From Hell's pulpit to the mosh pit, Ghost is far from an anonymous band.
Here are the most prominent figures in the clergy.
Papa Emeritus 1 was the first demonic Pope character of Ghost who emerged with their
premiere album "Opus Eponymous." It was the moment church went metal.
The skull-esque makeup, mitre, and robes adorned with upside-down crosses — which all the Papa
iterations would wear in one form or another — were the brainchild of lead singer Tobias
Forge. The musician had a different approach to occult metal as opposed to the expected
chorus of screams and swears and explosive guitar riffs. He delivers the lyrics of a
black sermon with a hypnotically melodic voice. Ghost first formed in 2006, and the release of
"Opus Eponymous" in 2010 saw the emergence of the first of a line of anti-Popes blessing the stage.
The vestments of Papa Emeritus 1 are mostly black, crowned with a silver mitre and slashed with red
panels glittering with the repeated Cross of Saint Peter. Watching Papa perform on stage,
it's clear he goes beyond just throwing on a costume to embody the character,
as he appears to be leading a blasphemous mass on stage.
As "Opus Eponymous" gave way to the band's second album,
Papa Emeritus 1 was overthrown by Papa Emeritus 2. The successor appeared with an even ghastlier
face and more elaborate vestments that were almost completely black, with the
only flashes of heavenly light coming from his silver mitre and ornamental inverted crosses.
Forge was still anonymous at this point, almost as anonymous as the Nameless Ghouls
who made up the rest of the band. In the middle of 2014, one of the Ghouls leaked
the impending replacement of Papa Emeritus 2 to Louder as the album cycle came to a close
and teased possible candidates for the Papacy. The Ghoul in question was referring only to the
character and not Forge himself, but remember that Forge still cloaked himself in anonymity
during this era. Deepening the mystery was the mention of the band considering
candidates when the only ones to be considered were coming into being in Forge's imagination.
"Okay, here goes nothing."
Papa Emeritus 3 is actually supposed to be the younger brother of Emeritus 2,
born only three months later. This Papa's skull face is more abstract, and his papal robes are
slashed with purple, which is a slightly less nightmarish departure from his predecessor.
Metal Insider announced the transformation in 2015 when Ghost supposedly recruited Papa 3 for their
latest album, "Meliora." When Forge still went unidentified, the band wanted fans to believe that
each Papa was a new singer rather than a different persona their only lead singer conjured up.
Another Nameless Ghoul told Loudwire that the succession of Papas was not unlike different
actors playing the same role. That same Ghoul went on to say that the imagery and music of
Ghost are inextricably linked. The band had no visuals when they put out their first EP,
but their ghoulish image soon followed. In another Loudwire interview, Forge himself
admitted that he had a reason for killing off previous Papas. While they all succeeded,
and he never had a favorite, he needed to keep his audience engaged somehow. Forge said:
"If we just continued with Papa to Papa to Papa to Papa, that would grow very boring."
The Papa characters vanished temporarily after Papa 3's "death," though they are
briefly seen as corpses in the "Chapter Three: Back on the Road" video. In a move
that almost seems sacrilegious, the next frontman of the band was a mere cardinal.
Also known as Papa Emeritus Zero, Papa Nihil is the most ancient Papa character,
and he first appeared at a Gothenburg concert.
Papa Nihil has the sunken face of a mummy and the gilded robes of an archangel. He always
seems to be on his last breath, shambling onstage with a walking stick in one hand
and an oxygen mask over his mouth. This Papa is a central character in Ghost's promo videos
from his wheezing entrance in "Chapter One: New Blood," where he insists his bloodline goes back
generations upon generations, to his remembered '60s youth in "Chapter Eight: Kiss the Go-Goat".
The videos unravel Nihil's backstory, revealing that he was once a rocker in '60s Los Angeles.
The band supposedly played their first gig to promote their EP "Seven Inches of Satanic
Panic" at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go Bar right on the Sunset Strip. "Seven Inches" was
Ghost's actual 2019 vinyl record, which his aging fingers revealed at the end of
"Chapter Eight," as he claimed it was time to rerelease the EP that gave his
band their big break in 1969. He appears on the cover as a psychedelic nightmare.
Inevitably, Papa Nihil went on to die like the others,
but unlike them, he was eventually resurrected.
"You're on. This is gonna happen."
The poster ghoul for the album "Prequelle" wasn't an undead Pope but a cardinal sans
white face paint, though still rocking the look of blackened eye sockets. Cardinal Copia has
no relation to the exalted bloodline of the Papas. This is something Papa
Nihil keeps endlessly complaining about starting in "Chapter One: New Blood."
The video "Chapter Seven: New World Redro" is an homage to Stephen King's "The Shining." Papa
Nihil repeatedly types, "All work and no play makes Papa a bad dad," while Cardinal
Copia navigates the clergy headquarters on a tricycle and runs into the same sorts of
terrors Danny Torrance encounters in the movie. Notably, there is a pair of twin girls who walk
on either side of Papa Nihil in some of the videos. They channel those creepy twins that
beckoned Danny to come play with them by having them materialize in front of the Cardinal and
try to get him to join in a ghostly game of Red Rover before they suddenly vanish.
Forge started rumors that Cardinal Copia could survive for more than one tour,
as he told Australia's "The Music" podcast in 2019. He said:
Turned out Cardinal Copia escaped the fate of death to be reanointed
as Papa Emeritus 4. No wonder he inherited Cardinal Copia's eye makeup.
Though Tobias Forge previously said he wasn't going to create any more Papas, he morphed
Cardinal Copia into one. The transformation is captured in Ghost's "Life Eternal" video.
The clip shows Cardinal Copia somberly walking down the hall of the Clergy's mausoleum
headquarters. It then gives way to legions of adoring fans with and without makeup and
masks. The video ends in an explosion of smoke and confetti that makes way for the newly mitred Papa.
Papa Emeritus 4 is the flashiest Papa character yet,
with jewel-encrusted vestments decked out in gold thread. He went
from Cardinal to Pope to usher in the era of Ghost's latest album, "Impera."
"Yes, it's a little bit different."
Ever wonder who those spooky masked figures behind Papa or Cardinal Copia are? The Nameless Ghouls of
Ghost had their identities set aside for more emphasis on the music and the mythos that Forge
created for the Ghost universe. Ghouls have come and gone, but at least some have been revealed.
Guitarist Martin Persner was one iteration of the Nameless Ghoul known as
Omega. The former bandmate of Forge played alongside him in Magna Carta Cartel pre-Ghost,
and was also the first Nameless Ghoul to reveal his human form. Initially,
there was skepticism surrounding whether he was telling the truth since his face always
remained hidden behind some sort of mask. But the rings he wears in the video announcing
his parting ways with the band in 2017 are the same as those Omega wore up until then.
In an interview, Persner explained how much influence he had on the band, saying:
Why Persner gave up Ghost may always be a mystery. He gave a cryptic response when
asked the question, indicating it was too personal. Persner resurrected Magna
Carta Cartel and has been with them since his exit from Ghost.
Chris Catalyst is the face behind the Nameless Ghoul, otherwise known as Aether. The former
Sisters of Mercy guitarist, who has also played with bands such as Terrorvision, Ugly Kid Joe,
and Ginger Wildheart, recently unmasked himself on Twitter after Ghost's European Imperatour.
The entire band is unmasked in the group photo he tweeted, along with the members of supporting
acts Twin Temple and Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats. If you really zoom in, you can see him flashing a
peace sign over Tobias Forge's right shoulder. The face to the left of Forge is thought to be
guitarist Per Eriksson, formerly of Katatonia and Bloodbath, whose Ghoul alias would be Fire
if he really is one of these creatures. There has been no confession from him yet.
"Um, we never told anyone."
The Nameless Ghouls were all male until 2016, when two Ghoulettes were introduced to the band.
The identity of the first Ghoulette slipped when a finger tattoo identified her as bassist Megan
Thomas of all-female Led Zeppelin tribute band Lez Zeppelin, who had also been missing from
concerts for no apparent reason. How long she stayed on with Ghost is unknown. As of 2018,
another Ghoulette joined the lineup because of a telltale mask style.
The Ghouls started out as faceless and genderless beings in hooded black robes. When Papa Emeritus
1 swapped out his black vestments for ghastly white, the Ghouls did the same, with masks that
covered their entire faces except for two eerie eye holes. With the rise of Papa Emeritus 2,
they were back in black, with black leather masks covering all but their eyes. The Ghouls backing
Papa Emeritus 3 wore mouthless horned demon face masks. It was the shinier versions of these chrome
masks that appeared in 2018, which had female versions that featured longer molded "hair."
Ghoulettes now touring with Ghost are thought to be Cirrus and Sunshine – better known
as Laura Scarborough of Diamond Kobra and musical theater performer Sophie Amelkin.
Their suspected identities haven't been officially confirmed or denied.
Supposed nun Sister Imperator is the forbidden lover of Papa Nihil in Ghost lore. Whatever vows
these members of the clergy took evidently did not involve chastity. Sister is the only main
character who does not play with the band. Her main role is to build mystery and anticipation in
Ghost's music videos and series of promo videos, and Forge uses her to do just that and still leave
fans wondering at the end. She is first seen in "Chapter One: New Blood," when she announces to
Papa Nihil that fresh blood is needed in the Clergy, and that fresh blood later turns out
to be Cardinal Copia. Whether he actually belongs there is something they continue arguing about.
Nihil and Sister argue even through her lengthy stay in the hospital after nearly
being crushed in a car accident in "Chapter Four: The Accident." In "Chapter Five:
The Call," a completely bandaged Sister makes her best attempt to dial him on a rotary phone,
and they proceed to review the "Omen" movies.
The sexual tension between Nihil and Sister is obvious in the videos they appear in,
coming to a climax in a Valentine's Day video clip.
Shrouded in mystery, the Clergy are supposed to be the larger, fictional cult from which
Ghost spawned. They are never seen, but always heard on social media. Metal Hammer
describes them as beyond powerful but never actually appearing anywhere. While the Papas,
Sister, and Cardinal Copia are regarded as clergy since they are supposed to be nuns and priests,
they are still not the Clergy, who are supposedly some higher power. The Clergy
surrounded Cardinal Copia when he was reanointed to become Papa Emeritus 4. They can also decide
when it is time to kill off the latest Papa -- or potentially morph him into something else.
The Clergy members are most visible through their announcements. Ghost's social media posts and
YouTube videos often open with "[MESSAGE FROM THE CLERGY]." This is always followed by "we
wish to inform you" before the announcement is made. But who are they? What we do know
is that Sister Imperator is the head. Even after all the reveals, Ghost continues to be
shrouded in mystery, and there are some things that may never crawl out of the inner sanctum.