El fantasma desapareció.

Because fantasma is normally a masculine noun in Spanish: el fantasma.

A lot of Spanish nouns ending in -a are feminine, but there are important exceptions. Many nouns of Greek origin ending in -ma are masculine, for example:

• el problema
• el sistema
• el tema
• el fantasma

So the article has to match the noun’s grammatical gender: el fantasma.

In some contexts, if you specifically want to talk about a female ghost, you may hear la fantasma, but the standard dictionary form is el fantasma.

Desapareció is the third-person singular preterite form of desaparecer.

That means it can mean:

• he disappeared
• she disappeared
• it disappeared
• the ghost disappeared

In this sentence, the subject is el fantasma, so desapareció means the ghost disappeared.

The preterite is used for a completed action in the past.

So El fantasma desapareció presents the disappearance as a finished event:

• the ghost disappeared
• it vanished

This is different from the imperfect, which would suggest an ongoing, repeated, or background action.

For example:

• El fantasma desaparecía = the ghost was disappearing / used to disappear

In your sentence, the preterite is the natural choice because it refers to one completed event.

The accent mark shows where the stress goes: de-sa-pa-re-CIÓ.

Without the accent, Spanish spelling rules would make you stress it differently. The accent tells you the final syllable is stressed.

It also helps identify the verb form clearly:

• desaparezco = I disappear
• desaparecía = was disappearing
• desapareció = disappeared

So the accent is an important part of the spelling.

A Spain Spanish pronunciation would be approximately:

el fan-TAS-ma de-sa-pa-re-THYÓ
or in areas of Spain with seseo less common in mainland standard, more like
el fan-TAS-ma de-sa-pa-re-SYÓ

A few tips:

• fantasma is stressed on tas: fan-TAS-ma
• desapareció is stressed on the last syllable: de-sa-pa-re-ció
• In most of Spain, ci is pronounced like thy in a soft way: ció
• The r in desapareció is a single tapped r, not a full rolled rr

Because Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed.

The verb ending -ó already tells you the subject is third-person singular, and the noun el fantasma is explicitly there anyway.

So:

• El fantasma desapareció = The ghost disappeared

Adding él would usually be unnecessary unless you want extra emphasis or contrast.

Yes. Spanish word order is more flexible than English.

• El fantasma desapareció = neutral, straightforward statement
• Desapareció el fantasma = also correct, but it can sound more literary, dramatic, or focused on the action

In English, word order is much more fixed, but in Spanish both versions are grammatical.

El means the, so it refers to a specific ghost, or a ghost already known in the context.

• El fantasma desapareció = The ghost disappeared
• Un fantasma desapareció = A ghost disappeared

If the sentence uses el, it usually means the speaker and listener either already know which ghost is being talked about, or the ghost is being treated as a specific one in the story.

Normally, no. Desaparecer is usually used as a non-reflexive verb:

• El fantasma desapareció = The ghost disappeared

You do not normally say se desapareció in standard Spanish from Spain for this meaning.

So for learners, the safest and most standard form is simply:

• desaparecer
• desapareció

The infinitive is desaparecer, meaning to disappear.

It is built from:

• des- = a prefix often suggesting reversal, removal, or undoing
• aparecer = to appear

So desaparecer literally has the idea of to un-appear, which matches to disappear.

This can help you remember it:

• aparecer = to appear
• desaparecer = to disappear

Yes, very often.

In Spain, the present perfect is commonly used for recent past events or events connected to the present:

• El fantasma ha desaparecido = The ghost has disappeared

Your original sentence:

• El fantasma desapareció = The ghost disappeared

Both are correct, but the choice depends on context:

• desapareció = a completed past event, often in narration or a more finished past context
• ha desaparecido = often a recent event or one still relevant now, especially common in Spain

Yes. Besides the literal meaning ghost, fantasma can also be used in extended or figurative ways.

For example:

• empresa fantasma = shell company / fake company
• ciudad fantasma = ghost town

But in El fantasma desapareció, the most natural reading is the literal noun ghost.

Yes, it is completely natural and correct.

El fantasma desapareció is a simple, standard sentence with:

• a definite article: el
• a noun: fantasma
• a past tense verb: desapareció

It sounds like a normal sentence from a story, description, or report.