Spirit Box Phasmophobia Guide: Talking to the Dead

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Having learned the tricks of the trade regarding games journalism at Veryali Gaming, Alex is now a key member of the Ready Game Survive team, and loves nothing more than grabbing a controller and bracing himself for a devastatingly brutal battle for survival. Outside of traditional survivals, Alex loves immersive RPGs, has spent more time in Skyrim than he dare admit, and he also loves playing guitar.

Hello From the Other Side

The Spirit Box is my favorite of all the tools in Phasmophobia, as it allows me to communicate with the dead. As a kid, I was always spooked by ghost “documentaries” where ghost hunters would attempt to catch the sounds and whispers of the dead.

Phasmophobia lets me live out the tension and horror I had as a kid watching these shows, anxiously waiting to hear a ghostly response. When I grew older, the Spirit Box captured that same fear I had as a kid, and it’s bloody brilliant.

So without further ado, let’s grab our gear and lets creak open the door to 6 Tanglewood Drive and hunt some ghosts!

Spirit Box Description

The Spirit Box is a small device the size of a radio that, once turned on, the player can speak through their device’s microphone to talk with the dead.

When the Spirit Box is turned on, you will see a frequency and a symbol to indicate when your microphone is turned on, and a potential ghost can respond to you.

After you have tried to communicate with the ghost, you may get a response indicated by a small ghost symbol. Left of the ghost symbol, there is an “X” that lights up to indicate when the player has asked a valid question that would trigger a response, but the ghost did not answer.

I’ll explain what kind of questions you should ask ghosts to get a response later in the Spirit Box Phasmophobia guide. The “X” is a great indicator that you can communicate with the ghost if it were to become more active or if other parameters were met.

As some ghosts will only speak to one player or if they are alone (don’t worry about this if you’re playing in a single-player).

When a ghost contacts you, you’ll know! I’ve heard all kinds of creepy responses, such as creepy murmuring and the single word “Die” and “Pain.” However, ghosts will give specific answers to your questions, giving you extra information on where they might be in the building and how old they are.

Key Features You Won’t Want to Forget

If you haven’t got time to read the entire article, here is a breakdown of all the key details of the Spirit Box to get you chatting up a ghostly dame.

The Spirit Box is one of your default ghost-hunting tools that will be given to you. Therefore you don’t have to worry about losing it if a ghost kills you. However, you can purchase an extra Spirit Box for $50 from the Equipment Store to take along with you on missions, but you will lose it if you die.

The Spirit Box is not required to talk to a ghost; however, without it, you won’t be able to hear the ghost’s verbal response. Therefore I don’t see the point in purchasing multiple Spirit Boxes as one is enough.

Don’t be fooled by the numbers displayed on the Spirit Box LCD screen; their numbers change is purely aesthetic and does not mean that a ghost is nearby. To get a response from the Spirit Box, you must be within three meters of the ghost.

This presents a golden opportunity to collect evidence using other ghost-hunting equipment like the D.O.T.S Projector or UV Flashlight. Note that just because you can hear a ghost reply to the Spirit Box, it may not be in the room with you. I’ve had ghosts talk to me from other rooms.

spirit box phasmophobia — Asking a valid question but not meeting the ghost’s requirements – Image by Alex Maksymiw

To activate the Spirit Box, you must turn it on so that the LCD screen lights up and static can be heard.
Now hold “B” and speak through your microphone; alternatively, you could enable text if you don’t have a microphone.
If you ask the ghost a valid question, but the ghost does not respond, an “X” symbol will appear. This could mean the ghost is shy or does not respond to the Spirit Box tool, or that, you don’t meet the ghost’s requirements.
If the ghost responds, you will have a ghost symbol appear on the screen.

At any time, you see the Spirit Box begin to glitch out and become unresponsive, run out of the building, or hide, as this indicates that the ghost is hunting you.

How to Use the Spirit Box

To activate the Spirit Box, you must hold the “B” button down or use push-to-talk while you attempt to communicate with the ghost. However, first, you must locate which room the ghost is in and turn off all the lights in the room. The ghost will not respond if there is any light in the room.

This can pose a few problems as your character will have their sanity drained the longer they spend in the dark. The ghost won’t respond immediately to your questions either, so I recommend calling the ghost’s name when you first enter the building and go from room to room.

This will increase ghost activity, making it easier to locate which room the ghost is in and make it easier to talk to.

I want to clarify that you don’t need to use a Spirit Box to communicate with ghosts. You can talk to ghosts by using push-to-talk.

However, you will never hear a response unless you ask the ghost to do something physically, like open a door or throw an object. Hearing a wardrobe door creak open or seeing a picture thrown across the room is super creepy.

I class the Spirit Box as a secondary ghost-hunting tool, as I only bring it into the building once I’ve located the room that the ghost is haunting. Since you can communicate with the ghost through your microphone, you don’t necessarily need to equip the Spirit Box to collect evidence of the ghost.

You can turn on the Spirit Box and drop it on the floor of the haunted room, as the Spirit Box can still trigger a response from the ghost. However, bear in mind that it’s really important that you can see the “X” symbol after asking a question to confirm that the ghost has heard you.

Sometimes the microphone can disable or bug out if you alt-tab out of Phasmophobia and back into the game. So if you tab out make sure to check the Spirit Box to see if it’s working.

Collecting Spirit Box evidence is very easy, as you only have to trigger a response to cross it off in your journal.

Now if you’re going to talk to ghosts, I suggest you bring a Crucifix with you as there is a good chance that you’ll end up angering the ghost, especially if you ask aggressive questions that will provoke angry ghosts like the Mare and Wraith.

Spirit Box Commands to Provoke the Dead

spirit box commands phasmophobia — Successful Spirit Box response – Image by Alex Maksymiw

The Spirit Box is one of the best ghost-hunting tools in the game, as it can be used to locate the ghost’s room and open doors so you can capture Fingerprint evidence with the UV Flashlight and Camera.

I’ve messed with the Spirit Box, having fun seeing what commands provoke the ghost, and it turns out a hell of a lot. If you even whisper a curse word, ghost activity will increase, and ghosts also have an ear to weed out the cowards who scare easily and trigger words like:

Scared
I am Scared
Scary
Spooky
Frightened
Hide

On their own, these words seem a little odd; however, when players are panicking and terrified out of their minds it’s very easy to shout one of these words out in a sentence.

The questions are fairly straightforward, but some science and logic are involved. If you’ve ever watched one of those ghost-hunting shows on the History channel or Sci-fi, you’ll get the hang of it quickly.

You can ask the ghost four types of questions to get a reply from them and collect Spirit Box evidence for the mission.

Aggressive

These types of questions help gauge how aggressive the ghost is; note that these questions can anger the ghost triggering a ghost hunt. It’s very easy to forget that the ghost is always listening, as I was reminded the hard way when my friend and I shouted at the ghost as a joke, and it triggered a hunt!

You’ll trigger an aggressive response by asking the following questions:

What do you want?
Do you want to hurt us?
Are you angry?
Should we leave?
Can we help?
Are you friendly?
Is anything wrong?
Do you want us to leave?
What should we do?

Age

Age-related questions are useful to determine if a ghost is a Thaye, as these types of ghosts will respond with “Yes” if you ask the ghost, “Are you young?”

Are you old?
Are you a child?
When were you born?
How old are you?

Personal

I find that personal questions are less useful in collecting other pieces of evidence. However, they are very useful for building a picture of the ghost that haunts the building.

Who am I talking to?
What are you?
Are you a man or a woman?
Who are you?

Location

These questions revolve around asking the ghost where it is in relation to you in the building. This is very useful as although you must find the predominant room that the ghost is hunting; it can still roam the house or building, manipulating objects in whatever room it pleases.

I recommend that you ask the ghost where its remains are to quickly find the bone or skull of the match, granting you a nice boost in money rewards.

Where are you?
What is your favorite room?
Are you close?
Are you around?
What is your room?
Where are your bones?

This list also includes pretty much every curse word you can think of. So watch your language when in the ghost’s space.

Give me a Sign: This is one of my go-to questions as it produces a pretty good response and allows you to locate where the ghost is quick.
Would you like to talk?: If the ghost is active, then you can bet that you’ll get a response to this question.
Are you alone?: This is a very useful question to find out whether the Twins haunt the building.

I had better responses by calling the ghost’s name before asking questions as opposed to asking the question without.

Talkative Ghosts

If you want to talk to a ghost, first things first are to throw away all expectations of getting a clear response. You’re more likely to get a coherent sentence off a brit eight pints down watching the Six Nations, and thats saying something, believe me. They’re not talkative, as only seven types will communicate with the player.

There are seven different types of ghosts that you can communicate with using the Spirit Box in Phasmophobia. Here is a brief breakdown of what ghoulies you can expect to have a chat with.

Spirit

The most common and friendly of the ghost types, just like Casper. To detect whether you have a Spirit on your hands, you can bring a Ghost Writing Book and set it on the floor, along with an EMF Reader, to be certain that it’s a Spirit.

Spirits may be friendly but provoke them enough, and they will attack you. They’re not the most active ghouls you can encounter as a result; they’ll require a lot more coaxing to get them talking. Therefore, I’d recommend gathering evidence from the other tools before attempting the Spirit Box.

Wraith

The most dangerous ghost you can encounter using the Spirit Box. The Wraith will trigger a D.O.T.S Projector but will require the ghost to be active to get a good response.

The EMF Reader will also indicate whether you’ve got a Wraith on your hands. Because the Spirit and Wraith only have one tool difference, I recommend setting up the haunted room with both the Ghost Writing Book and D.O.T.S Projector as soon as possible, as the Wraith is deadly.

Phantom

If theres a Phantom loose, it won’t take long before you see paranormal activity. Phantoms drain the player’s sanity faster, meaning you’re more likely to trigger a response from the Spirit Box, D.O.T.S projector, and Fingerprints.

However, their behavior and abilities are a double-edged sword as you’ll want to collect the evidence as fast as possible, especially on harder difficulties where you have no time to set up your equipment.

Poltergeist

The Poltergeist is one of the easiest types of ghosts to identify due to its rampant behavior of throwing large quantities of items around rooms.

If there’s a suspicious amount of activity in a room and you think the ghost could be a Poltergeist, I suggest using the Spirit Box to provoke the ghost to move an object; you could ask, “Give us a Sign,” “Can you throw something,” “Can you open a door.”

To gather evidence of the Poltergeist, you need a photograph of its fingerprints using the UV Flashlight and Ghost Writing in the Ghost Writing Book.

In my experience, this can be a little trickier as the Poltergiest likes to flip and throw the book. However, you could get two pieces of evidence simultaneously using the Spirit Box and Ghost Writing Book.

poltergeist phasmophobia — Ghost writing evidence – Image by Alex Maksymiw

Jinn

The Jinn is a type of ghost that can move super fast when far away from the player and while the Fuse Box of the building is on. Thankfully if you’re using the Spirit Box, you’ll want all power in the room off, as ghosts will not reply to you if there are any lights on in the room.

To be certain that the ghost is a Jinn, drop an EMF Reader in the room and provoke the Jinn with the Spirit Box to interact with an object or door so that you can collect Fingerprints using the UV Flashlight.

Mare

I find the Mare to be one of the scariest types of ghosts in the game, as it is more likely to hunt players in the dark, and it has a few tricks up its sleeve to ensure that it catches you!

Like breaking lights altogether and lurking in unlit rooms, so you could potentially corale the Mare into one room if you’re fast enough or have a big enough team ghost hunting team.

The Mare is a good example of why it’s essential to call out the ghost as soon as you enter the building because you’re going to want to get the ghost as active as possible so that you can get the Spirit Box evidence as quickly as possible as the last place you want to be is sat in the dark where the Mare is the most powerful and waiting for a shy ghost to respond while your sanity drains.

Onryo

The Onryo ghost is a strange spirit that hates fire; lit fires from candles and campfires will anger it. However, fire also keeps these ghouls from initiating a hunt. You’re not completely safe, though, as the Onryo will periodically blow out flames and trigger a ghost hunt.

Therefore, I suggest that you always make sure to have a stock of Crucifixes and Smudge Sticks at hand. The Onryo is a hard ghost to identify if you are a beginner ghost hunter, as you’ll be less likely to have access to purchase candles and the crucifix.

In any case, the Onyro is one of eleven ghost types, including the Mimic and The Twins, that can be detected by Freezing Temperatures so if you see your breath and get a response from the Spirit Box, there is a good chance that the ghost is an Onryo.

Yokai

The Yokai is your worst enemy for collecting Spirit Box evidence, as this ghost is very sensitive to noise and voices. You’ll trigger the Yokai to start a ghost hunt if you have a loud team or are too noisy.

To take on this foul spirit, I recommend staying quiet and having an escape plan for when it starts a hunt after being angered by the Spirit Box. The good news is that the Yokai’s hearing is terrible when hunting you.

To collect evidence of the Yokai, you will need the Ghost Writing Book, Ghost Orb collected by the Video Recorder, and of course, the Spirit Box.

Spending a lot of time with these ghoulies will eventually allow you to spot behaviors and traits of the different types of ghosts before you’ve even collected evidence.

For example, despite having a high sanity, if you are loud, the Yokai is coming for you, allowing you to deduce its type quickly.

yokai phasmophobia — Freezing temperatures – Image by Alex Maksymiw

The Twins

The Twins are a sneaky bunch that will try and trick you at every corner. Working as a pair, these ghosts can easily be mistaken for a Poltergeist when they interact with objects at the same time.

If there is a lot of activity in a room with objects flying everywhere, I suggest keeping an eye on the temperatures. If you see a puff of ice breath, you can bet your bottom dollar that you’re dealing with The Twins.

If you are suspicious that The Twins are haunting the building, ask, “Are you alone?” Into the Spirit Box,

The Mimic

The Mimic is the toughest of the ghost types to identify, as it has the annoying ability to copy other ghost-type behaviors. Despite being able to mimic activities, its main evidence is gathered from the Spirit Box, Fingerprints, and Freezing Temperatures.

To deduce whether you’re dealing with a Mimic, you’ll have to thoroughly understand the ghost types of Phasmophobia and how they behave. For example, the Twins do not leave fingerprints on surfaces however if a Mimic copies the Twins, you can find multiple fingerprint events.

FAQs

Question: Can the Ghost in Phasmophobia Hear Without the Player Pressing Push-To-Talk?

Answer: Yes, the ghost will detect all sounds that come from the player’s microphone, even without Push-to-Talk and the Spirit Box active.

So players can communicate with ghosts, but they will be limited in what commands they can give to ghosts, such as “opening doors” and “throwing objects.” Therefore, friends will get a better experience playing the game using the main chat to communicate with each other rather than Discord.

Remember that ghosts have been designed to feed off fear in Phasmophobia, so if you swear and use trigger words, you’re going to anger the ghost, and it will only get worse.

I recommend that you play Phasmophobia in a quiet place, as my friend and I quickly angered the ghost while playing on a laptop in the living room.

Question: How Do I Identify a Wraith Fast in Phasmophobia?

Answer: Wraiths are very dangerous ghosts, and getting close while collecting evidence is inevitable. If a ghost responds to the Spirit Box, there is a chance that it could be a Wraith within three meters of you. However, you can narrow down the list of ghostly suspects by placing Salt around the room and door entrance.

Wraiths have the ability to teleport to players and travel through walls. However, they cannot walk through salt, so if you can hear the ghost on the Spirit Box and don’t see any salt footprints within your room, there’s a high chance that you’re dealing with a wraith.

I’d proceed to set up a D.O.T.S Projector in the room and EMF Reader to confirm that it’s a Wraith. If the building contains the Summoning Circle, you could place salt inside the circle and summon the ghost to confirm whether the ghost is a Wraith quickly.

Question: How Do You Escape a Ghost Hunt in Phasmophobia?

Answer: There are times in Phasmophobia when the ghost hunter becomes hunted. A ghost hunt usually begins once the player’s or group’s average sanity decreases.

However, there are 21 types of ghosts in Phasmophobia, and they all will trigger hunts at different times. Your equipment indicates when a ghost hunt has been triggered, as devices will glitch out and make lots of noise.

In this scenario, your best bet is getting out of the building as fast as possible or finding a hiding spot. Before jumping into a wardrobe, note that ghosts will remember your hiding places, even if they didn’t see you the first time!

You don’t just have to cower and run. You can use items such as the Crucifix to repel the ghost back, and Smudge Sticks can be activated to throw ghosts off your scent. It’s a good idea to keep stocked on Smudge Sticks as they can save your life and your bank, and the good part is they only cost $15 each.

Moreover, repelling a ghost with a Smudge Stick can sometimes contribute to secondary objectives and challenges that will reward extra cash.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Spirit Box is an essential bit of kit that only costs $50, a pretty good price for a little gadget that allows you to speak to the dead.

The Spirit Box is my favorite ghost-hunting tool in Phasmophobia. Although you’re limited in what the ghost will respond to, enough keywords trigger a response, and you can have a lot of fun with this.

However, if you’re looking to optimize your game, stick to the commands I’ve included in this guide to quickly gather data and evidence on the ghost to identify it.

On a closing note, I highly recommend using a microphone to operate the Spirit Box as it takes significantly longer to gather evidence using the text method.

Time is a luxury you don’t have in Phasmophobia as each second you waste your character’s sanity drains more your sanity drains, the more likely the ghost will hunt you down and send you to hell.