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The Ghost
aka: The Unseen

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For works that use the name, see Ghost.

Jerry: You sure have a lot of friends. How come I never see any of these people?
Kramer: They wanna know why they never see you!
Seinfeld, "The Frogger"

A character who is often referred to, but never quite makes it onscreen. Sometimes just casually mentioned, but eventually played for comic effect as the camera (or lead character) just fails to catch them.

Sometimes the character is never seen because the viewer is, in essence, this character (and thus share viewpoints). In this case the viewers are probably being used as The Watson.

If a disembodied voice says—"Yes Ma, I'm coming!"—they're The Voice.

Not the Great Gazoo, but occurs in similar range of plot devices. Will also be an Impersonation-Exclusive Character if someone else uses the character's form. See also He Who Must Not Be Seen and Nothing Is Scarier (for when a character remains unseen for the Rule of Scary). For a concept, item or location, rather than a person, see Cryptic Background Reference. If it's an event, you can check out Noodle Incident. Often overlaps with No One Sees the Boss.

Compare and contrast with The Faceless where a character's face is never visible. For a character who is frequently mentioned but never seen because they died before the story began, see Posthumous Character and Death by Origin Story. If the character eventually appears, see Unseen No More. For a character whose existence can only be inferred see Unknown Character. For a character who isn't seen because he's been created out of whole cloth by the other characters, see Invented Individual and The Real Remington Steele. If a character from the source material isn't even mentioned, let alone seen, in the adaptation, then they are Adapted Out.

Sometimes related to Greater-Scope Villain when dealing with villains; compare The Dreaded.

For actual ghosts and spirits, see Our Ghosts Are Different. Not to be confused with The Spook.


Examples:

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    Advertising 
  • Ernest P. Worrell, an advertising icon who later starred in a television show called Hey Vern, It's Ernest! and a series of films, often addressed someone named Vern who was (presumably) behind the camera and never spoke or was seen on screen. In fact, Ernest was famous for the catchphrase "Knowhutimean, Vern?" This would be one of the cases where The Watson is simultaneously invoked.

    Comedy 
  • A running joke for the surrealist comedy group Stella is for one member to refer to someone named "Marcus". Another member responds, "Who the fuck is Marcus?" The original member just shakes his head in equal bewilderment, saying, "I know, I know!"
  • Victoria Wood had a routine that started with her character telling the audience "I'm lookin' for me friend. Kimberly. Have you seen her?" After her death, a flash mob event in celebration of her life and work had the hashtag #WeAreKimberly.

    Comic Strips 
  • In Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin's grandmother and grandfather are mentioned on several occasions, but are never seen. Rosalyn's boyfriend Charlie is also unseen and only indicated to exist by Rosalyn (and, in one strip, Calvin) talking to him on the phone.
  • Garfield:
    • Ellen was a woman Jon regularly phoned to get a date, and always failed. We never heard her actual answers, only his reactions to them. She eventually appeared in a storyline where she has amnesia, and therefore agreed to a date with Jon. Also, Jon's neighbor Mrs. Feeny, often the target of Garfield's pranks, was never seen in the comic.
    • Many of Jon's dates count. Such as Ruby the violent convict who had YBUR tattooed on her forehead. However, there are some dates we do get to see in person well, such as Bertha (A large woman who loved to eat) and Kimmy (A woman raised by wolves)
  • Knights of the Dinner Table has several:
    • Bob's sister (who is the mother of Croix and Hunter)
    • B.A.'s mother (although she does become The Voice occasionally)
    • Crutch's 'old lady', Casey Mae
    • Crowbar, Switch's partner-in-crime was this for years until he finally appeared on-panel in Hawg Waller's.
    • Brian's uncle (and former guardian)
    • Dave's father and brother
    • The Antignano Brothers, who occasionally cast visible shadows but are otherwise kept off-panel.
  • The Mr. Potato Head comic strip had several strips where Mr. Potato Head's son Chip talked to his friend Mikey over the phone, asking him if he'd like to come over and do whatever. Mikey is never seen, nor is he heard speaking.
  • Roger, Juliette's loud, boorish brother in 9 Chickweed Lane. Mentioned infrequently at best. And it had been so long since anyone had mentioned him in the comic, that when Edna mentioned him at the end of the WWII flashback, many thought Brooke McEldowney had made him up on the spot. When he eventually appears in the flesh, he's mild-mannered and soft-spoken; pretty much the opposite of his passionate, outspoken sister and niece.
  • Peanuts:
    • All adults, and the cat next door who hates Snoopy. The TV specials adapt the fact that adult dialogue is never presented as speech bubbles in the comic by making the adults The Unintelligible (Waa Waa wa Wa wa wa Waa).
    • The Little Red-Haired Girl was this in the comic strip with the exception of a silhouette in the May 25, 1998 strip. Charles M. Schulz wanted her to be unseen in order to show Charlie Brown's hopelessness in longing for her. She was however seen in full and had the name "Heather" in both It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown and Happy New Year, Charlie Brown (which also claimed her name was Heather). However, despite the fact that Charles M. Schulz wrote the scripts for both specials, he claimed both were non-canonical. She appears again in The Peanuts Movie, although her face is never seen in detail or close-up until Charlie Brown gets a chance to talk to her.
    • There's also the Head Beagle, the dog who rules over all dogs in the world and has the respect of humans. Other than Snoopy's brief reign, no dog who ever held the title has ever been seen.
    • Also, the "Girl in the Red Truck", a human on whom Snoopy's desert-dwelling brother Spike had a crush. She was eventually fleshed out for a special It's the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown that combined animation and live action, where she was named Jenny and portrayed by Charles Schulz's daughter Jill. (Again, the special, which wasn't as well-received as most Peanuts specials, is considered non-canonical.)
    • The trend of the not showing adults in any form is averted in the fourth movie, Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown's grandfather is seen in a war photo; he looks exactly like Charlie Brown except taller. The Baron, Violette's and the main antagonist, is a fully voiced character but only appears as a silhouette.

    Pro Wrestling 
  • Montel Vontavious Porter had the gimmick of being "the highest paid free agent in sports entertainment" and general manager Theodore Long had a hard time dealing with his unseen contract negotiator.
  • During the TNA-Wrestling/Aces And Eights angle, D'Lo Brown and Bully Ray would make frequent reference to other chapters of the group. For obvious reasons (Aces And Eights being a real motorcycle gang) these were never shown.
  • Bray Wyatt's beloved "Sister Abigail," whom he refers to often in his promos and has even named his Finishing Move after, but who has yet to actually appear. (Assuming that she is a person, not a disembodied entity. Also assuming she even exists. For what it's worth, what Bray's said about her heavily implies that she is a real person, but she died some time ago.) From what he has said of her, she is responsible for making him into what he is today (so she's either evil herself or just plain messed up bad) and possesses the power to save the world with a touch or destroy it with a kiss.
  • The somewhat infamous Anonymous Raw General Manager. He'd send his directives via emails to a laptop on a podium that Michael Cole would read out loud. His identity was eventually revealed as a joke long after the bit had been dropped.
  • Mama Cornette, the mother of Jim Cornette, was often referred to and financially supported his shenanigans but was never seen on screen. The real mother of Jim Cornette was well known to Memphis Wrestling fans but stopped attending the matches around the time Jim became a manager. Cornette has stated there are two reasons she never appeared: Jim's real mother wasn't a performer, and various promos had built her up so much that any actual on screen Mama Cornette would be a letdown.

     Puppet Shows 
  • Fraggle Rock:
    • The original North American Doc and Sprocket scenes had Doc's neighbour and friend/rival, Ned Shimmelfinney and Ms Ardath, his possible Love Interest.
    • In the UK version, the Captain and his successors would refer to Mr Bertwhistle the lighthouse owner, and Mrs Wiggit, who served a similar role to Ms Ardath.
    • In the French version, the Chef was always trying to impress the unseen Madame Pontaven.
    • Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock has Doc's landlady, Mrs Shimmelfinney.
  • The Muppets: Swedish Chef wears a wedding ring, and his wife has been mentioned by other characters, but she is never seen in person. The most we know about her is that Chef is unable to answer the question of if he could live without her should she ever leave him.

    Radio 
  • Our Miss Brooks: Mrs. Davis' sister Angela and her brother Victor. Mrs. Davis talks about them for years, until Angela made several appearances when the show moved to television and was finally heard on a couple radio episodes. Victor remained a ghost until he made his sole appearance, on the television episode "The Egg".
  • Sabrina Thwaite (and husband Richard) in The Archers are often "just missed" on-air, pulling out of Christmas pantos at the last moment and so forth, usually explained by tutting disapproval from the regular characters.
    • A long-standing trope in The Archers. Mr Pullen, whose troublesome prostate has been a Running Gag for many years, is never heard. Freda the Middle White sow used to be heard sometime but not Freda Fry, cook at The Bull and long-suffering wife of Bert Fry. Most notoriously, the late Pru Forrest went unheard for years only to be lampshaded in a special anniversary episode by being voiced by Judi Dench.
  • Duffy, the owner of the eponymous eatery in the the 1940s radio show Duffy's Tavern. Every episode opened with the manager Archie answering the phone with the words "Hello, Duffy's Tavern, where the elite meet to eat. Archie the manager speakin'. Duffy ain't here — oh, hello, Duffy."
  • Samantha, the scorekeeper for the panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. Since The Points Mean Nothing, the game doesn't need a scorekeeper; she only exists as the focus of elaborate double entendres.
    • Colin Sell, the pianist, has sometimes been assumed by listeners to be fictional too (if you decided they were just playing prerecorded piano music, then Colin would be in a similar position of only existing to be abused in elaborate wordplay). Humphrey Lyttelton once claimed that someone had come up to him to ask whether Samantha and Colin were real and he told them that Samantha was but Colin wasn't.
    • And let's not forget Sven, Samantha's male counterpart. Somehow, they never appear in the same episode...
  • Mrs. Bradby, Mr. Lamb's landlady in The Men from the Ministry is often mentioned in great detail, but never actually appears in the show.
    • There's also Mr. Rudge and Fatty Scott, two civil servants who are often subjects of various Noodle Incidents.
    • The hall-porter Mathews is also this in most episodes, though he actually appears in the flesh in a couple of them.
  • Sir Harold Dixon in season one of Absolute Power (BBC), who has employed Prentice McCabe for unspecified reasons which Martin has studiously avoided doing anything about, and who he therefore refuses to take phone calls from. In the last episode of the season, Sandy briefly works for Sir Harold, but he still never actually appears.
  • Frequently mentioned on The Ricky Gervais Show was Karl Pilkington's longtime partner Suzanne and her reactions to Karl's eccentricities. When the audio was adapted for the animated version, Suzanne would appear in cutaways as The Faceless (in keeping with the real Suzanne's desire for privacy).

    Tabletop Games 
  • Warhammer 40,000:
    • Despite being fairly important in the lore of the Blood Angels and appearing in several major events, the daemon Ka'bandha had no official model until 2022 and only has rules for the Horus Heresy sub-game.
    • The Old Ones are mentioned often, and their effects on the galaxy — ranging from their surviving created races to remnant artifacts and super weapons — turn up with some regularity, but the Old Ones themselves have never been seen or described in any detail.
  • Warhammer Fantasy:
    • The daemon N'kari is a very important character in the background lore for Ulthuan, the Elves and the coming of Chaos, but never received a model or tabletop rules.
    • The corrupted treeman Coeddil is a very important character in Wood Elf lore, but never received a model, stats or official artwork.
  • Warhammer: Age of Sigmar: The title character himself, ironically; Sigmar is the defacto Big Good and is thus spoken of quite frequently, but he has no official in-game model (unlike several other Order-aligned gods like Allarielle and Teclis) and only very rarely appears in Black Library novels. Justified largely because he's the Big Good; he used to lead his armies from the frontlines, but after losing the war to Chaos, he believes he's better served acting as the general and monarch directing wars from Azyr, rather than leading them personally. Official lore has it that he makes frequent public appearances, and regularly meets with military and civilian leaders, as well as the other gods, but the setting is called Warhammer; since Azyr is the one place in the Mortal Realms that's unlikely to have any conflict going on, there's rarely a reason to set stories there, leaving Sigmar as The Ghost in a setting named after him.

    Theme Parks 

    Visual Novels 
  • Akira's unnamed boyfriend in Katawa Shoujo is occasionally mentioned but never actually shown. She's forced to break up with him when her parents insist that she and her sister Lily come to Scotland, but Akira mentions that she's back together with her boyfriend in the post-credits scene.
  • Dante, a guy whom Sophia from Melody dates briefly, is mentioned but never seen on-screen.
  • Kako in A Profile never makes it onscreen, though she does have a line or two. Maybe. She sounds exactly the same as her sister, you see. Apparently, by the end, even Masayuki has never met her.
  • In Saya no Uta, Doctor Masahiko Ogai, Saya's "father", never appears in the story because he's Dead All Along.
  • There are multiple cases in Shikkoku no Sharnoth. The most obvious being that Watson, Mycroft Holmes, Queen Victoria and Moriarty. Except that in the end it's revealed that Moriarty was the old professor that everyone has been meeting and who may or may not be the Big Bad, depending on how you look at it.
  • In Shinrai: Broken Beyond Despair, Kenji and Misaki are two schoolmates of the main characters who are never seen in the game, since Misaki held a party of her own on the same night as Rie's party. As a result of Kenji and several others attending Misaki's party, fewer people came to Rie's party than she anticipated.
  • Unlike all the other victims in Tyrion Cuthbert: Attorney of the Arcane, we never meet or get a picture of Justin Waye.
  • Asumu Ushiromiya, Battler's not quite mother, is often talked about but she is never shown, not even in flashbacks.

    Web Animation 
  • The 2015 version of DC Super Hero Girls has a few characters who are mentioned, but never seen.
    • Superman is occasionally brought up as an esteemed graduate of Super Hero High, but is never shown aside from having his own statue at the academy.
    • Batman is indirectly mentioned by Robin in "Kid Napped" when he complains about Batgirl babysitting him, with the closest thing the Dark Knight makes to a physical appearance being a plushie of him appearing in the tie-in graphic novel Finals Crisis.
    • One of the show's characters is Mrs. Clayface, wife of the villain Clayface, whose husband is never physically seen even when she tries to break him out of Arkham Asylum in "Techless Tuesday".
  • DSBT InsaniT: Only a portion of Slima, as Jell-O of all things, has been shown in the series proper.
  • Homestar Runner:
    • Strong Badman is created when Strong Bad gets an e-mail from one "Stiny". Within the email, and in several future Strong Badman appearances, Strong Bad imagines Stiny being Strong Badman's sidekick, who he constantly shouts orders or insults toward, but he never appears.
    • The Strong brothers' parents have been mentioned a few times, including an old birthday card that their mother made Strong Bad write for Strong Sad (the only physical evidence). We never see either, and in fact the Brothers Chaps themselves stated point-blank that they had no interest in resolving the mystery. ("Nice try, dodongo!")
  • Isabelle Ruins Everything: Reese, Cyrus, and Booker are mentioned by Isabelle, but not seen.

    Webcomics 
  • Abe Kroenen has this happen a lot, often with female characters like Ilsa or Liz (until recently). This is not so much because of gender bias in the comic as it is the fact that it's a Toy Comic and the Hellboy merchandising brigade is less than helpful.
  • Invoked by Word of God in Alice and the Nightmare when it comes to President Spade.
    President Spade is usually cooped up in his office and only makes brief appearances as formalities, but otherwise he's a rarely-seen dude.
  • Anecdote of Error: Luntsha’s boyfriend Ikal has been mentioned a couple times, but has not appeared in person yet.
  • Crimson Knights: King Friduheim, ruler of Crales, never physically appears despite his actions affecting the story quite heavily.
  • All of the characters from Dinosaur Comics that aren't the main characters, bar maybe the flea that lives on the end of T-Rex's nose, but he's so small you can't see him.
  • In the fan comic Doki Doki Literature Girls, the player is absent, having previously deleted Monika after her Hostile Show Takeover. As such, the player is mentioned in passing, but plays no important role in the comic.
  • Far Out There had Tabitha's Mother in this role before eventually upgrading her to The Voice.
  • The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob! has Bob's neighbors Ray and Mr. Fluffinougat; the Spitoonellis, named Harold and Maude; and Voluptua's dad the Nemesite Emperor.
  • Mr. Boop: Alec's first wife Samus Aran is mentioned but not depicted.
  • Nicole and Derek: Despite his connection to several major charactersnote , Issac Telford has yet to appear in the flesh.
  • Precocious has Ursula's parents. We know more about what their car looks like and that hasn't been shown either.
  • Rain:
    • Rain's abusive father Marcus never makes a physical appearance. His deplorable actions are mainly described by other characters and the only times we really get to see him are in Rain's dreams and flashbacks.
    • Emily's neglectful mother is only seen in silhouettes, and is mainly described through Emily only. Still, the impact she has on her daughter's life is clear as day.
    • Blair Carver started as this, only mentioned in Chapter 28 and is brought up here and there by Emily when discussing her past relationships. That is, until he finally appeared in Chapter 35 and since then made more frequent appearances. Most likely due to Maria moving to his school.
    • Chiaki Koizumi, the author of "Black Wings: Kaminari", never makes an onscreen appearance in the comic and is only mentioned by other characters. Rain was about to meet her at a convention until she ditched the line to talk to Emily. Chiaki makes her first appearance in the prequel comic, My Impossible Soulmate.
  • Stand Still, Stay Silent: Ensi Hotakainen, the grandmother to main characters Onni, Tuuri and Lalli. She's mentioned to have been the magic teacher to Lalli in his younger years. She's also mentioned to have made a mistake that apparently had dire consequences, that included Onni getting a Promotion to Parent at sixteen, and all three of them leaving their hometown to go live in a military base when Tuuri was ten and Lalli eight. Ensi also stands out as being The Constant, as the only character to make an appearance of sorts in both the Distant Prologue (as a pronounced baby bump) and the main story (via being mentioned by her grandchildren). The comment on a blog post illustration of her mentions that she was drawn in her forties rather than as a ninety year old (which is the exact number of years separating the main story form the Distant Prologue), which implies that she is still alive. She's finally shown via flash-back in Chapter 15.
  • Tower of God: King Jahad, the ruler of the Tower. Furthermore the Irregulars Phantaminum, and Enryu. And finally the Director of the 2nd Floor, Evankhell.
    • By the end of Part II, you can remove Evankhell and Jahad from that list.
  • Unsounded:
    • Moss Sonorie, the queen's choice for heir after Rilursa's assassination and who was already second in line for the throne at the start of the tale has been mentioned numerous times but never seen.
    • Grandma Frummagem is brought up often by many Frummagem allied characters as a source of reliable life lessons and good advice, but has never been seen (outside a single sketch exclusive to a print volume) despite multiple characters long dead who are important to backstories like Grandma being shown in flashbacks, dreams and hallucinations.


 
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Alternative Title(s): The Unseen, Unseen Character

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