Nobody knows what the ghosts were before they died. Knuckles the Echidna considered them to be spirits of the soldiers who died during the Great War, although he didn't specify whether they were echidnas or Drakons. All he knew was of their terrifying nature and urged his friends not to get their attention. Buddy, a former Drakon, took this information to mean his former comrades-in-arms now inhabited the Zone and attempted to gain their respect. Unfortunately, the ghosts already had a master - the enormous King Boom Boo. In turn, they also followed Rouge the Bat when she wielded a magic hourglass, although they quickly gave up and went their own way once Rouge had left.