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The Hunter's Guide to Ghost Tells

By gc1ceo

Every Ghost has a unique combination of three Evidences that it leaves -- however that's not the only defining characteristic of a Ghost as each of them have Strengths/Weaknesses and unique Tells which can give away their Ghost Type. This is extremely useful to know when some (or all) Evidence is being suppressed by the difficulty. This guide talks about the special tells and more-likely behaviors for each Ghost Type.

Award

Created by

gc1ceo
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Category: Gameplay Basics, Secrets

Languages: English

Posted

Updated

14 Nov, 2024 @ 10:57am

2 Jul @ 7:15am

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Guide Index

Overview

Introduction

Banshee

Demon

Deogen

Goryo

Hantu

Jinn

Mare

Moroi

Myling

Obake

Oni

Onryo

Phantom

Poltergeist

Raiju

Revenant

Shade

Spirit

Thaye

The Mimic

The Twins

Wraith

Yokai

Yurei

Conclusion

Credits and References

Comments

Introduction

There are currently 24 different Ghost Types in Phasmophobia, originally there were 12 and some of the Ghosts have changed significantly since their introduction. Each Ghost Type has a unique combination of three pieces of Evidence that identify the Ghost but what do you do if some evidence is suppressed or how can you tell the Ghost's type besides evidence?

Non-evidence-based strengths, weaknesses, abilities, or behaviors are often called tells although there may be different words for them in other languages. An example is that one of the tells for the Wraith is that it can't disturb salt piles and besides a Mimic mimicking a Wraith this isn't true for any of the other Ghosts.

Types of Ghost Tells

Hunt-based such as having a different hunting speed, immediately going to a target even without line-of-sight, or sudden speed changes in the middle of a hunt.
Strength-based such as a Ghost's abilities that are unique to type such as the Wraith being able to teleport to its intended victim, the Demon being able to hunt only 20 seconds after expending a Crucifix charge, or the Deogen immediately heading straight to its intended victim at the beginning of a Hunt.
Weakness-based such as the Yurei being locked into its room when smudged outside of a hunt, the Goryo rarely leaving or roaming far from its favorite room, or a Yokai not being able to detect a player from further than 2.5 meters.
Ability-based such as the Jinn draining Sanity randomly from a player, then emitting an EMF signature at the power box, and that ability not being functional while the power box is off.
Evidence-related such as the Obake leaving a unique set of fingerprints with an extra finger or the Mimic providing ghosts orbs which can be seen even if all evidence is suppressed.

Banshee

The Banshee has four special tells:

One of several special wails can be heard over the Parabolic Microphone as a paranormal noise or Sound Recorder which no other Ghost emits, however the chance of this is somewhat low so it might not be detected even once during a lengthy investigation. If you want to confirm or eliminate this possibility, then have somebody using a Parabolic Microphone or Sound Recorder constantly to listen out for the wail.
It only checks for Hunt conditions based on an individual's Sanity and not the Average Team Sanity; this is easier to confirm/eliminate if individual player Sanity levels vary greatly from each other and the Average Team Sanity. If most of the Team is well above 50% and one individual is really low or even at 0% and it's hunting and hunting fairly often, this might indicate a Banshee.
The Banshee can only kill its target during a Hunt -- if it seems to ignore other players in a multiplayer game entirely, then you're probably dealing with a Banshee. This can't be tested in a single player.
The Banshee will roam towards its target so if it's suddenly doing interactions (or other behaviors) quite aways from its favorite room you might have a Banshee on your hands. It's currently unable to enter a long roam so this behavior might be somewhat bugged too.

The easiest tell to check on Small and Medium maps is the Banshee Wail but on some Medium maps and on Large maps it can take way too long to track the Ghost especially if it changes its favorite room.

Other tells often require multiple Hunts and spreading out over an area to see if it keeps going straight for a specific player -- very difficult on smaller maps but far more easy on maps such as Brownstone High School and Prison with wide open spaces.

Demon

The Demon has five tells and they are all, unfortunately, related to hunts making it extremely risky to test them.

The Demon can use its ability to hunt at any Sanity level so if you're hunted and the Average Team Sanity is above 75%, especially if well above like 90%, then it points to a Demon or a Mimic mimicking a Demon.
The Demon's hunt threshold is normally at or below 75% so if it hunts around that number it's possibly a Demon especially if you are getting multiple hunts around that threshold. This can also be a Mimic mimicking a Demon.
The effective Crucifix range is extended by 50% which can be difficult to measure but if the Crucifix is a bit of a distance from its favorite room on smaller maps that means it might be a Demon -- admittedly this isn't the easiest tell though.
The cooldown after it has expended a Crucifx charge is 20 seconds instead of the usual 25 seconds which can only be precisely tested with an external timer. It's also possible it won't immediately hunt even though it can, this is true of any Ghost.
Lastly smudging the Ghost only prevents it from hunting, or hunting again, for 60 seconds instead of the usual 90 seconds. However much like the previous point it's possible it won't immediately hunt when the cooldown is over.

The early and really early hunts by a Demon usually point to it and most players will often think its a Demon if it begins "chain-hunting" where it seems to hunt at every opportunity and more so if the Average Team Sanity is well above 50%. The timer methods can be useful but aren't absolute guarantees and less reliable than early/really early hunts -- however if your Sanity is already well below 50% then your options are limited.

Deogen

The Deogen has one of the most obvious tells in the game so far but it actually has some other tells that most players aren't aware of when they face this ghost. It's also possible for a Mimic to mimick a Deogen so always keep that in mind.

The Deogen will immediately run to its chosen target at fast speed, only slowing down to a crawl once its within 2.5 meters of its chosen target. This can make it both very frightening if not prepared or an extremely easy -- almost laughable -- opponent.
The Deogen emits a special growl or heavy breathing as a paranormal noise over a Spirit Box but only if within about 0.5 meters of the Deogen's position.
While rarely noticed the Deogen actually has a special flickering pattern during a Hunt so it can be more easily seen during a Hunt which sets it apart.

You know you have a Deogen when you hear a spectral freight train head towards you then suddenly slow down to a crawl -- however if you are hiding and backed into a corner this might just give you more time to scream as you are about to die.

Goryo

While the Goryo isn't especially dangerous it can be a difficult Ghost to identify based solely on its tells as it's most distinctive feature can only be determined if its D.O.T.S evidence isn't being suppressed.

The Goryo can't change its favorite room so it'll most likely always be hunting or trying to hunt from the same room or near that room. Any Ghost can hunt multiple times from the same general location so it may require a significant number of Hunts before you can safely assume it's a Goryo.
The Goryo can't do a long roam so you won't usually see it far from its favorite room -- if you are seeing interactions from the other side of the map then it's probably not a Goryo.

Hantu

The Hantu can be one of the easiest Ghosts to identify with tells and one of the easier ones to deal with during a Hunt. There are three, arguably four, tells but one of them is dependent on the power box being off or broken:

The Hantu may emit a freezing breath during a Hunt but only if the power box is currently turned off or broken.
The Hantu's speed during a Hunt is fixed and based on the current temperature of the room that it's in -- it'll probably be the fastest in or near its current favorite room and considerably slower in other rooms. The fixed speed and slow speed outside of its favorite room are often it's easiest tells.
The Hantu will never turn on the power box and is more prone to turning it off -- if the Ghost ever turns the power box on then it's not a Hantu and if it seems to turn it off a lot that might indicate a Hantu.

Jinn

The Jinn is one of the most difficult Ghosts to identify through tells and impossible to do so if the power box is turned off or is broken. Nevertheless there are three distinct tells but all are related to the power box

if the power box is on, the Jinn can drain 25% Sanity from one player either in the same room with it or within a range of 3 meters. This results in an EMF signature at the power box without the power box being turned on or off.
If the Jinn has line-of-sight with a player during a Hunt and is further than 3 meters from that player it'll have a fixed speed of 2.5 meters until one of those conditions is no longer met. This is dependent on the power box being on (and not off or broken).
The Jinn will never turn the power box off -- but if the power box is broken then no Ghost can turn it on or off.

Mare

The "darkness ghost" has two definite tells and one other that may suggest a Mare -- it is also a Ghost that's shrouded in misinformation often based on small fixes or changes made to the Ghost over the years:

The Mare will never turn on a light but it can turn on computer monitors, televisions, and the power box.
When roaming the Mare will strongly prefer dark rooms over lit rooms -- if its favorite room is adjacent to multiple rooms then turn off the lights in one of those rooms and keep the others lit -- it should roam to the darkened room.
While not precisely a tell the Mare has a higher chance of light-shattering events as part of its nature to prefer darkness. This isn't a guaranteed tell but if you notice the Ghost has done this in multiple rooms it might indicate the possibility of a Mare.
Every Ghost can immediately turn off a light within range when a player turns it on but a Mare may do this more frequently -- there is a cool-down on how often it can do this so if it occurs it doesn't automatically mean its a Mare.

Moroi

The Moroi is potentially the fastest Ghost in the game if Average Team Sanity is between 0% and 5% it starts at 2.25 m/s and can increase, with line-of-sight to a player, to a whooping 3.71 m/s and ironically this is its greatest tell:

Its starting Hunt speed, depending on Sanity, will be considerably faster than most of the Ghosts minus a relatively young Thaye. Unlike the Thaye it can further increase it's speed based on line-of-sight. Conversely if it hunts just below its threshold it'll actually be a bit slower than most of the Ghosts.
If you can monitor Sanity you can check if it has put its curse on a player who has heard paranormal noises through a Parabolic Microphone -- if Sanity is already at 0% you won't be able to determine if a player has been cursed.

Myling

The "quiet hunter" has two tells -- one of which isn't an absolute guarantee but can strongly suggest a Myling:

It can be heard from a range of 12 meters whereas most Ghosts can be heard from a range of 20 meters. This is extremely difficult to determine on smaller maps so many players check for electrical interference and if they only hear audible sounds when electronic equipment is being disrupted then it's probably a Myling.
The Myling will produce more paranormal noises more frequently when heard through a Parabolic Microphone but it's also possible for other Ghosts to be uncharacteristically noisy too.

Obake

The Obake is known for leaving extra fingers with their fingerprints but what is its tell if all evidence is suppressed, and the answer is there's only one:

The Obake will change models at least once per Hunt, often several times, keep in mind that some models are just variants of the same one thus don't count as a model change.

Oni

The Oni has undergone a number of chances since it's the beginning of Phasmophobia where at one time it was regarded as the "big brother" to the Poltergeist it's now a very different Ghost with a couple of tells:

The Oni will never use the "air ball" or "air attack" so if you see or hear that then you can eliminate the Oni.
The Oni will often appear in a full Ghost model as opposed to a shadowy appearance -- if you never see a shadowy or oily appearance during a Ghost Event (especially if there have been multiple) then its probably an Oni.
The Oni will be more visible during a Hunt, remaining visible for roughly 2/3rds of its flickering pattern, so if it never goes completely invisible or is only invisible for brief fractions of a second then it's probably an Oni.
The Oni drains more Sanity than usual when its model impacts with a player model -- 20% instead of 10% or 25% instead of 15% during Blood Moon weather.

Onryo

The Onryo or "candle ghost" has a couple of tells but it's relationship with "open flames" can be a bit complicated and using that relationship to check for an Onryo is often known as a "candle check" or "Onryo test":

The Onryo's hunting threshold is at 60% instead of the more usual 50% -- if a Ghost hunts or attempts to hunt take notice of the Average Team Sanity level. This'll be impossible if the monitor is broken or Sanity drains significantly during the Hunt. This doesn't guarantee its a Onryo but it significantly narrows down the list.
The Onryo can't hunt within a 4 meter radius of an open flame (firelights but also campfires on Woodwind and Maple Lodge), if it doesn't hunt even at much lower Sanity but there's lit flames in its room that can indicate an Onryo. If the flame prevents the Hunt it'll fail the Hunt attempt and blow out the flame.
Every third flame it blows out it'll attempt a Hunt, regardless of sanity levels, which can be coupled with a Crucifix so it'll blow out the candle, attempt a Hunt, fail that Hunt attempts and expend a Crucifix charge. This is known as a "Onryo test" if the firelight and Crucifix are extremely close to each other.

Phantom

The Phantom has several tells, both during a Hunt and outside of a Hunt, but often revolve around the use of a Photo Camera:

During a manifestation (Ghost Event or Hunt) the Phantom's model will disappear/become invisible when successfully photographed even though the event or hunt will continue normally for its duration. It'll also cease to disrupt electronics when photographed, no longer drain sanity and cease heartbeat sounds.
A successful photograph of the Ghost won't show the Ghost model, this may be difficult to determine depending on lighting conditions within the photo.
The Phantom will be invisible for upwards of 1-2 seconds per flicker during a Hunt, sometimes regarded as the inverse of the Oni.
Players within 10 meters (when you can still hear heartbeat sounds) of a Phantom during an event will lose 0.5% Sanity per second of the duration of the event, this is nullified by the Phantom being photographed during the Event.
Its ability allows it to walk to a target player and emit a EMF 2 signature at the end of its walk -- in addition to whatever action it performs and possible associated EMF signature. This can be tracked with a series of Motion Sensors or if you have a player far from its favorite room who suddenly sees interactins.

Poltergeist

The Poltergeist has a unique ability to throw multiple objects, instead of one at a time, and throw them harder than any other Ghost which results in a couple of related tells:

The Poltergeist throws objects within a small area-of-effect instead of picking a specific object although there might only be one within the radius. If you see multiple objects being thrown at once then it's a Poltergeist -- individual objects may impact multiple times making multiple sounds so know the difference.
Objects thrown by a Poltergeist outside of a Hunt will cause 2% Sanity Drain to all players within line-of-sight per object thrown to a maximum of 5 and 10% Sanity. if you notice Sanity dropping quickly, especially near Ghost interactions this might indicate a Poltergeist.
The Poltergeist has a 100% chance of throwing any object within 0.5 meters of it during a Hunt as opposed to 50% for all other Ghosts. This might be not easy to notice if it's not near a lot of objects during a Hunt but a scenario can be set up before a Hunt full of throwable objects.
The Poltergeist can throw objects harder/further than other Ghosts, this can be hard to see in smaller rooms but becomes more obvious in larger rooms and wide open spaces.

Raiju

The Raiju is another ghost often shrouded in misinformation and a fundamental misunderstanding of its relationship with electronic items:

The Raiju disrupts radios and other electronic items on the same floor at a range of 15 meters instead of the usual 10 meters both during a Hunt and during a Ghost Event. This might be harder to figure out on smaller maps as an entire floor might fit within 15 meters.
The Raiju can be empowered by nearby electronic items (there are plenty of exceptions to this rule) which increase its hunting threshold to 65% and cause it to have a fixed speed of 2.5 m/s while empowered during a Hunt. Keep in mind it still gains a non-empowered speed boost from line-of-sight but often you'll hear the sudden speed changes when it moves away from/towards electronic items.
The 65% hunting threshold while empowered might not guarantee its a Raiju but it shortens the list of possibilities down considerably.

Revenant

The Revenant is oft-regarded as a "one trick pony" is that its only tell occurs during specific conditions during a Hunt:

When the Revenant is in "chase mode" during a Hunt usually when it has detected a player (or has yet to reach the waypoint where it last saw the player) it'll be moving at 3.0 m/s. If it's no longer in "chase mode" it'll decrease from 3.0 m/s to 1.0 m/s over 2.3 seconds. It'll be 1.0 m/s during "wandering mode" otherwise.

Shade

The "shy ghost" can be extremely difficult to deal with at higher Sanity but also difficult to identify at lower Sanity:

The Shade is less likely to perform Ghost Events with 0% chance at 100% Average Team Sanity down to the usual chance per other Ghosts at 50% Average Team Sanity. If your team's sanity is fairly high and you're rarely seeing Ghost Events then it might be a Shade.
The Shade will almost always appear as a shadowy appearance even when summoned by a Cursed Possession but will appear fully during a Hunt. If you never seem to see it as anything but a shadow it's a good chance it's a Shade.
It can't usually perform Ghost Events or interactions if there is at least one player in the room with it, if you're not getting much activity out of even near 50% Sanity then that can easily indicate you're dealing with a Shade. It can still roam away from that room and perform interactions in the previous room since interactions have a usual range of about 6 meters.
Players act as natural crucifixes in stopping Hunt attempts if in the same room as a Shade, if it's not expending Crucifix charges trying to hunt but it's obviously in the same area it might be a Shade.
It has lowest hunt threshold of any Ghost except an older Thaye -- if your Sanity is well below 50% (but above 35%) and it still hasn't hunted then you're probably dealing with a Shade.

Spirit

The "default ghost" really only has one tell and it involves smudging:

Smuding a Spirit will cause it to be unable to attempt a hunt for 180 seconds (3 minutes) as opposed to the usual 90 seconds (1 1/2 minutes) but requires the use of an external timer to verify and needing to time it from the smudging and not the end of a Hunt.

Thaye

The Thaye is a complicated Ghost with its aging ability that affects both its speed during a Hunt and the its sanity threshold to be able to Hunt. This results in having either the worst traits of a Demon or the worst traits of a Shade:

It's most obvious tell is during a Hunt it has a fixed speed based on its age and won't increase speed with line-of-sight. If you encounter it while it's young it'll feel similar to a Moroi and if you encounter it while it's at its oldest it'll be just a bit faster than a crawling Deogen.
If it's in the same room as a player it has a chance, every 30 seconds, to age which shows up as an increase of 1 - 4 years on the Ouija board when its asked the question "How old are you?".
If it seems to hunt at higher Sanity levels early on in the game and then at impossibly low levels later in the game you'll know its probably a Thaye. That threshold can go down to 15% well below that of a Shade.

The Mimic

The Mimic has a unique ability in which it can take up the characteristics and abilities of any other Ghost -- something it does every 30 seconds to 2 minutes -- but doesn't change its evidences and will always show false ghost orbs even if evidence is suppressed which is its primary tell so it really only has one, arguably, two tells:

If you see Ghost Orbs when all evidence is being suppressed or Ghost Orbs in addition to unsuppressed Evidences then you have a Mimic.
If the Ghost appears to have differing behaviors between Hunts it might be a Mimic although sometimes people confuse Slow/Fast Twins with the Ghost being a Mimic. If it's an extremely obvious behavior such as not disturbing Salt during one Hunt but disturbing it in the next then it's more obvious.

The Twins

The Twins is another Ghost often misunderstood until important details were revealed by developers -- it was long believed it was two different Ghosts when it's in fact a single Ghost can operate differently:

While hunting it can manifest as a "slow Twin' with a base speed of 1.53 m/s or "fast Twin" with a base speed of 1.87 m/s which is complicated by the fact it can increase speed by being line-of-sight with a player.
It can take an action at a radius of 3 meters and another action at a radius of 6 meter often one-after-another granting the name "twin-eraction" although this is usually a misunderstanding of the ability. However if you notice two separate but close actions at different distances that might be indicate The Twins.

Wraith

The Wraith was one of the earliest Ghosts to be shrouded in misinformation as many early players declared it could teleport during Hunts, move through walls, and always know the location of players during a Hunt. It does the frightening ability to teleport to its intended target (outside of a Hunt) but also has two tells:

As previously mentioned the Wraith can't disturb a Salt pile, this was a later change and wasn't always the case. It's possible for a Ghost to sidestep Salt piles although this is minimized by the use of Tier II and III Salt. You should give a realistic chance and deployment to test this out instead of declaring that since a Salt pile was never disturbed it has to be a Wraith. If necessary, initiate a Hunt and lure the Ghost over the Salt piles.
The Wraith can teleport to a target player and perform an action -- it'll leave an EMF 2 signature where it teleports to which has a chance of being upgraded to EMF 5 in addition to any EMF signature from the action it takes after teleporting.

Yokai

The Yokai was a later addition to the game and is often called the "streamer ghost" because of streamers constantly talking to their audience during a game and as a result of this ability has several tells:

The Yokai can't detect voices nor electronics at a range past 2.5 meters during a Hunt, so simply being further then that and trying to get the Ghost's attention easily tests this out. This also applies for using the Music Box but can make it more dangerous in using the Music Box since you need to get closer.
The Yokai increases its hunt threshold to 80% (up from 50%) when in the same room as a talking player, this is tested out by doing a lot of talking and seeing if it hunts really early. This might not guarantee its a Yokai but it shortens the list of possibilities considerably.

Yurei

The Yurei is thought of a bit like the Revenant in being a "one trick pony" but actually has significantly more tells than the Revenant:

If a Yurei is smudged, it'll return to its favorite room for 90 seconds (in addition to typical smudging effects). It cannot leave the room during this period but can still perform Ghost Events in other locations. It will immediately return to its favorite room after the event is concluded.
[*[ If its current room has any open doors it can potentially use its ability to drain 15% Sanity from all players within 7.5 meters of that door. It'll gently and fully close that door leaving an EMF 2 signature on that door.
The Yurei is the only Ghost that can close exit doors without a Ghost Event or Ghost Hunt.

Conclusion

The knowledge of ghost tells and how to use them to your advantage is often a skill that separates new players from veteran ones. Somebody who has mastered the ghost tells can often seen to have any almost supernatural ability to identify the Ghost even before any evidence has been gathered. I hope this guide has made it clear that all ghosts have special tells and what they are depending on the Ghost Type.

Credits and References

Thanks to HellBurner for pointing out some stuff!

https://phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/

6 Comments

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gc1ceo [author] 3 Dec, 2024 @ 7:18am

The consensus right now seems to be that the Banshee never changing ghost rooms is a bug and unintentional as it can't currently go on a long roam.

POOJ_ 1 Dec, 2024 @ 5:50pm

Important clarification for Banshee: their ability replaces long roams, so they can never change ghost rooms, period.

gc1ceo [author] 24 Nov, 2024 @ 8:39pm

I was on the fence on including the Mare test because it's not the most reliable anymore (used to be 100^0, Poltergeist I wasn't sure if I wanted to include a whole section on ghost throw strength on a guide was already getting kinda long (but I might go back and do that). Revenant, yea I should change the wording to be a bit more clear. Ditto on Thaye.

Some excellent points, I appreciate it.

Mister 24 Nov, 2024 @ 9:45am

123

HellBurner 23 Nov, 2024 @ 4:53am

Great guide, but here is a few tells/details i think your guide is missing :
- Mare : it can flick a light switch off instantly when a player try switching it on in the ghost favorite room (even if light is broken and breaker is off or damaged) (will not happen if player flick a switch too many time in a short period of time).
- Poltergeist : the maximum throw strength is much higher than regular ghost.
- Revenant : the sprint ability can also be triggered if ghost detect player voice or held active electronic device even without line-of-sight (it will rush to last known player location).
- Shade : cannot hunt nor blow candle if a player is present in the same room .
- Thaye : age increase only if player is in same room when ghost is aging, if age is asked on the ouija board the given number will increase with ghost age.

And maybe include max speed of the Thaye and Moroi. the difference is my tell during hunts in no evidence run.

Steffe 20 Nov, 2024 @ 6:49pm

Brilliant guide. I play solo so a lot of this will be hard to do on my own but it's possible.

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