It’s been an open secret for years now. The Swedish heavy metal band Ghost is not actually comprised of ghosts, despite the band’s best efforts to convince the world otherwise.
For starters, their “demonic” frontman, Papa Emeritus, is far too human-looking to be a real ghost. He’s definitely not a zombie, and the fact that he wears a mask that looks like a skull is a dead giveaway. Plus, he has a name. Ghosts don’t have names. Unless your name is Casper The Friendly Ghost.
The other members of the band are equally suspect. Instead of floating around the stage, they actually walk around and play instruments. That’s not very ghost-like behaviour. And when they take off their masks, they look like regular people. Just because they dress like ghosts doesn’t mean they’re actually ghosts.
The band’s music is also suspiciously human-sounding. There’s no ethereal, otherworldly sound to it, no haunting melodies that only ghosts could produce. In fact, it’s just regular metal music with some spooky lyrics.
Can you imagine buying tickets to see Ghost, excited for an otherworldly experience, only to discover a bunch of Swedish middle-aged men and a singer with an ego? How disappointing.
Finally, the band members are known to travel around the world to play shows. It’s hard to imagine real ghosts being able to do that. Ghosts traditionally haunt the places they die in, like hostels and motels, and occasionally in fancy hotels.
So, while Ghost may have created a convincing image of being a band of ghosts, the truth is that they’re just a bunch of humans wearing masks. It’s a shame, really, but it’s the truth.