake. Curse you, pipti!
posted by nax at 1:43 PM on October 17, 2007