| This article is about Ghost Wolf, the zephyr son of Snow White and Bigby Wolf. You may be looking for ghosts, the spirits of the deceased. |
| “ | I'm the storm within the storm. And you're a tiny leaf on the wind. My winds. Eager to kill wolves, little thing? Start with me. Strike me down if you can find me. I'm here. But I'm also here. Or am I over here? Of all my relations, I am the purest manifestation of the wind. | „ |
| ― Ghost Wolf to Tinker Bell, in Fables #160 — "The Black Forest Chapter Ten: Tremble" |
Ghost Wolf is a hybrid Fable (part wolf, part wind and part human) who one of the seven children of Bigby Wolf and Snow White. He debuts in Fables #32 — "The Dark, Killing Winter." Unlike the rest of his siblings, he was born a zephyr, meaning that he is invisible and unknown to everyone except his family and a few others.
History
Early years
Ghost's birth was unknown to everyone, except for Frau Totenkinder, who sent a card to Snow White at the Farm saying that having seven children doesn't mean that it's a good thing, showing she knew of Ghost existence before his parents.[8] Being born a zephyr, not only was Ghost invisible, but he needed to feed on air to survive, because of this he unintentionally caused a series of murders in Fabletown and the Farm claiming in total five fables lives by taking their air out of their lungs and causing them to suffocate, only doing so to feed himself as he said regular air tasted bad.[2]
Eventually, Ghost managed to find his way back to his mother at the Farm, who realized who he was, based on the card she had received from Totenkinder and the fact that zephyrs are created by a severe birth defect. Snow and Ghost shared an emotional but brief reunion as she was forced to urge him to flee out of fear of being discovered and then killed by his grandfather, the North Wind as he usually killed zephyr because of their need to feed on air leading most to kill people indiscriminately. She urged him to go and find his father Bigby.[2]
He eventually managed to find his father before or during Bigby's stay in Alaska as he did know about Sarah and stayed with him during his exile while also being given the name Ghost by his father. He aided his father during his mission into the Homelands. When his father reunited with Snow White, he shared a happy reunion with his mother.[3]
The prophecy
At some point, Ozma reveals a prophecy to Ghost's brother Ambrose about him and the other cubs:[9]
- The first child will be a king,
- The second child a pauper.
- The third will do an evil thing.
- The fourth will die to stop her.
- The fifth will be a hero bold.
- The sixth will judge the rest.
- The seventh lives to ages old, and is by heaven blessed.[9]
The Black Forest
After Rose Red calls off the war between Snow White and her forces,[10] the Wolf family relocates to the Hesse.[11]
With an unknown killer on the loose, Bigby orders Sam, a friend of the Wolf family, to round up the cubs. Sam springs at superhuman speed and quickly finds almost all of them and takes them home. Except Blossom; she's nowhere to be found. Without a moment to spare, Sam takes off again, leaving Snow White to ask Ghost to follow after him.[1]
Blossom is found by Sam and Ghost just as Tinker Bell is moments away from taking her own life. Ghost uses his windy gifts to save his sister, flinging Tinker Bell around like a leaf in the wind. Thanks to Ghost's help, Sam and Blossom are able to get away unscathed and make it to the Wolf family abode in the Black Forest. Once they arrive, they explain to Snow White and the other wolf cubs what Ghost did for them. Sam recounts that Ghost had handled Tinker Bell with ease, labeling the former as an "impressive kid."[1]
Wolf family reunion
Subsequently, the drunken kinkajou[12] Bad Sam undertakes the responsibility of crafting physical forms for Ghost, ensuring that he does not remain perpetually invisible. Sam ultimately constructs a dozen bodies for Ghost. One thousand years following the fall of Fabletown, Ghost appears at the Wolf family reunion, where he is observed conversing with Sam while wearing one of the bodies the helpful kinkajou crafted for him, specifically the one he utilizes in social settings.[13]
Distant future
In the distant future, Ghost is unveiled as the seventh child mentioned in Ozma's prophecy. He has risen to the rank of the First Earl of Whitewolf and holds the title of Lord Protector of the Realms Beyond the Drift. He has lived for an exceptionally long time, allowing him to outlive all his siblings, a fact he views as a mixed blessing at best.[7]
Etymology
Ghost's first name was selected by his father, Bigby, who felt it was appropriate.[3] The name distinctly references Ghost's nature as an invisible and non-corporeal figure.