Specter (Noun)

A mental representation of some haunting experience; "he looked like he had seen a ghost"; "it aroused specters from his past".

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents.

The old, abandoned house was said to be haunted by the specter of a former owner who died under mysterious circumstances.
The smell of smoke transported her back to the night of the fire, and the specter of what could have been lingered long after.
Her dreams were haunted by the specter of failure, a constant reminder of her struggles to find success.
The documentary brought up the specter of injustice, highlighting the systemic flaws that had led to the wrongful conviction.
His memories of the war were marred by the specter of his fallen comrades, their faces etched in his mind forever.

A ghostly appearing figure; "we were unprepared for the apparition that confronted us".

Nouns denoting people.

The abandoned mansion had a reputation for being haunted by a malevolent specter that frightened away even the bravest of souls.
As she lay in bed, she couldn't shake the feeling that a dark specter was watching her from the shadows.
The old, creepy attic was said to be inhabited by the specter of a former owner who had died under mysterious circumstances.
The ghostly figure that appeared to us in the dead of night was a specter of death itself, a harbinger of doom.
In the darkness, the specter of the forest seemed to come alive, trees looming like skeletal fingers reaching out to snatch the living.