The ''
Ghostbusters
''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and ...
'' franchise spans multiple
films
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
, animated series, novelizations,
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
s, and
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s. Beginning with the 1984 live-action film ''
Ghostbusters
''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and ...
'', directed by
Ivan Reitman
Ivan Reitman (; October 27, 1946February 12, 2022) was a Czechoslovak-born Canadian filmmaker. He was best known for his comedy work, especially in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the owner of The Montecito Picture Company, founded in 1998.
Film ...
, and written by
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...
and
Harold Ramis
Harold Allen Ramis (; November 21, 1944 – February 24, 2014) was an American actor, comedian, director and writer. His best-known film acting roles were as Egon Spengler in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984) and '' Ghostbusters II'' (1989), and as Russel ...
, the premise and storyline have inspired sequels,
spinoffs, and
reboots. These entries into the franchise include an ever-expanding list of both recurring and original characters.
''Ghostbusters'' (1984)
Human characters
Peter Venkman
Peter Venkman
Peter Venkman, PhD is a fictional character from the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films ''Ghostbusters'', ''Ghostbusters II'', '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' and in the animated television series ''The Real Ghostbusters''. In all ...
is a focal member of the Ghostbusters. He is portrayed by
Bill Murray
William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...
in all three movies, and is voiced in the animated series by
Lorenzo Music
Gerald David "Lorenzo" Music (May 2, 1937 – August 4, 2001) was an American actor, producer and writer. Music began his career in the late 1960s as a writer and a regular performer on the controversial CBS variety show ''The Smothers Brothers ...
and subsequently
Dave Coulier
David Alan Coulier ( ; born September 21, 1959) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, impressionist, and television host. He played Joey Gladstone on the ABC sitcom ''Full House'', voiced Peter Venkman on ''The Real Ghostbusters'', and voiced ...
who would later reprise his role in a cameo in ''Extreme Ghostbusters''. Peter is one of three doctors of
parapsychology
Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near ...
on the team; he also holds a PhD in
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
. In the movies, although he is the leader, he is characterized by his blunt persona, laid-back approach to his profession, and his
womanizing
Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by man ...
demeanor; of the three doctors in the Ghostbusters, he is the least committed to the academic and scientific side of their profession, and tends to regard his field, in the words of his employer in the first film, as "a dodge or hustle". In the first movie, he is shown to develop genuine concern and romantic feelings for the Ghostbusters' first client,
Dana Barrett
The ''Ghostbusters'' franchise spans multiple films, animated series, novelizations, comic books, and video games. Beginning with the 1984 live-action film ''Ghostbusters'', directed by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, ...
(
Sigourney Weaver
Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gram ...
).
Raymond Stantz
Raymond "Ray" Stantz, another member of the Ghostbusters, is played by
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...
in all three movies. He was voiced by
Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...
in the animated television series ''The Real Ghostbusters'' and he reprised his role in a cameo in ''Extreme Ghostbusters''. He is one of the three doctors of parapsychology on the team, and Peter's closest friend. Ray is considered the "heart" of the Ghostbusters by the other members of the team, and the second in command. He is an expert on paranormal history and
metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys.
Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
. Ray is characterized by his almost childlike enthusiasm towards his work, and his outspoken acceptance of paranormal activity.
Egon Spengler
Egon Spengler
Egon Spengler, PhD is a fictional character from the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films '' Ghostbusters'', ''Ghostbusters II'', and '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'', in the animated television series '' The Real Ghostbusters'' and '' ...
is the brains of the Ghostbusters – described in the original script as a "New Wave Mr. Spock" – and the creator of the Ghostbusters' equipment along with Raymond Stantz. Lacking much of a personality other than his focus on all things scientific, he is often shown as lacking social skills when dealing with people. Egon was portrayed by
Harold Ramis
Harold Allen Ramis (; November 21, 1944 – February 24, 2014) was an American actor, comedian, director and writer. His best-known film acting roles were as Egon Spengler in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984) and '' Ghostbusters II'' (1989), and as Russel ...
in the films ''Ghostbusters'' and ''Ghostbusters II'', voiced by
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor, comedian, and impressionist. He has voiced the Brain in '' Animaniacs'' as well as its spin-off '' Pinky and the Brain'', Big Bob in ''Hey Arnold!'' (1996–2004), and a variety of ...
in the animated television series ''The Real Ghostbusters'' and ''Extreme Ghostbusters'', and Ramis' likeness was used for the character in ''
Ghostbusters: Afterlife'', with Bob Gunton and Ivan Reitman acting as stand-ins for the late Ramis. LaMarche was the only
voice actor
Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...
to remain for the entirety of both series. Before the original movie was released, ''American Cinematographer'' described Egon as "maniacal" based on reading the script. Ramis credited the part as launching his acting career, as up to that point he had been a director and writer, with a smaller acting role alongside Bill Murray in ''
Stripes
Stripe, striped, or stripes may refer to:
Decorations
*Stripe (pattern), a line or band that differs in colour or tone from an adjacent surface
*Racing stripe, a vehicle decoration
*Service stripe, a decoration of the U.S. military
Entertainment
...
''.
In ''Ghostbusters: Afterlife'', Egon is revealed to have had a daughter, Callie, prior to 1984, whom he is estranged from. Egon came to believe that the apocalypse would come. His continued research came at the cost of his relationships with his fellow Ghostbusters, who disbelieved Egon's assertions. This culminated in Egon stealing Ecto-1 and a large amount of equipment and moving to Summerville, Oklahoma, where he learned of Shandor's secondary Gozerian temple and Gozer's impending return. Egon rigged a proton barrier to contain the ghosts within the Shandor Mines while capturing one of Gozer's minions to force Gozer into a trap he set up. The trap failed, and Egon hid the captured ghost within his house. Egon is killed by the other entity, his death ruled as a heart attack.
Callie moved to Summerville to take possession of Egon's house. Phoebe, Callie's daughter and Egon's granddaughter who shares a similar passion for science with her late grandfather, discovered the trap containing Gozer's minion, which is released the following day by Gary Grooberson, and Egon's spirit guided her to his underground workshop, where he helped her fix a damaged proton pack. He also helped Trevor fix the dilapidated Ecto-1, and guided Callie into realising that, far from being a deadbeat, Egon had always watched over her.
During the final battle with Gozer, Egon materialised as a ghost in order to aid Phoebe and his old Ghostbuster colleagues in trapping Gozer permanently. He reconciled with his friends and family before passing peacefully into the afterlife.
Winston Zeddemore
Winston Zeddemore
Winston Zeddemore PhD is a fictional character appearing in the ''Ghostbusters'' films, TV series, and video games. He was played by Ernie Hudson in films and was voiced by Arsenio Hall in the first three seasons of ''The Real Ghostbusters''. B ...
is played by
Ernie Hudson
Earnest Lee Hudson (born December 17, 1945) is an American actor. His roles include Winston Zeddemore in the ''Ghostbusters'' film series, Sergeant Darryl Albrecht in ''The Crow'' (1994), and Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's '' Oz'' (1997–2003). Hu ...
in all three movies and the 2009 video game, and was voiced by
Arsenio Hall
Arsenio Hall (born February 12, 1956) is an American comedian, actor and talk show host. He hosted the late-night talk show, ''The Arsenio Hall Show'', from 1989 until 1994, and again from 2013 to 2014.
He has appeared in ''Martial Law'', ''Comi ...
in the first three seasons of ''The Real Ghostbusters''.
Buster Jones
Edward L. Jones (December 12, 1943 – September 16, 2014) was an American voice actor and television host.
He is probably best known from his roles as Black Vulcan in ''Super Friends'', Blaster in '' The Transformers'', Doc in '' G.I. Joe: A ...
provided Winston's voice in the remaining seasons, and he reprised the role in a cameo on ''Extreme Ghostbusters''. Hudson reportedly auditioned to reprise the role of Winston for the animated series, but he was rejected in favor of Hall. Unlike the other members of the team, Winston is not a scientist with a background in the paranormal; the novelization says that he was in the
Marines
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
. He is hired when the Ghostbusters' business begins to pick up. Despite not sharing the educational credentials of his coworkers, Winston often serves as the
everyman
The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them.
Origin
The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...
of the team, acting as a voice of reason and displaying more
common sense
''Common Sense'' is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine collected various moral and political argu ...
than the others. In the 2009 video game, Winston claims to have spent time in the Egyptian exhibit of the museum while in
graduate school
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have earned an Undergraduate education, un ...
working on his doctorate, suggesting experience in
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
or a related science, and addressing himself as a doctor, indicates that he has his own PhD.
The post-credits scene in ''Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' reveals that Winston's post-Ghostbusters career was highly lucrative as he built several businesses from the ground up. In his discussion with
Janine Melnitz
Janine Melnitz is a fictional character in the ''Ghostbusters'' series. She is the Ghostbusters' secretary, confidante, and occasionally, a ghostbuster herself. She was played by Annie Potts in the first two movies, and in ''The Real Ghostbusters ...
, though, he reveals that nothing fulfilled him like being with the original Ghostbusters, which is why he has secretly been financing
Ray Stantz
Raymond Stantz, PhD, is a fictional character from the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films ''Ghostbusters'' (1984), ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), ''Casper'' (1995, as a cameo) and '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' (2021), the animated ...
's occult business. He vows to expand the support to the new crew as they continue Egon's work.
Dana Barrett
Portrayed by
Sigourney Weaver
Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gram ...
in the first and second movies, Dana Barrett was a
cellist
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...
living at 550 Central Park West (
55 Central Park West
55 Central Park West is a 19-floor housing cooperative located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by the architectural firm Schwartz & Gross, and built in 1929. The building is a contributing property wi ...
), a haunted apartment building which would become the gateway for the apocalyptic deity
Gozer the Gozerian
The ''Ghostbusters'' franchise spans multiple films, animated series, novelizations, comic books, and video games. Beginning with the 1984 live-action film ''Ghostbusters'', directed by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, ...
. Dana is singled out early for unwelcome paranormal attention by Gozer's minions, and seeks the help of the Ghostbusters after seeing their advertisement on television. She is possessed by the demon
Zuul
''Zuul'' is a genus of herbivorous ankylosaurine dinosaur from the Campanian Judith River Formation of Montana. The type species is ''Zuul crurivastator''. It is known from a complete skull and tail, which represents the first ankylosaurin know ...
, Gatekeeper of Gozer, who, along with Keymaster
Vinz Clortho, opens the interdimensional gate to summon Gozer to Earth in the first film. She promptly attracts the romantic attention of Peter, whose flippant behavior causes her to doubt her decision to seek aid from the Ghostbusters. In the sequel five years later, Dana is a divorced mother of an eight-month-old boy named Oscar; Peter is neither her former husband nor Oscar's father. Dana was then working as a restorationist for the fictitious Manhattan Museum of Art. It is here that she (and later Baby Oscar) come to the attention of the evil Prince
Vigo the Carpathian
''GhostbustersII'' is a 1989 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ramis, Rick Moranis ...
, whose
malevolent spirit
In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or crema ...
inhabits his massive
self portrait
A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...
. When Dana and Baby Oscar become the target of Vigo's plot, the Ghostbusters re-enter her life to save her, Baby Oscar, and the world once again.
Dana was also a neighbor of
Louis Tully
The ''Ghostbusters'' franchise spans multiple films, animated series, novelizations, comic books, and video games. Beginning with the 1984 live-action film ''Ghostbusters'', directed by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Rami ...
at 550 Central Park West in the first movie. The two remained acquainted, then became friends. Louis and
Janine Melnitz
Janine Melnitz is a fictional character in the ''Ghostbusters'' series. She is the Ghostbusters' secretary, confidante, and occasionally, a ghostbuster herself. She was played by Annie Potts in the first two movies, and in ''The Real Ghostbusters ...
baby-sat Oscar (and themselves became a romantic item) during the second film. Dana appears in the mid-credits scene of ''
Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' (2021), in which she and Peter are revealed to be married and settled in
Cortland, and play with the cards Peter used to discover his students' psychic potential. Peter is hooked up to the "shock" machine, in which Dana is having pleasure by tormenting her husband with it. Dana is the only character that didn't appear in ''
The Real Ghostbusters
''The Real Ghostbusters'' is an American animated television series, a spin-off/sequel of the 1984 comedy film ''Ghostbusters''. The series ran from September 13, 1986, to October 5, 1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television and DI ...
'' and ''
Ghostbusters: The Video Game''.
Janine Melnitz
Janine Melnitz
Janine Melnitz is a fictional character in the ''Ghostbusters'' series. She is the Ghostbusters' secretary, confidante, and occasionally, a ghostbuster herself. She was played by Annie Potts in the first two movies, and in ''The Real Ghostbusters ...
, the Ghostbusters's secretary, is played by
Annie Potts
Anne Hampton Potts (born October 28, 1952) is an American actress. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for ''Corvette Summer'' (1978) and won a Genie Award for '' Heartaches'' (1981), before appearing in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984), ''Pretty i ...
in both movies, and is voiced by
Laura Summer
Laura Summer is an American voice actress and producer.
Career
Summer's career began in New York City theater, when she was cast in a production of Antony and Cleopatra, directed by Estelle Parsons. Including voice-over work, she has appeared i ...
and
Kath Soucie Kath or KATH may refer to:
* Kath (city), the historical capital of Khwarezm
* Kath (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname
* KATH-TV, the NBC TV station in Juneau, Alaska
* KATH (AM)
KATH (910 kHz) is an ...
in ''The Real Ghostbusters'' and
Pat Musick
Patricia Anne Musick is an American voice actress, who has provided numerous voices in many television shows, films and video games. She and her husband, Jeff Whitman, a personal manager and set construction coordinator, are the parents of actre ...
in ''Extreme Ghostbusters''. Janine has occasionally worn the Ghostbusters uniform and used ghost-catching equipment in the animated series. During the first film, and in both animated series, Janine often flirted with Egon but he remained oblivious. She dated Louis Tully in the sequel.
In ''
Ghostbusters: Afterlife'', Janine contacted Callie Spengler to inform her of Egon's death and to arrange for Callie to collect Egon's belongings. She informed Callie that Egon had accrued a large amount of debt. In the post-credits scene, she and Winston discuss the latter's success.
Louis Tully
Louis Tully is a
nerd
A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly tec ...
y accountant as well as a tax attorney and a neighbor of Dana Barrett, played by
Rick Moranis
Frederick Allan Moranis (; born April 18, 1953) is a Canadian actor, comedian, musician, songwriter, writer and producer. He appeared in the sketch comedy series ''Second City Television'' (''SCTV'') in the 1980s and several Hollywood (film indu ...
in ''Ghostbusters'' and ''Ghostbusters II'' and voiced by
Rodger Bumpass
Rodger Bumpass (born November 20, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for his long-running role as Squidward Tentacles on the American animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. He voices several other characters on the show as ...
in the ''Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters'' animated series. He is possessed by the demon
Vinz Clortho, the Keymaster who, along with Zuul, opens the interdimensional gate to bring Gozer to Earth in the first film. In ''Ghostbusters II'', he is revealed to have graduated from night
law school
A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction.
Law degrees Argentina
In Argentina, ...
, in which he implies that it was an inadequate educational institution, and, in the novelization, revealed that it was called Famous Lawyer's School & Dry-Cleaning Emporium. Due to his limited trainings in laws, he mostly handles matters relating to taxes and
probate
Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...
. He represents the Ghostbusters at their trial in his first court case.
In the film's deleted scenes, revealed that he has a cousin, Sherman Tully (played by
Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy (born December 17, 1946) is a Canadian actor and comedian. From 1976 until 1984, he appeared in the Canadian television sketch comedy series '' SCTV''. He has also appeared in the '' American Pie'' series of films and the Canadian ...
), a dermatologist on staff at the Parkview Psychiatric Hospital. Louis then takes up permanent employment with the Ghostbusters when they reestablish their business. In addition, Louis seeks to become the fifth Ghostbuster. At one point, he borrows a Ghostbuster jumpsuit and proton pack to attempt to help defeat Vigo the Carpathian. After the release of ''Ghostbusters II'', Louis became a semi-regular character on ''Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters'' as the Ghostbusters' legal and financial advisor. ''Ghostbusters'', like many films on which Moranis has worked, had him improvising some of his lines.
Louis is a playable character in ''
New Ghostbusters II
is an Action game, action video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy, both developed and published by HAL Laboratory in 1990 in Japan and in 1992 in the PAL region. The NES version was never released in North America due to li ...
'' for the NES. He appears as a non-playable character in ''
Lego Dimensions
''Lego Dimensions'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure platform crossover video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Wii U, Xbox One and Xbox 360. It fo ...
'' voiced by
Mick Wingert
Micky R. Wingert (born July 4, 1974) is an American voice actor. He is known for his role as the voice of Master Po and Zeng in '' Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness'', taking over the roles from actors Jack Black and Dan Fogler, respective ...
. In his side quest on the Ghostbusters Adventure World, he requires the player's help to get more guests for his party. Although Louis did not appear in ''
Ghostbusters: The Video Game'', it is obvious that he was the "other guy" that Peter referred to who tried to be a fifth Ghostbuster. Louis is still employed by the Ghostbusters, but he left a note on his desk saying that he is "feeling sick, going home early", explaining his absence (due to Moranis declined of reprising his role for the game) and it is filled with piles of paperwork needing to be finished. His own Ghostbuster uniform (with his name on it) hangs behind it as well, implying that he may have officially been a member. Louis is also tasked to scout locations to expand the team's operations beyond New York City.
Though the character did not appear in the 2021 sequel ''Ghostbusters: Afterlife,'' old aura scans of Louis taken from when he was possessed by Vinz Clortho are in Egon's storm-cellar laboratory.
Lenny Clotch
Lenny Clotch is the
mayor of New York City
The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...
. He was played by
David Margulies
David Joseph Margulies (February 19, 1937 – January 11, 2016) was an American actor.
Early life
Margulies was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Runya ('' née'' Zeltzer), a nurse and museum employee, and Harry David Margulies, a l ...
in the films ''Ghostbusters'' and ''Ghostbusters II'', and by
Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...
in the animated series ''
The Real Ghostbusters
''The Real Ghostbusters'' is an American animated television series, a spin-off/sequel of the 1984 comedy film ''Ghostbusters''. The series ran from September 13, 1986, to October 5, 1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television and DI ...
''. Though skeptical of the Ghostbusters due to his Catholic background (in reality, Margulies was Jewish), Clotch is apparently open-minded on the paranormal and thus quietly and reluctantly supports them when facing supernatural crisis. By 1989, Clotch is running for governor, and is assisted by Jack Hardemeyer until Clotch fires him for misconduct. By 1991, in ''Ghostbusters: The Video Game'', he is succeeded by Jock Mulligan as mayor.
Walter Peck
Walter Peck is a cynical, bully, ambitious, narcissistic, coward, and over-zealous inspector for the Environmental Protection Agency (
EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
), for the third district in the greater New York area, played by
William Atherton
William Atherton Knight (born July 30, 1947) is an American actor, best known for portraying Richard Thornburg in ''Die Hard'' and its sequel and Walter Peck in ''Ghostbusters''.
Early life
Atherton was born in Orange, Connecticut, the son ...
. Spurred on by "wild stories in the media," Peck is sent to "assess any possible environmental impact" by the Ghostbusters' operation, maybe even believed that exposing them as fraudsters would help his career. Peter Venkman instantly dislikes Peck and refuses him access to inspect the premises, especially the Containment Unit Storage Facility. This confrontation leads to Peck getting official inspection orders and eventually having the Containment Unit shut off. The result is catastrophic, unleashing all the entities that were trapped and providing the 'sign' that Terror Dog Keymaster of Gozer, Vinz Clortho (possessing Louis Tully) was waiting for. Peck again confronts the Ghostbusters and orders them arrested, refusing to take responsibility and blaming them for the explosion at the firehouse, exposing his cowardice. This provokes Egon Spengler's furious attempt to assault him and Venkman and Ray Stantz to call him "dickless" in retaliation. Venkman even nicknamed Peck as "Pecker" out of scorn.
As the
Manhattan Crossrip of 1984
''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three ...
begins, the Ghostbusters are released from jail and brought to City Hall. There they square off against Peck, trying to convince the mayor that the city, even the entire world is in danger. Peck's belief that the Ghostbusters were drugging the city with hallucinogens is invalidated by the authorities and experts. Evidence supporting the Ghostbusters' innocence is brought forth, humiliating Peck. The mayor sides with the Ghostbusters and has a furious Peck removed from his office. With the mayor's support, the Ghostbusters gear up and head off with a police / military escort towards their fateful confrontation with Gozer the Gozerian. Peck also heads up to 550 Central Park West (
55 Central Park West
55 Central Park West is a 19-floor housing cooperative located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by the architectural firm Schwartz & Gross, and built in 1929. The building is a contributing property wi ...
) and bears witness to Gozer manifesting in Its Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man Destructor form. He eventually gets engulfed in Mr. Stay-Puft's melted remains, much to his public embarrassment and displeasure.
Despite this, later, in ''Ghostbusters II'', people like Peck from nearly "every state, county, and city agency" in the city sued the Ghostbusters and put them out of business for five years. This caused them to loathe short-sighted, selfish bureaucrats, exemplified by their interactions with the mayor's assistant Jack Hardemeyer and Judge Stephen Wexler.
Walter Peck appears only once in ''The Real Ghostbusters'' animated series, in the episode "Big Trouble with Little Slimer," voiced by
Robert Towers
Robert Towers (born August 19, 1936) is an American actor who has appeared in many television shows, including '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. He also played Buster the coke-snorting jockey on ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' in season ...
. Having been fired from the EPA, Peck has become a member of the government organization B.U.F.O. (The Bureau of Unidentified Flying Organisms). Dead set on revenge, Peck became determined to prove that the Ghostbusters were frauds and end their business. His first attempt involved making a false call to try an arrest the Ghostbusters on trespassing warrants, though it backfires on him when the compound actually was haunted by a ghost. His next attempt involved taking Slimer away from them. Not believing him to be a real ghost, Peck had Slimer classified as a U.F.O, and pressed charges against the Ghostbusters should they refuse to hand him over. Peck then placed Slimer in a cyclotron machine in an attempt to destroy him, and changed the codes to prevent Slimer being rescued, but it had disastrous consequences in long-term use, forcing the Ghostbusters to stop it. This ended up being the end of Peck's career at B.U.F.O.; Since he almost threatened everyone in the compound with his reckless and selfish actions, Peck and his partner Calahan had their contracts terminated, and were let go from the agency.
In ''
Ghostbusters: The Video Game'', Peck – again played by Atherton – went on to lead the PCOC (Paranormal Contracts Oversight Commission), an agency overseeing the Ghostbusters; they remain in mutual enmity; Venkman continues to refer to Peck as "Pecker", and for his part, Peck still firmly believes that the Ghostbusters are scam artists despite evidence to the contrary. His attempts to discredit them have become an obsession, by which he causes himself more trouble when caught in the fight between the Ghostbusters and the spirit of Ivo Shandor. By the end of the game he has been captured by Shandor and begs the Ghostbusters to free him from his captivity. The Ghostbusters' recruit does so, but simply by severing his bonds with a proton stream and letting Peck fall on the ground. As a result, he angrily leaves telling the Ghostbusters that they wouldn't be seeing the last of him, again blaming them.
Supernatural entities
Slimer
Slimer
Slimer, originally referred to as "Onionhead" and sometimes "the Mean Green Ghost", is a character from the Ghostbusters (franchise), ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films ''Ghostbusters'' (1984), ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), and the ...
is a translucent green blob
creature, with two skinny arms, no feet, and several chins. In the first movie, Slimer was voiced by director Reitman, while Frank Welker voiced the green ghost in ''The Real Ghostbusters''. In the 1989 sequel ''Ghostbusters II'', Robin Shelby performed Slimer and Reitman again voiced Slimer but most of the footage shot was not used. In the late 1990s cartoon ''Extreme Ghostbusters'', Slimer's voice was provided by
Billy West
William Richard Werstine (born April 16, 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'' and several subsequent projects, the title characters of '' Doug'' ...
.
Troy Baker
Troy Baker (born April 1, 1976) is an American voice actor and musician. Baker is known for his video game roles, including Joel Miller in ''The Last of Us'' (2013) and its sequel (2020), Booker DeWitt in ''BioShock Infinite'' (2013), Samuel ...
voices Slimer in the 2009 video game, though with the sound effects used in the first movie. Aykroyd reportedly referred to Slimer as "The Ghost of
John Belushi
John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known for being one of the seven original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). Throughout his ca ...
".
In the script for ''Ghostbusters'', Slimer is never called by any name. He is described by Dr.
Ray Stantz
Raymond Stantz, PhD, is a fictional character from the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films ''Ghostbusters'' (1984), ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), ''Casper'' (1995, as a cameo) and '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' (2021), the animated ...
(
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...
) as an "Ugly Little Spud," just before he slimes Dr.
Peter Venkman
Peter Venkman, PhD is a fictional character from the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films ''Ghostbusters'', ''Ghostbusters II'', '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' and in the animated television series ''The Real Ghostbusters''. In all ...
(
Bill Murray
William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...
). In Ghostbusters terminology, Slimer is designated as a "Focused, Non-Terminal Repeating Phantasm or a Class 5 Full-Roaming Vapor" (Class 5 manifestations are fully developed entities that lacked human forms). The creature's original title was "The Onionhead Ghost", which the film crew dubbed him for the horrible odor he used to scare a couple in a scene cut from the original movie. Slimer's personality is one of tremendous
gluttony
Gluttony ( la, gula, derived from the Latin ''gluttire'' meaning "to gulp down or swallow") means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or wealth items, particularly as status symbols.
In Christianity, it is considered a sin if ...
, and he is referred to as a "disgusting blob". In the movies, he is not named and makes short appearances. In the cartoon, he is known as Slimer, is able to speak, and demonstrates a child's intelligence and intense loyalty to Peter and the Ghostbusters with the personality of a dog. His role in the series is explained in the episode "Citizen Ghost", which primarily consists of a flashback to the immediate aftermath of the movie, where Slimer returned to the firehouse as the Ghostbusters were the first people to show any interest in him, the team "adopting" him as a means of testing ghosts and an ally after he helped them defeat ectoplasmic manifestations of themselves that had manifested from their old uniforms after the uniforms were exposed to ghostly energies from the containment unit. In the Marvel UK comics of the ''Real Ghostbusters'', Slimer had his own half-page sketch, in which Slimer's past life was covered; he was originally called King Remils ("Slimer" spelled backwards), a greedy, obese monarch who had died of heart failure.
Slimer's popularity soared from the subsequent spin-off animated television series ''The Real Ghostbusters''. Slimer later starred in his own ''Slimer!'' cartoons when ''The Real Ghostbusters'' was extended to a one-hour format. ''SLIMER!'' was briefly published by NOW Comics, a defunct Chicago firm. Artists included Mitch O'Connell and Mark Braun. Writers included Larry Parr who also wrote for the animated series. Slimer also appeared as a representative of ''The Real Ghostbusters'' in the animated anti-drug television special ''
Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue
''Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue'' is a 1990 American animated television film starring many characters from several animated television series at the time of its release. Financed by McDonald's, Ronald McDonald Children's Charities, it was orig ...
''. Slimer was also the mascot for the
Hi-C
Hi-C is a fruit juice–flavored drink made by the Minute Maid division of The Coca-Cola Company. It was created by Niles Foster in 1946 and released in 1947. The sole original flavor was orange.
History
Niles Foster, a former bakery and b ...
flavor "
Ecto Cooler
Hi-C is a fruit juice–flavored drink made by the Minute Maid division of The Coca-Cola Company. It was created by Niles Foster in 1946 and released in 1947. The sole original Flavor (taste), flavor was orange.
History
Niles Foster, a for ...
", which came out shortly after ''The Real Ghostbusters'', and was colored green. Slimer remained on the box well after the ''Real Ghostbusters'' was cancelled; but in 1997 the drink was renamed "Shoutin' Orange Tangergreen", and Slimer was removed. Slimer also had a toothpaste named after him. A more monstrous and "evil-looking" incarnation of Slimer appears in the
2016 reboot, as voiced by Adam Ray: it appears in the ghost havoc scenes, as it ravages a hot dog cart, but, as the Ghostbusters near to investigate, he steals the Ecto-1 and starts joyriding with other ghosts (including a Lady Slimer) around
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, but the Ghostbusters decide not to shoot him, as the car contains a nuclear reactor. Later, they actually do shoot at the car to use the reactor to reverse the effects of the ghost portal, with Slimer and Lady Slimer sharing a kiss before falling inside it.
Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man
The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man – mascot for the fictional Stay-Puft Marshmallows company – became the chosen Destructor form of Gozer (towering roughly 112.5" feet tall) after Dr. Ray Stantz "tried to think of the most harmless thing, something he loved from childhood and that could never, ever possibly destroy them." Stay-Puft also makes appearances in the animated series ''The Real Ghostbusters'' (most times friendly due to not being possessed by Gozer any longer, other times a bit cranky), and returns as a boss – the resurrected Destructor avatar sans Gozer – in ''Ghostbusters: The Video Game''. Stay-Puft was inspired by Peter O'Boyle, a security guard at Columbia Pictures whom director Reitman met filming his previous movie, ''
Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone''. According to Sam Delaney of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', "Stay-Puft's familiar mascot combined elements of real life brand ambassadors
Bibendum
Bibendum (), commonly referred to in English as the Michelin Man or Michelin Tyre Man, is the official mascot of the Michelin tyre company. A humanoid figure consisting of stacked white tyres, it was introduced at the Lyon Exhibition of 1894 wh ...
(aka the Michelin tire man) and the
Pillsbury Dough Boy
Poppin' Fresh, more widely known as the Pillsbury Doughboy, is an advertising mascot for the Pillsbury Company, appearing in many of their commercials. Many commercials from 1965 until 2005 (together with some for GEICO between 2009 and 2017) en ...
." The costume was created by Bill Bryan using miniatures, optical compositing and Bryan himself in a latex suit. In the 2021 film ''
Ghostbusters: Afterlife'', Gozer creates Mini-Pufts as minions out of Stay-Puft Marshmallows as distractions.
Gozer the Gozerian
Gozer the Gozerian is an eldritch entity revered by the
Hittite,
Mesopotamian
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
and
Sumerian cultures who appears as the first film's main antagonist, known by many titles that include "The Destructor", "The Destroyer", "Volguus Zildrohar, Lord of The Sebouillia", "Scourge of the Glethestements" and "The Traveler." Its base form being of an androgynous woman, leading to it typically being identified as female, and possesses numerous abilities at its disposal - its coming preceded by increased paranormal activity and the disruption of natural forces. As briefly mentioned in the film and fully covered by the 2009 game sequel, Gozer had a following on Earth around
6000 BC
The 6th millennium BC spanned the years 6000 BC to 5001 BC (c. 8 ka to c. 7 ka). It is impossible to precisely date events that happened around the time of this millennium and all dates mentioned here are estimates mostly based on geological an ...
before being banished by the
Babylonian goddess
Tiamat
In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( akk, or , grc, Θαλάττη, Thaláttē) is a primordial goddess of the sea, mating with Abzû, the god of the groundwater, to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial creati ...
following a protracted conflict between their followers. Via its chief minions – Terror Dogs Zuul the Gatekeeper and Vinz Clortho the Keymaster, Gozer can enter into another reality and offers those witness to its arrival to choose an avatar form known as a Destructor before proceeding to destroy that plane of existence, as it did in one dimension, a Torb (
electric eel
The electric eels are a genus, ''Electrophorus'', of neotropical freshwater fish from South America in the family Gymnotidae. They are known for their ability to stun their prey by generating electricity, delivering shocks at up to 860 volts ...
-like creature) and in another, a Sloar (
reptilian humanoid
Reptilian humanoids, or anthropomorphic reptiles, are fictional creatures that appear in folklore, fiction, and conspiracy theories.
In folklore
In South Asian and Southeast Asian mythology, the Nāga are semi-divine creatures which are half- ...
that produces venomous ectoplasmic substance that conduct psychomagnotheric energy).
In the 1920s, cult leader Ivo Shandor and his followers set up Gozer's coming to Earth while predicting years that a cross-dimensional rip would occur. It occurs years after Shandor's death as the "
Manhattan Crossrip of 1984
''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three ...
", when Zuul and Vinz Clortho opened the portal for their master to emerge from the rooftop temple of 550 Central Park West (
55 Central Park West
55 Central Park West is a 19-floor housing cooperative located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by the architectural firm Schwartz & Gross, and built in 1929. The building is a contributing property wi ...
). Being confronted by the Ghostbusters upon arrival, Gozer uses Ray Stantz's accidental thought to assume its Destructor form of the
Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man
The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, also known as Mr. Stay-Puft, is a fictional character from the Ghostbusters (franchise), ''Ghostbusters'' franchise, who sometimes appears as a giant, lumbering and paranormal monster. He first appears in the 1984 '' ...
before being banished back to its realm when the Ghostbusters fired their crossed proton streams on the gateway. Prior to it being banished, Peter Venkman mockingly nicknamed Gozer "flat top", "chick", and "prehistoric bitch" after its first attack. Thirty-seven years later, in Summerville, Oklahoma, revealed that Winston Zeddemore himself referred Gozer as "muffin" out of his own scorn against it.
Gozer "reappears" in the 2009 game via the Gozerian Mandala-revived form of Mr. Stay Puft, but was easily defeated since lacking a portal to Gozer's domain made it comparatively weaker than its initial manifestation along with its fixed manifestation as Stay Puft within Earth preventing Gozer from assuming more effective avatar forms and the fact the Ghostbusters upgraded their arsenal since their first encounter. Stay-Puft's defeat convinces a disillusioned Ivo Shandor to alter his plans while forsaking his faith in Gozer.
Gozer returns in the 2021 film ''
Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' as the main antagonist. In the film, Egon learned of Gozer's eventual return in 2021 and moved to Summerville, Oklahoma, where the
selenium
Selenium is a chemical element with the symbol Se and atomic number 34. It is a nonmetal (more rarely considered a metalloid) with properties that are intermediate between the elements above and below in the periodic table, sulfur and tellurium, ...
used to construct the ''
Shandor building''—from the first film—was mined from, to prepare a series of traps to stop Gozer permanently. Egon lured the disembodied Gozer to his farm after capturing one of its minions and preventing ghosts from flooding into Summerville, but the gambit failed, and Egon hid the ghost trap holding the creature. Egon is then attacked by the other creature, causing him to suffer a fatal heart attack. When the creature inside the trap was freed, it returned to Shandor's mine. Vinz Clortho and Zuul picked new hosts and return to the Gozerian temple, and Gozer was brought back to Earth in a form similar to its previous, but includes skeletal protrusions and spikes, with energy surging throughout its body (due to Jason Reitman's desire to use prosthetic like ''Aliens'' film series' that starred Sigourney Weaver instead of a form-fitting costume like the first film's and of a different actress as the character physically, and with Gozer being a shape-shifter, explaining the differences in appearance). This time, Gozer do not assume a Destructor Form when facing the Ghostbusters. However, it animates Stay-Puft Marshmallows as Mini-Pufts as minions. Egon's grandchildren, Phoebe and Trevor, re-enact Egon's plan to lure Gozer to the farm by capturing Zuul in a ghost trap to rendered it incorporeal, though the trap once again fails and Zuul is released with Gozer's physical form restored. It is confronted once again by the original Ghostbusters, including the ghost of Egon, who help snare Gozer while Phoebe battles the entity and Trevor fires a proton beam to power the trap. Gozer and its minions are again defeated by the Ghostbusters, trapped inside ghost traps buried underneath the farm, and its threat is neutralized. However, after Gozer and its minions are deposited into the firehouse's ecto-containment unit, a warning light blinks.
In Ghostbusters terminology from West End Games' role-playing game, Gozer would be a Class 7 Metaspectre. Gozer never appeared in ''The Real Ghostbusters'' animated series or receive a classification, but is referenced by Ray as a "Primal God" in the episode, "Janine Melnitz, Ghostbuster". Gozer was also used as a benchmark for other potent entities encountered, such as Proteus, Nexxa, Murray The Mantis and Great
Cthulhu
Cthulhu is a fictional cosmic entity created by writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was first introduced in his short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published by the American pulp magazine ''Weird Tales'' in 1928. Considered a Great Old One within the pan ...
. Gozer was originally played by Yugoslav actress/model Slavitza Jovan and its demonic voice was provided by
Paddi Edwards
Paddi Edwards (December 9, 1931 – October 18, 1999) was a British-American actress. She worked steadily in film and television.
Career
She found a niche in television movies, and toward the end of her life, doing voice work in projects fo ...
in the 1984 film. In the 2021 film, Gozer was portrayed by
Emma Portner
Emma Portner (born November 26, 1994) is a Canadian professional dancer and choreographer. Early life
Portner was born in Ottawa, Ontario and began dancing when she was three years old. She started dancing at a competitive studio in Ottawa bef ...
and an uncredited
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Jane Cockburn ( ; born March 10, 1984), known professionally as Olivia Wilde, is an American actress and filmmaker. She played Thirteen (House), Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical-drama television series ''House (TV series), House'' ( ...
while voiced by
Shohreh Aghdashloo
Shohreh Aghdashloo ( fa, شهره آغداشلو, ; née Vaziri-Tabar (); 11 May 1952) is an Iranian and American actress. Following numerous starring roles on the stage, she made her film debut in ''Chess of the Wind'' (1976). Her next two film ...
.
Terror Dogs: Zuul the Gatekeeper and Vinz Clortho the Keymaster
Zuul and Vinz Clortho are the primary servants and harbingers of Gozer the Gozerian, their true forms being bipedal demons before manifesting in the physical world as horned quadruped hounds. Though they looked similar, Vinz's primary horns are twice as long as Zuul's. A pair of fully corporeal possessors, Zuul and Vinz seek out a mortal male and female to inhabit and turn them into The Gatekeeper and The Keymaster, respectively, for a sexual rite to open a portal for their master to manifest through. In Ghostbusters terminology from West End Games' role-playing game, The Terror Dogs would each rank as a Class 7 Metaspectre. In addition to their ability to dematerialize and possess mortals, The Terror Dogs exhibit other supernatural powers such as summoning lesser entities, levitating, telekinesis and shape-changing (usually the physical form of those they possess into their own horrific forms).
Prior to the "
Manhattan Crossrip of 1984
''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three ...
", manifesting through twin
gargoyle
In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...
s atop 550 Central Park West (
55 Central Park West
55 Central Park West is a 19-floor housing cooperative located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by the architectural firm Schwartz & Gross, and built in 1929. The building is a contributing property wi ...
), Zuul and Vinz possess Dana Barrett (
Sigourney Weaver
Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gram ...
) and Louis Tully (
Rick Moranis
Frederick Allan Moranis (; born April 18, 1953) is a Canadian actor, comedian, musician, songwriter, writer and producer. He appeared in the sketch comedy series ''Second City Television'' (''SCTV'') in the 1980s and several Hollywood (film indu ...
) to summon Gozer. They are forced to their dimension by the Ghostbusters. While not necessarily the origin of the word "Zuul," there is a similarity with the ancient Maya word for dog, "tzul".
Zuul's name was referred to by Patty Tolan in the remake of the original film ''
Ghostbusters
''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and ...
'' (2016) after hearing strange recordings, implying that the setting of this film is a parallel universe to the original film and its sequels', though this was never explored further onscreen.
Zuul and Vinz Clortho reappear in ''
Ghostbusters: Afterlife''. In the film, in addition to being minions and emissaries of Gozer, they serve as sentinels to stand and keep watch the temples devoted to their master including the one in Shandor's mine at Summerville. Because of this, for 27 years, they have been clashing with Egon Spengler after he arrived to prevent Gozer from returning. Egon captured one of them in an attempt to trap Gozer, but his plan failed and he hid the ghost trap underneath the floor boards of his house prior to being attacked by the other creature and suffering a fatal heart attack. After Egon's estranged daughter, Callie, moves to Summerville to inherit his farm, her daughter Phoebe uncovers the trap and unintentionally freed the creature inside with help from Gary Grooberson, and it returns to the Shandorian mine. Vinz Clortho chooses to possess Gary, while Zuul possesses Callie, and the two unite in the Gozerian temple in the Shandor mines to summon Gozer. Phoebe and Trevor attempt to enact Egon's plan to trap Gozer by trapping Zuul inside a ghost trap with Gozer and Vinz pursuing them to the farm. But the trap fails a second time and Gozer frees Zuul, who possesses Lucky before she is trapped for good, alongside Vinz Clortho and Gozer, after the original Ghostbusters appear to aid, and Trevor fires a proton beam to power the trap.
The Grey Lady
Dr. Eleanor Twitty a.k.a. The Grey Lady or "The Library Ghost", portrayed by
Ruth Hale Oliver
Ruth Hale Oliver (April 16, 1910 – October 3, 1988) was an American astrologer, astrology teacher, writer, and occasional actress.
She was born in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Penn ...
, is a
lady in grey and the first ghost encountered by the original three Ghostbusters (Ray, Egon, and Peter) while they are investigating paranormal activity at the New York Public Library. When they attempt to touch her, she transforms into a much larger and more frightening skeletal form and causes the trio to flee the library in terror. Though they do not catch her, they get a scan of her and use the information to construct their containment grid and ghost catching equipment, allowing the creation of their ghost-catching business. In Ghostbusters terminology from West End Games' role-playing game, The Grey Lady would be a Class 4 Free-Floating, Full-Torso, Vaporous Apparition, as she was human in appearance and later identified by the Ghostbusters.
She returns in the 2009 video game, where much of her history is revealed, and the Ghostbusters uncover the tragic story of her death. She was once Dr. Eleanor Twitty, the
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
's head librarian in the 1920s, and overseer of its Special Collections of ancient artifacts, stone tablets, long-forgotten tomes, and rare books. She was murdered in 1924 by
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...
and oil tycoon Edmund Hoover, The Collector, a disciple of Ivo Shandor who seduced her for the ''Gozerian Codex'' among other rare books in her care. She is memorialized by the library as a dedicated staffmember who died protecting its properties. However, since Twitty's death, other librarians sense her haunting presence, eventually frightened one staff, Alice Melvin (
Alice Drummond
Alice Elizabeth Drummond (née Ruyter, May 21, 1928 – November 30, 2016) was an American actress. A veteran Off-Broadway performer, she was nominated in 1970 for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance as Mrs ...
), in 1984. In the video game, the Ghostbusters discover her reading the ''Codex'' in the library's secret catacombs where she died before capturing her. Due to the ease of the capture, they state that she must have wanted them to recover the ''Codex'' to aid them in defeating Hoover after he died and became the guardian of the mandala node Shandor built into the library.
Dream Ghost
According to Tobin's Spirit Guide, dream ghosts are Class 4 benign entities that only manifest in the presence of a sleeping individual. Ray encountered with such spirit in his sleep, who was portrayed by ''Playboy'' centerfold
Kymberly Herrin
__NOTOC__
The following is a list of Playboy Playmates of 1981. ''Playboy'' magazine names their Playboy Playmate, Playmate of the Month each month throughout the year.
January
Karen Elaina Price (born July 17, 1960) is an American model, stun ...
. In omitted scenes, she was originally a ghost who haunts Fort Detmerring guardhouse. It is believed that when alive she was a sweetheart of a military officer who stationed there over a hundred years ago. In the IDW Publishing's ''Ghostbusters'' comic book series, she is referred to as Jenny Moran and a spectral girlfriend of Ray, who can pass as human (looks normal, tangible, and does not leave ectoplasmic residue on contact) and in charge of training the Ghostbusters trainees as a
drill instructor
A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces, fire department, or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. Foot drill, military step, and marching are typically taught by drill instructors.
Australia
Austr ...
.
Ivo Shandor
Ivo Shandor, a surgeon and an architect of some renown during the early 20th century, was born in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
around 1855, and he moved to New York City from
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
in 1898. Shandor is the overall cause for the circumstances in the events of the original film's canons and appears as the "
boss
Boss may refer to:
Occupations
* Supervisor, often referred to as boss
* Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier
* Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization
* Fire boss, a ...
" of the 2009 video game. He is played by actors
Brian Doyle-Murray
Brian Murray (born October 31, 1945), known professionally by his stage name as Brian Doyle-Murray, is an American actor, voice-actor and screenwriter. He has appeared with his younger brother, actor/comedian Bill Murray, in several movies, i ...
and
J.K. Simmons
Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor, considered one of the most prolific and well-established character actors of his generation. He has appeared in over 200 films and television roles since his debut in 1986. He i ...
in the game and the 2021 film ''
Ghostbusters: Afterlife'', respectively. He is also a relative of Wolf Van Shandor, a famous artist who made mythological artworks. As an architect, his structural styles include
Federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
,
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
, Occult, and Gozarian (
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
). Having extensive knowledge on the occult and science that rivals Egon Spengler and Ray Stantz, despite being insane with a
god complex
A god complex is an unshakable belief characterized by consistently inflated feelings of personal ability, privilege, or infallibility. A person with a god complex may refuse to admit the possibility of their error or failure, even in the face o ...
, Shandor deemed that humanity is beyond redemption after the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. He established a cult of Gozer worshippers with close to a thousand followers based on his American family's ancestral island home on the Hudson River where he mass produced
ectoplasm. John Horace Tobin, author of several reference books, infiltrated Shandor's cult and published his findings on their methods and history as ''
Tobin's Spirit Guide
The ''Ghostbusters'' franchise consists of American supernatural horror-comedies, based on an original concept created by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis in 1984. The plot ostensibly centers around a group of eccentric New York City scientists who ...
''.
Shandor used his connections to
steel mogul and disciple Cornelius Wellesly to design 550 Central Park West (
55 Central Park West
55 Central Park West is a 19-floor housing cooperative located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by the architectural firm Schwartz & Gross, and built in 1929. The building is a contributing property wi ...
) as a temple to summon Gozer through, using materials from a mining operation he established along with the town of Summerville, Oklahoma in 1927. Shandor also developed a
mandala
A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...
across the city, with the
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
, the
Museum of Natural History
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
, and the Sedgewick Hotel (built by Shandor's misanthrope follower Godfrey McCallister Sedgewick) as key nodes protected by demonic spirits who were originally his three top disciples (Edmund Hoover, Cornelius Wellesly, and Evelyn Lewis). The fourth node is located on Shandor Island (before it sank) and is guarded by a captured Sloar, a demon that produces the black slime that powers the Mandala system and flows into a series of abandoned city subway tunnels, turning New York City into a hot spot for supernatural activity. His cult also had experimented with time travel, attempting to find artifacts from the future that would reveal the outcomes of their apocalyptic schemes, but managed to retrieve a disc ''Ghostbuster'' (1984) DVD from an unknown origin, implying that the Cult of Gozer had breached a
universe
The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...
where details of the Ghostbusters' world are fictitious, but unable to play it because DVD players do not exist yet. After Shandor apparently died in 1945 reputed from complications surrounding an experiment he was performing on himself, his body was believed to be buried in a cult-owned
mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
in what is currently
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
, his resting place desecrated like most other deceased New Yorkers'. Apparently having no living relatives, revealed to have a descendant in Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn, Shandor's fortune and resources are managed by a foundation under his name.
Shandor's original scheme comes to fruition during the events of the first film in 1984, when the sufficient energy collected causes Gozer's minions, Zuul and Vinz Clortho, physically manifest in preparation for their master's coming. The Ghostbusters foil Gozer's entry and neutralize it. As revealed in the
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
, Shandor is also indirectly responsible for the events of ''Ghostbusters II'', as the psychomagnotheric "mood" slime produced on his island was discovered by the malevolent spirit of Vigo the Carpathian underneath the Manhattan Museum of Art; he used Shandor's substance to strengthen himself and to pursue his own apocalyptic agendas after his cursed painting's arrival at the museum.
After decades of operating behind-the-scenes, Shandor finally makes an appearance in ''Ghostbusters: The Video Game'' as a main antagonist of the game. It is revealed that prior to his death he made pacts with the Gozerian pantheon, allowing his spirit to become a powerful deity in exchange for his services. By 1991, Shandor possesses the body of Mayor Jock Mulligan and makes Peck head of PCOC to hinder the Ghostbusters, while he uses his descendant – Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn – to invoke the nodes of his mandala and revive Gozer's Mr. Stay-Puft Destructor form. But Gozer was easily defeated by the Ghostbusters and failed to capture Ilyssa, the disillusioned Shandor forsaking the deity and decides to use the mandala on himself to become a god-like being self-titled the Architect (Class 7 Transformed Mortal Remnant). But he underestimates the Ghostbusters and is defeated after they cross their proton streams during the fight after following him into the ghost world.
The 2021 film ''
Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' reveals that Shandor's preserved body was placed in a glass coffin within a Gozerian temple he built under the Shandor Mines, which doubles as a back-up portal for
Gozer
The ''Ghostbusters'' franchise spans multiple films, animated series, novelizations, comic books, and video games. Beginning with the 1984 live-action film ''Ghostbusters'', directed by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, ...
to manifest through in 2021. Egon learned of this and dies attempting to prevent Gozer's return. After Spengler loses his life to stop Gozer, he wills his home to his estranged daughter Callie and grandchildren Phoebe and Trevor. Guided by Egon's spirit, Phoebe and Trevor discover his old ghostbusting equipment and learn of Shandor's plan. Revived in his body once Gozer fully manifests, Shandor praises the deity and expresses his desire to rule by its side before being promptly ripped in half.
The ''Ghostbusters'' script lists the spelling of the surname as Sandor, which is pronounced "shandor" and in fact is spelled Šandor as a moderately common Croatian surname and very popular firstname in Hungary.
''Ghostbusters II'' (1989)
Human characters
Oscar Barrett
Oscar Barrett (played by William T. Deutschendorf and Hank J. Deutschendorf II) is Dana Barrett's baby boy, born 8 months prior to the beginning of ''Ghostbusters II''. He is nearly sacrificed to serve as a new earthly incarnation of Vigo the Carpathian, but is saved by the Ghostbusters.
There has been speculation as to who Oscar's father actually is. Sigourney Weaver – on the June 14, 1989 episode of "The Arsenio Hall Show" – recalled she thought the father was the Violinist from the Lincoln Center scene. Referred to by Venkman as "The Stiff," the Violinist is given the name "Andre Wallance" in the novelization of the 1984 movie, 'Ghostbusters: The Supernatural Spectacular.' On the 1999 Ghostbusters DVD commentary track, both Joe Medjuck and Ivan Reitman state that Oscar's father is the Violinist. In July 2016, Ivan Reitman changed his opinion to Oscar's father probably being
Peter Venkman
Peter Venkman, PhD is a fictional character from the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films ''Ghostbusters'', ''Ghostbusters II'', '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' and in the animated television series ''The Real Ghostbusters''. In all ...
(
Bill Murray
William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...
). However, this is contradicted by Dana and Peter revealing in ''Ghostbusters II'' that they had long not been involved in a romantic relationship. According to Dana, her former husband, and Oscar's father, was a fellow orchestra employee and their relationship fell apart after he accepted a job offer for an orchestra in London.
Peter says to Oscar in their first scene together, "You know, I... I should have been your father. I mean, I could have been..."
Jack Hardemeyer
Jack Hardemeyer (played by
Kurt Fuller
Kurt Fuller (born September 16, 1953) is an American character actor. He has appeared in a number of television, film, and stage projects. He is best known for his roles in the films ''No Holds Barred'' and ''Ghostbusters II'' (both 1989), ''Way ...
), is Mayor Lenny Clotch's assistant. Like Walter Peck, he is skeptical of the Ghostbusters' operations and tries to discredit them. After overstepping his authority and having the Ghostbusters committed to a psychiatric hospital under the pretense of protecting the mayor's political interests, Hardemeyer is then fired for his misconduct. However, on Liberty Island, Hardemeyer is by the mayor's side again during him giving a Key to the City to the Ghostbusters, indicating that he got his job back. In a deleted scene, it is revealed that he was originally supposed to be killed off by the mood slime, but it changed because it is too gruesome for a family comedy film.
Janosz Poha
Dr. Janosz Poha (played by
Peter MacNicol
Peter MacNicol (born April 10, 1954) is an American actor. He received a Theatre World Award for his 1981 Broadway debut in the play ''Crimes of the Heart''. His film roles include Galen in ''Dragonslayer'' (1981), Stingo in ''Sophie's Choice'' ( ...
) is Dana Barrett's boss at the fictional Manhattan Museum of Art. He is somewhat nerdy and harbours a hopeless love interest in her. Janosz is later enslaved by Vigo the Carpathian to bring Dana's baby Oscar to serve as a new vessel for Vigo's evil spirit. However, Vigo's plan for reanimation is stopped by the Ghostbusters, who also manage to free Janosz from Vigo's spell.
Supernatural entities
Vigo the Carpathian
Vigo the Carpathian (full name: "Prince Vigo von Homburg Deutschendorf") (
Wilhelm von Homburg
Norbert Grupe (born August 25, 1940 – March 10, 2004), better known outside Germany by his stage name Wilhelm von Homburg, was a German boxer, actor, and professional wrestler known for his villainous supporting roles in various high-profile fi ...
) appears in the second film as the main antagonist. He was a sadistic, power-hungry 16th/17th century tyrant of
Carpathia and the conquered country of
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
. He describes himself as the "Scourge of Carpathia" and "the Sorrow of Moldavia." His unfortunate subjects gave him other titles: Vigo the Cruel, Vigo the Torturer, Vigo the Despised and Vigo the Unholy. During his time, he was as despotic as other notorious tyrants in history like
Attila
Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...
and
Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan''
, birth_name = Temüjin
, successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Borjigin
, ...
, and according to Leon Zundinger's article in the occult text ''Magicians, Martyrs and Madmen'', that "Carpathia was in a constant state of turmoil" until he died.
Peter Venkman
Peter Venkman, PhD is a fictional character from the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films ''Ghostbusters'', ''Ghostbusters II'', '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' and in the animated television series ''The Real Ghostbusters''. In all ...
(
Bill Murray
William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...
)—upon hearing all these unflattering titles—cynically commented, "Wasn't he also 'Vigo the Butch?
Born in 1505, Vigo was skilled in
black magic
Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 145 ...
, enabling him with an unnaturally long-life span. It came to an equally unnatural end when in the year 1610, he was "poisoned, stabbed, shot, hung, stretched, disemboweled, drawn and quartered." In spite of all that, as
Ray Stantz
Raymond Stantz, PhD, is a fictional character from the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films ''Ghostbusters'' (1984), ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), ''Casper'' (1995, as a cameo) and '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' (2021), the animated ...
(
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...
) notes about Vigo, "just before his head died, his last words were, 'Death is but a Door; Time is but a Window... I'll be back! Vigo was based on
Vlad the Impaler
Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler ( ro, Vlad Țepeș ) or Vlad Dracula (; ro, Vlad Drăculea ; 1428/311476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most imp ...
(the inspiration for
Dracula
''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...
by
Bram Stoker
Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...
), and in part on
Grigori Rasputin
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (; rus, links=no, Григорий Ефимович Распутин ; – ) was a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, thus g ...
, who also survived several attempts on his life.
In addition to the dark arts, Vigo was also skilled in painting. This combination provided him with the means to remain within the mortal realm after death. Vigo's spirit possesses and remains within his life-size self-portrait, which inevitably arrives at the restoration department of the fictitious Manhattan Museum of Art in 1989. In Ghostbusters terminology from West End Games' role-playing game, Vigo would be a Class 4 Full-Torso Apparition, as he was human in appearance and identified easily. However as the events of ''Ghostbusters II'' progressed, Vigo drew strength from the negatively-charged rivers of psychomagnotheric "mood" slime (revealed later in ''
Ghostbusters: The Video Game'' produced by the Gozarian cultists under Ivo Shandor) flowing beneath Manhattan. In doing so, his potency increased to the comparable levels of a Class 7 entity. With his newfound power, Vigo manipulates art gallery curator Dr. Janosz Poha into finding a child whose body he can permanently inhabit at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day, causing a supernatural crisis throughout the city that later labeled as the "Vigo Incident of '89". Janosz chooses Oscar, in return for being allowed to take Dana as his wife. His plan is foiled by the Ghostbusters' use of positive mood slime, disrupting his attempts to possess Oscar. Needing a host, Vigo briefly possesses Ray Stantz, but this allows Winston Zeddemore a better aim for firing his slime blower before Egon Spenglar and Peter Venkman with their neutrona wands and he is again trapped within his painting.
In the animated series ''The Real Ghostbusters'', Vigo was mentioned in the sixth episode of season 5 "Partners in Slime", indicating that there was a version of the character in the animated ''Ghostbusters'' canon.
In ''Ghostbusters: The Video Game'', the portrait of Vigo is stored in the Ghostbusters' firehouse as one of the cursed artifacts they collect and filed. Though unable to again be a threat without access to Shandor's psychomagnotheric slime to draw strength from, Vigo can only taunt anybody who approaches him. He also makes cryptic predictions based on real-world history, as the game's release post-dates the time period of the game by nearly two decades, along with outcomes of the game's future events.
Vigo's full name is a combination of the stage name of
Norbert Grupe
Norbert Grupe (born August 25, 1940 – March 10, 2004), better known outside Germany by his stage name Wilhelm von Homburg, was a German boxer, actor, and professional wrestler known for his villainous supporting roles in various high-profile fi ...
(aka Wilhelm von Homburg), who played Vigo, and William and Henry Deutschendorf, the twins that played the baby Oscar. The menacing voice of Vigo was provided by
Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...
.
The Scoleri Brothers
Nunzio and Tony Scoleri were portrayed by puppeteers Tim Lawrence and Jim Fye, respectively, and co-created by Henry Mayo with collaborations with Lawrence, Thomas Enriquez, and Howie Weed. In the film, the brothers were convicted murderers sentenced to death by
electric chair
An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...
by the then-newly appointed Judge Stephen "The Hammer" Wexler at
Ossining Correctional Facility in 1948. Forty-three years later, they return as electrified ghosts when Wexler was trying the Ghostbusters in court, exposing the judge's cowardice in the process. Nunzio also carries the trial's prosecutor to the hall; the prosecutor survived but was traumatized by her ordeal.
''Extreme Ghostbusters'' (1997)
Eduardo Rivera
Eduardo Rivera (voiced by
Rino Romano
Rino Romano is a Canadian actor.
Career
He is known for his work as Batman in the animated series ''The Batman'' (2004–2008), Spider-Man in ''Spider-Man Unlimited'' (1999–2001), and the video games ''Spider-Man'', '' Spider-Man 2: Enter Ele ...
) was first introduced as one of the next generation of Ghostbusters in ''
Extreme Ghostbusters
''Extreme Ghostbusters'' is an American animated television series based on the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. It is a spin-off to the animated series ''The Real Ghostbusters''. The series originally aired on the syndicated Bohbot Kids Network's "E ...
''. He seemingly a lazy, sarcastic and somewhat clueless character, Eduardo nevertheless makes himself an integral part of the team by being determined and reliable. Eduardo, along with Garrett, resembles original Ghostbuster
Peter Venkman
Peter Venkman, PhD is a fictional character from the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films ''Ghostbusters'', ''Ghostbusters II'', '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' and in the animated television series ''The Real Ghostbusters''. In all ...
in that, like Venkman, Eduardo is sarcastic, has a penchant for pursuing attractive women, and is generally unscientific and constantly spouts pop culture references. He also reads "J.N. Kline" young-adult horror novels. Eduardo has a long-running subplot dealing with a love/hate relationship between him and Kylie, although it is very much revealed "In Your Dreams" that he has intimate feelings and dreams about her. These feelings are further enforced in that he is usually the one to rescue Kylie from dangerous situations, and vice versa, in several episodes. He once said to Kylie herself that nothing was going to happen to her "while
e's
is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and drawn by Satoru Yuiga. It was originally serialized in ''Monthly GFantasy'' from 1997 through 2005, and later published in 16 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Square Enix from March 18, 2003 to Februa ...
around". In fact, in the episode "Darkness at Noon" he outright admitted to Kylie, who was possessed by a ghost at the time, that he felt an attraction of sorts when he saw her for the first time and even showed the intention of kissing her when Kylie asked him to. In "The Unseen" he takes the rap for Kylie's mistake, not wanting "the worst day of her life to get any worse". In "Rage", Eduardo reveals to have an older brother, Carlos "Carl" Rivera, an NYPD officer who is angry with Eduardo for not being a police officer like the rest of their family, and thinks the Ghostbuster are a scam, which is why Eduardo kept his job a secret. In the same episode it is also implied that his father is dead (or at least retired) as he and Carlos refer to him in the past tense during a heated argument. In "Fear Itself", it is revealed that Eduardo has a
fear of death
Death anxiety is anxiety caused by thoughts of one's own death, and is also referred to as thanatophobia (fear of death). Death anxiety differs from necrophobia, which is the fear of others who are dead or dying.
Psychotherapist Robert Langs ...
(specifically his own). He has a vicious rivalry with Slimer, but has ended up working with the ghost, and volunteered to save him in "Slimer's Sacrifice". He also has an on the surface rivalry with Garrett with the two often mocking each other and attempting to one up the other. In spite of this as the series goes on the two seem to have the closest thing to a friendship even though Garrett's enthusiastic personality completely contrasts Eduardo's cynical attitude. (The official website claimed he slacks off due to fear of failure.) Despite all his cynicism and slacking he demonstrates a reasonably high level of intelligence as in the episode "Eyes of a Dragon" he states how the proton aspect of light works to Kylie and later on how to defeat the ghost of that episode. Eduardo was also the one to smash a cursed orb, causing the eye-stealing ghost to disintegrate in the episode "The Unseen" and also continued the incantation that destroyed the demon of an alternate dimension in which he, Roland and Kylie were imprisoned in the episode "Casting the Runes". Eduardo has also exhibited bouts of jealousy whenever Kylie seemingly flirts with other men and in "Till Death Do Us Start" he showed signs of sheepish nervousness when asked if he and Kylie were together.
Kylie Griffin
Kylie Griffin (voiced by
Tara Charendoff
Tara Lyn Strong (née Charendoff; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as ''The New Batman Adventures ...
) was first introduced as one of the next generation of Ghostbusters in ''
Extreme Ghostbusters
''Extreme Ghostbusters'' is an American animated television series based on the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. It is a spin-off to the animated series ''The Real Ghostbusters''. The series originally aired on the syndicated Bohbot Kids Network's "E ...
''. She is appointed by the group to carry the ghost trap on her back. She becomes involved with the Ghostbusters after enrolling in
Egon Spengler
Egon Spengler, PhD is a fictional character from the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films '' Ghostbusters'', ''Ghostbusters II'', and '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'', in the animated television series '' The Real Ghostbusters'' and '' ...
's course at
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
. Kylie shares certain traits with Egon, such as knowledge of the supernatural. Both are eccentric and socially awkward and they both had encounters with supernatural beings from their childhood (Egon met the Boogeyman and Kylie's friend was taken by the Grundel). As part of ''Extreme Ghostbusters'', Kylie is featured in the video games ''
Extreme Ghostbusters
''Extreme Ghostbusters'' is an American animated television series based on the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. It is a spin-off to the animated series ''The Real Ghostbusters''. The series originally aired on the syndicated Bohbot Kids Network's "E ...
'' for the
Game Boy Color
The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...
, ''
Extreme Ghostbusters: Code Ecto-1'' for
Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...
and ''
Extreme Ghostbusters: The Ultimate Invasion'' for the
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
. She was also the basis of several action figures from
Trendmasters
Trendmasters was an American toy company based out of St. Louis, Missouri and was most notable for its figures based on the ''Godzilla'' series, as well as the 1998 film of the same name. It closed its doors in 2002, and its IP assets were ac ...
. Kylie is widely regarded as the fan favorite of ''Extreme Ghostbusters''.
Kylie reappears as a supporting character in
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...
's
''Ghostbusters'' comic. She first appears in issue 5 in 2012 as the manager of
Ray Stantz
Raymond Stantz, PhD, is a fictional character from the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films ''Ghostbusters'' (1984), ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), ''Casper'' (1995, as a cameo) and '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' (2021), the animated ...
's occult book shop. In November 2012, it was announced that Kylie would be made an official Ghostbuster in issues beginning in February 2013.
Roland Jackson
Roland Jackson (voiced by
Alfonso Ribeiro
Alfonso Lincoln Ribeiro (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor, comedian and television host. He is best known for his roles as Alfonso Spears on the sitcom ''Silver Spoons'', Carlton Banks on the NBC sitcom ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ...
) was first introduced as one of the next generation of Ghostbusters in ''
Extreme Ghostbusters
''Extreme Ghostbusters'' is an American animated television series based on the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. It is a spin-off to the animated series ''The Real Ghostbusters''. The series originally aired on the syndicated Bohbot Kids Network's "E ...
''. He is the mechanic of the group. Roland is the most level-headed and mechanically-gifted of the new Ghostbusters, helping Egon repair and improve the Proton Packs and Ecto-1; his reason for joining Egon's class was seeing the Ecto-1 at an auto show. Roland approaches the paranormal from a practical point-of-view, and in the episode "Fear Itself" reveals that his only fear is the dangerous breakdown of his equipment. In "The Infernal Machine", he became disgruntled that his technological efforts were being taken for granted. Roland's strongest wish is to get into the
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...
and become a doctor. He's a very staid, square personality, slow to anger, though he came close to striking one of the racists in "The True Face of the Monster"; it is implied he has had to deal with racist attitudes before. Roland has twice come under the mental control of villains, the Siren in "Sonic Youth" and Luko in "The Infernal Machine". "Grease" reveals Roland is the oldest in a lower-middle-class family and volunteers for the Little League and helps the homeless; in "Grundelesque" we meet his very mischievous younger brother whom Roland (at first) refuses to believe is a troublemaker. Like Winston, Roland is the only African American member of the team, yet he has a talent with machines like Ray.
Garrett Miller
Garrett Miller (voiced by
Jason Marsden
Jason Christopher Marsden (born January 3, 1975) is an American actor, director, producer and YouTuber, who has done numerous voice roles in animated films, as well as various television series and video games. He has been the official voice of ...
) was first introduced as one of the next generation of Ghostbusters in ''
Extreme Ghostbusters
''Extreme Ghostbusters'' is an American animated television series based on the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. It is a spin-off to the animated series ''The Real Ghostbusters''. The series originally aired on the syndicated Bohbot Kids Network's "E ...
''. Garrett is a lifelong wheelchair user, has a very 'jock'-like attitude and is a huge fan of extreme sports and attempting mad stunts. In the episode "Grease", it is revealed that Garrett was born with the inability to walk and studying to be a physical therapist, and throughout the series he only refers to his condition to mock it (and in "Be Careful What You Wish For", uses it as an excuse to dump some work on Eduardo). He is the most headstrong and enthusiastic of the new Ghostbusters, often claiming that he is in it only for the adrenaline rush; he was left bitterly disappointed in "Ghost Apocalyptic Future" to learn he was the only Ghostbuster ''not'' remembered in the future dystopia. While he studies to be a physical therapist to help other disabled people, his secret dream is to be an NBA star. In "Fear Itself", it is revealed that Garrett is
claustrophobic
Claustrophobia is the fear of confined spaces. It can be triggered by many situations or stimuli, including elevators, especially when crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and hotel rooms with closed doors and sealed windows. Even bedrooms with ...
(though he never admits it to anyone), and has a deep disdain towards the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
ever since the incident where two agents arrested them under the belief they were causing the sabotages and released a
gremlin
A gremlin is a mischievous folkloric creature invented at the beginning of the 20th century to originally explain malfunctions in aircraft and later in other machinery and processes and their operators. Depictions of these creatures vary widely ...
they recently captured while they were on a plane. He has a rivalry with Eduardo, the two of them constantly bantering and trying to one-up each other. In "Deadliners", we find out Garrett wrote a (bad) horror story starring himself (the other Ghostbusters died on the first page, to their annoyance). Like Ray, Garrett is the most enthusiastic. Garrett is the only Ghostbuster in the history of the franchise never to be made as a toy (all other Ghostbusters received at least two toys, including Louis and Janine), presumably due to the implausibility of having the wheelchair as a separate assembling piece. Though a prototype figure was made. Bob Higgins has said that during a focus group of young children, the creators found Garrett was the most popular character: "when we asked... which of these characters would you want to be and they all wanted to be Garrett, they all wanted to be the guy that does the crazy things. They all wanted to be the guy that was the leader and they all kind of saw him as the leader of this group
ven though he wasn't.
''Ghostbusters: Answer the Call'' (2016)
Human characters
Abby Yates
Dr. Abigail L. "Abby" Yates is portrayed by
Melissa McCarthy
Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, producer, writer, and fashion designer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and tw ...
in the 2016 film, and is the Ghostbusters' de facto leader.
In the novelization, she transferred to Erin's high school after moving from Indiana in her senior year. The two became fast friends due to their fascinations with the paranormal, and spent their college years at the University of Michigan researching ghosts. They collaborated on a book about their findings, but Erin backed out of a planned interview after her graduate advisor at Princeton panned the project. Undaunted, she moved to New York City to continue her research. Like Erin, her expertise is Particle Physics, but Abby fancies herself as a fearless parapsychologist, having an additional degree in the field.
In the film, she rereleases her book without Erin's consent, threatening her bid for tenure. When Erin demands to have the book taken down, Abby complies, in exchange for her participation at a ghost investigation with Holtzmann at the Aldridge Mansion Museum. She shares traits with Ray Stantz, for both sometimes get possessed, and they both have the same enthusiasm and talent for invention. Abby hires Kevin Beckman because she needs a muscle-strong person to carry heavy equipment. Unlike Erin and maybe Jillian, she do not find him attractive, revealed later that Abby likes huskier men.
Erin Gilbert
Dr. Erin Gilbert, Abby Yates' second-in-command, is played by
Kristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Canandaigua, New York, she was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York. She moved to Los Angeles, where she joi ...
in the 2016 film. She is introduced as an assistant particle physics professor at Columbia University, but her bid for tenure fails after her previous research into the paranormal with Abby comes to light. Having been repeatedly stalked by a ghost of a deceased neighbor when she was 8 years old, Erin later loses her belief in the supernatural after years of psychiatric therapy paid by her family but regains it after encountering Gertrude Aldridge's ghost.
She shares traits with Peter Venkman as both kept getting slimed and are also team leaders with a sense of humor and attraction to the opposite gender. Erin is attracted to Kevin Beckman, and she had tried to seduce him; her motive of hiring him as a receptionist is for her to look at.
In the novelization, she is depicted as having grown up near Battle Creek, Michigan; she met Abby in her senior year of high school and spent much of her time at the University of Michigan researching ghosts with Abby. She did postgraduate work at Princeton University and got her doctorate at MIT. In the extended version of the film, revealed that Erin was dating fellow Columbia University professor Phil Hudson (
Justin Kirk
Justin Kirk (born May 28, 1969) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Prior Walter in Mike Nichols's screen adaptation of ''Angels in America'', for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting A ...
), but their relationship ended after Erin got fired. Also, like Egon Spengler, Erin is prone to violent reactions when pushed too far temperamentally and has a powerful right cross when in altercations that would break one's nose.
Jillian Holtzmann
Dr. Jillian "Holtz" Holtzmann is portrayed by
Kate McKinnon
Kate McKinnon Berthold (born January 6, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She is known for her character work and celebrity impressions on the sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (2012–2022), of which she was a ca ...
in the 2016 film. An engineering physicist by training who just missed being admitted to
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gene ...
, she is introduced as Abby's research partner on the paranormal (taking over Erin Gilbert's position) and becomes the team's equipment designer, constructing their proton packs as well as a range of auxiliary weapons. Though she is a member of the
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
as an openly crossdresser and implied to be a lesbian (as McKinnon is in real life), Holtzmann seems to be attracted to Kevin Beckman's charisma despite his stupidity, teasing that unbeknownst to herself a bisexual woman. She is hinted to have a romantic interest in Erin, as seen in an alternate ending scene where she claims that they are dating, as well as several other instances of flirting throughout the film. Her mentor is Dr. Rebecca Gorin (
Sigourney Weaver
Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gram ...
), revealed later in IDW Comics's series ''Ghostbusters 101'' that she is a parallel universe counterpart of Dana Barrett.
In the novelization, it is revealed that several of her peers in school started calling her by her last name because "Jillian" sounded too feminine, and by the time of the film she almost never answers to her first name. She shares traits with Egon Spengler; both are highly intelligent, tend to do strange things, and eat junk food.
Director Paul Feig confirmed in an interview with The Daily Beast that Holtzmann was supposed to be a lesbian, or somewhere on the LGBT+ spectrum, but the studio refused to allow that detail into the movie and instead left the audience to more personally interpret her character. She was also observed by some viewers to depict
autistic
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
traits, or more specifically, someone with
Asperger syndrome
Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a former neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in Interpersonal relationship, social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and re ...
.
Patty Tolan
Patricia "Patty" Tolan is portrayed by
Leslie Jones in the 2016 film. She works for the
New York MTA
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...
as a subway booth attendant, and is the only member of Abby's team who does not have an advanced degree, but is working on her master's in history. She is however, a big fan of non-fiction and is a municipal historian with intense knowledge of New York's history. After contacting them to report a ghost sighting in one of the tunnels, she joins the team and borrows a hearse from her uncle Bill Jenkins's funeral home that is eventually converted into
Ecto-1, a vehicle for personnel and equipment transport.
She shares traits with Winston Zeddemore (revealed later in IDW Comics's series ''Ghostbusters 101'' that her uncle is a parallel universe counterpart of him) as both believe in the supernatural without being scientists, and are African American.
Kevin Beckman
Kevin Beckman is the Ghostbusters' receptionist in the 2016 film, played by
Chris Hemsworth
Christopher Hemsworth (born 11 August 1983) is an Australian actor. He rose to prominence playing Kim Hyde in the Australian television series ''Home and Away'' (2004–2007) before beginning a film career in Hollywood. In the Marvel Cinemati ...
. He serves as the male counterpart to Janine Melnitz from the first two films, a "fellow in distress" (a
damsel in distress
The damsel in distress is a recurring narrative device in which one or more men must rescue a woman who has either been kidnapped or placed in general peril. Kinship, love, or lust (or a combination of those) gives the male protagonist the motiv ...
role thus in Dana Barrett's position), and an embodiment of the
jock stereotype. In the film, the team is skeptical about hiring him since he is silly and a bit of a dullard. However, he gets the job because no one else applied, and he is seen as a nice, calm guy. Additionally, the girls desperately need his help on carrying heavy equipment due to him being a muscleman. Erin Gilbert nurses a crush on him, and even Jillian Holtzmann is apparently also attracted to him, with the former has tried to seduce him. Kevin sometimes provides jokes throughout the film. Later, he is inspired to be a fifth Ghostbuster. Kevin becomes possessed by the spirit of Rowan North, who uses him as a host and goes to the Mercado Hotel to activate the device to unleash the ghost army in New York City. The Ghostbusters arrive in the building to save him and Rowan discards him but the girls catch him when Kevin falls down to the floor. After repelling Rowan's invasion, Kevin is back in his job as the girls see him as a valuable worker in their business.
Rowan North
Doctor Rowan North appears in the 2016 film as the main antagonist, portrayed by
Neil Casey
Neil Casey (born July 28, 1981) is an American actor, writer, and comedian. He served as a writer on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2012 to 2013 and ''Inside Amy Schumer'' in 2014, receiving Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Writin ...
. In the film, he is essentially a combination of Gozer the Gozerian and Ivo Shandor. Numerous diplomas on his wall indicate that he is a scientist, having earned a Bachelors and a Doctorate in Physics from Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, respectively, making him a
foil personality to Abby Yates, Erin Gilbert, and Jillian Holtzmann. However, due to his psychiatric disorder, Rowan is unable to find work in his field and works in the Mercado Hotel as a maintenance man.
Rowan is miserable with his life and blames everyone for him being scorned and mocked. An occultist with a
god complex
A god complex is an unshakable belief characterized by consistently inflated feelings of personal ability, privilege, or infallibility. A person with a god complex may refuse to admit the possibility of their error or failure, even in the face o ...
, Rowan plans revenge by unleashing a ghost army in New York City. He places ionizers (similar to the Ghostbusters' proton packs) he built all over Manhattan connected to the main machine in the Mercado Hotel, as a former site of paranormal history of violence that sat on the intersection of ley. He uses the ionizers to charge ley lines running through Manhattan, intending to activate a vortex between the mortal and ghostly dimensions. Rowan also used the book called "Ghost from Our Past", written by Gilbert and Yates, as foundation for his plans, developing his technology based on their research. When the Ghostbusters discovered his plans, he killed himself with his main machine. However, while reading Rowan's copy of her book, Gilbert discovers that Rowan planned to commit suicide all along so he could become a godlike ghost (Class 7 manifestation) powered by his machine's ionized psi energy. After briefly possessing Abby, Rowan possessed then Kevin Beckman as host to get to the Mercado and activate the portal machine, resulting in the unleashing of ghosts in New York. When the Ghostbusters arrived, Rowan discarded Kevin and took on a perverted, gigantic form of the
caricature
A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...
ghost from the Ghostbusters logo and went on a rampage. The women destroyed the vortex by firing their neutrona wands at Ecto-1's reactor, detonating a nuclear explosion inside it. Rowan was pulled into the Ghost World, but caught Abby, trying to kill her. Erin entered the dimension and saved her, while Rowan was banished in that dimension, ending his invasion.
Supernatural entities
Gertrude Aldridge
Gertrude Aldridge, portrayed by
Bess Rous
Bess Rous is an American actress. On television, she was featured as a series regular on the first season of the TNT crime drama '' Murder in the First'' (2014) and the Yahoo! Screen science fiction comedy ''Other Space'' (2015). She also appeare ...
, was the first ghost seen by Erin, Abby and Holtzmann in the 2016 film, in a similar role to the Library Ghost in the 1984 film. Gertrude Aldridge was the psychotic eldest daughter of a wealthy New York City aristocrat who murdered her family's servants. To avoid scandals, rather than turn her to the police or have her committed, the Aldridges lock her away for life in their manor's basement, feeding her through a small slot on the door. This secret is eventually discovered by another family, the Mulgraves, after they found her father's journal and remains, and they later discovered that the basement is haunted after hearing Gertrude's wailing. The manor becomes the city's haunting attraction, and the house has turned into a museum. However, after its supernatural activity had diminished at some point, the Mulgraves and their employees then fake them to keep the manor opens.
In the present day, she haunts the Aldridge Mansion Museum when tour guide Garrett (
Zach Woods
Zachary Woods (born September 25, 1984) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known for his roles as a series regular for three seasons as Gabe Lewis on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', as Jared Dunn on the HBO ...
) was about to head home. As soon as Garrett heard her banging on the basement door, he makes numerous attempts to escape before clinging on a collapsed stair for dear life. Gertrude later reveals herself from the green ectoplasm on the floor, with Garrett shrieking. Despite these attacks, Garrett manages to escape and informs his boss Ed Mulgrave Jr., who is well-aware of the manor's supernatural history, contacts Erin for help. While Abby and the group were inspecting the mansion, her spectral manifestation appears from the basement door, electrified by Rowan North's ionizer, and moving towards the group. When Erin tries to communicate with her, Gertrude suddenly transmogrifies and vomits ectoplasm on Erin, then escapes out of a wall and into the streets.
During Rowan's invasion of New York City, the team, calling themselves "Ghostbusters" encounter her again, alongside the Electrocuted Ghost found in the subway and Mayhem. She participates in the battle by picking Erin up off the ground and throwing her to a nearby pilgrim ghost. She later attempts to attack Erin again with "Sparky", but they end up getting knocked back by a proton shotgun blast.
Electrocuted Ghost
The Electrocuted Ghost (not to be confused with the Scoleri brothers of the
1989 film), also known as "Sparky", is the second ghost Erin, Abby and Holtzmann spotted at Seward Street Subway Station in
Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the ...
. It is heavily implied that he is the ghost of
William Kemmler
William Francis Kemmler (May 9, 1860 – August 6, 1890) was an American peddler, alcoholic, and murderer, who, in 1890, became the first person in the world to be executed by electric chair. He was convicted of murdering Matilda "Tillie" Ziegle ...
, the first inmate executed by
electric chair
An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...
at
Auburn Prison
Auburn Correctional Facility is a state prison on State Street in Auburn, New York, United States. It was built on land that was once a Cayuga village. It is classified as a maximum security facility.
History
Constructed in 1816 as Auburn Pri ...
in 1890. He is portrayed by
Dave Allen. Shortly after Rowan North (
Neil Casey
Neil Casey (born July 28, 1981) is an American actor, writer, and comedian. He served as a writer on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2012 to 2013 and ''Inside Amy Schumer'' in 2014, receiving Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Writin ...
) gave his train ticket to Patty Tolan, he disappeared onto the tracks, causing Patty to go tell him to get out. Instead of finding him, she finds a device on the tracks. The device then opens, revealing the Electrocuted Ghost, causing Patty to flee. Later, the team arrive with Patty and after inspecting the tracks for a bit, Sparky appears. The team decides to test their new proton lasers on him, but the first attempt did not have enough power to even reach the ghost. After being caught in the second attempt, a train later hits Sparky, nearly killing the group as well. Patty then states he will be the third scariest thing on the train.
The Ghostbusters encounter "Sparky" again, alongside Gertrude Aldridge and Mayhem during the Battle for New York. He joins Gertrude Aldridge in trying to attack Erin, but they get knocked back by a proton shotgun blast, which caused him to disintegrate.
Mayhem, the Gargoyle Demon
Mayhem, the Gargoyle Demon is a Class 5 supernatural entity that haunts Stonebrook Theatre. Its origins are unknown but likely it was not human based on its demonic appearance, claiming the theater as its territory, and it manifested after Rowan North planted his ionizer there. The creature plays the similar role to Slimer in the 1984 film as being the first spirit the Ghostbusters have caught during their public debut, even having the same color. Mayhem later escapes, during which it kills paranormal debunker, Dr. Martin Heiss (portrayed by Bill Murray), by throwing him through a window.
The Ghostbusters encounter Mayhem again, alongside Gertrude Aldridge and "Sparky" during the Battle for New York.
''Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' (2021)
Human characters
Phoebe Spengler
Phoebe is portrayed by
Mckenna Grace
Mckenna Grace (born June 25, 2006) is an American actress. She began acting professionally at the age of six, with her earliest roles including Jasmine Bernstein in the Disney XD sitcom '' Crash & Bernstein'' (2012–2014) and Faith Newman in t ...
in ''Ghostbusters: Afterlife''. Phoebe is the youngest grandchild of founding Ghostbusters member, Dr.
Egon Spengler
Egon Spengler, PhD is a fictional character from the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films '' Ghostbusters'', ''Ghostbusters II'', and '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'', in the animated television series '' The Real Ghostbusters'' and '' ...
(
Harold Ramis
Harold Allen Ramis (; November 21, 1944 – February 24, 2014) was an American actor, comedian, director and writer. His best-known film acting roles were as Egon Spengler in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984) and '' Ghostbusters II'' (1989), and as Russel ...
), born in 2009. She is intelligent, resourceful, inquisitive, and in many ways takes after her grandfather, aspiring to be a scientist. She initially is a skeptic on the paranormal-like ghosts until the encounter with her ghostly grandfather. Trying to fit in with normal social cues, Phoebe attempts to connect with people, leading her to use a series of bad jokes. She also tells jokes to cope with her anxiety or to distract others. Like Egon, Phoebe is also a
puzzle
A puzzle is a game, Problem solving, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together (Disentanglement puzzle, or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at th ...
and
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
hobbyist. In addition, she is skilled in
locksport
Locksport is the sport or recreation of defeating Lock (security device), locking systems. Its enthusiasts learn a variety of skills including lock picking, lock bumping, and a variety of other skills traditionally known only to locksmithing, lock ...
. As stated by her mother Callie, Phoebe is having difficulty relating to her father due to them having nothing in common. Due to the family's financial troubles and eviction, Phoebe travels with her mother and older brother Trevor to Summerville, Oklahoma to begin anew at the farmhouse left to them by the now deceased Egon. It is here that she discovers the farmhouse is being haunted and a hidden ghost trap belonged to her grandfather, and her family's connection to the original Ghostbusters team's legacy. Rather than being scared, Phoebe is curious of the house's poltergeist after knowing that the ghost is benign, leading her to discover that the entity is the grandfather she never acquainted. Fascinated with the Ghostbusters and their exploits and technology, she then restores their equipment after Egon leads her to his storm cellar laboratory, during which she alters one of his jumpsuits for her to wear, eager to become a Ghostbuster. In time, Phoebe becomes confident of herself when facing dangers. Being lonely, Phoebe befriends a boy who goes by the name Podcast, another outcast who believes in conspiracy theories, and bonds with her grandfather, despite his being a ghost. She eventually forms her own team and using Egon's lab as the new Ghostbusters' headquarters, with her being their de facto leader and field scientist, and comes face-to-face with Gozer, helping to trap the malevolent being. After Gozer's is defeated once more, Phoebe grieves over her grandfather after seeing his departure to the afterlife.
Trevor Spengler
Trevor is portrayed by
Finn Wolfhard
Finn Wolfhard (born December 23, 2002) is a Canadian actor and musician. He gained recognition for playing Mike Wheeler in the Netflix series ''Stranger Things'' (2016–present). His film roles include Richie Tozier in the film adaptation of ...
in ''Ghostbusters: Afterlife''. Trevor is the eldest grandchild of founding Ghostbusters member, Dr.
Egon Spengler
Egon Spengler, PhD is a fictional character from the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films '' Ghostbusters'', ''Ghostbusters II'', and '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'', in the animated television series '' The Real Ghostbusters'' and '' ...
(
Harold Ramis
Harold Allen Ramis (; November 21, 1944 – February 24, 2014) was an American actor, comedian, director and writer. His best-known film acting roles were as Egon Spengler in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984) and '' Ghostbusters II'' (1989), and as Russel ...
), born in 2006. A motorhead, he loves cars and is his family's mechanic, responsible for the maintenance of his mother's
Subaru Outback
The Subaru Outback is an automotive nameplate used by the Japanese automaker Subaru for two different vehicles: a crossover station wagon, the Outback (1994–present, also sold as in some markets), and an Impreza-derived hatchback, the Outback ...
. He finds and eventually repairs the Ghostbusters' customized Cadillac, ECTO-1 (with little of Egon's ghost's help in mending circuits). Unlike his sister, Trevor bears no resemblance to their maternal grandfather, embodies average teenage boy stereotype of obsessing with driving and girls, and stated by his mother that he takes after their father and they are close. At the same time, he adjusts to their new life in Summerville, Oklahoma, gets himself a job as a
carhop
A carhop is a waiter or waitress who brings fast food to people in their cars at drive-in restaurants. Carhops usually work on foot but sometimes use roller skates, as depicted in movies such as ''American Graffiti'' and television shows such as ...
at the drive-in diner, Spinners Roller Hop, to help his mother financially and to be close to the waitress Lucky Domingo. Trevor is a skeptic, and as supernatural phenomena begins to occur in Summerville, he becomes a reluctant third member of his sister's Ghostbusters team after Podcast, serving as the Ecto-1's driver.
Podcast
Podcast is portrayed by Logan Kim in ''Ghostbusters: Afterlife''. Podcast is Phoebe's classmate in Summerville Middle School; he befriends Phoebe after seeing that, like him, she also needs a friend, and then he develops a crush on her. He is a paranormal believer and conspiracy theorist who made a series of vlogs detailing strange events and occasional restaurant reviews in Summerville, in which his forty-six episode is the most popular and attracts Ray Stantz as his first (and only) subscriber. Though not scientifically-minded like Phoebe, Podcast himself has high intellect and is skilled in critical and historical thinking, as well an able investigator. Podcast suspects that Egon Spengler was murdered and staged by his killers of him died from a heart attack. He keeps Egon's Aztec Death Whistle as a souvenir and his means against evil spirits (which is not effective when facing the gluttonous ghost Muncher, and the actual purpose of it is still in debate, ranging from intimidation tactics to ceremonial object for human sacrifice). After learning Phoebe's relation with one of the original Ghostbusters, he becomes a second member of Phoebe's own Ghostbusters team and field detective.
Lucky Domingo
Lucky Domingo is portrayed by
Celeste O'Connor
Celeste O'Connor (born December 2, 1998) is a Kenyan-born American actor. They are known for playing Paloma Davis in the Amazon Studios#List of original films, Amazon original film, ''Selah and the Spades''.
Early life and education
Celeste O'C ...
in ''Ghostbusters: Afterlife''. Lucky is a classmate at Summerville High School who befriends Trevor soon after he moves to town. She also works at Spinners Roller Hop as a carhop and is the daughter of the town sheriff. Her family has been living in Summerville since her great-grandparents following town's establishment, implying that members of her family have worked for Ivo Shandor even if they having no involvements with his dubious activities. Hating her tedious life and seeking adventures, Lucky becomes a fourth member of Phoebe Spengler's Ghostbusters team after Trevor.
Callie Spengler
Callie (née Spengler) is portrayed by
Carrie Coon
Carrie Alexandra Coon (born January 24, 1981) is an American actress. In television, she is known for her starring roles as grieving mother Nora Durst in the HBO drama series '' The Leftovers'' (2014–2017) and as Gloria Burgle in the third se ...
in ''Ghostbusters: Afterlife''. Born to Dr.
Egon Spengler
Egon Spengler, PhD is a fictional character from the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films '' Ghostbusters'', ''Ghostbusters II'', and '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'', in the animated television series '' The Real Ghostbusters'' and '' ...
(
Harold Ramis
Harold Allen Ramis (; November 21, 1944 – February 24, 2014) was an American actor, comedian, director and writer. His best-known film acting roles were as Egon Spengler in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984) and '' Ghostbusters II'' (1989), and as Russel ...
) in 1982, Callie is divorced and unemployed, and her marriage ended in bad terms. She struggles to make ends meet and tries to save money, even personally giving her children haircuts, resulting of them have awful pompadours, and then her family evicted from their apartment due to delinquent rent payments. Having never acquainted with Egon, it is implied that Callie is abusing alcohol to cope with the painful memories of growing up fatherless. However, Callie is aware of him was a Ghostbuster but apparently she do not share his beliefs with the supernatural. Like her father, Callie also likes Chinese food, even shares his fondness with egg rolls. She receives news from Janine Melnitz that a farmhouse in Summerville, Oklahoma was left to her following the death of her father. She learns the truth about her father and realizes how wrong she was about him. When Egon appeared as a ghost, she finally reconciles and made peace with him before he departed.
Gary Grooberson
Gary Grooberson is portrayed by
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in ...
in ''Ghostbusters: Afterlife''. He is Phoebe and Podcast's science teacher and a seismologist, while also investigating mysterious local earthquakes that similar to detonations of nuclear weapons underground since 2010. Despite being a scientist, Phoebe initially stereotyped Grooberson as a moronic middle school football coach based on his unkempt appearance and seemingly laid-back attitude. Besides having expertise on seismology, Grooberson also has knowledge in world history and culture, indicated by his familiarity with cuneiform writings and Aztec objects. However, he wrongly claimed that an Aztec Death Whistle is for warding evil spirits. He is also a fan of the Ghostbusters and loves
popular culture
Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
like cinemas and comic books. Needing income while staying in Summerville, he takes the job as a summer school teacher. However, because most of his students are delinquents and not interested in learning, he just let them see old violent movies in his classroom and get paid while focusing on his investigation except Phoebe and Podcast, whom he mentors in science and mystery solving, and he favors Phoebe because of her being scientifically gifted along with him being infatuated with her mother Callie. When Phoebe brings Gary a Ghost Trap she found in the Spengler farmhouse, he assumes it is a replica. When she asks a replica of what while she and the class watch 1988's ''
Child's Play'' on TV, Gary informs her and Podcast of its purpose and origin. After discovering the device is real and thus realizing Phoebe's relation to Egon Spengler, Gary is supportive of Phoebe following her grandfather's footsteps as a Ghostbuster. After Gary and Callie begin dating, Phoebe initially feels uncomfortable, but she later accepts due to her liking Gary. Gary plays a news clip on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
, showing them footage of the Ghostbusters during what came to be known as the
Manhattan Crossrip of 1984
''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three ...
.
Sherman Domingo
Sherman Domingo is Summerville's sheriff and Lucky's father, and is portrayed by
Bokeem Woodbine
Bokeem Woodbine (born April 13, 1973) is an American actor. In 1994 he portrayed Joshua, Jason's troubled brother, in ''Jason's Lyric''. He won a Black Reel Award, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Awar ...
in ''Ghostbusters: Afterlife''. In the film, Domingo and his deputies take on both Walter Peck and Jack Hardemeyer's roles as short-sighted bureaucrats who are skeptical of the neophyte Ghostbusters' operations in Summerville. He and Deputy Medjuck (portrayed by Dan Aykroyd's daughter Stella) pursued and arrested the kids after they stopped the rampaging ghost Muncher for the damage incurred. His officers are fascinated with Egon Spengler's equipment after learning that the "dirt farmer" was an inventor, implying that they want to steal them. Spengler's granddaughter, Phoebe, dislikes Sherrif Domingo and his staff, and tempted to fire a proton stream at them after they confiscated the Ghostbusters' gears and called her grandfather a lunatic, like Egon's past reaction to Peck. Later, during an interdimensional crossrip event caused by the town's presumed-deceased founder Ivo Shandor, Domingo's daughter joins the neophyte Ghostbusters team to combat the returning Gozer, and, instead of maintaining orders, his department cowardly flees, allowing the neophyte Ghostbusters to retrieve their equipment from the evidence storage.
Supernatural entities
Muncher
Muncher, voiced by
Josh Gad
Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise, playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical ''The Book of Mormon'', and playing Le Fou in the live-action adap ...
and creature designed by Brynn Metheney, is a new ghost described by the creators as a new generation of Slimer. In life, he was a miner working for Shandor Mining Company who couldn't get enough of the ore he was mining for. After his death, his ghost was conjured into the mortal world by a seance gone awry in the 1940s, in a selenium processing plant owned by his employer. Since then, he is trapped in the factory manager's office where the conjuring occurred.
Like Slimer, Muncher is also a Class 5 manifestation and gluttonous spirit, and he is
extremotroph An extremotroph (from Latin ' meaning "extreme" and Greek ' () meaning "food") is an organism that feeds on matter that is not typically considered to be food to most life on Earth. "These anthropocentric definitions that we make of extremophily an ...
ic, specifically eats metals and ores, similarly to bacterium ''
Halomonas titanicae
''Halomonas titanicae'' is a gram-negative, halophilic species of bacteria which was isolated in 2010 from rusticles recovered from the wreck of the RMS ''Titanic''. It has been estimated by Henrietta Mann, one of the researchers that first iso ...
''. In addition, because of the munching noise he makes while chewing, he is named Muncher by Phoebe and Podcast, after they found him in the plant, where he is eating pipes. After Podcast provoked Muncher with his ineffective death whistle, Phoebe is forced to fight the ghost with her proton pack to defend themselves. Following a failed attempt to capture him in the plant, Muncher flees into Summerville and heads to Shandor's mines, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake; the kids have no choice but to stop him, as they are the only people around with the Ghostbusters' means. Phoebe, Podcast and Trevor successfully capture Muncher, but release him later on when they return to Summerville Sherriff Department to retrieve the equipment Lucky's father seized from them. Muncher eats through the bars of the cell housing the Ghostbusters equipment and flees.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghostbusters characters
Film characters by franchise
Lists of film characters