Ghost

幽霊（ゆうれい） Ghosts Spirits/Souls
A ghost from Book of the Cafe.
Location	Literally everywhere in Mugenri; The spirit world
Appearances
Official Games
Reactivate Majestical Imperial (Common enemy) Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle (Common enemy; Taira no Chouki) Book of the Cafe (Enemy)

Ghosts (幽霊／ゆーれい, yūrei, lit. ethereal soul/spirit) is a general term used to refer to incorporeal entities that are most typically tied to nature, a person's soul, or the afterlife.

Ghosts in Len'en Project

Ghosts are souls that, through various methods, have remained in the physical world even after death, instead of moving onto the spirit world. Though they can appear anywhere, certain locations are known to have higher concentrations, like the Gloomy Straits. It is known that Fujiwara no Iyozane can attract and control different spirits using the "Saeda", a youkai flute given to them by Taira no Fumikado, although it is unclear what the extent of this ability is. This allows them to use it in battle, both offensively and defensively.

Souls

A soul or spirit (霊, tamashī) is tied with a living being's life and is released from a living being upon its death, after which it leaves the physical body. They can be born from any living being, such as plants, insects or even humans. They appear small and resemble an orb with a yellow or orange core, appearing to have no will of its own and thus harmless. It is known that absorbing a living individual's soul will shorten their lifespan, dependent on how much is taken.

In Mugenri, a soul that has departed from its body is typically lead to the Spirit World, where they are dealt with by the world's master. Souls may also be collected and dealt with however the owner pleases. This may range from selling to an interested merchant (ex. Kuroji Shitodo), or absorbed to become stronger (ex. Shion and Sese Kitsugai).

Types of Ghosts

Ghosts may take on many various forms, although they may all be referred to simply as "ghosts". Depending on the type, they may be harmless, and can even be collected, whereas others may attack for no reason.

Chimera Souls

A chimera soul (キメラソウル, kimera sōru) is a composite of two or more souls, both living and dead, fused together to become a single being. The more souls involved in a fusion, the more powerful the resulting chimera soul will be. Typical chimera souls are known for their hollow, sullen expressions, and wearing hitaikakushi on their heads. They are regularly aggressive, attacking almost anyone they encounter. They were first formed during the events of Reactivate Majestical Imperial, during which the souls that gathered under the Harujion started mixing and combining together to create these spirits. In Book of the Cafe, it was shown that these ghosts can take on various forms based on the elements.

Shion is a particularly powerful chimera soul who was able to create a physical body on its own, as using the Harujion as a medium for combination allowed them to absorb a much greater amount of souls than the common chimera soul is made up of.

Departed Spirits

Departed spirits (死霊／亡霊, shiryō/bōryō) is a term used to refer to the souls of those who have passed away and have remained in the physical world even after death, instead of moving onto the spirit world. While it is known that a departed spirit can be formed by striking a deal with the master of the spirit world to allow a soul to remain in the living world, it is unknown if any other method exists.

Vengeful Spirits

A vengeful spirit (怨霊, onryō) is a special type of ghost created under special circumstances, souls of people that died of such strong passions – be it hatred, jealousy, or anger – that their spirit is unable to pass onto the afterlife and instead transforms into a wrathful spirit that will seek vengeance on everything and everyone it encounters.

Appearances

Souls

Reactivate Majestical Imperial

Souls were first seen in Reactivate Majestical Imperial, where they flooded into Mugenri from the Outside World after the hole in the inner Mugenri Barrier was made by Lumen Celeritas, attracted by the Harujion. They then combined together to give rise to the chimera souls, which were seen attacking the player. Some of those then got absorbed by the Harujion and became a part of Shion. Due to the souls either fusing into smaller chimera souls or having been absorbed into Shion, they can no longer be seen in future titles. Although it is unsure why, due to passing through the barrier the souls have become incapable of judging themselves to be "good".

Chimera Souls

Reactivate Majestical Imperial

Chimera souls were first born during the events of Reactivate Majestical Imperial, where they gathered under the Harujion and fused. This is why they were more common the closer the player travels to the Harujion in the game. Due to the Harujion absorbing the souls and lesser chimera souls to create Shion, and Tenkai Zuifeng repairing the Mugenri Barrier, they are much less common in Stage 6 and the Extra stages.

As Shion's soul had such vitality and knowledge, from absorbing a large number of souls, they were born with a physical body. Since their creation was the result of the Harujion's power, they inherited many of the flower's properties.

Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle

Chimera souls that were not incorporated into Shion during the events of Reactivate Majestical Imperial could be seen joining the Dragonfly Army in the Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle, likely becoming shikigami to Garaiya Ogata, and occasionally attacked the protagonists due to the ongoing war.

Book of the Cafe

Various types of chimera ghosts show up as combat units in Book of the Cafe, referred to simply as "ghosts".
Aside from the standard ones seen in previous games, variations of them in the different elements of the game show up as well, along with other unique variations. All playable ghost units are distinguished with descriptors in [square brackets]. Elemental variants specifically are distinguished in Japanese using 4-character onomatopoeia, which is approximated in English using adjectives ending in -y.

Name		Description
	Ghost [Fiery] (ゆーれい[めらめら])	The Red [Fire/Flames] element variation of the ghost. The ghost is orange in colour and surrounded by flames, with a sun symbol on its forehead.
	Ghost [Chilly] (ゆーれい[ひえひえ])	The Cyan [Water/Ice] element variation of the ghost. The ghost is blue in colour and encased in a chunk of ice.
	Ghost [Zappy] (ゆーれい[びりびり])	The Yellow [Lightning/Thunder] element variation of the ghost. The ghost is yellow in colour, surrounded by a light-blue aura and giving off electric bolts.
	Ghost [Spiky] (ゆーれい[とげとげ])	The Brown [Earth/Metal] element variation of the ghost. The ghost is light-brown in colour and covered in spikes.
	Ghost [Whirly] (ゆーれい[くるくる])	The Green [Wind/Explosion] element variation of the ghost. It is light-green in colour and surrounded by a tornado.
	Ghost [Sparkly] (ゆーれい[きらきら])	The White [Light/Divine] element variation of the ghost. It is white in colour and gives off a bright glint.
	Ghost [Gloomy] (ゆーれい[じめじめ])	The Black [Darkness/Nether] element variation of the ghost. It is surrounded by a black haze, its body either not visible or similarly black. It also uniquely has white eyes and mouth.
	Ghost [Ghastly] (ゆーれい[どろどろ])	The Purple [Spirit/Illusion] element variation of the ghost. It version of ghosts seen in other entries.
	Ghost [Gauzy] (ゆーれい[すけすけ])	The Blank [Null] element variation of the ghost. Instead of being in a solid colour, it features transparency grid pattern instead. Instead of being a solid pattern over the ghost, its body could be said to act as a "window" into a transparency grid pattern background.
	Ghosts [Xmas] (ゆーれい【X'mas】)	A Christmas variation of the ghost released in celebration of Christmas 2021. A group of three standard ghosts with unique outfits: One has a red headband with a Christmas bell attached to it, with the cap and hook of a Christmas ornament on top of its head Another wears a Santa hat. The final one wears a red-and-white striped hitaikakushi with a snipping of Christmas holly attached.
	Metal Ghost (メタルゆーれい)	A metal variation of the ghost featured in the daily experience stage. Unobtainable by the player. It is dull silver in colour and gives off silver sparkles.
	Golden Ghost (ゴールデンゆーれい)	A golden variation of the ghost featured in the daily combat money stage. Unobtainable by the player. It is gold in colour and gives off golden sparkles.

Vengeful Spirits

Reactivate Majestical Imperial

A vengeful spirit was first mentioned in Reactivate Majestical Imperial, in particular Taira no Masakado, a ghost that Taira no Fumikado planned on resurrecting using the influx of souls into Mugenri in order to take the throne of Devanagara and restore the "true emperor".

Departed Spirits

Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle

Taira no Chouki is a departed spirit first introduced in Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle, where it is revealed that they managed to stay in the living world by striking a deal with the master of the spirit world.

Characters that are this species

• Taira no Masakado (Vengeful Spirit)
• Shion (Chimera Soul)
• Taira no Chouki (Departed Spirit)

See Also

• Touhou Wiki entry on Spirit and Ghost
• Wikipedia article on Ghost and Vengeful Spirit