We are very often asked what, if any, difference is there between Ghosts & Spirits. Well, I suppose to a certain degree you could suggest that they are one and the same, they are both essentially made of the same thing, energy.
However, a ghost is normally depicted as something that haunts people or places and therefore gives off a feeling of fear. The dictionary defines a ghost as "The Spirit or semblance of a dead person, believed to visit or haunt living people". Not very pleasant sounding, we know, but don't you remember as a child you would have been afraid of ghosts because it was always 'ghost stories' you heard, never 'spirit stories'!
Unhappy ghosts such as these are often called Poltergeists. They feed off of our fear. This means that to get our attention they will do things to make us feel uncomfortable, or frightened, if you like. For example, banging doors, things dropping off walls etc.. It's all to get themselves noticed, and, once we acknowledge them without fear, and try to understand why they're about, things will calm down.
Spirit on the other hand, in general, are much more subtle in their approach. You may get the shivers or feel very hot as one draws near. You may feel tingles, as if someone is touching your arm, hand or shoulders for example. They can be mischievous, but never harmful. They too will try different ways of getting our attention, but not normally anything that makes us feel uneasy. Another example (and this happens to most people we know) is that things will go missing and miraculously reappear again a few days later. Usually a very good sign that spirit are around!
Spirit are usually here to guide us, whether it be the spirit of a physical person that we once knew (e.g. a late parent or grandparent) or a learned guide from ancient times (maybe an Indian or Egyptian) and so they may bring messages of comfort or advice.
Ghosts on the other hand don't have anything much to contribute (except making us jump!) until they have accepted what's going on and have perhaps been helped to happily pass into the next realm!