Shakespeare loves the use of ghosts in his plays, Hamlet is no exception. Scholars argue that the ghost in Hamlet is just a figment of Hamlet's imagination, but how does this explain the other witnesses to the apparition? Hamlet's mental state is worsening throughout the play, but what is the real cause? From an external point of view Hamlet appears crazy, whether he is or not remains ambiguous. If he is mad, is it the traumatic loss of his father that causes Hamlet to see a ghost, or is the ghost actually real? The ghost first appears to three soldiers on guard: Bernado, Francisco and Marcellus, together with Horatio, a friend of Hamlet. and visitor to Denmark. Bernado and Marcello wish to reveal to Orazio the ghost they have witnessed over the last two nights. Just like the nights before, the ghost appears and scares the men. Frightened by the ghost wearing full armor, the men draw their swords. Soon after examining the ghost, Horatio confirms that the ghost resembles Hamlet's late father, the former king. The ghost quickly vanishes but reappears shortly after. Desperate to determine the ghost's intentions, Horace forces himself to converse with the apparition. Remaining silent, the ghost casually wanders around the platform. While the rooster crows, the ghost evaporates and leaves the men bewildered. While with men, the ghost never communicates, but for Horatio and the others, the ghost is clearly Hamlet's father. Horatio, knowing that the ghost is Hamlet's father, asks Hamlet to stand guard with the men to attempt to determine the ghost's intentions. . This appearance of the ghost is very different from the first appearance. Although all men can see the ghost, Hamlet is the only one who can communicate with it. He... in the center of the sheet... mentions: "I am the spirit of your father, condemned for a certain period to walk at night, and for the day confined to fast in the fire, until the unclean crimes committed in the My natural days are burned and eliminated. If I were not forbidden to tell the secrets of my prison, I could reveal a story whose lightest word would torment your soul, freeze your young blood, make your two eyes go away, like stars, from their spheres, thy curls knotted and combined apartAnd every particular hair stand, like quills on the irritable porpentine:But this eternal blazon must not beTo ears of flesh and blood List, list, oh, list! your dear father..." Cleary the ghost claims to be in Purgatory, but Protestants do not believe in Purgatory. Either Shakespeare makes a mistake, or he adds it on purpose as proof that the ghost does not exist.