Yes, they are written by Harriet herself.



Hmmm... Not to me at least. For a few books, it's always been "Perrin might lose his soul if he's not careful and can't master what he is, his emotions and so on" - remember the synopsis of KOD about his willigness to make a deal with the Shadow (he thought the Seanchan were DF, it turned out, but was still willing to ally with them to save Faile). The expression generally refer to old enemies, or old conficts returning to haunt you. Or the consequences of old decisions playing out, or to a burden of guilt about the past. It could also refer to old issues Perrin has not yet mastered, most of all the fact he's a wolfbrother. Generally, when he nearly loses control, it's in very tense situations.

There's plenty of all of the above to choose from....

- Faile in danger. If Perrin has to accept to let Faile do what she must and it means they must separate for a while, this may raise the spectre of her captivity. Perrin became barely functional, and more and more he was like a wolf: he didn't wash, he growled at people all day, he was totally obsessed by the hunt, was willing to give up even TG to save her, didn't care anymore he believed his allies (Seanchan) were DF etc.

- Last they parted, Bornhald and Perrin were hardly friends - more like sworn enemies, and Perrin is very close right now to the location where he met Gaul and killed Whitecloaks again. Bornhald and Byar are certainly spectres from Perrin's past, and the murdered Whitecloaks even more. They will certainly make more difficult any negotiations between Perrin and Galad, and if/when Galad overules the pair (for eg: Morgase/Lini convinces him Perrin saved her life and Galad's honour makes it impossible to do anything to the man who saved his mother), they won't be happy one bit, and many Whitecloaks may not be either - not happy with Galad, for one thing, and about Perrin being let free and unpunished in general. Byar especially could try to kill Perrin, or Faile (wife of a DF, that makes her one to a WC for sure...)

- In the past, Perrin has nearly lost himself to the wolf several times. In the mountains in TDR, at Ramen, in TAR in Tear, at Dumai's Wells, in the torture scene, at Malden most importantly and despite having given up the axe. And Hopper thinks he has much work to do yet to master his inner wolf, and he must do it before TG... Nearly losing himself to the wolf is definitely a spectre in Perrin's past. He murdered his wife'sa saviour while in that state.

- Other spectres from Perrin's past: Fain murdered his whole family, and he felt guilty for arriving too late. A threat to the Two Rivers while he isn't there to protect it and can't afford to go could be another spectre. The way he feel he let Aram down and how it got him killed is another spectre haunting Perrin - what if was to cross path with Raen's band going South to seek? The murder of Masema by Faile could be another spectre - she had to do what Perrin was too weak to do, what the WO advocated, what Faile would have convinced him to do had she not been a captive. Perrin's deal with the Seanchan could come back to haunt him too - especially the part of it where he gave Wise Ones away to be enslaved. The WO with Rand are very pissed about that, and this may come back to haunt Perrin. Galina Casban is another spectre, her return as unlikely as it may sound. The Shaido could be a spectre too - they may fail to cross to the east and turn back.


As for real ghosts hauting Perrin (a possibility too, as you pointed out), there's plenty to choose from: his "victims", Aram, Masema and so on.

Plenty of possibilities, so it's not really surprising.