The ghost appears first in act 1, scene 1, to Marcellus, Bernardo, and Horatio. The others have asked Horatio to come and watch with them so that he may see and speak to the ghost, but when he attempts to question it, the ghost disappears. It reappears briefly in the same scene, and they attempt to force it to stay and speak, but without success. During these two brief appearances, the ghost is completely silent.

In act 1, scene 4, the ghost appears again, this time to Marcellus, Horatio, and, crucially, Hamlet. Again, the ghost is silent but beckons to Hamlet to follow it. At the beginning of act 1, scene 5, when alone with Hamlet, the ghost finally speaks, telling Hamlet that it is the ghost of his murdered father and bidding Hamlet seek revenge. The ghost leaves as dawn draws near, with a final injunction to Hamlet not to include his mother in his revenge, but to “leave her to heaven.” The ghost is clearly very angry but is also rather majestic and distant, as befits both a king and a spirit. Despite appealing briefly to Hamlet’s filial love, he relies more on justice and honor than affection in his appeal to revenge. The ghost only speaks once after this, and it is with the same stern and commanding manner.

The ghost reappears briefly in act 3, scene 4. This time it appears before both Hamlet and Gertrude, but only Hamlet can see it. The ghost speaks to Hamlet again, with similar diction and matter as the last time it addressed him:

Do not forget: this visitation
Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose.
But, look, amazement on thy mother sits:
O, step between her and her fighting soul:
Conceit in weakest bodies strongest works:
Speak to her, Hamlet.

Hamlet does so, but Gertrude can perceive nothing of the ghost, which soon “steals away,” never to be seen again.

Presumably it is satisfied, or at any rate appeased, by the eventual death of Claudius, but it does not return to say so. Its last appearance is similar to its first, since, except for the cursory reminder quoted above, it is entirely silent. The fact that it is not perceptible to all those present is new, however.