Editing Ghost (section)

===== North India =====
Interpretations of how ''bhoot''s come into existence vary by region and community, but they are usually considered to be perturbed and restless due to some factor that prevents them from moving on (to [[reincarnation|transmigration]], non-being, [[nirvana]], or heaven or hell, depending on tradition). This could be a violent death, unsettled matters in their lives, or simply the failure of their survivors to perform proper funerals.<ref name="ref88muliq">{{Cite book |title=Students' Britannica India, Volumes 1–5 |editor=Hoiberg, Dale |author=Ramchandani, Indu |publisher=Popular Prakashan, 2000 |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-85229-760-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kpd9lLY_0-IC |quote=Bhut also spelt bhoot, in Hindu mythology, a restless ghost. Bhoots are believed to be malignant if they have died a violent of premature death or have been denied funerary rites. |access-date=2016-03-14 |archive-date=2023-07-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725112555/https://books.google.com/books?id=Kpd9lLY_0-IC |url-status=live }}</ref>

In Central and Northern India, ''ojha'' or [[spirit guide]]s play a central role.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Biswas |first=Ankit |date=2020-11-24 |title=The Practice of Shamanism and Indigenous Art of India |url=https://www.karwaanheritage.in/post/the-practice-of-shamanism-and-indigenous-art-of-india |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=Karwaan: The Heritag |language=en}}</ref> It duly happens when in the night someone sleeps and decorates something on the wall, and they say that if one sees the spirit the next thing in the morning he will become a spirit too, and that to a headless spirit and the soul of the body will remain the dark with the dark lord from the spirits who reside in the body of every human in Central and Northern India. It is also believed that if someone calls one from behind, never turn back and see because the spirit may catch the human to make it a spirit.
Other types of spirits in Hindu mythology include [[Baital]], an evil spirit who haunts cemeteries and takes [[demonic possession]] of corpses, and [[Pishacha]], a type of flesh-eating demon.