"Giving up the ghost" was the name of a BT song about dying, from 1999. Werewolves in "Zombies Ate My Neighbors" (1993) would literally produce their ghost as

"Giving up the ghost" was the name of a BT song about dying, from 1999. Werewolves in "Zombies Ate My Neighbors" (1993) would literally produce their ghost as part of their death animation. I don't hear it often but it's been part of the English vernacular for at least 30 years, and certainly before my time.