Simon “Ghost” Riley had a very traumatic childhood while growing up in Manchester, England because Simon “Ghost” Riley had a very traumatic childhood while growing up in Manchester, England because of his heartless father. On most days, his father brought dangerous animals back and taunted him with them, even going so far to force him to kiss a snake or threaten to kill him with them. When he and his younger brother Tommy got older, Tommy would always wear a skull-mask at night to scare Simon. 