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Could I say these sentences this way?

Hanako was possessed by a ghost.

> 花子さんは幽霊に憑依されました。

A ghost possessed Hanako

> 幽霊は花子さんを憑依しました。
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2022-01-07T15:27:53.670
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words word-usage english-to-japanese
How to say 'possessed' as in haunted by a ghost
憑依する is a correct word, but it is an **intransitive** verb that takes に. You
have to say:

> 幽霊は花子さん **に** 憑依しました。  
>  The ghost possessed Hanako.  
>  (or 幽霊 **が** if " _A_ ghost ...")

When you want to rephrase this with 花子 as the subject, yes, it's okay to say:

> 花子さんは幽霊 **に** 憑依されました。  
>  Hanako was possessed by a ghost.

If you thought "Wait, passive voice of an intransitive verb!?", remember there
is something called "sufferer passive" or "indirect passive" in Japanese
(e.g., 妻に死なれた, 雨に降られた). Even an intransitive verb works like this (as long as
Hanako is negatively affected by the possession).

取り付く is a wago version of this, and it's intransitive, too.

> 幽霊は花子さん **に** 取り付きました。  
>  The ghost possessed/haunted Hanako.
>
> 花子さんは幽霊 **に** 取り付かれました。  
>  Hanako was possessed/haunted by a ghost.

取り付く does not necessarily mean the ghost "gets in" and takes full control. As
is the case with most kango-wago pairs, 憑依 sounds technical and specifically
refers to the spirit possession, whereas 取り付く has [other
usages](https://jisho.org/word/%E5%8F%96%E3%82%8A%E4%BB%98%E3%81%8F).
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