"But, Mommeeeee -- I want this and this and this……!!!" Everyone knows a "Quaelgeist," you might even have one in your family: someone or something that is really bothersome, and won't easily be deterred -- a pest! The verb "quaelen" means to torment or bother and a "Geist" is a ghost. But, of course, it's rarely the ghosts that torments people; more often, it's persistent insects or whiney little children.