Regardless of what the ghost type is, there are a few mechanics applied to each ghost.

Shy or Not Shy
A ghost is either Shy or Not Shy. The only thing this applies to is Spirit Box evidence, if your ghost has it. You can find out if your ghost is Shy or Not Shy by reading your journal (difficulty dependent), the whiteboard (difficulty dependent), or through asking the Ouija Board.

Favorite Room/Ghost Room
The Ghost Room is randomly determined at the start of the investigation, depending on where the ghost spawns. When deciding to move, locations in the Ghost Room are favored over locations outside the Ghost Room. This doesn't mean the ghost will only be in this room however and, depending on difficulty settings, the ghost can change its Ghost Room rarely.

Hunting
A ghost can try to Hunt if the conditions are correct. The ghost goes through a series of checks, presumably in this order to determine if it can start a Hunt:

• 1. At least one living player must be in the investigation area.
  
• 2. Average Sanity is 50% or lower.
  
• 3. The ghost is not under the effects of an Incense.
  
• 4. The ghost has not Hunted or had its Hunt blocked by a Crucifix within the last 25 seconds.
  
• 5. The ghost is not within range of a Crucifix.

While the ghost is Hunting it will always play the same noise. It can play this noise for Ghost Events as well. While Hunting the ghost "blinks" in and out of visibility. At the end of a Hunt all lights in the building turn off with a chance of turning the breaker off and the ghost is teleported back to the Ghost Room.

Ghost Events
A ghost can manifest itself to attack your sanity without Hunting. This is a Ghost Event and it drains 10% of your Sanity if the ghost comes in contact with you (usually denoted by a hissing noise). It may manifest as a shadow person, an airball, or fully manifest. Some noises, such as "Ring Around the Rosie", only play during ghost events. A ghost will teleport a short distance when doing a Ghost Event and at the end of a Ghost Event the ghost is physically at where the Ghost Event ended.

Speed Ramp Up
During a Hunt a ghost will get faster the longer it has line of sight to a player.

DOTS (Detector of the Supernatural) projectors display a matrix of green dots. The ghost will randomly enter "the DOTS state," during which time a faint image of the ghost can be seen. It will also walk towards the nearest player if one is present. When the ghost is not in its DOTS state then shining the DOTS at the ghost will do nothing.

You may take a photo of a ghost in DOTS form for a Ghost Photo.

Dead players cannot see DOTS.

BUG ALERT!!!: Currently a bug exists where if a ghost begins a hunt as it enters "the DOTS state" it will be invisible unless it's in a DOTS matrix light.

EMF is the most complex evidence in the game. Any time the ghost does something other than move or hunt, it gives an EMF reading. If the EMF reader displays EMF 5 during a Hunt this is not indicative of the ghost having EMF 5 as an evidence, and you must get EMF 5 outside of a Hunt.

• EMF 2 = Light switch, door touch, knock on the window, or ability used. (EMF comes from the light switch, door, or the ghost)
  
• EMF 3 = Thrown item (EMF comes from the item thrown)
  
• EMF 4 = Ghost Event (EMF comes from the point of origin of the Ghost Event)
  
• EMF 5 = Any EMF reading has a 25% chance to display EMF 5 on the EMF reader as well as activity chart.

You can also detect EMF 5 using the activity chart. The activity chart shows the accumulated EMF activity in the house, but it has a modifier of +1, 0, or -1. Because EMF 1 just shows the device is on, EMF 1 is not reflected on the activity chart. EMF 2 reflects as activity 1 (which can be reduced to 0 with the correct modifier), EMF 3 reflects as activity 2, and so on. If you see a single spike of activity 4 or 5, then EMF 5 is likely. This is confirmed EMF 5 if no one is in the house or no Ghost Events were reported as the only things that can produce activity 4+ in a single spike are Ghost Events and EMF 5.
Two notable exceptions come to mind, however: Hunting (displays as activity 10) and the Poltergeist ability (reflects as normal, but since it's multiple throws with one interaction the activity chart often shoots to 7+ in a single spike) can cause some confusion.

Freezing Temps is the simplest, but one of the slowest evidence to gather and most dangerous with an aggressive ghost. A few factors influence the "resting" temperature.

• The weather determines what the "resting" temperature is.
  
• If the power is on the "resting" temperature rises (except on campsites) inside the investigation area, and if the power is off it will match outside temperatures.
  
• If the ghost is in the room the temperatures will drop.

While you can get extremely low temperatures, it'll only reach Freezing Temps if the ghost has it as one of its evidences and requires the ghost to have been in a room long enough that it can lower the temperatures to 0C / 32F.

Dead players cannot see cold breath.

The temperature inside the investigation area does not begin to change until the front door is unlocked for the first time.

Ghost Orbs can only be seen on video cameras or the video feed from head cameras with night vision enabled. Only one orb can be seen at a time and only in the ghost's Favorite Room (not necessarily the room the ghost is in). On maps that have CCTV inside the map (High School, Prison, Sunny Meadows, Maple Lodge), it is possible to find Ghost Orbs before even opening the front door.

Ghost Orbs can be difficult to detect during snow weather due to the snow looking similar to Ghost Orbs. The best advice for finding them during snow weather is to look for something moving sideways or upwards.

There's not much to Ghost Writing. Place a Ghost Writing book in the room and if the ghost has Ghost Writing as one of its evidences, then the ghost has a chance to interact with the book by writing in it as if the book was anything else in the environment. However the ghost chooses to interact with the book provides EMF 2. If the ghost throws the book it means one of three things.

With the Eventide update, when the ghost throws the book, it now closes the book!

• The ghost does not have Ghost Writing as an evidence
  
• The ghost wrote in the book and interacted with it again after writing.
  
• The ghost has Ghost Writing as an evidence and has not wrote in the book, but you're playing on a difficulty that hides one or more evidence and one of those evidences hidden was Ghost Writing.

You may take a photo of Ghost Writing.

In order to get evidence from Spirit Box you need to ask a valid question.

• How old are you?
  
• Where are you?
  
• Are you friendly?
  
• What do you want?
  
• Are you close?

The additional requirements must also be met before obtaining Spirit Box evidence.

• If the ghost is Shy, then only one person may be in the room.
  
• You must be within range of the ghost, determined by tier of Spirit Box equipment.
  
• You must be within the same room as the ghost.
  
• The lights of the room must be OFF.
  
• Dead players cannot interact with the Spirit Box in any way.

If a ghost has Ultraviolet evidence it will leave them behind with a 100% chance (depending on custom settings) after interacting with the following:

• Doors (including cell doors on Prison)
  
• Light Switches (including lanterns on campsites)
  
• Windows
  
• Keyboards
  
• Cooler Boxes

Campsite Exclusives

• Poles
  
• Benches

Ultraviolet handprints/fingerprints will last for 2 minutes (1 minute on Insanity).

You may also get Ultraviolet evidence by having the ghost step in salt. Any movement the ghost has for the next 10 seconds will leave behind footprints. Footprints lasts between 10 and 15 seconds. For Ultraviolet to be evidence you must be actively scanning with Ultraviolet light after the ghost steps in salt and listening for the footsteps afterwards. The ghost stepping in salt is not evidence in of itself.

You may take a photo of Ultraviolet evidence if your photobook is not full. The ultraviolet evidence MUST be visible for it to count.

Lastly, the ghost MUST interact with a light switch or door for Ultraviolet to appear. The lights flickering in the room or turning off/door closing as a result of a ghost event will NOT provide Ultraviolet evidence, even if the ghost has that evidence.

In 0/1/2 evidence games you can identify a Banshee by the following behaviors.

• HUNT: A Banshee only checks the Sanity of a specific player, its target, when attempting a hunt.
  
• HUNT: A Banshee ignores all players during a hunt except its target, unless that target is not in the investigation area (acting like a normal ghost). If the target is killed, the Banshee selects another target.
  
• GHOST EVENT: Banshees are more likely to produce a singing Ghost Event.
  
• GHOST EVENT: Banshees that produce a singing Ghost Event drain 15% Sanity instead of 10%.
  
• EQUIPMENT: Banshees have a 33% chance of producing a unique wailing noise when using the Parabolic Microphone.
  
• EVIDENCE: Banshees will move towards its target when performing a DOTS interaction instead of the nearest player.
  
• HIDDEN ABILITY: A Banshee can roam towards its target, no matter how far away they are.

In 0/1/2 evidence games you can identify a Demon by the following behaviors.

• HUNT: Demons can start hunting at 70% Average Sanity.
  
• HUNT: Demons can use their special ability to hunt, ignoring current Sanity. Because this is an ability, it can trigger during the Setup Phase of an investigation.
  
• HUNT: Demons only need to wait 20 seconds between Hunts/Crucifix blocked Hunts.
  
• EQUIPMENT: Incense only prevents a Demon from hunting for 60 seconds (From 90)
  
• EQUIPMENT: Crucifixes have a 50% increased radius against Demons.

In 0/1/2 evidence games you can identify a Deogen by the following behaviors.

• HUNT: A Deogen can start hunting at 40% Average Sanity.
  
• HUNT: A Deogen is aware of the location of all players on the map. While you're far away a Deogen is capable of moving at 3m/s, but up close it moves at .4m/s.
  
• HUNT: A Deogen does not have Speed Ramp-Up.
  
• HUNT: A Deogen doesn't "blink" as often as other ghosts, making it more visible.
  
• EVIDENCE: While standing within 1m of a Deogen and using the Spirit Box, you have a 33% chance of obtaining a unique, heavy breathing sound instead of a typical response.

In 0/1/2 evidence games you can identify a Goryo by the following behaviors.

• INTERACTION: Goryos have a very short roaming distance.
  
• INTERACTION: Goryos cannot change their Ghost Room unless a Monkey Paw is used.
  
• EVIDENCE: As long as 1 Evidence is allowed, a Goryo will have DOTS.
  
• EVIDENCE: DOTS from a Goryo is only visible on video cameras and so long as there is no one in the room.

In 0/1/2 evidence games you can identify a Hantu by the following behaviors.

• HUNT: A Hantu can move up to 2.7m/s in rooms with Freezing Temperatures, and as low as 1.4m/s in rooms above 15C/59F.
  
• HUNT: A Hantu has Freezing Breath during a Hunt. Dead players cannot see this.
  
• HUNT: A Hantu does not have Speed Ramp-Up.
  
• INTERACTION: A Hantu will NEVER turn on the breaker.
  
• INTERACTION: A Hantu has a higher chance to turn the breaker off.
  
• EVIDENCE: As long as 1 evidence is allowed, the Hantu will have Freezing Temps.

In 0/1/2 evidence games you can identify a Jinn by the following behaviors.

• HUNT: If the breaker is on, the Jinn is more than 3m from a player, and it can see the player the Jinn moves at 2.5m/s (Speed Ramp-Up is disabled during this time).
  
• INTERACTION: A Jinn will NEVER turn off the breaker.
  
• HIDDEN ABILITY: A Jinn has the power to lower the Sanity of everyone in a 3m range of the Jinn. This provides an EMF reading of 2 (with a possibility of EMF 5) originating at the breaker.

In 0/1/2 evidence games you can identify a Mare by the following behaviors.

• HUNT: Mares can begin hunting at 60% Average Sanity if the Mare is in a room with the lights off.
  
• HUNT: Mares can begin hunting at 40% Average Sanity if the Mare is in a room with the lights on.
  
• GHOST EVENT: Mares are much more likely to produce Ghost Events that break the lights in a room.
  
• INTERACTION: Mares can NEVER turn on a light.
  
• INTERACTION: Mares are more likely to roam to areas with the lights off.
  
• HIDDEN ABILITY: Mares have a chance to immediately turn off a light switch that was turned on. This ability operates on a cool down per light switch.

In 0/1/2 evidence games you can identify a Moroi by the following behaviors.

• HUNT: A Moroi gets faster the lower the Average Sanity is, starting as low as 1.5m/s and maxing out at 2.25m/s.
  
• HUNT: A Moroi is "blinded" by an incense for 7.5 seconds during a hunt instead of 5 seconds.
  
• EQUIPMENT: Whispers on the Parabolic Microphone can curse you, causing your Sanity to drain rapidly until you take sanity medication.
  
• EVIDENCE: Responses on the Spirit Box can curse you, causing your Sanity to drain rapidly until you take sanity medication.
  
• EVIDENCE: As long as 1 evidence is allowed, a Moroi will always have Spirit Box.

In 0/1/2 evidence games you can identify a Myling by the following behaviors.

• HUNT: A Myling's footsteps during a Hunt are significantly quieter, only being audible in about the same range as your equipment's malfunction.
  
• EQUIPMENT: A Myling will produce a paranormal sound every 30 seconds on average.

In 0/1/2 evidence games you can identify an Obake by the following behaviors.

• HUNT: During a Hunt an Obake may change its appearance between blinks, but will return to its normal form after the next blink.
  
• EVIDENCE: As long as 1 evidence is allowed, an Obake will always have Ultraviolet.
  
• EVIDENCE: An Obake has a 25% chance to turn an EMF 5 reading into its normal EMF reading.
  
• EVIDENCE: An Obake has a 25% chance to not leave behind Ultraviolet evidence.
  
• EVIDENCE: An Obake has a 16.5% chance to leave behind a unique Fingerprint/Handprint.
  
• HIDDEN ABILITY: An Obake can halve the duration of any Ultraviolet evidence present on the map.

In 0/1/2 evidence games you can identify an Oni by the following behaviors.

• HUNT: An Oni "blinks" less during a Hunt, making it more visible.
  
• GHOST EVENT: An Oni will never produce an airball Ghost Event.
  
• GHOST EVENT: An Oni has a higher chance of fully manifesting during a Ghost Event instead of being a shadow person.
  
• GHOST EVENT: An Oni producing a Ghost Event drains 20% Sanity instead of 10%.
  
• INTERACTION: An Oni's activity is significantly higher than other ghosts and increases with more players around.

In 0/1/2 evidence games you can identify an Onryo by the following behaviors.

• HUNT: An Onryo can begin hunting at 60% Average Sanity.
  
• HUNT: Every 3rd Candle or Firelight the Onryo blows out causes the Onryo to hunt. This counter does not increase if the Candle or Firelight is blown out during a hunt.
  
• INTERACTION: Onryos have a higher chance of blowing out candles. This chance increases with each dead player.
  
• EQUIPMENT: An Onryo will ALWAYS blow out a Candle or Firelight before using a Crucifix if it's within range of both items.
  
• EQUIPMENT: A Candle or Firelight will prevent the Onryo from hunting, and when it does so the Onryo will blow out the Candle or Firelight.

In 0/1/2 evidence games you can identify a Phantom by the following behaviors.

• HUNT: A Phantom "blinks" for longer durations, making it harder to see during a Hunt.
  
• HUNT & GHOST EVENT: A Phantom drains SLIGHTLY more Sanity during Ghost Events and Hunts if it's visible.
  
• EQUIPMENT: The Phantom disappears when a photo is taken of it. Additionally, this photo is not distorted by equipment malfunction in the photobook.
  
• HIDDEN ABILITY: The Phantom can roam to any player within the investigation area. This creates EMF 2 at the player's location.

In 0/1/2 evidence games a Poltergeist can be identified by the following behaviors.

• HUNT: A Poltergeist throws significantly more items during a Hunt.
  
• INTERACTION: A Poltergeist throws significantly more items.
  
• INTERACTION: A Poltergeist can use its special power to throw multiple items at once, draining Sanity from nearby players. The percentage of Sanity lost is equal to the amount of items thrown multiplied by 2.

In 0/1/2 evidence games a Raiju can be identified by the following behaviors.

• HUNT: A Raiju can start a Hunt at 65% Average Sanity if electronic equipment is nearby. Otherwise, 50%.
  
• HUNT: A Raiju moves at 2.5m/s when causing electronic equipment to malfunction.
  
• HUNT: While a Raiju is near electronic equipment it does not have Speed Ramp-Up.
  
• HUNT: A Raiju causes equipment to malfunction from significantly further away than normal.

The following items do NOT count for the Raiju's ability.

• Video Cameras, Photo Cameras, DOTS Projectors (except T1, which must also be turned off), Motion Sensors, and Sound Sensors that have been thrown on the ground.
  
• Headgear in the OFF position.
  
• Equipment in your inventory (except Flashlight, which must also be turned off).
  
• The breaker, ightswitches, and other items that are part of the map itself.

In 0/1/2 evidence games a Revenant can be identified by the following behaviors.

• HUNT: A Revenant moves at 3m/s to where it last detected a player's location.
  
• HUNT: A Revenant moves at 1m/s if it does not see a player or have a last known location it's not already investigated.
  
• HUNT: A Revenant does not have Speed Ramp-Up.

In 0/1/2 evidence a Shade can be identified by the following behaviors.

• HUNT: A Shade can start a Hunt at 35% Sanity.
  
• HUNT: A Shade cannot begin a Hunt if a player is in the same room as it.
  
• GHOST EVENT: A Shade prefers to produce an airbal Ghost Event.
  
• GHOST EVENT: A Shade prefers to produce a shadow person Ghost Event if it doesn't do an airball Ghost Event.
  
• INTERACTION: A Shade is significantly less active than other ghosts.
  
• INTERACTION: A Shade cannot blow out an Igniter or Firelight if a player is in the same room as it.
  
• EVIDENCE: A Shade cannot write in the Ghost Writing Book if a player is in the same room as it.
  
• EQUIPMENT: A Shade can manifest as a shadow person when summoned by Monkey Paw, Summoning Circle, or Music Box.

In 0/1/2 evidence games a Spirit can be identified by the following behaviors.

• EQUIPMENT: A Spirit is unable to Hunt after being affected by an incense for 180 seconds (from 90)

In 0/1/2 evidence games the Thaye can be identified by the following behaviors.

• The more time players spend around a Thaye, the Thaye has a chance to age and become "older" and weaker. As it becomes older it hunts at lower thresholds, becomes less active, and moves slower.
  
• HUNT: While "young," a Thaye can start to Hunt at 75% Average Sanity.
  
• HUNT: While "young," a Thaye can move up to 3m/s.
  
• HUNT: A Thaye has no Speed Ramp-Up.
  
• INTERACTION: While "young," a Thaye is very active.
  
• EQUIPMENT: The Thaye will change its age on the Ouija Board to reflect its advanced aging if the player has spent enough time around it.

In 0/1/2 evidence games the Mimic is identifiable by the following behaviors.

• When the Mimic chooses a ghost to mirror, it has every aspect of that ghost other than their evidence.
  
• It cannot copy Goryo DOTS, as Mimic does not have DOTS.
  
• It can copy Obake Fingerprints/Handprints.
  
• When it mirrors a Thaye it chooses an age at random.
  
• A Mimic changes its ghost type every 30 seconds to 1 minute.
  
• EVIDENCE: A Mimic will always produce Ghost Orbs. Ghost Orbs are a weakness of this ghost and NOT an Evidence, meaning that in 0/1/2 evidence games, the Mimic will have 0/1/2 evidence in addition to Ghost Orbs.

In 0/1/2 evidence games the Twins can be identified by the following behaviors.

The Twins are really one ghost with a large interaction radius. In the provided image (not to scale), we can see a black radius (a normal ghost) and a yellow radius. The yellow radius is the Twins special interaction range and overlays with the black radius. If the Twins does an interaction in the yellow radius that overlaps with the black radius, a "twinteraction" occurs, meaning a similar action (2 door touches, 2 items thrown, etc.) occurs in that overlapping area.

• HUNT: The Twins can start a Hunt at the location of its last interaction or its current location.
  
• HUNT: The Twins will either Hunt at 90% speed (current location) or 110% speed (last interaction).
  
• INTERACTION: When the Twins interact with the environment there is a chance for another, similar interaction to happen immediately after.

In 0/1/2 evidence games a Wraith can be identified from the following behaviors.

A special note to begin this with. Phasmophobia has gone through a LOT of bogus rumors and misinformation, none more prevalent than the Wraith and we have nothing more to thank than the game itself for this one! A Wraith does not go through walls (during hunts or outside of them) and must path through the stage just like any other ghost. A Wraith cannot "fly/hover" and will appear to be walking just like any other ghost. A Wraith cannot see through walls or detect players in any way differently than any other ghost. The only things that makes a Wraith stand out from any other ghost is with the two following characteristics.

• EQUIPMENT: The Wraith can step in salt, but it cannot disturb it.
  
• HIDDEN ABILITY: The Wraith can teleport to a random player as long as it's not in a Hunt. This teleport produces EMF 2 (with a chance of EMF 5).

In 0/1/2 evidence games the Yokai can be identified by the following behaviors.

• HUNT: The Yokai can start a Hunt at 80% Average Sanity if it detects voice activity.
  
• HUNT: The Yokai has a much smaller detection radius for voice activity and electronic equipment during a Hunt.

• This ghost is stinky