Despite generally following the established rules of its comedic world, the CBS sitcom Ghosts has frequently bent or broken those rules over its five seasons. While the ghosts are central to the show’s humor, the series wouldn’t work without Rose McIver’s character, Sam, who patiently deals with their antics.
The show centers around Sam, who’s uniquely able to communicate with the ghosts living in her house. The premise suggests all interactions between the ghosts and living people have to go through her. However, the show frequently bends or breaks this rule, allowing for more direct interactions than initially established.
While inspired by the British show of the same name, the American version of Ghosts doesn’t stick to the original concept as closely. Usually, Sam is the only one who can communicate with the ghosts, but this isn’t always true, and there are enough exceptions to show it’s not a consistent rule.
Kyle Has The Same Ability As Sam To Talk To The Spirits
A major development in the show Ghosts happened early in season 4, episode 21, titled “Kyle.” While Pete was on vacation in Montreal, he met a quiet man named Kyle at a diner. To Pete’s surprise, he quickly realized Kyle could also see, talk to, and hear the ghosts – meaning he wasn’t alone in his ability!
Throughout the episode, Kyle communicated with the ghosts inside Woodstone Mansion. While Sam and Jay were initially hesitant to believe him, it became obvious he was genuinely interacting with them. His return this season also suggests his ability isn’t a temporary thing, and that other characters might be able to communicate with the dead as well.
Sass Communicates With The Living By Entering Their Dreams
In season 3, episode 2, titled “Man of Your Dreams,” Sass discovered his ability to enter people’s dreams while attempting to convince Jay to buy a pizza oven. He’s used this power several times since then, visiting the dreams of Jay, a relative of Alberta’s, and Bela in season 5.
Sass can essentially communicate with people, though they often think they’re just imagining things. While not as powerful as Sam, he doesn’t need her to talk to the living, and a handful of other ghosts share this ability as well.
Alberta Can Control Sam and Jay’s Alexa
Image via CBS
Although Sass’s history was the last to be shared on Ghosts, he quickly discovered what he could do. Alberta actually learned about her ability even sooner – she realized people could hear her humming and whistling, a skill from her days as a professional lounge singer.
Right from the start, in the first season’s seventeenth episode, “Attic Girl,” Alberta discovered she could operate Sam and Jay’s Alexa using just her voice. It’s unknown why the device responded to her and not the other ghosts, but this ability meant she could have potentially used apps to send texts or emails to the living whenever she wanted.
Jay Meets The Ghosts When He’s Temporarily In Limbo With Them
Up until now, the stories have mainly been about ghosts finding ways to communicate with people, except for the case of Kyle. But there was one other time – Sam’s boyfriend, Jay, was briefly able to see, hear, and talk to ghosts.
During the Christmas special in season 4, Jay was accidentally electrocuted, and Pete took over his body. This left Sam’s girlfriend in a confusing situation. Because Jay’s body was now among the ghosts, he could briefly communicate with Alberta, Hetty, Thor, Sass, Isaac, Flower, and all the other ghosts while Pete used his body to run a quick errand.
Surprisingly, Jay didn’t interact with the ghosts much. He mostly focused on preventing Pete’s mischief from ruining his family’s Christmas. While he had a few enjoyable moments with the ghosts, it was disappointing that Pete, the ghost he was closest to, wasn’t around.
Hetty Can Be Seen By The Living One Day of the Year
In the early seasons of the show Ghosts, the character Hetty frequently expressed prejudiced views against Irish people, reflecting the biases of her time. The irony came to light when a DNA test revealed Hetty is Irish, which she found quite embarrassing. Thankfully, she eventually came to terms with and celebrate her Irish roots, despite having previously spoken negatively about her homeland.
Hetty’s ghost powers first appeared in season 4, episode 16, “St Hetty’s Day,” when Jay’s cousin Sunil came to visit Woodstone Mansion. She was able to communicate with Sunil, and he could see her, confirming she’s visible to humans—but only for one day each year on St. Patrick’s Day.
It’s true that Hetty’s abilities aren’t often useful – they only appear once a year and last for just a single day. Still, this is a particularly noticeable time when Ghosts bends its own established rules. Specifically, on St. Patrick’s Day, Hetty gains the power to communicate with living humans just as easily as Sam can talk to ghosts.
Alberta Communicates With Her Great-Great-Grandniece By Humming
Image courtesy of Everett Collections
Just one episode before this, Alberta’s ghostly abilities were useful in season 4, episode 15, “The Bachelorette Party,” showing she can almost directly communicate with people. When Alberta suspected her great-great-niece’s fiancé was unfaithful, she teamed up with Sass to try and warn her.
When Alberta realized her mistake, she hummed the jazz song “Ain’t Misbehavin’” to convince her great-great-grandniece that her partner had been loyal. The fact that her descendant could hear the song and understand the message shows Alberta is able to communicate with others, as long as they can figure out what her songs mean.
Okay, so watching this, it seems like Alberta is the best at actually talking to living people among all the ghosts. But honestly, there’s another ghost who can pretty much always get through, and it totally proves Sam never really had some special gift throughout the whole show. It makes you rethink everything!
Trevor Can Communicate With Living People Through Typing
In the show Ghosts, Trevor has the ability to move small objects a short distance, which initially seems like a pretty underwhelming power compared to the others living in Woodstone Mansion. But once he discovers the internet, Trevor quickly realizes he can actually have a surprisingly rich and fulfilling life using just this one skill.
In season 4, Trevor surprisingly lands a well-paying job and keeps it secret from Sam and Jay. He even asks for their help, tricking his company into thinking he’s at a work retreat by having Jay stand in for him. But this isn’t his most impressive feat yet.
When Trevor’s daughter, Abbi, comes to Woodstone after a long period of no contact, Trevor tries to reach out by secretly texting her using Sam’s phone. This nearly ruins their relationship. Luckily, Sam steps in and convinces Abbi to be open to reconnecting. Later, in season 5, Trevor learns to communicate with Abbi directly, using his abilities.
Throughout the fifth season, Trevor finds ways to connect with his daughter, despite his difficulty communicating, showing that he’s not the only one who can reach across the divide between the living and the dead. While Alberta, Hetty, and Sass can sometimes briefly connect with people, Trevor is uniquely able to have clear and direct conversations with them.
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2025-12-27 00:30