<p>Major spoilers ahead, be warned. Like suggested by Omry, maybe reading the manga or watching the anime if it closes up, maybe also Fairy Tail Zero, would be better than reading my answer. But anyway here it comes:</p>

<blockquote class="spoiler">
  <p> Mavis is, like Zeref, burdened with the Ankhseram Black Magic curse. This happend because she casted the magic "Law" in an incomplete state. The curse's direct effect - immortality - is the reason she didn't mature anymore, afterwards.<br />
 After the death of a guild member (Rita, Makarov's mother), which was most likely caused by the second effect of the curse (the more she cares about life, the more people would die), she fled and wandered around, trying to kill herself by starving.<br />
 After one year Zeref found her, of course still alive because of the curse. They came to love each other (another story), but their kiss caused Zerefs curse to kill Mavis, though she should be immortal.<br />
 But the curse still affected her, so she didn't die completly. Zeref brought her "corpse" to Precht, who sealed it inside the giant Lacryma after noticing there was still magic energy inside the body. And that's the reason she can still interact with the world in her ethereal body.</p>
</blockquote>

<hr>

<p>Edit:<br/>
If the question was, whether her "body" is really a ghost, the answer should be yes. Ethereal bodies like her do not exist physically, so it's basically a ghost like we'd normally think of it. She created the body on Tenryou island after the S-Class exam using magic, so she has kinda shown that it's not real.<br />
I don't think she really took phyiscal damage when falling, it's just that she was interacting with the physical world because she liked to. That's pure speculation, though.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-08T09:58:47.400Z
I don't think the OP is asking for the history behind Mavis' ethereal body. The OP seems to be asking what kind of body Mavis uses to interact (ghost type or some other) ..
Ero Sɘnnin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-08T09:59:54.933Z
ok, maybe I misinterpreted...
TheFlow0360
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-08T10:04:54.053Z
It's okay. You can edit your post to answer the OP's original question and also keep the history part intact.
Ero Sɘnnin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-21T02:12:26.667Z
The scenes where Mavis `had to go to the bathroom` and `fell taking physical damage from the fall` were, IIRC, not-so-serious scenes. My interpretation of those scenes is that they were for the laughs.
Keale
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-21T02:13:47.793Z
@TheFlow0360 Where did you read the `But the curse still affected her, so she didn't die completly. Zeref brought her "corpse" to Precht, who sealed it...`? Is it in Fairy Tail Zero or the in the main series?
Keale
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-21T05:35:59.007Z
@Keale I'd say it was the main series... I'll try to find the chapter if I can spare some time
TheFlow0360
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-25T13:01:36.007Z
sorry it took me so long, @Keale - it's Chapter 451 of the main series. The reason she still lives wasn't told, but Precht notices she still lives and in combination with the reason of her state ("overcoming" the immortality of her body as described in the previous chapter), it's pretty obvious that it's related to the curse
TheFlow0360
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-08T09:39:44.847Z
2016-01-11T07:11:02.900Z
2016-01-11T07:11:02.900Z
TheFlow0360
<p>She has not shown that she is not a ghost. For example, in one episode she said she had to go to the bathroom and in another episode, she tried to sit down and she fell taking physical damage from the fall.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-02T03:25:08.860Z
Just curious no need to get your hair in a tangle
Unown Kigino
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-02T11:13:22.973Z
A proper answer to this would include spoilers from the manga. I suggest reading it, or waiting until the anime gets there.
Omry
<fairy-tail>
Is Mavis of Fairy Tail really a ghost?
# Is Mavis of Fairy Tail really a ghost?
Posted by: username_0 on 2016-01-02
She has not shown that she is not a ghost. For example, in one episode she said she had to go to the bathroom and in another episode, she tried to sit down and she fell taking physical damage from the fall.
**Tags:** fairy-tail
> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Just curious no need to get your hair in a tangle  
> **username_1**: A proper answer to this would include spoilers from the manga. I suggest reading it, or waiting until the anime gets there.  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_2 on 2016-01-08. Score: 3
Major spoilers ahead, be warned. Like suggested by Omry, maybe reading the manga or watching the anime if it closes up, maybe also Fairy Tail Zero, would be better than reading my answer. But anyway here it comes:

> Mavis is, like Zeref, burdened with the Ankhseram Black Magic curse. This happend because she casted the magic "Law" in an incomplete state. The curse's direct effect - immortality - is the reason she didn't mature anymore, afterwards.  
> After the death of a guild member (Rita, Makarov's mother), which was most likely caused by the second effect of the curse (the more she cares about life, the more people would die), she fled and wandered around, trying to kill herself by starving.  
> After one year Zeref found her, of course still alive because of the curse. They came to love each other (another story), but their kiss caused Zerefs curse to kill Mavis, though she should be immortal.  
> But the curse still affected her, so she didn't die completly. Zeref brought her "corpse" to Precht, who sealed it inside the giant Lacryma after noticing there was still magic energy inside the body. And that's the reason she can still interact with the world in her ethereal body.

---

Edit:  
If the question was, whether her "body" is really a ghost, the answer should be yes. Ethereal bodies like her do not exist physically, so it's basically a ghost like we'd normally think of it. She created the body on Tenryou island after the S-Class exam using magic, so she has kinda shown that it's not real.  
I don't think she really took phyiscal damage when falling, it's just that she was interacting with the physical world because she liked to. That's pure speculation, though.
> **Comments:**
> **username_3** (2016-01-08): I don't think the OP is asking for the history behind Mavis' ethereal body. The OP seems to be asking what kind of body Mavis uses to interact (ghost type or some other) ..  
> **username_2** (2016-01-08): ok, maybe I misinterpreted...  
> **username_3** (2016-01-08): It's okay. You can edit your post to answer the OP's original question and also keep the history part intact.  
> **username_4** (2016-01-21): The scenes where Mavis `had to go to the bathroom` and `fell taking physical damage from the fall` were, IIRC, not-so-serious scenes. My interpretation of those scenes is that they were for the laughs.  
> **username_4** (2016-01-21): @TheFlow0360 Where did you read the `But the curse still affected her, so she didn't die completly. Zeref brought her "corpse" to Precht, who sealed it...`? Is it in Fairy Tail Zero or the in the main series?  
> **username_2** (2016-01-21): @Keale I'd say it was the main series... I'll try to find the chapter if I can spare some time  
> **username_2** (2016-01-25): sorry it took me so long, @Keale - it's Chapter 451 of the main series. The reason she still lives wasn't told, but Precht notices she still lives and in combination with the reason of her state ("overcoming" the immortality of her body as described in the previous chapter), it's pretty obvious that it's related to the curse  
---
