Phasmophobia Ghosts Guide - Ready Games Survive

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Arron is a featured team writer and lifelong gamer. Ever since he started playing games on his old SNES, and has been hooked ever since. He has a particular love for games like Pillars of Eternity, Skyrim, a variety of beloved indie titles, and also a few online shooters to serve as a means of avoiding open-world fatigue. Outside of gaming, he enjoys watching arthouse movies, playing Dungeons & Dragons, and writing fiction.

Ghosts Overview

Your main goal in Phasmophobia is to narrow down what type of ghost is haunting the mission’s location. To do this, players must use an assortment of tools they bring to the location in their van. However, the ghost will try to stop the players from doing so and can even kill them if they aren’t careful enough.

To prevent this from happening, it is essential to understand each type of ghost as well as the general rules of the survival game. Firstly, the players have a grace period where the ghost won’t interfere with them depending on the difficulty they are playing on. For Amateur difficulty, players have five minutes, Intermediate gives them two, and Professional gives them none.

It is also important to remember that ghosts hate it when you say their name. It is one of the game’s best features and monitors the player’s voice even if they have push-to-talk enabled. So, make sure not to say the ghost’s name unless you are prepared to deal with its anger.

I also highly recommend using the in-game journal as you find pieces of evidence. Your journal has a lot of information about each type of ghost, and you can enter the evidence you find. Doing so will cut down the list of ghosts in the journal, which can help you narrow your options.

Banshee

Banshees are furious spirits that want to hunt and kill the living. They are renowned for their unique piercing scream that has rattled the spirits of even the most stoic ghost hunters.

My favorite thing about the Banshee is that they target one particular hunter throughout the mission. This is a great mechanic because if the team of players isn’t prepared to deal with this behavior, it can be devastating. However, experienced players can also use it to their advantage by luring the Banshee to some regions of the map or other players not worrying about the Banshee while it is hunting another player.

The Banshee also has a unique screech that players can only hear when they use the parabolic microphone, which is a great way to identify it early in the match. They also perform musical ghost events more often than other ghosts, which is a fun way to tie in its musical theme.

When finding evidence that the ghost is a Banshee, you’ll need to find Fingerprints with a U.V. Light, catch Ghost Orbs on camera, and see its silhouette using a D.O.T.S. Projector. When hunting a Banshee, I think it is pivotal to determine which player is its target. This will allow other players to find evidence, and the target player can lead it into the D.O.T.S. Projector.

Demon

Demons are a classic supernatural entity and one of the most brutal ghosts for players to come across in Phasmophobia. They are my most minor favorite entity to face in the game, and that is because of their random nature. They are known to randomly target and attack players, making it very difficult to stick to a plan during a match.

They also have a lower cooldown for hunts and a higher sanity threshold, resulting in Demons attacking the players more frequently than other ghosts. This makes dealing with them even more difficult.

Demons have a particular weakness against crucifixes, which is a fun detail. So, once you think you’re facing a Demon, take full advantage of your team’s crucifixes. The best way to determine that you are facing a Demon is by paying attention to the cooldown between the ghost’s hunts. While facing a Demon, you should also take the time to prepare routes through the location ahead of time every time you go in to complete an objective or find evidence.

To gather evidence for the Demon, you need to find fingerprints with a U.V. Light, get them to write in a Ghost Writing Book and detect freezing temperatures with a Thermometer. Because of the Demon’s aggression, I recommend staying in small groups while trying to gather this evidence. Otherwise, you’ll find yourselves being singled out and killed one by one.

Goryo

Goryos are ghosts with fascinating lore from Japanese mythology. They are ghosts of martyred aristocrats that can cause disasters like famines or storms. Unfortunately, these elements of the Goryo are not present in Phasmophobia. Instead, they can only be detected by finding them with a D.O.T.S. Projector or catching them on a video camera. To help make this easier, they also have a smaller wander range when they aren’t actively hunting the players.

This makes detecting them relatively easy. All you have to do is set up a video camera and projector in a room and monitor them. Then, the final piece of evidence you need is an E.M.F. reading of at least level five. I wish that Goryo in the game had a more exciting representation of Goryo, mainly since how they are in the game makes them one of the easiest to deal with.

Hantu

In Indonesian lore, all Hantu spirits are not evil, but in Phasmophobia, they all are. They are a spirit that thrives in hot climates and is known to get angry and more directly aggressive when the weather turns cold. This means that it moves more quickly in cold areas of the map while moving slowly in warmer areas. They are even more likely to turn off fuse boxes to turn the heat off of maps, which is an exciting aspect of their behavior. So, I watch the fusebox to turn it back on whenever needed.

The easiest way to detect a Hantu is by seeing their cloudy breath in cold areas of the house. To officially classify the Spirit as a Hantu, you’ll need to find fingerprints with a UV Lamp, capture Ghost Orbs with a camera, and record freezing temperatures with a Thermometer. When hunting a Hantu, you should pay attention to the temperature to use it to your advantage. Keep track of the warm areas on the map and use those if it ever starts chasing you to ensure you can safely make it in time.

Jinn

Jinns are said to be spirits that were formed by desert fires that burned without smoke long before humankind existed. They are believed to have been made to worship God but ultimately turned away from their creator to torment his other creations. In Phasmophobia, they are a frightful type of Spirit that excels at chasing down hunters.

Their unique ability increases their movement speed if their hunt target is far enough away, allowing them to descend on unprepared players quickly. They also can lower players’ sanity by interacting with electrical items throughout the map.

To confirm the presence of a Jinn, you must gather an E.M.F. reading of level five, find fingerprints, and capture freezing temperatures. One of the most efficient ways to determine if you are hunting a Jinn is by leaving an E.M.F. reader at the fusebox. This will cause it to capture a level-five reading whenever the Jinn interacts with an electrical object on the map.

One thing I love about the Jinn is how it forces players to make an interesting decision regarding leaving the fuse box on or off. Turning it off disables both of the Jinn’s unique abilities but also decreases the players’ sanity through the lack of light. This results in more hunts and danger, so you must decide with your group when to leave it off or on, which is an exciting dynamic.

Mare

The Mare is one of the scariest ghosts in all of Phasmophobia. It is a spirit that hates the light and is encouraged in darkness. It hunts players more frequently when in the dark while constantly trying to douse the map in darkness by turning off lights, breaking light bulbs, and staying in dark rooms more often. It can even turn a light off right after the player turns it on, which is always the source of a good scare.

The weakness of the Mare in the light requires players to play around the lit areas of the house, which is an exciting way to set the pace for a match. However, keeping areas lit up against a Mare can be very difficult, making facing one all the more frightening. To confirm that you are facing a Mare, you’ll need to collect evidence from a Spirit Box, a Ghost Writing Book, and a camera that captures Ghost Orbs.

During Mare matches, you should always keep a team member near the fusebox so it can be re-activated if it gets turned off.

Myling

Mylings come from Scandinavian folklore. They are said to be born when their parents kill an unwanted child before baptism, leaving it trapped in the mortal world. It is a very active ghost that moves around during matches and can more frequently be heard on Parabolic Microphones. However, it knows how to be quiet and will soften its footsteps when hunting players to make catching them off guard easier.

When facing a Myling during a match, you’ll need to gather an E.M.F. reading of level five, get Ghost Writing, and find Fingerprints. Hunting a Myling is rather straightforward but does feature some details that make it especially unnerving. The more frequent noises made by the Myling help it feel like it is always watching the player, while the quiet of its hunting steps adds an uncomfortable silence that is then interrupted when a player is attacked.

Obake

In the Japanese lore it comes from, Obake is said to be shapeshifting spirits capable of taking on the form of animals or humans. These elements of the Obake are sadly absent in Phasmophobia, leaving its shapeshifting abilities only to be shown through the unique fingerprint they can leave. However, their fingerprints also disappear much faster than other spirits, making them difficult to find.

On top of finding fingerprints, hunters detecting an Obake also have to collect an E.M.F. level of five and capture Ghost Orbs on camera. Because of how quickly the Obake’s fingerprints disappear, however, players have to be particularly aggressive when hunting to try and find them in time.

I have also found it very easy for an Obake to seem like a different spirit because of its high chance of leaving normal fingerprints instead of its unique ones. For this reason, I recommend traveling with the U.V. Light out whenever possible to try and find a unique print if you suspect you are facing an Obake.

Oni

The Oni is a demonic ogre from Japanese mythology with sharp claws, tusks, and skin of an odd hue. It is an extremely active spirit type with a higher rate of interacting with objects, especially when people are nearby. Onis are also more likely to attack players when grouped up, forcing them to summon some bravery to venture out on their own.

While facing an Oni, players must capture it on a D.O.T.S. Projector, capture freezing temperatures, and get an E.M.F. reading of level five. However, they must mostly do these things since grouping up is highly dangerous. However, Onis do appear more frequently while hunting players. This is technically a weakness because it makes capturing a photo of them easier, but I also find it much more terrifying.

Onryo

Onryos are spirits that died violently, resulting in them seeking revenge on the living by stealing their souls. They also feature interesting gameplay mechanics based on fire. They cannot activate a hunt whenever a fire is lit, but they blow out flames more frequently and begin hunts immediately after doing so. This creates a very interesting foil in matches against Onryos that forces players to manage and upkeep sources of fire for protection.

To prove the presence of an Onryo, players need to receive a message from it on a Spirit Box, capture Ghost Orbs, and record Freezing Temperatures. When hunting an Onryo, it is of the utmost importance that players stay on top of keeping flames lit. I find it easiest to do this with candles. If managing the flames is done poorly, it will make the Onryo more aggressive and allow it to trigger frequent hunts, so make sure to have a strong player managing them.

Phantom

Phantoms are illusory ghosts with a knack for deceiving mortals with illusions and misdirection. It can be difficult to play around as its ability allows it to randomly wander through the map to different players. Then, when it is manifesting or hunting, any player it sees is subjected to an increased sanity drain. When hunting, however, it remains visible for longer than other ghosts, which allows players to take pictures of it more easily and force it to turn invisible for a short duration.

The Phantom is one of the more basic spirits in Phasmophobia and requires players to gather evidence of fingerprints, capture it on a D.O.T.S. Projector, and receive a message from it on a Spirit Box. When facing a Phantom, I recommend playing quickly to keep the Phantom from reaching either player. This will keep it from capitalizing on its ability and prevent it from impacting the players as much as possible.

Poltergeist

Poltergeists are ghosts notorious for interacting with the objects around them, moving them around, and causing general mischief. In Phasmophobia, Poltergeists are capable of moving around multiple items at once, which severely drains the sanity of nearby hunters that witness it. However, that is the Spirit’s primary behavior, so if you can get it into a room without any objects to move around, it is extremely weak.

When hunting a Poltergeist, you will need to get a recording of it from a Spirit Box, find its fingerprints, and bait it into writing for you. It is a straightforward spirit to hunt, so stick with the basics, and you’ll be okay.

Raiju

Raiju’s are a strong contender for being the most interesting Spirit in the game. This is because they absorb energy from electrical devices around them, increasing their aggression and speed. This is a neat idea on its own, but the fact that players need to use gear that powers it up to find its evidence makes for a great cost-and-benefit analysis for players to consider.

The evidence you will need to gather is a level five E.M.F. reading, capturing a Ghost Orb on film, and catching its silhouette with a D.O.T.S. Projector. While doing this, you will need to minimize your equipment as much as possible. Even having a flashlight making the Raiju more powerful, so facing one is an excellent practice in minimalism. If things are getting especially dangerous, you can also turn off the fusebox, but keep your lowering sanity in mind.

Revenant

Revenants are spirits seeking revenge for wrongdoing in their mortal life, which is usually related to their death in some way. They are extremely vengeful ghosts, but in Phasmophobia, their ire is turned toward all players. Facing a Revenant for the first time is particularly frightening because they move slowly when they can’t see a player they are hunting. It is terrifyingly surprising when they accelerate to incredible speeds the second they lay eyes on their prey.

To identify a Revenant, you’ll need to capture Ghost Orbs, record Freezing Temperatures, and get it to write something for you. As you chase down this evidence, I recommend hiding immediately when a hunt begins. You won’t be able to last longer when running away from a Revenant, so I’ve found a passive approach works much better. I also keep Smudge Sticks with me if I know I’m facing a Revenant so I can stun it long enough to break line-of-sight when it chases me.

Shade

A Shade is a very basic ghost identified as just the Spirit of a dead person who didn’t move on to the afterlife for some reason. They are a great starting spirit to face because they are generally shy, causing them to be much less active and aggressive than other ghosts. However, this can make them harder to find when looking for them.

You can prove that you are facing a Shade by gathering some writing of theirs, recording freezing temperatures in the level, and finding a level five E.M.F. reading. My favorite strategy when facing a Shade is to have one player stay with it as much as possible. How shy the Spirit is will prevent it from performing actions or even initiating a hunt. Then, the other players can gather the needed evidence and complete the mission.

Spirit

The Spirit is a very basic and passive ghost. It is considered powerful but prefers only to act when it feels threatened or like it needs to. Spirits don’t have any special abilities or strengths, but they have a particular weakness to Smudge Sticks.

Spirits require the players to gather evidence of a level five E.M.F. reading, writing from the ghost, and a message from the Spirit on a Spirit Box. The hardest part of hunting a Spirit is how generic its actions are. Since it acts very generally like all of the other ghosts in the game, it cannot be easy to deduce that it is just a Spirit.

The Twins

The Twins are an interesting ghost to face because, as their name implies, there are always two of them. This can make it very disorienting, as they will start hunts from unpredictable locations or mess with players in two different spots simultaneously. Interestingly, their speed during hunts is determined by which of the two spirits is pursuing the player, but it is almost impossible to tell which one is in the midst of a match.

When hunting the Twins, players need to gather evidence of freezing temperatures on the map, get a message from a Spirit Box, and record an E.M.F. reading of level five. Since the ghost can be in two locations at a time, it leaves more evidence behind than other ghosts, but players need to be careful not to get caught off guard by its hunts.

My best advice for dealing with them is always to have a backup plan. Going through an escape route and getting cut off can be lethal if you don’t have another route or Smudge Sticks ready to go on the fly.

Wraith

Wraiths are incredibly powerful and, thus, dangerous. They are the only ghost in the game with the ability to fly and are said to be able to pass through walls. Their flight prevents them from ever stepping on salt placed by the players, and they randomly teleport to players, which is always horrifying.

To prove the presence of a Wraith, players need to record it on a Spirit Box, catch a level five E.M.F. reading, and capture its silhouette when a Projector reveals it. Because of its ability to teleport to players, I highly recommend playing very carefully. You should always have an escape plan ready in case it attacks you, and you should avoid taking big risks if you can.

The Wraith also doesn’t leave fingerprints or footprints, so if you want to get a photo bonus I’ve found that getting it to interact with the Ouiji Board works best.

Yurei

A Yurei is a Japanese spirit that haunts specific locations at certain times. These are typically determined by their deaths, which they seek revenge for. The Yurei’s main ability is to slam doors shut, causing a massive dip in the sanity of nearby players. However, players can temporarily trap them in a room by using a Smudge Stick near them.

In a match facing a Yurei, you will need to gather evidence of cold temperatures, capture Ghost Orbs with a camera, and record its silhouette on a D.O.T.S. Projector. Since all ghosts can close doors, it can be difficult to determine whether or not it is a Yurei’s special ability or a typical ghost. I’ve found that the most consistent way to tell is to watch for exit doors being closed when the ghost isn’t hunting or performing an event. This will always indicate that it is a Yurei.

Yokai

Yokai are generally common spirits in Japanese folklore, and in Phasmophobia, they are known for frequently haunting the homes of families. Its behavior takes full advantage of the game’s awesome voice detection system, as it is enraged when it hears players talking. This can send it into a frenzy, allowing it to start a hunt well above its normal sanity threshold. However, the Yokai has a very hard time detecting electronics, making things much easier for players.

If you think you are facing a Yokai, you will want to gather evidence of a message with a Spirit Box, the Yokai’s form on a Projector, and Ghost Orbs captured with a camera. Since the Yokai has no buffs while hunting, it is generally easy to stay away from. An easy way to see if you are hunting a Yokai is to get in a group and all talk to one another early on in the match.

If it triggers a hunt, odds are you’re looking at a Yokai problem. Due to the Yokai’s inability to detect electronics, I usually use as much equipment as possible to take full advantage of it and make finding evidence easier.

F.A.Q.s

Question: What is the fastest ghost in Phasmophobia?

Answer: The Moroi technically has the fastest possible speed at 3.7 meters per second when player sanity is at rock bottom.

Question: Does swearing do anything to Phasmophobia?

Answer: You can swear freely while using voice chat in Phasmophobia, but doing so does anger ghosts faster in an attempt to scare further players that are so scared they are cursing.

Question: Can you play Phasmophobia using Discord?

Answer: You can play Phasmophobia while using Discord voice chat with your friends if you wish. I strongly suggest not doing so, however, as proximity chat and using the in-game radios to talk to one another is a significant element of the game that it would be a shame to miss out on.

Conclusion

Phasmophobia is one of those games that is such a simple but fantastic idea that it seems incredible it took until 2020 for someone to do it. One of the most enjoyable parts of the game is slowly building up your knowledge of the different types of ghosts in the game, allowing you to identify them in the future better. So, I hope this guide can help get you started on your journey to becoming a master ghost hunter.