Wraiths are spirit-beings, similar to ghosts, banshees and shades in that they are the spectral forms of a once-living person. Unlike banshees, who appear to be formed only from the souls of undead women, wraiths can be of either gender. They also appear to be of either elven or human origin most of the time. Some trolls in Zul’Gurub and the Sunken Temple manifest as wraiths before they die. Wraiths appear as partially see-through shapes with a roughly humanoid shape, although notably missing legs, and with a shapeless, incorporeal, unidentifiable head.

They are typically either bluish or purple, and turn into a little ball when destroyed.