geist

noun2

1. •
   Spirit (of a group, age, era, etc).

   • The population that today explodes on a stagnant society with a catastrophic echo, is the geist of the times that shock our great nation into a new sense of her grandeur. — 1974
2. •
   A ghost, an apparition.

   • Koerg was not slow to recognize a geist; his knees shook, and he dared not utter a word. — 1881