Welcome to our Phasmophobia Cursed Possessions guide. Cursed possessions are a group of six powerful, supernatural items that are used to interact with the ghost, cause it to appear, or provide information at the cost of sanity. Read the manual and see the details! We know that there are people who have a hard time finishing the Phasmophobia game. If you are one of those who find it difficult to finish the game, let’s take you to our Phasmophobia guide.
Phasmophobia Cursed Possessions
Music Box, Ouija Board, Voodoo Doll, Haunted Mirror, Summoning Circle and Tarot Cards. Activating or using a cursed possession will immediately cancel the setup phase.
Cursed possessions only work while the active player is within the investigation area, and all save for the Summoning Circle must be picked up in order to be activated (similar to the Tripod which requires the player to not be holding an item when picking it up, while picking up another item would drop them on the ground). The Summoning Circle is the only item that is immovable and must be interacted with by using either a lighter or a lit candle.
Cursed possessions are selected at random for every game and each item has one dedicated spawn location per map. On larger maps, this location is always in the first room when entering through the main entrance. Using them is not mandatory for the game’s completion and no corkboard objective will ask for their use. Each item counts toward photo rewards when a picture of it is taken.
Usage of most cursed possessions will grant players a level of determinism over the investigative process and the overall flow of a mission, but comes with a risk of further angering the ghost. The Music Box will hint at the ghost’s current location, the Haunted Mirror will partially reveal the ghost room, the Ouija Board permits to ask the ghost various questions while the Summoning Circle teleports the ghost to itself.
The only two that tend to avoid this rule are the Voodoo Doll and Tarot Cards as whether their effects are positive or negative are completely random. Tarot Cards are purely chance-based, capable of granting both beneficial and harmful effects.
Enabling the “Friendly ghost” option
On Custom difficulty setting, when the “Friendly ghost” option is enabled, no hunt will occur:
- When the “Death” tarot card is drawn
- When the haunted mirror, music box, and Ouija board breaks
- When the heart pin of the voodoo doll is pushed in
- After the summoning circle-triggered ghost event ends
- Otherwise those will function as intended.
Ouija Board
- “The most common way of accidentally summoning a ghost is with a Ouija Board, so you may come across these during your investigations. Be careful if you choose to use it as they have been known to lower your sanity. To use one, activate it and then ask a question with your voice.”
- The Ouija Board is a cursed possession in Phasmophobia. It can be used to communicate with the ghost at the cost of sanity.
Mechanics
- A Ouija Board has a 1 in 6 chance per contract of being chosen as the cursed possession that will spawn, with one specific spawn location per map.
- A Ouija Board can be picked up with an empty hand. Swapping to another item will cause the Ouija Board to drop from the inventory.
Activation
- The Ouija Board can be activated by left clicking (default: left click on mouse) on it, or toggling (default: right click on mouse) it directly if holding the board. The planchette will drop down onto the board, signifying that the board has been activated. This will also cancel the setup phase if it is ongoing.
Questioning
- Once activated, the Ouija Board will respond to voice input within 5 metres of it. The player asking the question must be within the investigation area to ask questions, but does not have to be in the ghost room (nor the ghost’s current room). The Ouija Board can be anywhere to answer as long as these requirements are met.
- If the question is recognised, the planchette will move to answer the question, and an EMF Level 2 reading will be generated around the Ouija Board. If the ghost has EMF Level 5 as evidence, there is a 25% chance for this to instead be the reading per question asked.
- Whether the ghost is “shy” or not does not affect its ability to respond via the Ouija Board. If the Ouija Board is asked a question but nothing happens, then either the board is not activated or the phrase was not recognised. There is no cooldown time other than any voice recognition limitations.
Deactivation
- To deactivate the Ouija Board, any nearby player must say “Goodbye”, which will make the planchette disappear. The Ouija Board can then be left alone safely.
- The Ouija Board will break if any of the following occurs:
- The player who activated the board is more than 5 metres away from the still-active board.
- The player currently asking questions has less sanity than required to “pay” for the question.
- The player saying goodbye has no sanity left.
- The phrase “hide and seek” (or similar) is said.
- The board will burn and break itself up, initiating a cursed hunt if any player is inside the building.
Photo rewards
- Using a Photo Camera to take a photo of the Ouija Board, on or off, will yield a photo labelled as Ouija Board, and reward up to $5 and 5XP, depending on the distance it was taken from.
- If a photo of the Ouija Board is taken within 20 seconds after a question is successfully asked, it will count as an interaction photo instead, with up to $5 and 5XP rewarded depending on distance. There is no limit to the amount of such photographs that can be taken of responses, including of the same question category, allowing players to fill up extra spaces in the journal with additional interaction photos.
Miscellaneous
- There is currently a known issue where the board may not animate properly to non-host players (i.e. the planchette will not drop and the board will show as intact even when it has actually broken).
Questions
- There are at least 13 different types of questions (including two jokes) that can be asked:
- Location
- Age
- Death
- Room count
- Sanity
- Method of death
- Bone location
- Yes or no
- Hide and seek
- Feeling
- Purpose
- Joke
- Shyness
- Note that if a question does not get a response, it is not considered a valid question. A few example questions:
- “Are you from [Country/State Name]?”
- “Are you [single/married]?”
Haunted Mirror
- The haunted mirror is a cursed possession that can be used to locate the Ghost favourite room.
Mechanics
- A haunted mirror has a 1 in 6 chance per contract of being chosen as the cursed possession that will spawn, with one specific spawn location per map.
- The mirror must be toggled (default: right click on mouse) while inside the investigation area. When activated, the haunted mirror will show a view of a part of the favourite room as a sweeping panorama, allowing players to locate the room by cross-reference. This view is a live feed of the room, so any lights turned on, items moved, and equipment or players present in the room will be visible. The only exception is the player’s own model.
- Using the haunted mirror will rapidly drain the sanity of the player at a rate of 10%/s, including the animation of raising and lowering the mirror. If the user’s sanity reaches zero, the mirror will crack visually and audibly, and the ghost will start a cursed hunt from its current position. The mirror will lower and cannot be used again.
- It is possible to exit the house before being locked inside if the player is right at the door line, uses the mirror and then immediatelywalks backwards out of the house, which forces the mirror to deactivate. If one keeps repeating this, it may be possible to be step outside just as the mirror breaks, causing a cursed hunt to start without that player being in the house.
Photo rewards
- Taking a photo of a haunted mirror, cracked or not, will yield a photo labelled as Haunted Mirror, and reward up to $5 and 5XP, depending on the distance it was taken from.
Tarot Cards – Phasmophobia Cursed Possessions
- Tarot cards are a cursed possession that can trigger various random effects on both the player and nearby ghosts.
Mechanics
- Tarot cards have a 1 in 6 chance per contract of being chosen as the cursed possession that will spawn, with one specific spawn location per map.
- Tarot cards can be picked up (default: E on keyboard) and one card can be drawn (default: right click on mouse) at a time. Each Tarot cards deck contains 10 randomly generated cards. There are various possible cards the player can draw from the deck, each having a unique effect on either the player or the ghost. After being used, each card will burn up and vanish in a colored flame that is dependent on its type. The cards must be drawn inside the investigation area for them to work.
- There are 10 possible cards that can be drawn. A single card type can appear more than once in the deck, and various card types have different, independent chances to be drawn.
- There will only be one deck of tarot cards that will spawn, and once all ten have been used, no more will be given to the player. When the deck is used up, all future hunts will also be extended by 20 seconds, even if no Death card was drawn prior.
- Tarot cards cannot be drawn outside of the investigation area, though this can presently be bypassed by standing at an Exit Door, quickly entering, drawing a card, and then leaving; the card will still take effect, but the drawer will be outside. Should the card be Death, if no players are inside, then the hunt from that card will not occur. Note that The Hanged Man card will take effect regardless of where the player is, causing the player to die.
- Tip : Drawing a Death card initiates a cursed hunt.
Summoning Circle
- The summoning circle is a cursed possession that is used to summon the ghost. This can be used to get a ghost photo, as well as facilitate the completion of several Objectives.
Mechanics
- As a cursed possession, the summoning circle has a 1 in 6 chance of being the chosen item that will spawn on a map, with one spawn location per map.
Usage – Phasmophobia Cursed Possessions
- The summoning circle can be used by lighting (default: F on keyboard) all five red candles with a lighter. Each candle deducts 16% sanity for nearby players, leading to a total of 80% being deducted for all candles.
- Summoning circle candles can extinguish after a while or be blown out by the ghost, in the same way as regular candles.
- Once all five candles are lit, the ghost is summoned and fully materialized, except a Shade, which has a chance of appearing as a transparent shadow. The summoned ghost stays motionless for about 5 seconds, unable to kill players. This stationary period is considered a ghost event. However, the front door will lock immediately after lighting the last candle. After this “grace period”, it immediately initiates a cursed hunt on the spot, without an additional 1 second grace period. Once the summoning circle is activated, it cannot be used again.
- In certain cases, there will be no “ghost event” period; the cursed hunt will immediately begin, potentially killing players on the spot:
- If the player has 16% sanity or less when lighting the last candle[note 1]
- If the last candle is lit while a hunt is ongoing (this will extend the existing hunt by 20 seconds instead of restarting the timer)
- Unlike other cursed possessions, there is a bug where using the summoning circle does not cancel the setup phase.
Photo rewards
- Taking a photo of a summoning circle, used or not, will yield a photo labelled as Summoning Circle, and reward up to $5 and 5XP, depending on the distance it was taken from.
Music Box – Phasmophobia Cursed Possessions
- The music box is a cursed possession that can be used to pinpoint the location of the ghost, though at considerable risk if one is careless with it.
Mechanics
- The ghost appears when a music box is played nearby.
- A music box has a 1 in 6 chance per contract of being chosen as the cursed possession that will spawn, with one specific spawn location per map.
Activation and usage
- When picked up, the music box will open (this does not mean that it has been activated). The music box can then be activated by using the primary use (default: right click on mouse) key. Doing so will end the setup phase early if it is ongoing. The music box can only be used once.
- Once activated, the music box will make the ghost sing along while remaining invisible, broadcasting its current location.
- If the music box is within 5 metres of the ghost, it will trigger a ghost event where the ghost manifests and begins to walk towards the box. The music box can be handheld or placed on the floor, the latter being the only safe way to discard the box without triggering a cursed hunt while it’s playing. In all cases, the box will close once it stops playing.
Cursed hunt
- While using the music box, a cursed hunt will be initiated if one of the following occurs:
- The ghost is within a short distance the player holding the box
- The ghost walks (during the box-triggered ghost event) for more than 5 seconds
- The box is thrown while the tune is playing
- A normal hunt will occur instead if:
- The player reaches or is already at 0% sanity
- The ghost initiates a hunt on its own, due to meeting normal hunt cond-
-itions rather than the box itself causing the hunt
- By avoiding all of the above, it is possible to use the music box without causing any hunt:
- Ensuring that no one is inside the investigation area when the above occurs (future hunts will be extended if the breaking method would have caused a cursed hunt)
- When the music ends without the ghost ever being near enough, the music box will automatically close
- If the player brings the music box near the ghost only just before the music stops playing, the ghost will simply disappear when the music ends.
Other effects
- Being within ~2.5 metres of an actively functioning music box drains the player’s sanity at a rate of 2.5%/s, totalling approximately 75% if the entire song is listened to. This applies to all players within the range, regardless of who activated the music box.
- As long as the box-triggered ghost event has not occured, an active music box will not prevent normal ghost activity, which means that the ghost can continue to roam, interact with objects, use its abilities, or even perform regular ghost events and hunts. The ghost will not actively walk towards the music box if it is out of range.
- If the music box is brought outside, the box will close. If the music is also currently playing, sanity drain will pause, but the music will technically continue. It will reopen and function normally once the music box is brought inside again.
Ghosts
- The Shade has a chance of appearing as a black shadow rather than in its full form while walking towards the box.
- Compared to other ghosts, the Yokai must be closer to the player holding the box to initiate a cursed hunt.
Photo rewards
- Taking a photo of a music box, used or not, will yield a photo labelled as Music Box, and reward up to $5 and 5XP, depending on the distance it was taken from.
Voodoo Doll – Phasmophobia Cursed Possessions
- The voodoo doll (or tortured voodoo doll) is a cursed possession used to force the ghost to perform interactions.
Usage
- The voodoo doll has a 1 in 6 chance of being chosen as the cursed possession that will spawn per contract.
- Taking a picture of a voodoo doll with the photo camera will give photo rewards, and is counted as a Voodoo Doll picture.
- Interacting (default: right click on mouse) with the voodoo doll will cause one of the 10 pins stuck in the doll to be pushed into it at random. This will cause the ghost to perform an interaction, and will drop the user’s sanity by 5%. These forced interactions can include evidence sources past EMF Level 5, such as making the ghost interact with Ghost Writing Books, create silhouettes in D.O.T.S. Projectors, and touch doors, windows, and light switches for Fingerprints.
- If the heart pin is pressed down, the user’s sanity will drop by 10%, and the ghost will initiate a cursed hunt. Additionally, if the user’s sanity is less than the sanity that the pressed pin would drain, all remaining pins will also get pushed in and a cursed hunt will also occur.
