Hungry ghosts are spirits (much stronger than a normal, run-of-the-mill ghost) who are "remnants of the dead who are afflicted with insatiable desire, hunger or thirst as a result of bad deeds or evil intent carried out in their life times."
They are driven by a fusion of rage and desire and, like Tantalus in Greek mythology, can never fulfill their cravings. Their specific hunger relates to their karma and the sin they are atoning for. They are doomed to live in dismal and sad places in the world of the living, and can prey on either excrement or humans.
"For it is true that the desires of hungry ghosts are never satisfied and they must endlessly seek gratuity from the living. They can also cause misfortune to those whose chi energy is depleted or whose luck is bad. Some are driven seek to possess weak-willed men and women so as to dispossess their souls and take over their bodies, all the better to eat and drink with."
They are driven by a fusion of rage and desire and, like Tantalus in Greek mythology, can never fulfill their cravings. Their specific hunger relates to their karma and the sin they are atoning for. They are doomed to live in dismal and sad places in the world of the living, and can prey on either excrement or humans.
"For it is true that the desires of hungry ghosts are never satisfied and they must endlessly seek gratuity from the living. They can also cause misfortune to those whose chi energy is depleted or whose luck is bad. Some are driven seek to possess weak-willed men and women so as to dispossess their souls and take over their bodies, all the better to eat and drink with."