ganfer

plural ganfers

1. A kind of ghost found in the folklore of Orkney and Shetland.

   He lay on his bunk, pale as a ganfer.

   2008 February 14, Maxine Alterio, Ribbons of Grace, Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited, →ISBN

   3 more examples

   […] by Ghosts here called Ganfers, in all which many place more confidence than in the more reasonable propositions that can be adduced to convince them of the absurdity of such notions.

   1879, George Low, A tour through the islands of Orkney and Schetland, with an intr. by J. Anderson, page 8

   ... Ganfers or ghosts are, however, very commonly seen, particularly by the sagacious shelty.

   1891, Samuel Hibbert, A Description of the Shetland Islands: Comprising an Account of Their Scenery, Antiquities and Superstitions. Edinburgh, A. Constable and Co. [etc., Etc.] 1822, page 249

   ... the Ganfers, the Sluagh, the Demons of Hell.

   2010 November 17, Anne Rice, Lasher, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 547