George R.R. Martin recently announced that "the real life Ghost" (one of the most loved characters in "Game of Thrones") passed away. His tweet fueled thousands of replies, but the writer wasn't talking about the "Game of Thrones" canine star -- It's time to explain what really happened a few days ago, so here are Martin's original tweet and some information about the wolf from the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary who recently died.

George Martin's original tweet

On May 23, George R.R. Martin, who wrote "The Song of Ice and Fire" book series, announced a wolf's death to the web.

Here's his tweet:

You may think that Martin is talking about the canine star, but he's actually talking about a wolf rescued from the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary, in New Mexico, who was personally named by George Martin and his wife Parris, along with nine other wolves.

Here's George R.R. Martin's second tweet.

Why Ghost is loved so much

Ghost is a direwolf bonded to Jon Snow, with white fur and red eyes, who was found by the Starks along with five other puppies (Summer, Grey Wind, Lady, Shaggydog and Nymeria).

At the beginning, he is the smallest of the pack, but he eventually grows to be the largest one. Ghost is loyal to Jon, is strong and exhibits a great deal of intelligence. Just like Jon, he's different (Jon is a bastard and he's an albino), and just like Jon, he's a true son of the Great North.

As Martin once said: "Jon was the bastard [...].The rest of them are all brothers and sisters.

He's only a half-brother, so he's not as closely tied to them ... So he's of them, he's part of the family [...] but he's a little bit apart too. Ghost is very similar to that. He's the albino, he's the one who makes no noise, so he's related to the other direwolves but one apart as well".

Quigley: the 'real' real life Ghost

The job of playing Ghost on the TV series belongs to a wolf named Quigley, who appeared for the first time during season 5, back in 2015. "Everyone calls me and asks me about Jon and Ghost, and what happens. I want to tell the world, but I can't" stated Quigley's trainer Andrew Simpson a while ago. Simpson also revealed that Quigley is always ready for a good shot, but he's often replaced by CGI effects during action scenes since it's difficult "to make an animal look like it's running full steam and then collapsing. Usually that is the time they bring in the animatronics or the CG".

Don't forget: "Game of Thrones" season 7 will premiere on July 16 on HBO.
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