User:Paradoxsociety/sandbox/Ghost

Identities
Anonymity is a major characteristic of Ghost; prior to 2017, the members had not publicly revealed their names, and the group's five instrumentalists are only referred to as "Nameless Ghouls". During signings, the Nameless Ghouls sign the merchandise by stamping their individual alchemical symbol, while Papa Emeritus signs with his stage name or the letters "P.E." One Ghoul said the idea that the band's members remain anonymous to gain attention is a misconception, and that the idea was to remove their personalities to allow their audiences to focus upon the artwork itself. He also said, "Had not the music been rocking, I don't think that people would have gone gaga just about our looks". In 2011, a Nameless Ghoul said, "We're often mistaken for roadies, which is helpful. We've almost been thrown out of venues we've played. Forgetting our backstage pass is a big problem." In early 2012, a member of the band said he enjoyed being an individual and that he could easily "step outside the bubble" when he wanted to. In May 2013, a Ghoul disclosed that they had started to reveal their membership in the group to their local friends and family "for house peace."

In an August 2013 interview with Jack Osbourne for Fuse News, a member of the band said that Dave Grohl has dressed up as a Nameless Ghoul and secretly performed with Ghost. In April 2014, a Nameless Ghoul revealed that the group has had several member changes through the years.

The Swedish Performing Rights Society was rumored to have Tobias Forge, vocalist of Swedish bands Subvision and Repugnant and former guitarist for Crashdïet (using the alias Mary Goore in the latter two), credited with songs as "A Ghoul Writer". All of the band's songs are credited to "A Ghoul Writer", causing people to suspect that Forge was Papa Emeritus. The online database for US-based performance rights society ASCAP, when having the name Tobias Forge entered into its search box, revealed all of Ghost's original songs (even though many of the tracks use the pseudonym "A Ghoul Writer" in the database itself) At the time, Ghost stated they would not comment on any rumors of their identities. Following a lawsuit in 2017, Forge's identity as Papa Emeritus was revealed.

In March 2017, Swedish musician Martin Persner of the band Magna Carta Cartel claimed in a short video clip that he was the rhythm guitarist, also known as Omega, from 2009 to July 2016. This marked the first time that someone has publicly identified themselves as a member of Ghost. A few months before Persner's announcement, the band recruited a new bass player who was suspected to be Lez Zeppelin bassist Megan Thomas, later confirmed by Forge. A lawsuit against Forge in April 2017 on behalf of four past members revealed their names, as well as the names of several more past members. When asked about the complete lineup change at the end of 2016, Forge stated that Ghost "was always sort of... I guess a Bathory sort of band, where there was people playing live, and the people playing live [were] not necessarily the same that played on the records." The lawsuit was dismissed by the court on 17 October 2018.

Stage Names / Character Identities
As a band with a unique and complex theatrical presentation, the musicians in Ghost's live performances do not perform as themselves, but each play a character. Emphasis is placed on the singer, currently "Papa Emeritus IV". The rest of the band are officially deemed "Nameless Ghouls" but there are general categories based on the roles of each of the "ghouls". The five classical elements of fire, earth, water, air, and aether were originally used to identify the ghouls with symbol patches on each ghoul's stage outfit, but with the touring cycle coinciding with the 2018 release of Prequelle, the live lineup expanded to include 7 ghouls, and thus the elemental symbols were no longer displayed or officially used.

The tour cycle in support of Impera saw the live lineup expand to include a total of 8 ghouls. Two ghouls, referred to as "Aether" and "Sunshine" by fans, departed mid-cycle and were replaced by "Phantom" and "Aurora" respectively.

As a general rule, Ghost does not directly identify any of the ghouls through their official accounts or spokespeople, but in recent years, they have become more relaxed in allowing this information to become public. Because of the band's long-standing practice of using NDAs, the ghouls are not allowed to discuss their involvement in the band publicly while they are active members, though the avid fanbase tends to deduce the ghouls' identities rather quickly once they've appeared on stage.