5: Scarah Screams:
This banshee takes 'getting in your head' to a whole new level. Mindwork is powerful, manipulation is magic, and mind readers are rare. How I wish I possessed such a skill…
Banshees are Irish ghosts known for their ability to foretell death with an ear-splitting scream. It is for this reason they referred to as wailing spirits. However, a common mistake people make is that they think the banshee causes the death. While they may be able to hone their voice to a certain glass-shattering pitch, they are no more able to kill you with it than if I just yelled at you. No, all this ghoul's power comes from her psychological abilities.
What's interesting about telepathy is that it is not an inherited trait; it's a learned one. Of course, some are more inherently prone to being able to learn it, but, as far as I know, no one is born with the ability. So I have to give the ghoul credit for mastering such a difficult skill. As to why telepathy is such a powerful skill, that's pretty self explanatory: Infinite access to memories, thoughts, and feelings, the ability to predict what someone is going to do before they do it, impossibility of being unaware of any secret or scheme, the ability to locate someone who is invisible to the senses, telepathic communication, any number of psychological manipulation methods, the ability to tell when someone is lying...
The list goes on. However, the extent of the power behind these abilities is limited by the competence of the user. That is to say, the telepath needs to do something with these powers to make the threatening or dangerous. For instance, Scarah can predict if and when another monster will attack but, unless she has the right resources, will not be able to stop it. There is a difference between knowing and doing.
So yes, she is a serious threat in one sense, but the ghoul doesn't appear to appreciate getting too involved. Also, while I definitely don't want her overhearing what I don't want overheard, there is comfort in knowing that, among a throng of students, it is unlikely for her to pick up on any random consciousness unless her name or the name of someone relevant is thought. This is known as the 'cocktail party' effect: people here but don't listen to anyone else's conversation unless their ear, (or in this case mind) picks up a trigger word such as their own name. And it's a good thing too. I cannot tell you how miserable this mission would be otherwise…
I'm either a day early or three weeks late...