Phasmophobia How to Identify Ghosts (Cheat Sheet)

All the little details you need to know to identify ghosts in Phasmophobia.

How to Identify Ghosts in Phasmophobia (Cheat Sheet)

Ghost Type	EMF-5	Freezing Temp	Spirit Box	Ghost Writing	Ghost Orbs	Fingerprints	Ghost Code
Phantom	✔	✔			✔		01
Banshee	✔	✔				✔	02
Jinn	✔		✔		✔		03
Revenant	✔			✔		✔	04
Shade	✔			✔	✔		05
Oni	✔		✔	✔			06
Wraith		✔	✔			✔	07
Mare		✔	✔		✔		08
Demon		✔	✔	✔			09
Yurei		✔		✔	✔		10
Poltergeist			✔		✔	✔	11
Spirit			✔	✔		✔	12

01. Phantom

Description:

A Phantom is a Ghost that can possess the living, most commonly summoned by an Ouija Board. It also induces fear into those around it.

Phantoms are one of the 12 types of Ghosts that can be encountered in Phasmophobia, and the third one described in the Journal. Contrary to popular belief, the Phantom cannot possess ghost-hunters after using an Ouija Board.

Evidence:

• Freezing Temperatures
• EMF Level 5
• Ghost Orb

Strengths/Weaknesses:

• Looking at a Phantom will considerably drop your Sanity. This refers to any visible manifestations of the Phantom, including during a Hunt.
• Taking a photo of the Phantom will make it temporarily disappear. Taking photo using the Photo Camera will make the Phantom disappear, but it will not stop a Hunt.

Lore:

A phantom, overall, is simply another term for a ghost.

Etymology-wise, Phantom pulls from as early as Greece with the word φᾰντᾰ́ζω, or phantasma, which stands for an apparition or a ghost. it could also be translated to something that isn’t real in general, like a dream or an illusion.

As such, phantoms in most tales typically elaborate more on the concept of being an illusion version of something that already exists.

02. Banshee

Description:

The Banshee is a natural hunter and will attack anything. It has been renowned to stalk its prey one at a time until it makes its kill.

Unlike other ghosts, who will often change their selected target between Hunts, Banshees will always target the same player every time it hunts until it successfully kills them. While this means other players are safe from the Banshee’s power as long as its target is alive, it makes carrying out objectives by the targeted player more difficult.

Evidence:

• Freezing Temperatures
• EMF Level 5
• Fingerprints

Strengths/Weaknesses:

• Banshee will focus on one player at a time until it kills them.
• Banshee is afraid of the Crucifix, which boosts the Hunt-stopping range of one from 3 meters to 5 meters against it.

Power:

Once a banshee uses its power, it will begin to navigate to its chosen target. Line-of-sight blockers and hiding have no effect on the Banshee’s ability to navigate to the player, and it will be able to reach them. After reaching the player, it will wait ~20 seconds, then proceeds to begin a hunt if the player is not within direct line-of-sight of the Banshee.

The Banshee will cancel its ability if its target is not in the building.

A Banshee’s power is particularly dangerous, as it is capable of hunting players that are very far away from the ghost room who think they are safe, even on the largest of maps. A Banshee that uses its power to hunt before the ghost room is located can also trick players into thinking the ghost room is close, as they hear the ghost nearby when in reality the Banshee has just walked from a different location of the map to the player.

The Banshee’s power ignores sanity and typical hunting rules, meaning it can potentially begin a hunt with its power within moments of the hunters entering the location on the professional or intermediate difficulty. A hunt beginning very early on while all players have high sanity could be a sign of a banshee using its power.

Strategies:

Due to the Banshee’s focus on a single-player character, determining who the targeted player is early on can trivialize most rounds by having the target hide far away from the Banshee to lower its chances of ever actually killing its target. However, this requires all players to survive the hunt lest the Banshee acquires a new target, starting the process all over again.

Trivia:

The Banshee is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by wailing or shrieking. A Banshee translates to “woman of the fairy mound” or “fairy woman” in its roots from Ireland.

03. Jinn

Description:

A Jinn is a territorial ghost that will attack when threatened. It has also been known to travel at significant speed during Hunts.

Jinns tend to interact with electronics more than any other ghost. They may cause phones to ring, radios to activate, TV’s to turn on, or car alarms to go off more often. This also extends to light switches, which may cause unsure investigators to confuse a Jinn for a Mare or Poltergeist; although Mares also have the power to turn lights off, they will not turn lights back on as Jinn does, and Poltergeists will likely disturb more general objects that aren’t light switches such as doors. It is also rumoured that a Jinn is the most common ghost, despite the book claiming it to be spirit.

Evidence:

• EMF Level 5
• Spirit Box
• Ghost Orb

Strengths/Weaknesses:

• A Jinn will travel at a faster speed if its victim is far away.
• Turning off the power source will prevent the Jinn from using its ability.

Strategies:

Turning off the power source will prevent the Jinn from moving fast during a hunt and makes it easier for players to see its ghost orbs.

Most Jinns will temporarily disappear if players stay out of its room, which means if evidence must be gathered, stepping into its area will greatly increase the chances of activity.

Especially-daring players can easily identify the Jinn with its behavior during a Hunt while the power is still on: although it is quick to catch up to players that it is chasing, it will slow down significantly as it approaches them, allowing players to re-establish a gap that the Jinn will speed up to close; correctly none of these will allow for the Jinn to be identified without a single piece of evidence needing to be gathered.

04. Revenant

Description:

The Revenant is a slow but violent ghost that will attack indiscriminately. It is said to travel at higher speed when hunting.

Unlike other Ghosts, who will have a specific target selected when starting a Hunt they will hone in on (especially Banshees), Revenants can freely switch targets if there is another player that is closer by and especially one that is in plain view and available, making its goal of killing players more convenient.

Evidence:

• EMF Level 5
• Ghost Writing
• Fingerprints

Strengths/Weaknesses:

• A Revenant will travel at a significantly faster speed when hunting a victim. Additionally, the Revenant can freely switch whoever it is targeting during a Hunt.
• Hiding from the Revenant will cause it to move very slowly.

05. Shade

Description:

Noted as being shy ghosts, Shades lower their activity in the presence of multiple investigators. Because of its temperament, it can be harder to find ghost activity when sticking together. However, like all ghosts in the game, the Shade is more likely to hunt when the players’ sanity is low.

If a Shade is already hunting, it will prefer to target players that are alone. For it to consider a player alone, the other players have to be in a separate room, though they do not have to be far away.

Evidence:

• EMF Level 5
• Ghost Writing
• Ghost Orb

Strengths/Weaknesses:

• As a shy ghost, a Shade will rarely perform actions in the presence of two or more people, making it harder to detect.
• Conversely, a Shade will rarely start a Hunt when players are grouped together.

Strategies:

Due to a Shade’s aforementioned shyness, players are left with a hard choice: either stick together to eliminate risks, or go alone to let the Shade do something. Players who are currently alone should exercise caution, especially since the Shade will likely begin Hunting once players are alone.

Players should work together as a group to find the Ghost Room first and foremost, especially on Professional difficulty when there is no Setup Phase. Bringing a Crucifix and Smudge Sticks will help prevent attacks if the team splits up to let the Shade perform more activity.

06. Oni

Description:

The Oni is a cousin to the Demon and possesses extreme strength. There have been rumours that they become more active around their prey.

Evidence:

• EMF Level 5
• Ghost Writing
• Spirit Box

Strengths/Weaknesses:

• Oni is more active when people are nearby and have been seen moving objects at great speed.
• Being more active will make the Oni easier to find and identify.

07. Wraith

Description:

A Wraith is one of the most dangerous Ghosts you will find. It is also the only known ghost that has the ability of flight and has sometimes been known to travel through walls.

Wraiths are one of the 12 types of Ghosts that can be encountered in Phasmophobia, and the second one described in the Journal.

Evidence:

• Freezing Temperatures
• Spirit Box
• Fingerprints

Strengths/Weaknesses:

• Wraith almost never touches the ground meaning it can’t be tracked by footsteps. The Wraith possesses both the power of flight and intangibility. It can travel through walls and doors without opening them, and will not leave footprints on the ground.
• Wraith has a toxic reaction to Salt. If a Wraith comes into contact with a pile of salt, it will immediately cease attacking.

Power:

The Wraith’s power is that it will teleport onto a random player in the Ghost Room, and will emit an interaction with EMF reader.

Additional Notes:

Although Salt can make a Wraith stop attacking, it will also permanently increase Ghost Activity.

The Wraith will hover without touching the ground for long periods of time, but it occasionally takes steps on the ground. This means that the Wraith can still be tracked with salt to some degree. If salt is placed in a doorway, most times it will fly over the salt leaving a handprint on the door.

The Wraith is also unfazed by doors and lockers, especially during a Hunt. A Wraith cannot see doors or lockers, and can simply phase through them or spot players behind them. Keep this in mind during Hunts, as it can also wander into any room even if the door is closed after manifesting.

Strategies:

Due to the Wraith’s aversion to salt, placing piles of it on the way to your exit will force the wraith to stop attacking. This is particularly useful in the wraith’s case because it’s the most proficient at finding players who are hiding in rooms and closets.

08. Mare

Description:

In Phasmophobia, A Mare is the source of all nightmares, making it most powerful in the dark. As its description suggests, Mares have a higher chance of initiating hunts when players are in darkness. Mares tend to turn lights and the fuse box off more than any other ghost-type when active, although if a ghost switches lights back on, it is much more likely to be a Poltergeist or Jinn. An active Mare stalking low-sanity players have the capacity to initiate hunts within mere moments of each other, allowing them to rival even Demons in aggression.

Evidence:

• Freezing Temperatures
• Spirit Box
• Ghost Orb

Strengths/Weaknesses:

• Increased chance to attack in the dark. As such, will do what it can to achieve this, such as turning off lights and tripping the power source.
• Turning the lights on will lower its chance to attack.

Strategies:

As the Mare’s entire strategy revolves around keeping players in the darkness, the simplest solution is to keep the lights on in high-traffic areas such as near the front door and hallways.

Be aware of the locations of light switches and the power source, as the Mare will often work to turn them off, and keeping a paranormal investigator near them will help counteract the Mare’s habits.

09. Demon

Description:

In Phasmophobia, Demons are one of the most dangerous ghosts to encounter. Highly aggressive, it will attack more often than any other ghost, and without warning so a crucifix is recommended to prevent hunts. However, it will also allow ghost hunters to use the Ouija Board without reducing their sanity.

If the investigation and objectives are not dealt with quickly, Demons can grow to be the most challenging ghost. They are notorious for initiating hunts frequently, a trait that is exacerbated by lower sanity levels, and compounded by higher difficulties like Professional where hunts last much longer. Taking all of these factors into account, Demons at their most aggressive will hunt in intervals as short as half-minutes, forcing the players to spend more total time hiding than investigating.

With this in mind, it is tantamount that players move as quickly and efficiently in gathering evidence as possible, and bring sanity pills, crucifixes, and other defensive equipment to keep a Demon from reaching its full power. Taking advantage of a Demon’s known weakness with Ouija Boards can net players the information they need to succeed, mainly finding out its Ghost Room without needing to waste time searching.

Evidence:

• Freezing Temperatures
• Ghost Writing
• Spirit Box

Strengths/Weaknesses:

• Demon will attack more often than any other ghost.
• Asking a Demon successful questions on the Ouija Board won’t lower the users’ sanity.

10. Yurei

Description:

Yurei is a ghost that has returned to the physical world, usually for the purpose of revenge or hatred.

Evidence:

• Freezing Temperatures
• Ghost Writing
• Ghost Orb

Strengths/Weaknesses:

• Yurei have been known to have a stronger effect on people’s sanity.
• Using Smudge Sticks on the Yurei’s room will cause it to not wander around the location for a long time.

11. Poltergeist

One of the most famous Ghosts, a Poltergeist, also known as a noisy ghost can manipulate objects around it to spread fear into its victims.

Evidence:

• Spirit Box
• Ghost Orb
• Fingerprints

Strengths/Weaknesses:

• Poltergeist is capable of influencing more objects at once than any other ghosts and is capable of shutting multiple doors at once.
• Poltergeist is almost ineffective in an empty room.

Additional Notes:

Poltergeist’s ability to manipulate objects, specifically doors, can make it easier to identify. However, if the ghost is one that specifically affects multiple light fixtures and other electronics at once, it’s more likely to be a Jinn.

Unlike other ghosts, objects thrown by Poltergeists have the ability to decrease player sanity if they were not looking at the objects being thrown. This can also help to identify the ghost; if a player notices a dip in their sanity after they hear physical disturbances in nearby rooms, they can guess it is likely a Poltergeist they are facing.

An unwritten quirk of the Poltergeist is that they have the greatest capacity to roam from their Ghost Room, going far to move objects away from its space. In larger maps, this can result in red herrings when looking for Ghost Activity and cause players to waste time searching areas that ultimately do not house the Poltergeist.

The Poltergeist is the sole ghost that can be identified with only 2 pieces of evidence – the Ghost Orb and Fingerprints.

Lore:

Poltergeist is a type of ghost known for causing physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Although claims of supernaturally-caused disturbances date back to the 1st century, references to Poltergeists specifically became more common in the early 1600s.

Click here to see more information about Poltergeist.

12. Spirit

Description:

A Spirit is the most common Ghost you will come across however it is still very powerful and dangerous. They are usually discovered at one of their hunting grounds after an unexplained death.

With no special powers and a harsh reaction to Smudge Sticks, Spirits serve as a baseline to measure other Ghosts against. Their lack of any defining traits can trip up newer investigators, as Spirits can be mistaken for other ghost types until the Evidence starts piling up.

Evidence:

• Ghost Writing
• Spirit Box
• Fingerprints

Strengths/Weaknesses:

• Although the Spirit has no real strengths, having no unique characteristics often makes players to misidentify them for another ghost.
• Using Smudge Sticks on a Spirit will stop it attacking for twice as long as other types of Ghost.

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