King Hamlet

King Hamlet was the ruler of Denmark, father of Prince Hamlet and husband of Queen Gertrude. He was poisoned in his sleep by his brother Claudius, who sought the throne and queen for himself.

King Hamlet began manifesting as a ghost, frightening the castle guards, until he encountered his son. He told the Prince that he wanted his death avenged, but not to punish Gertrude in so doing. With that task assigned, he ceased to appear, save once more. On this last occasion, he stopped Hamlet when he began to take his desire for vengeance out on Gertrude (against the ghostly King's wishes).

Comments

Some less fantastically-inclined Shakespearean scholars have suggested that King Hamlet's ghost was a hallucination of the Prince's. However, since he'd manifested for days prior to Hamlet's knowledge of him, that seems doubtful. On the other hand, the second manifestation, where only Hamlet himself saw him, could have been a hallucination.