Phasmopohobia is a game all about locating and identifying ghosts based on different types of paranormal evidence. There are seven types of evidence in the game, and each of the 24 different ghost types exhibits three kinds to help players pinpoint them. But evidence can be difficult to pin down, and on higher difficulty modes, it may be completely absent.

How, then, are players expected to identify the ghost they are dealing with? Luckily, aside from the seven evidence types, each ghost has certain tells that will give it away if players know how to look for them. Some are obvious, while others are more subtle, but each can be used to narrow down the kind of ghost one is being haunted by. These 10 tells are among the best for narrowing down the ghost type players are trying to find in Phasmophobia.

10 Wraiths Will Not Step In Your Salt

Hunting With Halophobia

First and most well-known on this list is the unique behavior of the wraith, a ghost characterized by its ability to teleport and its lack of footprints. Wraiths move around the house much more than other ghosts, but they leave much less of a trace. This is evident in their ability to avoid salt, leaving piles and lines of the stuff completely untouched even as they move through it.

Salt is typically a pretty good way of tracking a ghost's movements, as well as collecting photos, but wraiths will render it completely inert when used in their place of haunting. If you place a ton of salt around the ghost room and don't see any of it disturbed, that's a pretty good indicator a wraith is present. While it will make photo collection a little more difficult, this is perhaps the easiest method of identifying a ghost without any evidence whatsoever.

9 Spirits Have A Very Specific Timeline For Their Hunts

Set Your Stop Watch To Rule Out This Ghost

On the other end of the spectrum is the spirit, whose unique behavior is less obvious and more difficult to identify. However, it can be done, though it will take a bit of time and some incense. Spirits are especially perturbed by the burning of incense, and will be unable to hunt for exactly three minutes after some is burnt.

All ghosts have their activity delayed for a short time after burning incense near them, but spirits are especially affected, which is why this behavior is good for identifying them.

If a player knows they are in the Phasmophobia ghost's room, or sees a crucifix burnt up as the ghost tries unsuccessfully to hunt, they should immediately burn some incense and start a timer. If the ghost remains inert and ive for the next three minutes exactly before trying to hunt again, it could very well be a spirit. If it haunts any time before that, you can confidently cross the spirit off the list of candidates.

8 Mimics Will Always Display Ghost Orbs

Catching Ghosts On Camera

While ghost orbs are technically one of the seven types of evidence, they do not apply that way to mimics. Mimics are typically identified by a spirit box, ultraviolet light, and freezing temperatures, but will also display ghost orbs in their favored room. This will happen even in higher difficulty modes, where evidence is limited or completely absent.

Mimics can copy the unique behavior of other ghosts in certain circumstances, though they will eventually switch to copying another ghost, so players should be careful that they don't actually too hastily and misidentify a mimic.

Seeing ghost orbs in zero-evidence mode is guaranteed proof of a mimic, and in other modes, it is helpful to keep in mind that ghost orbs show up for mimics in addition to their other evidence. This can help to narrow down the search for this evasive ghost, even despite its power to copy the behavior of other ghosts.

7 A Deogen's Speed Will Make It Obvious

Slow And Steady Wins The Match

Deogens are considered in the game to be especially fearsome foes, and don't even show up in the game until players have reached at least level 30. They have the power to know where players are at all times, even if they are hiding, making them deadly during hunts. But one factor takes the deogen from a top-tier threat to a joke: its movement speed once it closes the distance with a player.

Deogens have a laughably slow speed while in proximity to a living player, able to be walked away from with ease and circled around tables or chairs, strategies even new Phasmophobia players can pull off. No other ghost is as slow as the Deogen, making its power sort of useless, since hiding is not necessarily when players can calmly walk away from this ghost. Hunt-testing a ghost and finding that it moves at a snail's pace is a pretty good sign of a deogen's presence.

6 Onryo Will Treat Lit Firelights Like Crucifixes

These Ghosts Fear Open Flames

Onryo have a unique reaction to open sources of flame, such as lighters, campfires, and firelights. It is described as a ghost which becomes aggressive when fires are put out; but ironically, a lit flame is the best defense against an Onryo attack. When an Onryo attempts to hunt in the presence of a flame, the flame will be extinguished and the hunt will fail.

This happens even if a crucifix is present, as the fire takes priority over the crucifix. This means Onyro can be perpetually blocked from hunting as long as fires are continually re-lit. It's a good indication of an Onryo if players see this behavior happening continuously, with crucifixes being ignored as long as fire is around.

5 Phantoms Can Get Camera-Shy

Good Luck Photographing These Specters

Phantoms have a special interaction with the camera, disappearing completely when players try to capture them in a photo. Many ghosts are known to flicker in and out of view, and may frustrate players by disappearing before a photo is taken. However, a photo of a phantom will still count as depicting the ghost, and during an event, will cause the event to completely cease.

Photographing a phantom while it appears on D.O.T.S. will also cause it to disappear.

It's worth noting that photographing a phantom during a hunt will not stop the hunt, and while it will still be absent in the picture, it will keep trying to kill the players. That being said, photographing the ghost is often a side objective, making this test for a phantom convenient to try in many cases.

4 Banshees Have A Unique Wail

You Have A Small Chance To Hear These Ghosts Give Themselves Away

The parabolic microphone is a difficult piece of equipment to use effectively, since ghost sounds appear inconsistently and can be hard to capture. But successfully doing it can make it easy to identify a banshee, as these ghosts have a special sound they make: a wail/scream that no other ghost will emit.

The banshee does not always make this sound on the parabolic microphone; in fact, it only has a 33% chance of making the unique sound. But if you hear it, you can be sure a banshee is present, bringing the ghost search to an early end.

3 Revenants Will Slow Down Massively When You Hide

The Biggest Speed Difference On A Single Ghost

Many ghosts, like the deogen, thaye, and demon, have unique speeds to help identify them during a hunt. But the revenant's speed is the only one tied directly to whether or not a player is successfully hiding. While looking at the player, the revenant is one of the fastest ghosts in the game, and is truly horrifying as it runs players down.

But while the players are hidden, it will slow down immensely, rivaling the deogen in its slowness. Players can tell it has decreased its speed by the sound of its footsteps, which go from a leisurely meander to a full-on sprint depending on whether it can tell where a player is. Turn hunts into opportunities for evidence by listening to the sound of a ghost's footsteps, and if you hear one running at full speed, know that it is probably already too late.

2 Six-Fingered Prints Are A Tell-Tale Sign Of Obake

Ghouls That Can Change Their Shape

Obake are among the most novel ghosts in Phasmophobia, with multiple behaviors that set them apart. These ghosts are shapechangers, whose anatomy will change completely across the course of a match, sometimes even becoming inhuman. This can be observed in their hand prints, which will occasionally have six fingers in ultraviolet light, or leave two fingerprints side by side on a light switch.

This does not happen every time an obake leaves UV evidence as they can just leave normal hand and footprints. But it does happen a good deal of the time, making it a great tell.

Obake will also change their form during a haunt, as they will shift from one appearance to another as they flicker in and out of sight. Testing for this clue is a fair bit more dangerous than studying their hand prints, but it is possible to do it in no-evidence mode, making it quite handy.

1 Poltergeist Bombs Can Pinpoint This Ghost

Using The Environment To Your Advantage

Finally, the poltergeist has a feature which players can exploit in a fun way. These ghosts are more likely than others to toss objects around the room, and can even throw multiple things at once with greater force than other ghosts can muster. Players can test for this by constructing a "poltergeist bomb," a pile of objects from the haunted location all put together in the ghost's favored room.

Poltergeists will inevitably try to forcefully throw this pile of objects, scattering them all around the room in an explosive event. No other ghost can toss multiple objects at once like this, meaning if a poltergiest bomb goes off, you can be pretty sure of what you're dealing with. It's a fun way to test for a ghost that takes advantage of the many interactible objects around each location in Phasmophobia, and it's a technique even dead players can help to set up.

Source: Xbox/YouTube (1, 2)