Ghosts

"Seems like some poor blighters have started seeing ghosts. Ghosts! Ryan tells me it's a side effect of this Plasmid business. One poor sod's memories getting passed on to another through genetic sampling. Leaks. Lunatics. Rebellion. And now bleeding ghosts. Ain't life in Rapture grand?"

- Bill McDonagh

Ghosts are the leftover memories caused by a crossover of genes during genetic sampling, possibly because of recycled ADAM from Little Sisters. Ghosts feature prominently in the story of BioShock, and are sometimes equally important as Audio Diaries. They are also a way of displaying to the player the exact repercussions caused by excessive use of ADAM. When Jack encounters ghosts, the screen dims and fills with static noise. The ghosts then subsequently appear, and then the screen returns to normal.

Ghosts do not return in BioShock 2, although the concept for how they appear is used to provide visions to Subject Delta on the level Dionysus Park. This concept also plays part in the story of the game.

Transcripts
"I'm too spliced up, I'm too spliced up! And nobody's gonna want me!"

- Female ghost, ladies' room in the Kashmir Restaurant.

"You promised me pretty, Steinman. You promised me pretty. Now look at me! LOOK AT ME!"

- Female ghost, shrieking in the Medical Pavilion Foyer.

"Ghost #1: You can't quit, Fontaine will find you. Ghost #2: Hey, fuck Fontaine. Ghost #1: You don't fuck Fontaine, Fontaine fucks you!"

- Two male ghosts, coming from Smuggler's Hideout.

"Angelina: *Giggles*, what are you waiting for silly? It's beautiful."

- Angelina's ghost, entering Arcadia's Tea Garden.

"Angelina: Oh sugar, I'm spliced up in ways you've never dreamed of. Dieter: Get over here. *Angelina giggles*."

- Angelina and Dieter Sonnekalb's ghosts, on a bench in the Tea Garden

"Well, if it isn't long lost Andrew Ryan. Mm mm mm... come here, tiger."

- Jasmine Jolene, in Eve's Garden.

"I thought you had forgotten about poor Jasmine, but I am so glad you didn't."

- Jasmine Jolene, backstage in Eve's Garden.

"I'm sorry Mr. Ryan, I didn't know.... I didn't know Fontaine had something to do with it, I- what? What are you doing?! No, no don't plea-! I loved you, don't, don't please, no! NO! *Screams*."

- Jasmine Jolene, in a room at Eve's Garden.

"Ghost #1: The circuit breaker's over there, yeah. Ghost #2: Why can't Ryan take care of this crap himself? Ghost #1: Because Mr. Ryan's got more important things to do than to enforce loyalty in the ranks. Say hello to Fontaine, you back-stabbing son of a bitch! Ghost #2: *Screams*."

- Two male ghosts, fixing machinery in Hephaestus Heat Loss Monitoring.

"You think Ryan's gonna be there for ya when you're down n' out? No... Fontaine, Fontaine's the man with the helping hand!"

- Male ghost, speaking out in Apollo Square.

"Please, papa Suchong! I don't wanna go on the table!"

- Little Sister test subject, in the surgery room of Optimized Eugenics.

Trivia

 * Although BioShock 2 does not feature ghosts as portrayed in BioShock, the launch trailer for BioShock 2 does contain a scene featuring a large assortment of ghosts dancing.
 * Strangely enough, Eleanor Lamb tells Subject Delta in BioShock 2 that only Little Sister's can see genetic memories through ADAM, however Jack was able to in the first game, and apparently other people as well, as stated in BioShock. It's possible that they have greater control over this capability (e.g. they can see genetic memories at will).