What the Lady's sayin', pal, is that you're talkin' to the experts. The gurus. The goddamn chilite. And we're here t'pass judgment on some supposedly apocalyptic off-menu stew. 
- — Mr. Hitch
Ghosts (Volume 2) #1 is a one-shot with a cover date of December, 2012.
Synopsis for "The Night After I Took the Data Entry Job I Was Visited by My Own Ghost"
One night, a man named Janie is visited by his own ghost. It is the ghost of his future self not-to-be. After taking a job doing data entry, this ghost has come to haunt him, given that the future in which he was to become an alternative 80's band's keytarist would never occur as a result.
Regardless, Janie decides to just let the spirit haunt him. That is, however, until he realizes that others can see and hear the ghost. The ghost realizes the potential of that development, and introduces himself to Janie's friends, who soon realize that they like the ghost version better. Soon, the ghost's tenacity is noticed by one of Janie's superiors at work, and he is hired above Janie.
Disgusted by his ghost's interest in such business activities as "synergizing", Janie decides to quit. That night, he is visited by a second ghost - the ghost of his future self in the data-entry world.
Appearing in "The Night After I Took the Data Entry Job I Was Visited by My Own Ghost"
Featured Characters:
- Janie (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Musician Janie's Ghost (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Employee Janie's Ghost (Single appearance) (Cameo)
- Janie's friends (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
- Kurt Cobain (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Vertigo Universe (Unnamed)
- The Afterlife (Mentioned only)
- Alternate Vertigo Universe Future (Janie dies after becoming a musician) (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
Items:
- Ghost Janie's Guitar (Single appearance)
Concepts:
Synopsis for "Run Ragged"
The Dead Boy Detectives are on the case again. This time, they have been hired by Libby and Maggie Rosendale to find the ghost of their cat Twinkle.
According to Libby, Twinkle was often getting into fights, and one day was injured by a much larger dog. On the way to the vet, another dog ran out, and caused a car accident that killed two men, and the dog too. The cat was last seen on the Isle of Dogs.
Edwin Paine is getting rather tired of Charles Rowland's propensity for taking cases that are beneath them, all because he hopes that a girl will like him. Maggie is older, and Charles hopes that she may like him. Edwin, on the other hand, warns that he will stop playing detectives with Charles if this keeps up.
While searching for Twinkle, the boys are attacked by the ghost of a schoolmaster, who straps their hands with his cane and drags them inside his schoolhouse. He introduces himself as Mr. Locke, and shows them to a classroom full of unhappy children. Edwin complains that now, they are trapped there, all because of a cat.
Appearing in "Run Ragged"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Libby Rosendale (First appearance) (Flashback and main story)
- Maggie Rosendale (First appearance) (Flashback and main story)
Antagonists:
- Mr. Locke (First appearance) (As a spirit)
Other Characters:
- Isle of Dogs Ragged School students (First appearance) (Only as spirits) (Cameo)
- Mr. Rosendale (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (Dies in flashback) (Cameo)
- Mrs. Rosendale (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (Dies in flashback) (Cameo)
- Twinkle the Cat (First appearance) (Flashback only)
Locations:
- Vertigo Universe (Unnamed)
Items:
Concepts:
Synopsis for "Wallflower"
Once, Mimi Simard loved her husband, and he loved her. They started a home and a life together. Withing two years, they had had their son. Within ten years, it felt as though time had got away from her, and she could no longer stop things from moving on without her. Her husband's work kept him from home, sometimes, and she was busy with house work a lot. All the while, she would paint portraits of her family, as she saw it.
Before she knew it, Mimi's son had graduated from high school, and she and her husband were alone again. That was when their love went missing. While she continued to pursue her art and her interests, her husband remained in his routine, working and occasionally playing poker with his friends. Soon, it was if she had faded from his life; like a ghost.
He barely seemed to notice when she left him, but the longer he was without her, the lonelier he got, until he began to feel himself fading away. One day, though, he felt a tugging at his chest, and followed that tug through the night until he found a gallery show, showing the works of Mimi Simard.
Mimi sensed a presence in the crowded room that caused her friends to comment that she looked as though she had seen a ghost. When she laid eyes on her husband, they became visible to each other again. This phenomenon is not unusual. No matter how far they roamed from one another, their hearts would always haunt them.
Appearing in "Wallflower"
Featured Characters:
- Mimi Simard (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Mimi Simard's husband (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (Also as a spirit)
- Mimi Simard's son (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Vertigo Universe (Unnamed)
Items:
Concepts:
Synopsis for "The Boy and the Old Man"
Though he is dying, the Old Man is ready to go. One thing bothers him still, though. His grandson will not leave his side, as he loves him so much. As night falls in the jungle, the boy hears a rustle of leaves and worries. The Old Man knows that these are the spirits who have come for him, and rises to his feet with some difficulty, but the spirit points at the boy instead, and the Old Man is horrified when the creature tries to take his grandson.
Weakly, the Old Man takes a tree branch and strikes at the evil being with it. Surprised, the demon releases the boy and shrieks his anger through the jungle. In that moment of reprieve, the boy attacks the demon as well, but the demon is stronger. Again, the Old Man tries to beat the demon back himself, thrusting his arm deep into the creature's jaws. In the ensuing skirmish, the boy is knocked unconscious.
He wakes some time later, alone. He cannot be sure if it was a dream. Searching the clearing, all that he can find is the demon's tongue, torn from its throat by his grandfather's iron grip.
Appearing in "The Boy and the Old Man"
Featured Characters:
- The Boy (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
- The Old Man (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Aztec Demon (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
Other Characters:
- Gods of Mexico
- Quetzalcoatl (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Vertigo Universe (Unnamed)
Items:
Concepts:
Synopsis for "A Bowl of Red"
John Ferlinde loves chili, and at the Pod of the Pass Chili Cookoff in El Paso, Texas, he tells of how he once found the perfect chili. It was so hot as to have been cooked by the devil himself. The judges of the cookoff are less concerned with this chili than with how Mr. Ferlinde managed to get so horribly burnt and disfigured. This, he explains, is the price he paid for tasting the perfect chili.
Regardless, the judges require that they taste this chili, as they are the experts. Though he finds their doubt blasphemous, John directs them to a restaurant in El Paso that makes this chili. The proprietor of that restaurant, Mr. Dante, assures them that it is the perfect chili, but warns that it comes with a cost. The judges are unconvinced, and each order a bowl. He asks them to come back at midnight.
That night, Mr. Dante appears bearing a ghost pepper, with a rating of over one million heat units, surpassing even the jalapeno and habanero. The judges mock it, having tasted it already. They have come for something life-changing. Dante explains that the ghost pepper is merely a palate cleanser. Tonight, they will be eating the undead pepper, a dish that can only be savoured by the truly devoted.
Dismissively Mr. Hitch simply digs in to the chili. At first, he is unimpressed, until he tastes something special. He is so excited by it that he begins shovelling the chili into his mouth having never tasted such a thing before. His face begins to sweat, and his skin begins to glow with such a brightness that he bursts into flame. All he can scream as he burns to death is that he just wants one more taste.
Mr. Dante explains that Mr. Hitch was a skeptic. Had he been a true believer, he might have survived. In horror, the remaining judges make for to leave, but Dante warns that whether they leave or not, the pepper will come for them and their devotion, as promised. Eventually, they must eat the chili.
One judge takes her first bite of the chili, and exclaims that it is very good. In her excitement, she gives herself over to the chili, and is transformed herself into an undead pepper tree. Dante turns to the remaining judge, Moses Carter, and states that the previous judge's example is the one to follow. As he has judged chili, he must now be judged by chili, and face the consequences.
Cautiously, Moses Carter raises the first bite of chili to his mouth.
Appearing in "A Bowl of Red"
Featured Characters:
- Aaron Hitch (Single appearance; dies)
- Jane (Single appearance)
- Moses X. Carter (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- John Ferlinde (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- Jericho Dante (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- The Devil (Lucifer Morningstar) (Mentioned only)
- El Paso Police Department (Mentioned only)
- God (Mentioned only)
- Satan (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Vertigo Universe (Unnamed)
- Hell (Mentioned only)
- Paradise (Mentioned only)
Items:
- Ghost pepper (Cameo)
- La Pimienta de Los Undead/The Undead Pepper (Single appearance)
Concepts:
Synopsis for "Bride"
There was a couple of pretentious, wealthy eccentrics. He called her the Crone, and she called him the Horse. That was until the Crone died. Since then, the Horse has held her ashes in a jewel encrusted urn. In a delusional fit, the Horse throws the urn on the floor, spilling its ashes out. His manservant Edmund hears the noise and offers to help, but he will not allow the man to touch the ashes.
Not wanting to suck her up into the vacuum cleaner, the Horse tastes the ashes, and then stuffs them into his pipe, smoking them. The Crone was much older than he, but their friends knew they were in love. Wanting more of her, he snorts her ashes like cocaine. Every time he consumes a little bit of her, he sleeps well, for once. He hadn't, since she died - not until he'd tasted her.
After a while of it, he has begun to run out of her. When he finally loses it all, he has nothing, and can't sleep anymore. At last, he shoots himself in the head, prompting his servants to wonder how they will throw out all of the crap that he had amassed.
Appearing in "Bride"
Featured Characters:
- The Crone (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
- The Horse (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
Supporting Characters:
- Edmund (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Vertigo Universe (Unnamed)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Treasure Lost"
Prince Bakk and his sister Nifa of the Steven Clan were abducted by the pirates of the Ghost Ship. Nearly a year later, an unexplained explosion allowed them the opportunity to escape. Cleverly, Bakk tells the captain that he believes that the first mate, Dosik, made a deal with Nifa to have the ship delivered over to his father, and be heralded a hero. The captain believes it must be true.
Bakk cares nothing for escape - only retribution for the humiliation he faced at Dosik's hands. Now, Dosik and the Captain face off in battle with sister and brother urging the opposite on. In a way, the siblings are fighting each other by proxy.
They had initially been unified in their rebelliousness, but when their father refused to negotiate, discipline broke down, and Dosik came to rape Nifa. When Bakk had tried to defend her honour, he was defeated. It was not the defeat that angered him most though, but the fact that Nifa was turned by Dosik. So, Bakk began ingratiating himself with the captain, becoming his cabin boy.
The battle ends suddenly, when Dosik runs the captain through. At that same moment, Bakk's true father bursts onto the ship. Overwhelmed by the loss of the captain, Bakk becomes angry, and kills his own father. In horror, Nifa explains that she had slept with Dosik in order to protect Bakk; that it was she who sabotaged the ship and caused the explosion so that their father could find them. Now, though, it would be better for them to die there than for their people to learn what they did.
Appearing in "Treasure Lost"
Featured Characters:
- Prince Bakkk (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- The Pirates of the Ghost Ship (Single appearance)
- The Captain (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
Antagonists:
- Dosik (Single appearance)
- Nifa (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- The Steven Clan of Paruga (Single appearance)
- King of the Steven Clan (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
Locations:
- Vertigo Universe (Unnamed)
- Paruga (Single appearance)
Items:
Vehicles:
- The Ghost Ship
Synopsis for "The Dark Lady"
Joe looks through the forest for his friend Manny, else they'll be late for church. On his way, he meets Flora, who has got herself up into a tree. He offers to help her down, but she refuses his help. So, Joe continues his search.
He finds Manny looking through the bushes at a strange, darkly dressed lady on a nearby hill. Curious, they decide to follow her. She wanders to the graveyard, laying a bouquet of flowers down onto a grave. Manny is eager to see which grave it is, but Joe is hesitant. They believe that she is a ghost, and Joe reveals stories of how people have been lying in bed at night, and opened their eyes to find the dark lady standing over them. Manny claims that that actually happened to him once. Even so, he hadn't been scared by it so much as comforted.
Manny decides that he is going to skip church and check out the grave the dark lady placed her flowers on. He realizes that she put flowers on two graves: his and Joe's. Manny wonders why she would place flowers on their graves if she didn't know them when they were alive.
Joe spots Flora flying by, and the boys decide to join her in a haunting.
Appearing in "The Dark Lady"
Featured Characters:
- Joe (Single appearance)
- Manny (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Ghosts
- The Dark Lady (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
- Flora (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Vertigo Universe (Unnamed)
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Ghost-for-Hire"
Jack and Julie Jacobson hear a strange noise in their home, and soon become convinced that their house is haunted. By morning, they have moved out, and put their house on the market. This is exactly what the new owner wanted, having hired Eddie Chance to scare them out. Eddie's secret is this: the house was haunted, by the ghost of his brother Louis. The pair of them have a business called Ghost-For-Hire.
Their next job is to scare the mother of the Mockery siblings out of her house, as they need the money from the house's sale as soon as possible. It is their hope that they can scare her enough that they can justify throwing her into a home and selling the house. They assure Eddie that their mother doesn't have a weak heart, so there's no danger of scaring her to death. Louis is reluctant to do a job like this, having enough qualms already with scaring people for a living. Even so, Eddie reminds that they need the money.
The Mockerys are eager to get to Barbados when Eddie knocks on their door. Sadly, he explains that the haunting went like it usually does - until their mother had a stroke and died. Uncaring, they pay him and urge him not to speak of it again. Once Eddie is gone, they happily celebrate their coming trip.
A voice calls out to them by name, calling them bad children. An apparition of their mother appears before them, and ominously warns them to go to Barbados and never return again. Terrified, they rush outside with their bags in hand.
His work done, Louis returns to Eddie's side, pleased that the Mockery's won't be bothering their mother again. They had done the right thing, leaving Mrs. Mockery alone, and they had made the last bit of money that Eddie needed.
Louis wonders what Eddie needed all that money for, and Eddie takes him to the grave yard he was buried at. There, Eddie has used the money to erect a memorial statue to his brother, with the inscription: "The best brother anyone ever had."
Appearing in "Ghost-for-Hire"
Featured Characters:
- Eddie Chance (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Louis Chance (Single appearance) (As a spirit) (Also as a statue) (Impersonates Mrs. Mockery)
Antagonists:
- Melvin Mockery (Single appearance)
- Marilyn Mockery (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Julie Jacobson (Single appearance)
- Jack Jacobson (Single appearance)
- Mrs. Mockery (Single appearance) (As an illusion only)
Locations:
- Vertigo Universe (Unnamed)
- United States of America
- Barbados (Mentioned only)
Items:
Concepts:
Notes
- The "Run Ragged" story continues in the Time Warp (Volume 2) #1 one-shot.
- The Dead Boy Detective's story continues from Dead Boy Detectives #1.
- "The Boy and the Old Man" features an introduction from Karen Berger, explaining that this was the last story to be written and illustrated by Joe Kubert before his death.
See Also