Phasmophobia Guide: 9 Tips to Hunt Ghosts Safely

1. Know the Job: Evidence First, Ego Last

Every contract in Phasmophobia has one real goal: work out which ghost is haunting the location, using three pieces of evidence, then get out. Optional objectives and ghost photos pay extra, but they are bonus money — never worth dying for.

Start every run the same calm way. Find the breaker and turn the lights on, carry a thermometer or EMF reader room to room, and locate the ghost room — the coldest room, the one with odd sounds, thrown objects, or doors moving on their own. Everything else in this guide builds on that first five minutes.

New investigators should stay on Amateur and Intermediate while learning. Higher difficulties pay more but hide evidence: on Nightmare the ghost shows only two evidence types, and on Insanity only one, so you must identify the ghost from its behaviour instead.

2. The 7 Evidence Types — And How to Confirm Each One

There are exactly seven evidence types, and each ghost leaves three of them on standard difficulties. Confirm each one properly before you tick it off in the journal — a near miss is not evidence.

Evidence	Tool	What Confirms It
EMF Level 5	EMF Reader	The reader hits the fifth light / red zone during an interaction
Ultraviolet	UV Light	Fingerprints on doors and windows, or footprints after the ghost steps in salt
Ghost Writing	Ghost Writing Book	Writing or drawings appear in the book placed in the ghost room
Freezing Temperatures	Thermometer	Readings drop below 0°C / 32°F in the ghost room
D.O.T.S. Projector	D.O.T.S. Projector	A ghost silhouette runs through the green dot grid
Ghost Orb	Video Camera (night vision)	Small glowing orbs float around the ghost room on camera
Spirit Box	Spirit Box	The ghost answers your questions with lights off in the ghost room

Work in pairs of tools: thermometer plus EMF on the first sweep, then camera, book, D.O.T.S. and Spirit Box once the room is found. If one evidence refuses to appear after several minutes, test for a different one before you rule anything out — some evidence is simply slow.

3. Protect Your Sanity — It Is Your Real Health Bar

Sanity drains fastest while you stand in the dark, and most ghosts can start a hunt once the team's average sanity falls to around half. A hunt locks the front door, flickers the lights, and the ghost walks the house looking for you — so treat sanity like fuel.

• Keep lights on in rooms you are working in; use candles or lanterns when the breaker is off.
• Place a crucifix in the ghost room early — it can stop a hunt before it starts, but only within its range.
• Use sanity medication before long evidence sessions instead of after a scare.
• Take turns in the truck. Watching cameras for Ghost Orbs and D.O.T.S. is real progress with zero sanity cost.

Voice is half the game: the ghost hears you, and the Spirit Box needs spoken questions. A clear wireless gaming headset makes callouts, questions, and hunt warnings far easier for the whole team to hear.

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4. Surviving a Hunt: Hide Quiet, Break Line of Sight

When a hunt starts, do not run in a straight line down a hallway and do not shout directions — the ghost is drawn to voices and active electronics. Turn your flashlight and gear off, break line of sight around a corner or through a doorway, then slip into a hiding spot: a closet, a locker, or behind furniture that blocks the ghost's view.

Stay silent and still until the lights stop flickering and you hear the front door unlock. An incense (smudge) stick burned near the ghost during a hunt can repel it and buy your team precious seconds, so keep one near the ghost room once hunts become likely.

If ghost hunting in a haunted house is your kind of cozy, our Luigi's Mansion 3 guide covers a friendlier flavour of ghost catching, floor by floor.

5. Read the Ghost's Behaviour Like a Detective

Evidence narrows the list; behaviour closes the case. Note how active the ghost is, whether it loves throwing objects, how often it shows itself in events, and whether it wanders far from its room. A ghost that hunts unusually early, walks unusually fast, or never steps in salt is telling you its name.

Cursed possessions — like the Ouija board, haunted mirror, music box, tarot cards, and summoning circle — can reveal the ghost room or trigger an event, but each one costs sanity or risks a cursed hunt. Use one early, with an exit plan, never as a panic button.

Fans of reading enemy behaviour will feel at home in our Hades beginner guide and our Diablo IV beginner guide, where learning patterns matters just as much as gear. For a quieter kind of tension, our Ghost of Tsushima guide teaches calm, patient duelling.

Your First-Haunt Checklist

• Turn the breaker on and find the ghost room with thermometer and EMF.
• Set up video camera, D.O.T.S., and the writing book in the ghost room.
• Confirm evidence properly — three real ticks, no guesses.
• Place a crucifix in the ghost room before sanity drops near half.
• Keep lights on, rotate truck duty, and top up sanity early.
• When a hunt starts: gear off, mouth closed, break line of sight, hide.
• Pick your hiding spots before you need them — check closets on the way in.
• Use cursed possessions early and carefully, or leave them alone.
• Guess in the journal, complete any safe objectives, and leave alive.

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