  It is observed that the ``ghost'' (originally discovered by Landau in quantum
electro-dynamics) and its counterparts in other theories are indeed ubiquitous
as they occur in a one-loop approximation to any conventional (unbroken) gauge
theory. The mechanism is first exposed in its generality via the Dyson equation
and a simple but explicit example in condensed matter is provided through the
static Clausius-Mossotti and its dynamic counterpart the Lorenz-Lorentz
equation. The physical phase transition phenomenon associated with it is found
to be super-radiance. We verify quantitatively that water (and many other polar
liquids) are indeed super-radiant at room temperature. In quantum
chromo-dynamics on the other hand, we encounter, thanks to asymptotic freedom,
an ``anti-ghost'' which is closely associated with color confinement. Thus, in
QCD, free quarks and glue exist in a super-radiant phase and hadronic matter in
the normal one.
