The fourth monitor on the wall of the van. It shows the activity ranging from 0 to 10. 0 indicates the ghost is idle, while 10 indicates very high activity, up to and including a Hunt. Any other ghost activity will account for the in-between numbers such as the door of the ghost room closing, lights shutting on/off, the ghost throwing objects, messing with the breaker, jump scares/sounds, ghost events (phone ringing, radio turning on, etc), the ghost manifesting in the room (shade or corporeal), turning on water, and the exit door(s) closing, but not locking.

Ghost Activity is activity attributed to the Ghost, which comprises the Ghost interacting with objects in the environment or with players.

Ghost Activity isn't related to the Hunt, with exception to the Banshee. Ghost Activity will emit different EMF depending on what action the Ghost takes. However, EMF Level 5 does not always mean danger.

How it Works
Ghost Activity has a higher chance of occurring on Amateur difficulty. Being near an Oni, using Salt on a Wraith, cleansing the Ghost Room with Smudge Sticks, and/or playing alone will increase the chance of Ghost Activity. Ghost Activity can also be enhanced by saying recognizable phrases while near the Ghost and in the Ghost Room. Ghost Activity constantly decays down to 0 when no activity occurs.

More specifically:

• Activity level starts at 0 and never goes below 0.
  
• Activity level is multiplied by 30x if the ghost is an Oni and there are people in the room with it.
  
• Activity level is mutiplied by 50x if the ghost is a Wraith that has walked through Salt.
  
• Activity level is 15% higher if playing alone (i.e. if there is exactly one player in the game).
  
• Activity level is increased by 20-30 if a Smudge Stick is used within 6 meters of the ghost.
  
• Activity level is increased by 10-25 if the ghost recognizes a phrase.
  
• Every frame, the activity level is decreased by half the elapsed time since last frame was displayed.
  
• To decide whether or not ghost activity occurs, a random number between 0 and 100 is generated (100 is for Amateur Difficulty, the value is 115 for Intermediate, and 130 for Professional), which if it is <= the activity level will result in a ghost activity occuring. These events include interacting with objects, appearing to players, going to the ghost room, turning the Fuse Box on or off, etc.

Types of Activity:
• Interacting with the local environment (doors, windows, light switches, etc).
  
• Using its power.
  
• Ghost Event (appearing).
  
• Flickering lights.
  
• Turning off the Fuse Box.
  
• Whispering, sharp exhalations or vocal fry sounds near the player(s), the latter of which is usually accompanied by the Ghost physically manifesting.
  
• Mimic, the ghost appears as one of the team members but black and disfigured. Is also seen with an angry face.
  
• Activating objects around the area such as a radio, TV, car, etc., especially if the Ghost is a Jinn.

Some use the Site Activity Monitor to detect for EMF Level 5 as evidence. That is risky as effects can double if they happen simultaneously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRgnuaXr8Ds&ab_channel=Psycho

The Ghost Room, also known as a Ghosts' Favorite Room, is a term used for the general area, usually a room, where a ghost will linger when not stalking players or hunting, and the location that players must find in order to make progress and complete the main objective of identifying the ghost.

Depending on which type of ghost is present, the Ghost Room will have Ghost Activity occur in it frequently, allowing players to gather any kind of evidence available and identify the ghost. Other phenomena can happen in Ghost Rooms, such as doors being found open, objects being moved, or the lights being turned on or off without player interaction. These events can make the room, and by extension the Ghost, easier to recognize as the correct area if it is the Hunter's first time searching the building.

Ghosts are able to 'roam' from their Ghost Room, and thus are able to initiate Ghost Activity in areas away from where they are actually housed. This can produce red herrings of where players should look, and can result in time wasted on larger maps. Some Ghosts do not stray from their room much, and a few will never leave save for when they Hunt.

Freezing temperatures sometimes "spread out" from the Ghost Room, which may lead to a room being misidentified as a Ghost Room. Both the Ghost Room and the room in which the Ghost currently happens to be occupying may have below average temperatures (in particular, at or below 5 degrees Celcius) and/or have ghost interactions/events take place in them, such as:

- Fingerprints or Dirty Water appearing,
- Spirit Box responses, Footstep sounds,
- Items being moved or interacted with.
- If "Smudge the Ghost Room with Smudge Sticks" is an optional objective but was not marked complete even after seemingly doing so, then this is a good indication that the Ghost Room has been misidentified.

Assuming that there are no freezing temperatures or that the freezing temperatures have not spread to other areas, the Thermometer may be used to determine which room is the Ghost Room because that room will consistently have a below-average temperature. In contrast, a room that the Ghost happens to be in, but is not the Ghost Room, will only have a below average temperature while the Ghost is present.

All of the following are good, but not guaranteed indicators of a room being a Ghost Room:

- A phone repeatedly ringing.
- The lights repeatedly being turned on or off.
- The Ghost repeatedly manifesting.
- Ghost Interactions or Events occurring repeatedly.

The Thermometer is useful for finding the Ghost room, especially when playing on a non-Professional difficulty. On Professional difficulty, the Thermometer becomes useful after the Fuse Box has been turned on and the building has warmed up enough, which takes a few (typically around 3) minutes. At that point, any room with a temperature above approximately 10 degrees Celsius can be ruled out while any room below approximately 5 degrees Celsius is a candidate for either the Ghost Room itself, and/or a room in which the Ghost is merely present. This is especially true if a room is freezing, or below 0 degrees Celsius. However, given enough time, it is possible for Freezing Temperatures to "spill over" into adjacent rooms, reducing the Thermometer's reliability in locating the correct toom.

If it is not clear which room is the Ghost Room, then repeatedly checking, over a period of time usually, the Thermometer's temperature in these candidate Ghost Rooms is a useful process of elimination. This is especially true if there are no Freezing Temperatures due to the aforementioned spreading of the low temperatures.

An organic strategy for finding the Ghost or its room, especially on large- to medium-sized Maps (like Asylum, Prison, and Brownstone High School) and at the start of any map when playing on Professional Difficulty, is to silently walk around and carefully listen for sounds produced by the Ghost. For example:

- Footstep sounds not made by players
- Doors opening/closing
- The sound of a faucet running (i.e. Dirty Water)
- The sound of an item hitting the floor (such as an item falling off a shelf)
- Electronic equipment being activated, such as:
- Phones ringing
- Car alarms, televisions, or radios being turned on
- Light switched being turned on/off
- A piano key being pressed
- Some maps have "ambient" sounds that play randomly at random locations. These ambient sounds are not produced by the Ghost although they may initially be confused for Ghost sounds. For example, the little "cling" sounds that are often heard in Prison are ambient sounds that are not produced by the Ghost and that do not help in locating the Ghost. In contrast, the sound of a cell door opening or closing is not an ambient sound and can only be caused by either the Ghost or a player opening or closing a cell door.

Visually noticing things that are unexpectedly out of place is also a good strategy for find the Ghost or its room. For example,

- Noticing a light in a room that is unexpectedly turned on.
- Noticing a door that is unexpectedly open or closed.
- It is a good idea to always keep doors either fully opened or fully closed, because this will guarantee that any door that is partially open/closed was interacted with by the Ghost.
- Noticing items that are unexpectedly on the ground, especially items that appear to have fallen off of a shelf (bottles, cans) or a table (e.g. plates, dining utensils).
- Increasing the chance of being given a clue
- Saying "Show us/me a sign" is thought to increase Ghost Activity and thus the chance of the Ghost doing something that makes a sound or produces a visual clue.

If Ghost Orbs appear inside a room then that room is guaranteed to be the Ghost Room (however, there are currently several bugs currently being worked on in which Ghost Orbs appear outside of the Ghost Room). It's possible for Ghost Orbs to appear at the start of the game. However, sometimes Ghost Orbs will only appear after the Ghost has Hunted once or sometimes, twice or more, or they may only appear after enough time has passed.

Walking from room to room and asking the Spirit Box questions may help locate the Ghost or its room if the Ghost is both capable of responding to the Spirit Box (e.g. about half of all Ghost types) and the Spirit Box is within a few meters of the Ghost's actual location when the question is asked (although if the Ghost is not close enough to the Spirit Box, no response will be given). If the lights are turned on in the player's current room then the Spirit Box will not give a response; the lights in the room must be turned off (with the exception of Flashlights and UV Lights). If the Ghost is a shy Ghost then it will not respond to the Spirit Box if multiple people are in the same room with it.

This use of the Spirit Box is a reasonably good strategy, especially on smaller maps. An added benefit is that if the Ghost does give a response, then this also immediately gives Evidence for its Ghost type; if another player is nearby, then the Spirit Box can be used to determine whether or not it is a shy Ghost. It is generally a good idea to check for Spirit Box evidence early in the game regardless, because it is during this time that the risk of the Ghost starting a Hunt is typically low (with rare exceptions). The risk involved naturally increases the longer the mission goes on, when the average Sanity lowers, as checking for Spirit Box evidence requires a player to walk around the Ghost Room asking questions while in the dark, physically near the Ghost, and possibly also all alone in the room.

One drawback of using the Spirit Box is that Sanity is slowly drained by any active Spirit Box that a player is close to.

On rare occasions, the Spirit Box will give a response only after enough time has passed or only when certain players ask the questions. It is not known if this is a bug or intended.

EMF Readers can be used to locate the Ghost or its room. Any EMF level higher than 1 indicates that the Ghost has interacted with the environment recently and is consequently nearby. However, it is possible for a Ghost to be nearby but for the EMF reader to not give any indication of this; that is, for the reader to always have only 1 light lit up despite being near the Ghost.

A Ouija Board, if it has appeared on the map, can be used to get a direct answer of the Ghost's location or of its room by asking it a question in the "Location Category" of questions, such as:

"Where is your favorite room?"
The answer to this question that it spells out with the planchette will be the name one of the map's Ghost Rooms. The name of the room that it gives is sometimes obvious (e.g. "Kitchen", "Foyer") but other times, the name of an unfamiliar room can be only determined by looking at an annotated online map.

The possible Ghost Room names are listed in the article of each Map and they can also be found on dedicated Phasmophobia websites; for example, both static and interactive maps listing the Ghost Rooms can be found here.

To ask the Ouija Board a question, turn it on and then hold down the Local Chat key (defaults to the "V" key) while asking it a valid question. If nothing happens then using Global Chat (defaults to the "B" key) instead will usually result in a response. On some rare occasions, such as if the ouija board being turned on and used by another player, it is necessary to turn it off and on again to get it to work.

If a question fails (a 33% chance) then it is recommended to wait a few second before turning it on and asking the question again because the chance of the next question also failing is very high otherwise (this is likely a bug).

Asking the Ouija Board the (same) question

"Where are you?"
multiple times sometimes result in different answers being given. This is because the Ghost can, and often does, move freely around the building. Because of this, the room named in the Ouija Board's response is occasionally not in fact the Ghost Room but instead just the room that the Ghost happened to be in at the time the question was asked. However, the room named by the Ouija Board will more often than not be the Ghost Room.

When the Ghost eventually begins hunting after enough time has passed, it may be easier to find its location and/or room by paying close attention to its starting point.

Phasmophobia features voice recognition, and the Ghost will always hear you, so it benefits you to stay quiet if you don't want the Ghost to appear. However, staying quiet the entire game is hard when you're working in co-op, and there are times you need to get the Ghost to become active so you can discover which Ghost Type it is, and there are many questions you can ask it. The Ghost will be listening as you are exploring a home, but there are also specific things you can ask them while using a Spirit Box or Ouija Board.

It is especially recommended to not say the Ghost's name right away. This is a common mistake by new ghosthunters, who often enter the building and spell out their name to make it appear. Doing this, especially right away, could have disastrous results. If you are dealing with a demon or oni, there’s a good chance it will become increasingly more aggressive, initiating hunts almost right after the timer hits zero. I suggest only using the Ghost’s name if you’re having trouble locating its room or making it respond to any piece of your gear. Remember, even if you aren’t pressing down to talk the Ghost is still listening. So avoid saying its name entirely, whether to your team or by yourself. It’s better to not even acknowledge this unless you’ve reached an impasse and absolutely need to provoke it.

This mechanic is faulty however, as the YouTuber Psycho demonstrates in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTX4Um6r8xY&ab_channel=Psycho
It seems as though a player is speaking, as long as they are in a locker, they are fairly safe, based on the experiment performed in the video. It seems as though the phrases being used here were mostly cussing, with some use of the Ghost's first name, and not the full name, nor the established phrases that the voice recognition recognizes.

General questions that can enact a ghost to do something.

- What do you want?
- Why are you here?
- Do you want to hurt us?
- Are you angry?
- Do you want us here?
- Shall we leave?
- Should we leave?
- Do you want us to leave?
- What should we do?
- Can we help?
- Are you friendly?
- What are you?
- Are you close?
- Can you show yourself?
- Give us a sign.
- Let us know you are here.
- Show yourself.
- Can you talk?
- Speak to us.
- Are you here?
- Are you with us?
- Anybody with us?
- Is anyone here?
- Anybody in the room?
- Anybody here?
- Is there a spirit here?
- Is there a Ghost here?
- Are you a girl?
- Are you a boy?
- Are you male?
- Are you female?
- Who are you?
- What are you?
- Who is this?
- Who are we talking to?
- Who am I talking to?
- Hello?
- What is your name?
- Can you give me your name?
- How old are you?
- How young are you?
- What is your age?
- When were you born?
- Are you a child?
- Are you old?
- Are you young?
- What is your location?
- What is your gender?
- Are you male or female?
- Are you a woman?

Source: https://www.ign.com/wikis/phasmophobia/Every_Voice_Command_and_Phrase_You_Can_Ask_Ghosts

On some maps you might discover a Ouija Board while roaming. This can be used to ask question directly to the ghost. Ouija Board questions can be really helpful to determine what room the ghost is in, and where they will spawn during a potential hunt. Recommended questions would be: "Where are you?", "What is your room?" or "What is your favorite room?".

- Who did you kill?
- Who is your victim?
- What is the name of the person you killed?
- What is the name of the person you murdered?
- What is your victim?
- Did you murder?
- Who did you murder?
- Who died?
- How old are you?
- What is your age?
- Are you old?
- Are you young?
- How long have you been dead?
- How many years ago did you die?
- How long have you been here?
- How long ago did you die?
- When did you die?
- How many are in this room?
- How many people are in this room?
- How many people are in here?
- How many ghosts are in this room?
- How many ghosts are in here?
- Are you alone?
- Are we alone?
- Who is here?
- Who is in this room?
- Where are you?
- What is your favorite room?
- Where is your room?
- What is your room?
- Are you here?
- Are you close?
- Are there any spirits?
- Are you near?
- Are you around?

Source: https://www.ign.com/wikis/phasmophobia/Every_Voice_Command_and_Phrase_You_Can_Ask_Ghosts

A set of quite important questions, these "Spirit Box Questions" are helpful to deduce if the ghost in question has "Spirit Box" as one of the pieces of evidence. It is highly recommended that one of the field-players have these questions easily accessable and carry a Spirit Box with them through the early phase of the game.

- Can you speak?
- Can you speak to us?
- Make a noise.
- Open a door.
- Open this door.
- Turn on the light.
- Turn off the light.
- Are there any ghosts?
- Give us a sign.
- Show us.
- Let us know you are here.
- Do something.
- Is there anyone with me?
- Scream.
- Can we speak?
- Would like to speak to you.
- Is there anyone here?
- May I ask you?
- Would you like to talk?
- Are you the only one here?
- Are you waiting?
- Is there anything I can do?
- Do you know who we are?
- Are you happy?
- Are you here all the time?
- Are you male or female?
- Do you want us to leave?
- Can I ask you?
- Can you make a sound?
- Show us your presence.
- Knock something.
- Make a sound.
- Open the door.
- Throw something.
- Talk to me.
- Talk to us.
- We mean you no harm.
- We are friends.
- Is this you're home?
- Can you speak to us?
- Shall we leave?
- Do you want to hurt us?

Source: https://www.ign.com/wikis/phasmophobia/Every_Voice_Command_and_Phrase_You_Can_Ask_Ghosts

These are a bit exceptional as they (some of them) are quite easy to accidently say when you talk to another player or express yourself in this game. They can also trigger a ghost to increase the activity level.

- I'm scared
- I am scared
- Scared
- Scary
- Spooky
- Horror
- Scare
- Frighten
- Panic
- Fright
- Hide
- Run
- Show your presence
- Show us
- Show me

Source: https://www.ign.com/wikis/phasmophobia/Every_Voice_Command_and_Phrase_You_Can_Ask_Ghosts

The Hunt is a phase when the Ghost becomes corporeal, and will seek to kill a player. For the duration of the Hunt, lights will flicker (including the Flashlight, Strong Flashlight, and UV Light), EMF Reader will get random readings, the radio will stop transmitting messages and make a static noise, and all Exit Doors will close and become locked.


After the Setup Phase ends, the Ghost can initiate a Hunt at random. A Hunt is partially determined by the average of all player's sanity as well as the "hunting modifier" of a Ghost. Dead players do not count towards the average team sanity.

X = 100 - Average sanity + Hunting modifier

The only ghosts that have a hunting modifier are Demon and Mare. Demons have a constant +15 hunting modifier, while Mares have a +10 modifier when the lights in their Ghost Room are off, and a -10 if the lights are on.

When the Ghost's idle timer ends, there is a 50% chance to check for X:

• If X is less than 50, the Ghost can initiate a hunt.
  
• If the resulting X is between 50 and 75, the Ghost has a 16.6% (1/6) chance to initiate a Hunt.
  
• Otherwise if the X is equal to or greater than 75, the Ghost will instead have a 25% (1/4) chance to Hunt.

The activity level of a Ghost does not increase the chance of a Ghost initiating a Hunt.

NOTE: The Banshee follows these rules ONLY if their target is outside. A Banshee will engage in a Hunt when they use their ability, and teleport to their target's location. There, if they can see their target for 20 seconds without breaking line-of-sight, a Hunt will begin.

When the Hunt starts, players have about eight seconds to run and hide before the Ghost manifests in their physical form and begins to search for players to kill. The Hunt will end shortly after the Ghost successfully kills a player or when time runs out. The Ghost will chase one player at a time in its line of sight, except the Banshee, who targets one specific player.

What attracts the Ghost
- Being seen by the Ghost.
- A player talking loud enough for the Ghost to hear attracts the Ghost's attention towards the player's location.

• This is dependent of the player's loudness and microphone sensitivity.
  
• Whispering has a lower chance of attracting the Ghost's attention.
  
• The Ghost (currently) can not hear a player talking on a different floor.

What does NOT attract the Ghost
- The light from your flashlight.
- Items that make sound such as EMF Reader, Camera, or Spirit Box.

In the past, Ghosts did not have object permanence. This means that if the Ghost lost sight of the player that it was chasing (such as if this player turned a corner) then the Ghost would walk in a randomly chosen direction. This is no longer the case. Now when the Ghost loses line of sight to the player then it will travel to the player's last known location and start searching around it.

1. Hiding in a room or closet and closing the door.
   • All Ghosts can pass through doors as if they do not exist. Ghosts can open doors, closets and lockers during a hunt. Holding the door closed can prevent the Ghost from opening a door, but will not stop the ghost from going through a room.
     
   • Lockers and closets are safer than rooms because the Ghost can go in a random room regardless of holding the door shut. The Ghost will not go inside a locker or a closet unless it has line of sight of you.
2. Lighting a Smudge Stick near the Ghost, while not ending a Hunt, will cause the Ghost to stop chasing and wander for a few seconds before resuming.
   
3. Running.
   • Although survival rates are low if a player is caught out in the open with no hiding places nearby, it is still possible to outrun most Ghosts.
     
   • The Revenant is the only ghost that can outrun the player completely. The Jinn moves faster to catch up, but at 3 meters, holds the same pace as you.
     
   • Against slower Ghosts, breaking line of sight by turning corners and closing doors can help to escape, though running in a straight line as long as possible is much more reliable. A player must be ready to either run or hide the moment the Ghost starts a hunt.
     
   • The Ghost will follow your last seen location—instead of wandering away—when breaking line of sight. This means turning one corner may not be enough to be safe.
4. Being outside when the Hunt begins.

On smaller maps:

• Turning enough corners has a chance of causing the Ghost to lose track of you and to stop chasing you.
  • As mentioned previously, the Ghost will go to the location where it last saw you and start searching around it.
    
  • After turning enough corners, take the opportunity to hide, preferably inside a locker or a closet (because hiding in say, a bathroom, carries the risk that the Ghost will enter your room simply because of pure RNG).
• Players must remain silent since the Ghost can now hear players during hunts and go to their location.
  
• It is possible to run around in circles on the first floor of Grafton Farmhouse. It is also possible to run around on the kitchen counter or around the car in the garage in certain maps.

On larger maps:

• Assuming that you do not get cornered, the only Ghost in the game that will be able to catch you while you are running away from it is the Revenant.
  • You run a little bit faster than all but 2 Ghosts. The Jinn is the only Ghost other than the Revenant that can catch up to you, but unlike a Revenant, a Jinn will slows down to Ghost's default speed when it gets close enough to you.
• Knowing the layout of Brownstone High School, Prison, and Asylum, specifically knowing how to avoid dead ends while running (such as by running circles around the map) will allow you to not get caught by every Ghost except for the Revenant, which is why it is considered the most dangerous Ghost on these maps.
  • Freezing Temperatures allows you to immediately rule out the possibly that the Ghost is a Revenant. The same is true of getting a response from the Spirit Box. Evidence for both Freezing Temperatures and the Spirit Box are often discovered early in the game.
    
  • Unless the Ghost is a Revenant or a Jinn, running is often a better strategy than hiding because of the Ghost's inability to catch up with players. This, however, will result in needing a longer time to return to the Ghost Room.
• Whether a player is standing or crouching, they will run at the same speed. The same is true whether the player is running forwards or backwards (or even running backwards while crouched).
  • Because of this, to capture a photo of a non-Revenant Ghost on these maps, a good strategy is to get yourself chased by the Ghost and then (when it is close enough) run backwards while taking photos of it with the Photo Camera.

Ghosts are the main focus of Phasmophobia. A ghost is the incorporeal spiritual essence of a dead person that lingers on Earth, often having been killed from sudden and violent deaths. It is the main objective of the player(s) to enter and explore abandoned haunted locations to gather evidence and search for Ghost Activity and come to a conclusion about a Ghost's presence and classification. Ghosts will not remain passive and, once agitated or threatened, will begin initiating Hunts in which they become corporeal, seeking out to kill any player they can find. Ghosts feed off of players' Sanity, draining it and making them more likely to Hunt. During a hunt a ghost will flash, appearing for 0.08 to 0.3 seconds every 0.3 to 1 seconds (except Phantoms which only appear every 1 to 2 seconds).

It is important to note that certain phenomena often isn't limited to one single type of Ghost. For example, all Ghosts can make dirty water appear in sinks and can throw objects around in a room. However, certain Ghosts are more likely to exhibit certain behaviors than others; a Poltergeist will be more likely to throw objects and can affect several at once, and a Jinn will oftentimes interact with electronics such as telephones and lights. Also, no singular Ghost Model is tied to a type of Ghost, meaning that their appearance should not be used to judge the type of Ghost.

Ghost will have a randomly generated unique identity consisting of gender, name, death length, age, shyness, favorite room, and a physical model that is determined at level start. These characteristics are not dependent on the type of ghost, but are randomized for every ghost.

Gender:
There is about a 50/50 chance of the Ghost being either male or female each time you begin a contract.

Death Length:
The length of death of a Ghost is a randomly generated number between 50 and 1000 years.

Age:
The age of the Ghost is a randomly generated number between 4 and 90 years.

Shyness:
Whether a Ghost is shy or not determines how it behaves around multiple players. If a Ghost is indicated as shy, it will only respond to people who are alone.

Ghost's name:
The name of the Ghost consists of a name and a surname. Their first name is determined randomly by their gender, unlike their surname. Speaking the Ghost's full name aloud via local push-to-talk will alert the Ghost and cause it to attack more frequently. It is not recommended to say their names multiple times, especially in a room with any noticeable evidence or proof that one is nearby. Some ghosts, however, are more likely to kill you instantly when you say their name with low sanity.


Source: https://phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/Ghosts#Identifying_Traits_of_Ghosts

"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.”
—The Journal

Spirits serve as a baseline to measure other Ghosts against. With their behavior ranging from shy to active, passive to hostile, a Spirit can have any number of perceived characteristics. It is this lack of defining traits that can confuse investigators; therefore, until clear evidence is established, a Spirit can be easily mistaken for another entity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHFPqiYmcdE&ab_channel=Nuzzgard
The spirit has no discernible strengths, however it is known to increase its hunting as your sanity drops.

Using Smudge Sticks on a Spirit will stop it attacking for 180 seconds instead of 90.

Ghost Writing - Fingerprints - Spirit Box

Although the Journal says that the Spirit is the most common ghost, all ghost types actually have the same chance of getting selected by the game.

A Wraith is one of the most dangerous ghosts you will find. Wraiths are best known for being able to "fly", indicative of them typically not producing footsteps while moving. Additionally, wraiths can see through doors, closets, and lockers while Hunting players—demanding either a more creative hiding spot or a timely escape.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKHsNJbwW6E&list=RDCMUCzeJwNw3EBqZ570CQbFCSJw&index=10&ab_channel=Nuzzgard
Wraiths almost never touch the ground, but this does not apply to the ghost model. Because of this, footprint sounds from a wraith will be rare to non-existent, and they can travel directly through walls doors without having to open them.

Wraiths have a toxic reaction to Salt. If a Wraith comes into contact with a pile of salt, Ghost Activity will significantly increase.

Fingerprints - Freezing Temperatures - Spirit Box

Although Salt can make a Wraith stop attacking according to the Journal, nothing can really stop an ongoing Hunt.

The Wraith will hover without touching the ground for long periods of time, but it occasionally takes steps on the ground. In other words, a Wraith can still be tracked with Salt to some degree. Wraiths can step on and disturb a pile of salt, but they will not leave green Footprints. If Salt is placed in a doorway, a Wraith will most often fly over the Salt, leaving a hand print on the door that can be seen with a UV Light. However, this is not guaranteed, and it may result in a glitch where the wraith will enter its hunting phase and never stop.

According to the Journal, the Wraith is unfazed by doors and lockers—especially during a Hunt. This has been tested false, and this doesn't seem to be implemented in the game, yet.

If you are struggling to get more Objectives such as "Witness a Ghost Event" or "Capture a Photo of the Ghost", you can try placing Salt. When the Wraith steps on the salt, you can have a higher chance of activity and a higher chance to complete the objectives.

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

A Phantom is a fear-inducing ghost, quickly draining the sanity of those who view it. Taking a picture of it will make it disappear temporarily. Although rumored to possess the living, it has no ability to actually do so. It is said to be commonly summoned by a Ouija Board, although players cannot summon one themselves, nor does a Phantom's presence guarantee that a Ouija Board will spawn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDzPz0reX3M&list=RDCMUCzeJwNw3EBqZ570CQbFCSJw&index=7&ab_channel=Nuzzgard
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. This, however, will not stop a Hunt.

EMF Level 5 - Freezing Temperatures - Ghost Orb

When a Phantom uses its power, it will navigate to a random player's location, creating an Interaction EMF at its starting location.

Looking at a Phantom will reduce your sanity by 0.4 each second, as opposed to 0.2 for other Ghosts.

During a hunt a phantom will flash visible every 1 to 2 seconds as opposed to every 0.3 to 1 second for other Ghosts, making it harder to take a photo of.

Phantoms are easy to identify due to their weakness; if the ghost disappeared after taking a photo of it, it is likely to be a Phantom, although this is not guaranteed, as the ghost may have simply decided to disappear.

Phantoms will drop a player's Sanity significantly whenever it is seen manifesting or hunting; be mindful if you or one of your teammates are frequently seeing the ghost, as their Sanity will likely be quite low.

"One of the most famous Ghosts, a Poltergeist, also known as a noisy ghost can manipulate objects around it to spread fear into it's victims.”
—The Journal

A Poltergeist is capable of influencing more objects at once than any other Ghosts, and is capable of shutting multiple doors at once. A 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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-UlT6uZCOA&list=RDCMUCzeJwNw3EBqZ570CQbFCSJw&index=2&ab_channel=Nuzzgard
When a Poltergeist uses its power, it will throw all nearby items. If a player is nearby, it will decrease their sanity by an amount equal to the number of items thrown multiplied by 2. This will also create an EMF Level 3.

A Poltergeist is almost ineffective in an empty room.

Ghost Orb - Fingerprints - Spirit Box
HOWEVER
With only Ghost Orb - Fingerprints you can already conclude that the Ghost is a Poltergeist.

If there are no items near a Poltergeist, it will not use its power. This does not mean it can't kill you.

Poltergeists throw items with higher force than other ghosts.

Unlike other ghosts, objects thrown by Poltergeists have the ability to decrease player sanity even 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 type that can be identified with only 2 pieces of evidence: Ghost Orbs and Fingerprints.

"A Banshee is a natural hunter and will attack anything. It has been known to stalk its prey one at a time until making its kill."
—The Journal

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. It will ignore other players and only pay attention to its target. However, if the target is outside the building, it can hunt like any other ghost and kill whoever it sees.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtEFFrKibps&ab_channel=Nuzzgard
A Banshee will focus on one player at a time until it kills them or the player leaves the game.

Banshees fear the Crucifix, which boosts the Hunt-stopping range of one from 3 meters to 5 meters against it.

EMF Level 5 - Fingerprints - Freezing Temperatures

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. It will not actually follow the player, but it will mark the target's location at the time its power was used. After reaching the location, it will wait ~20 seconds, then proceed to begin a Hunt if the player has been within direct line-of-sight of the Banshee during this waiting time.

Originally, the Banshee would never switch targets unless the target died or left the game, and would cancel its ability if no players are in the building, disabling its ability to hunt. As of v0.26.5. however, Banshees are now able to freely hunt other players if its target is absent from the building.

The Banshee 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.

Unless the target is outside, the Banshee can ignore Sanity and typical hunting rules, meaning it can potentially begin a Hunt with its power within moments of the hunters entering the location on Professional or Intermediate difficulties. A hunt beginning very early on while all players have high Sanity is a very strong sign of a Banshee using its power. The Banshee will also ignore players that are not its target during a hunt, allowing for easy photos and little need to hide while the target is known, assuming they do not leave the building or are killed.

"A Jinn is a territorial Ghost that will attack when threatened. It also has been known to travel at significant speed.”
—The Journal

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 often turn lights back on as Jinn do, and Poltergeists will likely disturb more general objects that aren't light switches such as doors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L33LquqWo9Y&ab_channel=Nuzzgard
A Jinn will travel at a faster speed if its victim is far away. When the Jinn uses its ability, it will wait for 5 seconds. After this, all players within 3 meters of the ghost will have their Sanity decrease by 25%.

Turning off the location's power source will prevent the Jinn from using its ability.

EMF Level 5 - Ghost Orb - Spirit Box

Turning off the location's breaker will both prevent the Jinn from moving fast during a hunt and make it easier for players to see its ghost orbs. However, this will render the map's lights inactive (save for Candles), thus leading to the players' Sanity to drain faster. It is up to your team to decide if preventing the Jinn from using its ability is worth dealing with more frequent hunts as a result of lower average sanity.

Jinns can be pretty dangerous to sanity; if the Fuse Box is turned on, it can use its power to decrease the players' sanity in an instant, but if the Fuse Box is off, it will continuously drain sanity since the players will be in darkness.

Most Jinns will leave players well enough alone if they stay out of its Ghost Room, which means if evidence must be gathered, stepping into its area will greatly increase the chances of activity. It also has the risk to decrease your Sanity by a lot, so be careful when you are in the Ghost Room.

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 nears them, allowing players to re-establish a gap that the Jinn will speed up to close; correctly noting this will allow for the Jinn to be identified without a single piece of evidence needing to be gathered.

"A Mare is the source of all nightmares, making it most powerful in the dark.”
—The Journal

Mares have a higher chance of initiating hunts when players are in darkness, especially if the lights are turned off in the ghost room. It tends 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 has the capacity to initiate hunts within mere moments of each other, allowing them to rival even Demons in aggression.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmdMAxpKWjc&ab_channel=Nuzzgard
Increased chance to attack in the dark (10x chance of starting a hunt). As such, it will do what it can to achieve this, such as turning off lights and tripping the fuse box.

Turning the lights on will lower its chance to attack (0.10x chance of starting a hunt).

Freezing Temperatures - Ghost Orb - Spirit Box

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, including utilizing Candles if the fuse box is difficult to reach. It is especially important to keep the lights on in the Mare's ghost room, as this is what actually lowers the Mare's chance to hunt. A Mare can initiate a hunt when the players' average sanity is lower than 60% when the lights in its Ghost Room is turned off, and at 40% when the lights are turned on.

Be aware of the locations of light switches and the fuse box, as the Mare will often work to turn them off. Keeping a paranormal investigator near them will help counteract the Mare's habits. Having an investigator "guard" the fuse box is much more useful in larger maps such as Brownstone High School and the Asylum, as the sheer size of those maps makes backtracking to the fuse box much more arduous and potentially dangerous.

Note that staying in the light does not prevent the Mare from hunting; it will still be able to initiate Hunts provided it is not currently the Setup Phase, though it will be less aggressive in doing so when compared to other ghost types.

"A Revenant is a slow but violent Ghost that will attack indiscriminantly. It has been rumored to travel at a significantly high speed when hunting.”
—The Journal

The Revenant is one of twelve Ghost types in Phasmophobia. It is infamous for being a very dangerous Ghost that can catch up to players during a Hunt.

Unlike other Ghosts, who will often have a specific target selected when starting a Hunt, Revenants will freely switch targets if there is another player that is closer by - and especially one that is in plain view and available.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS-MKJC972o&ab_channel=Nuzzgard
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. During a Hunt, the Revenant can move at twice the default speed when it is chasing a player, but it will only move at half speed when it isn't.

Weaknesses: Hiding from the Revenant will cause it to move very slowly.

EMF Level 5 - Fingerprints - Ghost Writing

Due to the Revenant's power, it is critical to hide as soon as possible during a Hunt. A player will not be able to outrun a Revenant for long before it catches up to them. If you are caught running from a Revenant, your last resort is to use Smudge Sticks to disorient it for a few seconds, giving you enough time to break line of sight by turning corners and/or closing doors and hide from it.

A highly dangerous but nonetheless potential method of surviving a chase from a Revenant chase requires at least one other player. A Revenant's ability to switch targets freely can be used against it. Whoever is not being chased can force a hunting Revenant's attention on them from a different angle, then another player can do the same thereafter. This leads to the Revenant effectively being 'juggled' between multiple players and constantly changing directions without focusing on one player long enough to actually catch and kill them.

"A Shade is known to be a Shy Ghost. There is evidence that a Shade will stop all paranormal activity if there are multiple people nearby.”
—The Journal

Noted as being shy ghosts, a Shade will lower its 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, a 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. The Shade follows the general definition of "alone", in the sense of a player being in a room on their own, even if other players are physically close.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDO6-z95Z5g&ab_channel=Nuzzgard
Strengths: 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.

EMF Level 5 - Ghost Orb - Ghost Writing

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.

If there are two or more people in the ghost room, it is less likely to initiate a Hunt. If it is needed to bait out the ghost into hunting mode, make sure there is no more than one player in the ghost room. Some rooms that seem like a single room are actually broken down into multiple rooms. For example, the cell blocks on the Prison Map appear to be broken up into 2 or more rooms. At the very least, the upstairs and downstairs of the cell block are considered individual rooms for this purpose, as a shade will initiate a hunt if only 1 of the players is located at the upstairs cells.

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, especially if one player is attempting to anger it.

"A Demon is one of the worst Ghosts you can encounter. It has been known to attack without a reason.”
—The Journal

Demons are generally regarded as the most dangerous type of ghost to encounter; noted for being highly aggressive, they will attack more often than any other ghost, and usually without warning. Though they may frequently hinder more conventional methods of investigation, Demons will also allow ghost hunters to use the Ouija Board without reducing their sanity if a question is answered successfully, allowing for critical information to be obtained with a bit of safety to sanity.

If the investigation and objectives are not dealt with quickly, Demons can quickly become extremely challenging ghosts. 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 players to spend more total time hiding than investigating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JesgaJVI16Q&ab_channel=Nuzzgard
Demons are the most aggressive ghosts and will begin Hunts more often.

Weaknesses: Asking a Demon successful questions on the Ouija Board won't lower the user's sanity.

Freezing Temperatures - Ghost Writing - Spirit Box

It is crucial that players move as quickly and efficiently in gathering evidence as possible, and bring Sanity Pills, Crucifixes, Thermometers and other defensive equipment to keep a Demon from reaching its full aggression. Taking advantage of the Demon's known weakness with Ouija Boards can get players the information they need to succeed, mainly finding out its Ghost Room without needing to waste time searching.

One should not rely on the Ouija Board for salvation, as it is never a guaranteed spawn on a map; if a Demon is suspected and there is no Ouija Board, one must take every precaution to defend against Hunts, and locate a nearby hiding spot in the event that one occurs. There is also the natural chance that a question asked will fail, resulting in a large amount of lost sanity that further invites a Demon to begin its hunting spree.

If a Ouija Board was found: Have one player ask the Ouija Board a question while another monitors the questioner's Sanity from inside the van. If the question is successfully answered (i.e. the planchette spells out a response on the board) and if the questioner's sanity does not decrease then the Ghost must be a Demon. However, if the question was not successfully answered (in which case the room's lights will flash and the board will turn off) then the questioner's sanity will decrease, even if the Ghost is a Demon.

If the Ouija Board is turned on (i.e lit up) and it is in the middle of spelling out a response with the planchette, then it is possible to ask it another question (usually accidently) and have that second quesiton fail. In this case, the room's lights will flash, the Ouija Board will turn off, and the questioner's Sanity will decrease but the planchette on the Ouija Board will continue to spell out the answer to the first question. Be careful to not wrongly conclude from this situation that the Ghost is not a Demon. This situation can be avoided by turning the Ouija Board off after it starts spelling out an answer to the (first) question.

"A Yurei is a Ghost that has returned to the physical world, usually for the purpose of revenge or hatred.”
—The Journal

Although the Yurei does not have any implicit bonuses to its ability to Hunt, its main distinction is its higher drain on the hunters' Sanity during a manifestation; if hunters are careless with their Sanity, it will become aggressive very quickly.

The Yurei is comparable to the Spirit, as both of them have no particular modifiers for their aggressiveness or interactions with the environment, as well as also having special interactions with Smudge Sticks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxqpZZ_5A7o&ab_channel=Nuzzgard
Yurei have been known to have a stronger effect on people's Sanity during a manifestation.

A Yurei will drain sanity at 0.4% per second during a manifestation, this is higher then the usual 0.2% per second from other ghosts.

The higher manifestation drain will also happen during a hunt if the player is within 10 meters of the ghost.

There is speculation if ghost events have a 2x sanity drain then normal, this is unconfirmed.

Using Smudge Sticks on the Yurei will cause it to not wander around the location for ~90 seconds.

Freezing Temperatures - Ghost Orb - Ghost Writing

Be sure to get away from the Yurei when it does manifest if you aren't taking a photo of it.

Be sure to keep track of Sanity, and use Sanity Pills when necessary, as players will ultimately reach lower sanity levels faster, allowing for the Yurei to become more aggressive and be able trigger Hunts sooner into a mission.

There is a common misconception that the Yurei has a higher passive sanity drain for being in the dark, this has been debunked.

"Onis are a cousin to the Demon and possess extreme strength. There have been rumors that they become more active around their prey.”
—The Journal

The Oni is much more active when players are grouped together. The Oni is also described as being extremely strong, and it will throw objects around the room with great force when interacting with them. However, these objects are not dangerous to the hunters or their sanity unlike those thrown by Poltergeists.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBZ34E_72ss&ab_channel=Nuzzgard
Oni are 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.

EMF Level 5 - Ghost Writing - Spirit Box

Since it is one of the most active ghosts in the game, it will more readily give up evidence to a group of investigators, which can make for generous and swift investigations if an Oni is quick to reveal the necessary evidence.

The Oni's power of being more active when players are around can be misleading on larger maps such as Brownstone High School and Asylum, as it will often wander to players and cause interactions far away from its Ghost Room, creating red herrings. As such, be sure to double check for activity so that an Oni is not leading players away from the location of its ghost room.

Unlike with most other ghost types, splitting up is the best method of defense when searching for an Oni, as it is much less active while players are alone. Though this can be a disadvantageous strategy, particularly if the ghost is revealed to be a Banshee, it can also allow players to find the Ghost Room quicker, as well as keep them from huddling together in hiding spaces during hunts.

Phasmophobia Fandom Wiki:
- https://phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page
- https://phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/Site_Activity_Monitor
- https://phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/Hunt
- https://phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/Spirit
- https://phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/Wraith
- https://phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/Phantom
- https://phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/Poltergeist
- https://phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/Banshee
- https://phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/Jinn
- https://phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/Mare
- https://phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/Revenant
- https://phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/Shade
- https://phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/Demon
- https://phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/Yurei
- https://phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/Oni

ScreenRant's Phasmophobia Questions & Answers Guide:
https://screenrant.com/phasmophobia-spirit-box-oujia-board-questions-answer/

Videos from Nuzzgard's YouTube Channel. Ghost Type Guides.

Videos from Psycho's YouTube Channel. Site Activity Reader Guide.

As for future updates for this guide, I might include more basic gameplay mechanics, such as the different tools used for gathering evidence, and more behind the scenes facts about these to contribute to every ghost-hunter's mastering of Phasmaphobia (and maybe some more pictures to make the guide more fun to read). Hope this collaboration-guide was helpful, and good luck to you all with future gameplays. Thank you for reading it.