Characteristics
The biggest difference between modern ghosts and the gjenganger is that the gjenganger in the Scandinavian tradition took on an entirely corporeal form. It normally had no spectre-like qualities whatsoever. In older traditions the gjenganger was also very malicious and violent in nature, coming back from the grave to torment its family and friends. In the way they acted, and in the extensive precautions their relatives took to make sure they stayed in their graves, gjengangere are more akin to eastern-European vampires than modern-day ghosts.
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