The article seeks to identify the characteristics of a current in theoretical thought referred to as spectral criticism. I am especially interested in the transformation by researchers within this trend of the Derridian concept of the ghost from the Spectre de Marx (1993) in relation to the categories of the literary text, interpretation, and questions of literary influence. Using as a reference the positions of David Punter, Maurice Blanchot and Jacques Derrida, the article points to the consequences for the perception and interpretation of a text of using the concepts of secrets, haunting, and the presence of the dead.