In discussions relating to the nature of Hamlet's ghost, there is much debate. On the one hand, authors like WW Greg believe that Hamlet's ghost was just a hallucination, but on the other hand, Maurice Egan believes that Hamlet's ghost was a real character who actually existed. Egan also argues that the ghost is sent from purgatory, however, authors such as Roy Battenhouse believe that the ghost is pagan and comes from hell. Others, such as Robert West, argue that the ghost is neither from heaven nor hell, but was written to confuse so that any member of the audience could think of the ghost in different ways. I personally believe that the ghost was a real character who came from hell and appeared before Hamlet in order to make him take his revenge on Claudius. I personally disagree with author WW Greg's interpretation of Hamlet's ghost and believe his hypothesis that Hamlet is simply hallucinating his father's ghost is unfounded. Many of WW Greg's claims connect Hamlet to other plays written by Shakespeare, stating that because of the way Shakespeare depicted ghosts in his earlier works, it would follow that Hamlet also fits into the same mold as these past writings. WW Greg even states: "I would like to know what Shakespeare's views were on ghosts in general...I am obliged to look to Shakespeare's other plays for suggestions on how he represented these phenomena." (Greg 395). WW Greg simply asserts that trends in Shakespeare's writings in the past must logically take the same form in the character of Hamlet's ghost. This method of thinking simply doesn't hold up when examined critically, mainly due to the fact that there were multiple witnesses to the ghost, a...... middle of paper ...... Battenhouse, Roy W. "The Ghost in 'Hamlet': a Catholic 'pivot'?" Studies in Philology 48.2 (1951): 161-92. JSTOR. Internet. March 30, 2014. Egan, Maurice Francis . The Ghost in Hamlet and Other Essays in Comparative Literature. Freeport, NY: For Libraries, 1971. Print.Greg, WW “Hamlet's Hallucination.” March 30, 2014. Low, Anthony. “Hamlet and the Ghost of Purgatory: Indications of Killing the Father.” English Literary Revival 29.2 (1999): 443-67. Wiley Online Library. "Hamlet." The Norton Introduction to Literature. Edited by Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York, NY: WW Norton & Company, 1024-1129. “The Ambiguous Ghost of King Hamlet.” Modern Language Association 70.5 (1955): 1107-117. JSTOR. Internet. March 30. 2014.