Wraiths are a type of monster that feed on human brain fluids and can infect them with high doses of dopamine.
One appeared as monster of the week in the episode Sam, Interrupted, in which a wraith was feeding on psychiatric asylum patients. In Mommy Dearest, Eve incorporated some wraith traits into her Jefferson Starship hybrid monsters. A third known wraith preferred attacking psychics.
Characteristics[]
Wraiths feed on brain fluids, which can be extracted through a spike located in its wrists. They introduce it in a weak spot behind the ear to easily get to the victim's brain. Wraiths can use it as a weapon, but it seems to be easy to break. Victims with their brain fluids sucked out are left with completely dried brains.
A Wraith's retractable wrist spike.
It is shown that the best survival site for a wraith would be a psychiatric asylum, as it is the perfect place to feast on a regular basis—not only the patients' brains, soaked in dopamine, are delicious, but no one in the staff would believe them if they claim that there is a monster killing them, as the patients were diagnosed as unstable (psychologically speaking) and most of them suffer from some form of psychosis, schizophrenia, and/or several other mental disorders involving paranoia, reality distortions, hallucinations, and other delusions. Wraiths also have the ability to make a person mentally unstable just by touching them.
Wraiths true forms are revealed by mirrors like sirens and their main weakness is silver as just the touch of it badly burns them. Silver to the heart is fatal to them.
It was also revealed, in Patience, a Wraith has an evil aura that can be sensed by Psychics. Their aura is usually colored cold blue, but can later be switched into a fierce red. A Psychic, Dede, was shocked upon the revelation.
Physical Appearance[]
Depiction of a wraith from Martin Creaser's journal.
As other supernatural creatures, wraiths can look like typical humans. However, their real faces can be seen, and recognized as wraiths, when they are reflected on a mirror. Their true form is that of a humanoid creature with rotten skin.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Perception Altering - Like many monsters, wraiths can appear as humans. Their true form, however, can be revealed in a mirror, as you'll see that their faces are rotten.
- Insanity Inducement - It has been shown that wraiths possess an ability to infect people through physical contact, and make them psychologically unstable. The wraith that appeared in Sam, Interrupted revealed that they infect them by elevating a human's dopamine level and that they actually do not make them crazy—they just let their inner problems and emotions take over with a little help. The victims slowly become more and more emotionally unstable, and depending on the victim, their inner problems will begin to surface as realistic hallucinations (E.g. Dean and Sam Winchester's problems related to their life as hunters and their guilt over the Apocalypse, caused them to have hallucinations, as they began to not be able to tell apart reality from fantasy). However, when the wraith is killed, the venom loses its effect.
- Spikes - They have sharp retractable bone-like prongs on the back of each wrist. They use these to drain brain fluid and as a weapon. The spikes are quite brittle, and if broken cause the wraith great pain.
- Invulnerability - Wraiths cannot be killed by conventional means, they can be killed by silver or severe head trauma.
- Super Strength - Wraiths are naturally stronger than humans, able to easily overpower them, however, they are not so strong that they cannot be beaten.
- Super Agility - Wraiths are incredibly agile; one wraith was able to crawl through the walls and attack its victims by climbing out of the ventilation shaft.
- Regeneration - Wraith can grow back their skewers if they are broken off.
- Hydrokinesis - Water wraiths are a special type of wraith that can control water and are known to drown people.
Weaknesses[]
- Silver - Wraiths have a great weakness to silver; silver burns their skin, being stabbed in the heart by a silver blade will kill them. With one wraith, just getting stabbed in the side with silver killed him as the blow didn't even touch his heart. In another case, a Wraith died from having his throat and chest sliced open with silver claws.
- Mirrors - Mirrors reveal a wraith's true form.
- Spike Breaking - The breaking of their spikes causes great pain to a wraith.
- Severe Trauma/Extreme Brain Damage - Dean was able to kill a wraith by beating it to death with a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire. Apocalypse World Alternate Universe Bobby Singer was able to kill a wraith by throwing a hatchet into his head.
- Psychics - Psychics can see through a wraith's disguise due to their natural blue aura.
- Werewolves - Brad was able to cut Killer Wraith's belly with his claws.
- Djinn - Jamaica Djinn won a fight against Killer Wraith.[1]
- Explosions - Killer Wraith was killed when Garth blew up the entire monster fight club with C4.
History[]
Season 5[]
A wraith is at an mental hospital, where she feeds on the patients.
Season 9[]
In Bloodlines, a wraith, Marv, acts as a bodyguard for the shapeshifter Sal Lassiter. Marv's distorted reflection is noticed by Ennis Ross when he runs into them shortly before Irv Sokolowski attacks the club, killing many monsters with his homemade silver claw, including Marv. After hearing of the encounter from Ennis, the Winchesters explain that he had most likely seen a wraith.
Season 13[]
In Patience, a wraith kills physics and goes after one’s family.
Season 14[]
In Jack in the Box, a wraith attends Mary Winchester's hunter's memorial, only to be killed by Bobby Singer. Bobby explains that the wraith was part of a group that he and Mary had hunted together who had survived and presumably attended the memorial to gloat.
Season 15[]
In The Heroes' Journey, a wraith known as Killer Wraith takes part in the Monday Monster Mayhem fight club, nearly killing the werewolf Brad during a fight. Brad's brush with death causes his cousin-in-law Garth Fitzgerald IV to call in the Winchesters to investigate. After they are captured, the Winchesters witness a fight between Killer Wraith and Jamaica Djinn that Killer Wraith loses. All of the monsters in the fight club are killed shortly thereafter by Garth when he blows the entire place up with C4.
Known Wraiths[]
- J. Forman (deceased)
- Marv (deceased)
- Psychic Attacker (deceased)
- Memorial Wraith (deceased)
- Killer Wraith (deceased)
Etymology[]
Wraith is a Scottish dialectical word for "ghost, spirit". In popular culture, it is a ghost-like undead being that has many dark powers.
Appearances[]
- Season 1
- Dead In The Water (Water wraith, mentioned only)
- Season 5
- Season 6
- Mommy Dearest (mentioned only; wraith/vampire hybrids)
- Season 9
- Bloodlines (cameo)
- Season 12
- Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell (mentioned only)
- Season 13
- Season 14
- Don't Go In The Woods (mentioned only)
- Jack in the Box
- Season 15
- Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting (non-canon, mentioned only)
Gallery[]
