In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, what is the name of Hamlet’s father’s ghost?

In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the ghost is the spirit of King Hamlet, the prince’s murdered father.

The ghost appears to Hamlet, Horatio, and the guards on the battlements of Elsinore. It claims that Claudius, Hamlet’s brother, killed it by pouring poison into its ear while it slept. The ghost demands revenge and identifies Claudius as the murderer.

King Hamlet had been the ruler of Denmark before his death. Claudius then became king and married Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother. This sudden succession and remarriage drive much of the play’s conflict.

The ghost’s identity is important because it launches Hamlet’s investigation, although the play leaves room for uncertainty about whether the apparition is trustworthy, supernatural, or psychologically interpreted. It is not the ghost of Claudius, Fortinbras, or Polonius.