A Spectre is a fictional being invented by the fantasy fiction author Philip Pullman for his trilogy, His Dark Materials. They appear in the second and third volumes, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. For other definitions of fantasy see fantasy (psychology). ... Philip Pullman Philip Pullman CBE (born October 19, 1946), is a British writer, educated at Exeter College, Oxford, who is the best-selling author of the His Dark Materials trilogy of fantasy novels and a number of other books, purportedly for children, but attracting increasing attention by adult readers. ... The trilogy (non-North American versions), in order of succession from left to right. ... The Subtle Knife Cover The Subtle Knife is the second novel in the His Dark Materials series, written by British novelist Philip Pullman, and published in 1997. ... Will and Lyra (in yellow) The Amber Spyglass is the third and final novel in the His Dark Materials series, written by British novelist Philip Pullman, and published in 2000. ...

These beings are invisible to pre-adolescents, and cannot harm them. To adults, they appear as slight shimmerings in the air, and move with malevolence. If they catch an adult, they eat the adult's soul out, leaving the person as a lifeless zombie. When travelling, all human groups have to by law contain a man and woman on horseback to flee and look after the young. Spectres did not have the ability to fly, so air travel over Cittàgazze was the only safe means possible for an adult to cross the city. Toward the end of The Subtle Knife, Mrs. Coulter teaches the Spectres how to fly. Marisa Coulter is a fictional character, the mother of Lyra Belacqua in Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials series. ...

Spectres cannot be killed by humans, but are warded off by The Subtle Knife. As such, the city that is infested with them, Cittàgazze, is bereft of all adults. It speculated that spectres, or similar creatures, may exist in our universe, but those who sense them are viewed as being mentally ill - the character Will wonders if this might affect his mother. Angels have some means of neutralizing Spectres and ghosts may be able to combat them. Æsahættr (or god-destroyer) is the name of the subtle knife in Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials trilogy. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Spectres are created from the use of the Subtle Knife, a knife that can cut a window into another parallel universe. Whenever it does this, a gap is left that opens into the void between worlds, and a Spectre escapes from this void.

The largest example of such a happening was during the end of The Northern Lights, when Lord Asriel cuts between worlds by harnessing the energy given off when separating Roger from his daemon. This created a fog storm over Cittàgazze, and produced the bulk of the Spectres in the city.