Ghosts (Pac-Man)

In the 1982 Pac-Man cartoon, the hero faced five ghosts — four males wearing various styles of hats, and a female ghost named Sue, who wore earrings. The Ghost Monsters work for Mezmaron, who assigns them the job of finding the Power Pellet Forest.

Hal Erickson writes, "The battle of Pac-Man vs. Ghost Monsters would have to address the issue of the original arcade game's 'cannibalism' somewhere along the line; after all, the basic appeal of Pac-Man was his indiscriminate ingestion of his foes. This was handled with such nonviolent dexterity that Hanna-Barbera could have written a textbook for Action for Children's Television on the subject. Pac-Man only chomped the Ghost Monsters when defending his loved ones or the Power Forest (as opposed to the videogame, where the lead character was on the offensive), and once chomped, the Ghost Monsters merely disappeared temporarily, re-emerging unscathed after picking up new shrouds from Mezmaron's wardrobe closet."[7]

In the 2013 TV series Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, the four Ghosts come from the Netherworld. Though they are ruled by Lord Betrayus, they are actually good-natured spirits and often supply Pac-Man with information about Lord Betrayus' plots, while ensuring Betrayus does not catch them in the act. It is also suggested that they could be reunited with their bodies and brought back to life, though their 'living' forms are unknown. There were also some Ghosts that were exclusive to the TV series like Cyclops Ghosts (a race of heavyset, horned Ghosts with one eye), Fire Ghosts (a race of orange Ghosts who can emit fire from their body), Tentacle Ghosts (a race of 4-eyed purple-black Ghosts who look similar to jellyfish), Guardian Ghosts (a race of large Ghosts who guard the Netherworld), and Aqua Ghosts (a race of light blue Ghosts with fins on their head).

Blinky, whose real name is listed as Shadow, is a red ghost who, in the original arcade game, follows behind Pac-Man. He is considered the leader of the ghosts. In the Pac-Man cartoon, Blinky (voiced by Chuck McCann) is slow-witted and cowardly with grammar problems. In Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, Blinky (voiced by Ian James Corlett in the TV series and by Lucien Dodge in the video game and sequel) is the default leader of the Ghost Gang Family and tends to help the winning side. Blinky receives a speed boost after a number of pac-pellets have been cleared. This mode has been informally referred to as "Cruise Elroy",[8][10][11] but in the original Japanese design documents is referred to as "spurt" mode.

Pinky, whose real name is listed as Speedy, is a pink female ghost who, in the original arcade game, uses ambush tactics to position herself in front of Pac-Man to surround him. In the Pac-Man cartoon, Pinky (voiced by Chuck McCann) is depicted as a male dim-witted shapeshifter. In recent games, and Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, Pinky (voiced by Ashleigh Ball in the TV series and by Julia Kliewer in the video game and sequel) is depicted as a female once again with a crush on Pac-Man, which often puts her at odds with Cylindria.

Inky, whose real name is listed as Bashful, is a cyan ghost who, in the original arcade game, has a fickle mood. He can be unpredictable. Sometimes he chases Pac-Man aggressively like Blinky; other times he jumps ahead of Pac-Man as Pinky would. He might even wander off like Clyde on occasion. In the Pac-Man cartoon, Inky (voiced by Barry Gordon) is depicted as dim and loony. In Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, Inky (voiced by Lee Tockar in the TV series and by Bryce Papenbrook in the video game and sequel) is the youngest member. Though the smartest, he lacks focus most of the time. In Pac-Man, Inky likes to appear in front of Pac-Man's face.

Clyde, whose real name is listed as Pokey, is an orange ghost who, in the original arcade game, will act stupid. He will chase after Pac-Man in Blinky's manner but will wander off to his home corner when he gets too close. In Ms. Pac-Man, this ghost is named Sue, and in Jr. Pac-Man, this ghost is named Tim. In the animated series, Clyde (voiced by Neil Ross) is the leader of the group. In recent games and Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, Clyde (voiced by Brian Drummond in the TV series and by Orion Acaba in the video game and sequel) is depicted as a large ghost who is simple, but not unintelligent and has an appetite equal to Pac-Man's. He lacks the devious natures of his brothers and sister and is considerate towards others.

In some versions of Pac-Man media, Clyde and Blinky's names are swapped such as in the Pac-Man World series and Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2.

With the release of further Pac-Man games, more ghosts have been added.

• Kinky – the golden yellow Ghost who appeared only in Pac-Man Arrangement. Also called Kinzo, Kinky is the scientist of the Ghosts who has the ability to combine with other Ghosts. When he combines with Clyde (note: in Pac-Man Arrangement, Clyde was red and Blinky was orange), Kinky becomes a bull-like ghost named Urchin, who can charge after Pac-Man. When he combines with Inky, Kinky's glasses appear on Inky's body and grant this new combined ghost (named Stylist) the ability to split in two. The stylist's reflection will mirror his movements on the other half of the map (about the vertical axis). When Kinky combines with Pinky, the resulting ghost is rabbit-like and named Romp. Romp can hop to any part of the map, usually very close to Pac-Man's position. The combination of Kinky and Blinky results in Crybaby, a bigger and chubbier version of Blinky who adds 20-point Pac-Dots anywhere in the maze.

• Orson / Toc-Man – a greenish-gray intellectual Ghost who initially appears as the main antagonist of Pac-Man World under the alias of Toc-Man the robot, mocking Pac-Man. In Pac-Man World 3, Orson has reformed and is now an ally of Pac-Man.

• Spooky – a dark gray Ghost in gray armor who is the King of the Ghosts in ancient times until he was sealed under the Golden Fruit Tree in Pac Village by Sir Pac-A-Lot. Spooky is the main antagonist of Pac-Man World 2.

• Ghost Witch of Netor - the leader of the ghost gang and the main antagonist of Pac-Man 2:The New Adventures and Pac-in-Time.

• Funky – a jumping green Ghost who debuted in the game Pac-Mania. Tends to stay near Sue and jumps lower than Pac-Man. Funky and Spunky only jump in the worlds of Sandbox Land and Jungly Steps.

• Spunky – a jumping dark gray Ghost who debuted in Pac-Mania. Jumps just as high as Pac-Man. Recolored black in some home console remakes/ports. Has recently been depicted in games as a "sleeping ghost".

• Sue – the female counterpart of Clyde in Ms. Pac-Man, entirely identical to him. In the Hanna-Barbera Pac-Man animated series, Sue (voiced by Susan Silo) is featured as Clyde's second-in-command and is recolored purple. She also appears in Pac-Land and Pac-Mania, still purple and wearing mascara and eyeshadow, greatly resembling her cartoon counterpart.

• Tim – an orange ghost who appeared exclusively as Clyde's replacement in Jr. Pac-Man.

• Yum-Yum – the female red Ghost who debuted in Jr. Pac-Man. She is a relative of Blinky and has a romantic relationship with Jr. Pac-Man. Yum-Yum appears exclusively in Jr. Pac-Man's cutscenes.

• Wandy – a white Ghost and wizard who appeared as the antagonist of Pac-Man All-Stars. He kidnaps the fairies of Pac-Land to prevent them from creating more power pellets.

• Lord Betrayus (full name: Betrayus Sneakerus Spheros) – a black and white ghost who is once a general of an army in Pac-World and the brother of President Spheros in the Pac-Man TV series. Soon later after he died, he became the supreme ruler of the Netherworld and of all Ghosts and Monsters. He acts as the main antagonist of Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures and its video game adaptions. His primary goal is to steal the Power Berries and take over Pac-World to rule it with an iron fist. He is currently voiced by Samuel Vincent.

• Butt-ler – Betrayus' long-suffering personal servant and butler who appears in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures. He is a purplish-gray ghost with a butt-shaped head, topped with a dapper black hat. He's always loyal to his master. He will take some small satisfaction seeing Betrayus fall flat on his face.

• Dr. Buttocks – the Netherworld's greatest mad scientist and Butt-ler's twin brother who also has a butt-shaped head, but is light blue, has a cybernetic right hand, wears glasses, and speaks with a German accent. Sometimes, he doesn't like Butt-ler. Dr. Buttocks specializes in monster experimentation in hopes of achieving Pac-World domination. He sometimes suspects that the Ghost Gang is working with Pac-Man, but has had no luck convincing Betrayus of this since he usually blames him or his brother for his failures and sometimes tortures him for fun. He wants all of the workers to get out of his way.

Blinky

Chuck McCann in the television series

Martin Sherman in Pac-Man World 3[12]

Ian James Corlett in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures TV series

Lucien Dodge in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures video game and the sequel[13]

Inky

Barry Gordon in the television series

Stuart Milligan in Pac-Man World 3[14]

Lee Tockar in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures TV series

Bryce Papenbrook in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures video game and the sequel[13]

Pinky

Chuck McCann in the television series

Mindy Lee Raskin in Pac-Man World 3[15]

Ashleigh Ball in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures TV series

Julie Maddalena in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures video game and the sequel[13]

Clyde

Neil Ross in the television series

John Guerrasio in Pac-Man World 3[16]

Kevin Deters in Wreck-It Ralph

Brian Drummond in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures TV series

Orion Acaba in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures video game and the sequel[17]

Sue

Susan Silo in the television series

Blinky

Kazuhiro Fusegawa in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures

Inky

Mai Tōdō in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures

Pinky

Kiyono Yasuno in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures

Clyde

Yutaka Nakano in Wreck-It Ralph

Kunpei Sakamoto in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures