Gold Ghost

The Gold Ghost is the first type of ghost that Luigi encounters in Luigi's Mansion.

One is first seen in the Foyer, carrying a key and going through a door into the Parlor. There, three of them accost Luigi, leading him to meet Professor E. Gadd. These three will later attack Luigi once he returned to the room, one-by-one, after that the latter has blown up the six gloomy candles with his new Poltergust 3000. They reappear countless times throughout the mansion, found in groups of two or more.

They move at a moderate speed towards Luigi and will try to punch him when at a short range, dealing 10 damage (or 20 in the hidden mansion), and they can cancel their attack if Luigi manages to get away. They are also vulnerable to any element.

Three Gold Ghosts (six in the Hidden Mansion of the Nintendo 3DS version) are fought as the first wave of ghosts Vincent Van Gore sends at Luigi.

Cameos
A Gold Ghost cameos in several later Mario games:
 * In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and its remake, a Gold Ghost makes a brief cameo appearance in Starbeans Cafe.
 * In Mario Power Tennis, the Gold Ghost, as well as several other generic ghost species from Luigi's Mansion, appear on the Luigi's Mansion tennis court and in the mini-game Terror Tennis.
 * In Mario Party 8, Gold Ghosts cameo in a mini-game, along with a Bowling Ghost.
 * A Gold Ghost also appears as a part of a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, along with a Purple Puncher and a Blue Twirler.