"I am the Destructor. I am the Architect. I will pave over your fields to start anew. I will fill your seas with concrete and stone. I will pierce your world with girders of steel and panes of glass. I will crush your world under the weight of my cities. I will smother your creation under my own!"
— Ivo Shandor, Ghostbusters: The Video Game
When the worst ghouls, ghosts, and demons of the spirit world terrorize New York and the world, Who You Gonna Call? These are the vilest, evilest beings the Ghostbusters have faced throughout their long careers.
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Films
Examples
- Ghostbusters (1984) & Afterlife:
- Gozer the Gozerian is an "extradimensional demonic entity" who's sought the destruction of the world for centuries and proclaimed itself "Gozer the Destructor". As a means of being summoned, Gozer has its servants Zuul the Gatekeeper and Vinz Clortho the Keymaster each find a person to possess and then combine their powers to open a portal so it can come through. Gozer attempts to use its powers to kill the Ghostbusters for not being gods and then unleashed itself as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man into New York to target them again before being defeated. Thirty years later, Gozer causes the death of Dr. Egon Spengler for impeding its next attempt to unleash itself onto the world and once again has people possessed—including a teenage girl—in order to guarantee it's not only freed but properly powered too. Gozer also has ghosts freed to target Summerville however they so desire and, when welcomed by Ivo Shandor—who built the monuments to make Gozer's arrival possible—responds to the human wanting to rule beside it by effortlessly ripping him in half.
- Ivo Shandor is the founder and architect of the modern Cult of Gozer, dedicated to summoning Gozer to Earth so as to wipe out humanity. Building the materials and temples that would be used to perform ritualistic murders in Gozer's name, Shandor's "curse" led to dozens of miners flinging themselves into a "death pit" built in Gozer's honor, where hundreds of spirits slain by Shandor's cult reside. Shandor's plots result in the unleashing of various evil spirits onto unsuspecting cities to pave the way for Gozer's arrival. Shandor set up multiple backup plans to initiate should his initial summoning of Gozer fail, and in 2021, he rises from the grave in an attempt to work with Gozer in wiping out humanity and ruling over what is left of the Earth.
- Frozen Empire: Garraka is an ancient ghost who once helped a king conquer other kingdoms before his actions scared the king so much that he was betrayed and stripped of his horns. Swearing vengeance on all of humanity, Garraka came up with a way to freeze all of humanity using fear before being imprisoned by the Firemasters in an orb. Trying to escape in the present day, Garraka releases the Possessor to cause havoc all over New York. Caring nothing for his fellow ghosts, Garraka has no problem using his power to force them to do what he wants, and lies to Melody so that she will trick Phoebe into temporally becoming a ghost so that Garraka can use her body to finish the chant needed to free him. Planning on releasing all of the ghosts that the Ghostbusters have captured, Garraka tries to freeze the whole of New York and brutally murders a random man due to mistaking him for the last Firemaster. Completely freezing all of the comedy whenever he shows up, Garraka is one of the worst enemies that the Ghostbusters have ever faced.
Comic Books
Examples
- The Real Ghostbusters (NOW Comics) Vol. 1:
- The evil Nurtog is a powerful being from the Earth's core who formed an uprising with his own forces. Killing countless beings until he took over, Nurtog pursued rebel leader Spike to New York and had Spike's city destroyed in payment for his defiance. Trying to kill Spike and the Ghostbusters in New York, Nurtog later returns to wipe the city out in his quest to dominate and destroy all he can.
- Issue #24—"Carnival": Master Cosmos is a circus ringmaster and secretly an evil wizard who arrived in a small town called Green Town in 1942. Cosmos was able to play on the town's fears about the war, showing that it would end with an atomic explosion. The town's people begged him to protect them from the war, so Cosmos used his powers to make the town's people immortal and remove any knowledge of the town from the outside world. Though the town's people could not die, their bodies kept aging until they became rotting zombies, in a state of constant torment. When Cosmos's daughter Denetia decides to free the trapped souls and summons the Ghostbusters to help defeat her father, Cosmos tries to kill her, wanting to keep the town's people imprisoned so he can maintain his power over the valley.
- IDW comic:
- Gozer the Gozerian, from the first Ghostbusters film, is just as dangerous in this series. Originally worshipped as a god in ancient Sumeria, it was banished from the Earth by its sister Tiamat. After its defeat in 1984, Gozer's body is destroyed but his physical presence remained on Earth. Gozer's servant Idulnas kidnaps Ray Stanz and takes it back to Gozer's temple so that it can choose a new Destructor form for Gozer. Ray once again chooses the Stay Puff Marshmallow form, so that Gozer is forced to remain in that form. Gozer is angered, but not fully formed and lacking much of its power, allowing the Ghostbusters to capture it, but a lot of Gozer's presence remains at large. Later, Gozer's sister Tiamat comes to Earth to play a game with her brother. Tiamat's presence awakens what is left of Gozer and having already established a connection to Ray, manages to possess him. Gozer, humiliated by his sister, plans to kill her and then destroy the world.
- Vol. 2 issues #8-12's Happy Horror Days arc: Rodefhiri was the first recorded and most powerful Bogeyman. Originally a medieval monk who was angered by misbehaving children, he sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for a cloak that made him invisible and gave him the power to make people see their worst fears. Rodefhiri would kidnap and even devour children who really offended him. In the present day, Rodefhiri tries to gain access to the living world, by tricking a young girl named Jasmine into building an unholy altar, lying to her and saying it will bring back her dead grandmother's spirit. This altar trapped ghosts like a Death spirit named Santa Muerte on Earth, where the latter begins to attack a crowd of civilians. The Ghostbusters find the altar that trapped Santa Muerte, freeing Jasmine and her mom. After Jasmine tries to explain what happened, Rodefhiri tries to drag Jasmine to a hellish dimension. Later, Rodefhiri creates a magic lighting storm that makes kids violent, so he can punish them for their naughty deeds later. On New Year's Eve, Rodefhiri plans t feed on the mental energy of every child in Times Square, exposing them to their worst fears and stealing their life force. Rodefhiri then plans to use the power he gained from draining those children to feast on every child in New York City.
- Answer the Call, written by Kelly Thompson: Dr. Kruger (aka "Schreckgespenst", a German word for bogeyman) was a Mad Scientist active in the 1900s who was obsessed with fear. He would kidnap innocent people and experiment on them, torturing them with their fears, often resulting in their deaths. After Kruger died, the city sealed the building he was living in, trapping his spirit there. Decades later, when the city decided to develop Kruger's building, Kruger used the ghost of a young boy he killed to lure the Ghostbusters to his building. The Ghostbusters deal with the problem, but Kruger possesses Dr. Yates and manages to escape his building. Kruger escapes from the Ghostbusters and takes over the Empire State Building. The Ghostbusters confront Kruger, but he uses his powers to expose them to their worst nightmares. Kruger exposes more citizens of New York to their nightmares to gain more power. Ultimately, Dr. Kruger plans to merge the world with his personal nightmare realm, wanting to torment humanity with its fears and rule this new world as a god.
Western Animation
Examples
- The Grundel is an evil spirit who enjoys corrupting children. The more bad actions the child commits, the more the child falls under the Grundel's influence, eventually turning into a Grundel themself. First appearing in The Real Ghostbusters' "The Grundel", he convinced a child named Alec to tamper with the Ghostbusters' proton packs during a school assembly, endangering all the other children present. The Grundel also manages to convince Alec to bring his brother Lee to him so he can corrupt Lee as well, despite Alec's initial protests. When Peter Venkman tries to save Alec and Lee, the Grundel tries to prevent this, stating "If I can't have them, neither can you!" He returns in the Extreme Ghostbusters episode "Grundelesque", taking place 10 years later. It is revealed that he has a connection to one of the new Ghostbusters, Kylie. The Grundel tried to corrupt Kylie as a child, but when she successfully resisted, he corrupted her friend Jack instead. The Grundel places Jack in a cocoon for 10 years, so that he will become another Grundel. When Kylie confronts the original Grundel about this new Grundel, the Grundel taunts Kylie about their past history and the fate of her former childhood friend. The Grundel later escapes from the containment unit and tries to corrupt Roland's brother Casey. While the Grundel knows his powers only work on children, he thinks it would be fun to murder Kylie anyway.
- The Real Ghostbusters's "20,000 Leagues Under The Street" finale: Apshai is the Egyptian god of insects. 3,000 years ago, Apshai ruled Egypt, but was driven out due to his cruelty, taking a crystal that was his source of power with him. In the present, the crystal is buried under New York City, and Apshai reemerges when he is accidentally awakened. Apshai uses his powers to control insects and mutate them into giant monsters, and causes an earthquake that devastates part of New York. Apshai uses his giant insects to build him a new temple, where he will place his crystal atop of to gain new god-like powers. Apshai also captures Peter Venkman and plans to sacrifice him at the temple. Apshai's ultimate goal to destroy humanity with his insect army and powers, believing they are unfit to rule the Earth and that insects are superior to them.
- Extreme Ghostbusters:
- "Deadliners": Crainiac, Corpuscle, and Gristle are Vathek, spirits who enter the living world through the act of writing. They contact writer J.N. Klein and promise him wealth and fame if he writes about them. Klein does so, allowing the 3 Vathek spirits to take physical forms. Crainiac, Corpuscle, and Gristle then enslave Klein, chaining him to a typewriter and controlling his mind, forcing Klein to write a story where the Vathek are invincible. Crainiac, Corpuscle, and Gristle then begin their work; they see themselves as artists and human flesh is their best canvass. They kidnap a local waiter named Jimmy and use surgical tools to transform him into a horrible, mindless monster, who is just a tool of their will. Jimmy and the Vathek trio go to a local hotel and kidnap all the guests and staff, planning to transform them into monsters as well. Ultimately, Crainiac, Corpuscle, and Gristle plan to transform all of humanity into their twisted masterpieces.
- "The Pied Piper of Manhattan": The ectoplasmic being known only as "Piper" initially seems a savior to New York City when introduced, as his pipe has the ability to repel ghosts even the Ghostbusters are powerless against. Piper soon reveals his true colors, however: he is the one responsible for the sudden plague of ghosts, and when the Mayor attempts to pay him according to contract, Piper reveals he wants more. After his requests for a statue of himself down 5th Avenue and an office in city hall are denied, Piper uses his flute to hypnotize the children of the city and tries to force them to drown themselves, gloating the mayor will "rue the day he refused to pay the Piper." When the Ghostbusters intervene, Piper has no compunction using the kids as human shields in the ensuing fight.
- "Ghost Apocalyptic Future": Tempus is a ghost who can exist in two different time periods. Tempus rules over a dark future where ghosts have taken over the world, enslaved humanity, and left the cities of the world in ruins. When a rebel attacks Tempus with a ghost bomb, Tempus is split in two, with a version of him existing in both the present and the future. The Tempus in the present plans to free the ghosts from the Ghostbusters Containment Unit, to ensure the dark future where he rules the world comes to pass.
- "Slimer's Sacrifice": Surt is a godlike ghost who seeks to bring about the apocalypse. His minion Fenris prepares his coming by turning three humans into his vanguards. When Slimer ends up in the containment unit, Surt demands to know how Slimer got in there and hints that he is going to torture the information out of him. When Surt senses Eduardo's presence, he allows him to rescue Slimer and waits for him to open the exit to the containment unit so he can follow them. When Eduardo realizes Surt's plan and destroys the remote that will open the exit, Surt activates a spell he placed on Slimer to make him cut Eduardo's oxygen tank, before releasing Slimer from his control so he can realize that he just doomed his friend and be left to watch him suffocate and die, with Surt promising to return and torture Slimer after Eduardo dies.
The Video Game (Realistic Version)
Examples
- Ivo Shandor was a renowned architect and doctor who is the catalyst for the franchise as a whole. Notorious during his lifetime for performing unnecessary surgery, Ivo revived the Cult of Gozer to summon Gozer the Gozerian to wipe out humanity. To this end, he recruits numerous cultists, binding them to his service in life and afterlife, and renovates several famous landmarks to serve as conduits for ghost energy, including the infamous 55 Central Park West building that summoned Gozer in 1984. In 1991 Shandor possessed the mayor of New York City and unleashed a legion of ghosts to terrorize the city and use them as an energy source for his ritual. To complete said ritual, Shandor attempted to sacrifice one of his own descendants, Ilyssa Selwyn, to become a god and remake the world in his own image, even forsaking Gozer for failing him twice.
- The Spider Witch, a (supposedly) human follower of Ivo Shandor in life, operated in Hotel Sedgewick as a gruesome Serial Killer for the time she was alive. The Spider Witch lured men to her room where she proceeded to savagely murder them, hang up their bodies, and paint the room with their blood. No less vicious in undeath than she was in life, the Spider Witch is implied to be keeping the souls of some of her victims enslaved as the Webbed Fiends.
