Ghost sightings can cover a wide range of clothes and that is generally because ghosts wear whatever they wore when their mortal form died. The concept of ghost

Ghost sightings can cover a wide range of clothes and that is generally because ghosts wear whatever they wore when their mortal form died. The concept of ghosts dressed in white gained prevalence at a time and place when white linens were rapidly becoming common for the average person. The industrial revolution increased the supply of white linen clothes, also white linen bedding, both at homes and in hospitals. Ghost stories gained popularity during this era, which was also a time of growing world population and growing deaths in densely populated areas. This intersection is why ghostly appearances very much fit the description of a nightgown-wearing tuberculosis patient. During the Victorian-era in Great Britain, the medical field was advancing rapidly, so a keener awareness of life and death coincided with customary dress/fashion of the time to produce stereotypical images of ghosts and ghouls.