[Verse 1]
There's a ghost
There's a ghost inside of me
Not like those draped in ol' bedsheets
Saying "trick or treat"
Different
Oh this ghost is different
Not one that leaves me scared to death
But one that puts my fear to rest
[Chorus]
Oh-oh-ohhhh, oh-ohh
Holiness keep haunting me
Oh-oh-ohhhh, oh-ohh
You're my hope, You're my peace
Ironic in a way
I'm no longer afraid
And the ghost is to blame
[Verse 2]
There's a ghost
There's a ghost inside of me
Not something from some campfire story
Where I'm terrified to sleep
Opposite
This ghost is quite the opposite
He came just like a welcomed friend
I was comforted
[Chorus]
Oh-oh-ohhhh, oh-ohh
Holiness keep haunting me
Oh-oh-ohhhh, oh-ohh
You're my hope, You're my peace
Ironic in a way
I'm no longer afraid
And the ghost is to blame
[Verse 3]
I'm not afraid
I'm not afraid!
No longer afraid
Lead me through the darkness
Lead me through the unknown
Oh-ohh, lead me
Holy Ghost
Lead me through the darkness
Lead me through the unknown
Oh-ohh, lead me
Holy Ghost
Lead me through the darkness
Lead me through the unknown
Oh-ohh, lead me
Holy Ghost
Lead me through the darkness
Lead me through the unknown
Oh-ohh, lead me
Holy Ghost
Ghost
Song Meaning
MercyMe plays deliberately with a loaded word in "Ghost" — "there's a ghost inside of me, not like those draped in ol' bedsheets saying 'trick or treat.'" The song sets up the expected, spooky association only to invert it immediately: "this ghost is different, not one that leaves me scared to death, but one that puts my fear to rest."
"Holiness keep haunting me" keeps the wordplay going without becoming a gimmick — haunting is still the right verb, just aimed at something welcome rather than threatening. "I'm no longer afraid, and the ghost is to blame" credits the fear's absence directly to the presence usually associated with causing it, which is the whole song's central irony stated plainly.
The closing "lead me through the darkness, lead me through the unknown... Holy Ghost" finally spells out the wordplay's target directly, using the older, less common English title for the Holy Spirit that the whole song has been building toward without naming until the end.