Phasmophobia gives players the opportunity and freedom to investigate and identify ghosts however they see fit, either through evidence gathered by their tools, or their signature behaviors. But one of the most chilling ways players can gather info or commune with the paranormal is through the numerous Cursed Possessions they can interact with during their ghost-hunting contract. Read on for our guide on All Cursed Possessions in Phasmophobia and How to Use them!
All Cursed Possessions in Phasmophobia and How to Use them
The Cursed Possessions are all optional ways through which you can complete your objectives in any given contract in Phasmophobia, with each item having a 1-in-6 chance of appearing in your investigation. Their locations are in a fixed spot for each type of item on every map, meaning you can always know where to find one, but it’s important to know what they are, and how to use them. With any of the following, make sure to get extra close and take a photo before using, as this counts as valuable photo evidence.
Haunted Mirror
The Haunted Mirror is a handy tool, resembling a simple mirror that’s hanging on the wall, so it’s easier for this one to blend in with the surroundings. You can take this off the wall if you have one of your 3 inventory slots free, and then activate it while holding it to see a panoramic view of the ghost room in real-time (the camera will automatically pan across). Be warned, every second you spend viewing the mirror can drain as much as 10% sanity per second, so it’s best that you make a mental note of the room’s characteristics and quickly stop using the mirror altogether. If your sanity reaches 0, the mirror will visibly and audibly crack, and a cursed hunt will begin. One of the best possessions to use early on in a hunt.
Music Box
The Music Box is a very small cursed possession, but very potent and unsafe if used carelessly. Like the Haunted Mirror, you must have an inventory slot free, and pick up the Box, before you can use it. Using the Music Box causes the player to crank the handle and a song plays, to which the ghost will respond, and even walk. Consider a safe place to set down the Box immediately (press ‘F’) after using it so you can step away and snap photos of the ghost as it approaches.
If you use this, consider also having Sanity Pills, because you can lose up to 75% of your sanity while listening to the song that plays. If you drop the Box (pressing ‘G’) or come into contact with the ghost while it approaches during the song, it’ll trigger a Cursed Hunt, which is functionally no different from regular hunts, just triggered by Cursed Possessions regardless of sanity levels. Consider using this early on for easy ghost photos, but keep in mind, that even though the ghost appears busy responding to the Music Box, it’ll still be able to carry out hunts or events even during this procedure.
Ouija Board
A classic tool for speaking to spirits in the horror genre, the Ouija Board fits perfectly into the gameplay and has a flexible array of uses depending on what tasks you need to perform. To use this item, you simply need to walk up to it, click ‘LMB’ or the same controls you’d use to hit a light switch and ask questions to which it will respond. The following is a list of the types of questions you can ask the board:
- Age
- Bone Location
- Cause of Death
- Death
- Feelings/Emotions
- Headcount
- Hide and Seek
- Jokes
- Location
- Purpose
- Sanity
- Shyness
- Yes or No
Generally, Yes or No questions or personal inquiries (typically anything not relating to gathering direct evidence or isolating the ghost room) are not too harmful, only draining a small portion (5%) of your sanity. But questions like determining the headcount (how many are in this room) to try and deduce if the ghost is in the room, or the Bone Location, will drain by 20%. If you inquire about where the ghost room is (“where are you?”) this will drain a whopping 40% for just the question. Finally, once the board finishes answering your questions, make sure to say ‘Goodbye’ to finish contact with the ghost. Failure to do so, and walking away, will initiate a Cursed Hunt.
The board can be used to gather information like the above, but you can also use it for special circumstances, such as on higher difficulty levels when you don’t know whether the ghost requires you to be alone or if you can have company when trying to speak through the Spirit Box. Asking it “do you respond to everyone?” can thus be a really helpful question when still gathering evidence, but maybe keep those sanity pills handy. Keep any evidence-gathering tools you have handy while speaking to the board, there’s a chance you’ll pick up activity while using it. Also, asking to play Hide and Seek immediately destroys the board and triggers a hunt, but can be useful if you’re wishing to capture some photos before leaving, so keep some Smudge Sticks handy.
Summoning Circle
The Summoning Circle has one purpose, and one purpose only – to get the ghost to materialize for a photo op. This Cursed Possession is a drawn-on pentagram on the floor, marked at each star’s point with a red candle. To use this, simply have an active lighter in your inventory and use it on each unlit candle (but lighting each one drains 16% sanity, so keep those pills handy) and once you’ve lit all 5 candles, the building entrances lock, and you have 5 seconds to get away while the ghost appears in the middle of the circle. Once those 5 seconds are up, a Cursed Hunt commences, so be sure to get your photos, and get out.
Of all the cursed possessions, this is essentially the most predictable. Be very careful, if a hunt starts just before you light all the candles, the ghost will appear in the circle and immediately resume the hunt (with a time extension) but no grace period to get away, which is quite funny if it happens by accident.
Tarot Cards
Originally cards used for games, the Tarot Cards have largely been co-opted and associated with the occult by this point. They fit in well for this game, serving as the primary RNG-based Cursed Possession in Phasmophobia, where certain cards in the deck can benefit the player, while others can put them in danger, outright kill them, or even just troll them. To use the Tarot Cards, free up an inventory slot, pick them up, and start drawing. The following are cards that can be drawn:
- Death (10% chance) Instantly triggers a Cursed Hunt when drawn.
- The Devil (10% chance) Instantly triggers a ghost event for the player nearest to the ghost’s current location.
- The Fool (17% chance) No effect; will appear as one card, but as it burns up in your hand, reveals itself to be The Fool. If in a hunt, this card is guaranteed to be drawn.
- The Hanged Man (1% chance) Instantly kills the player who draws this card.
- The Hermit (10% chance) Traps the ghost in its ghost room for 1 minute.
- The High Priestess (2% chance) Instantly revives one dead player at their place of death; if nobody is dead, the next player to die instantly revives.
- The Moon (5% chance) Instantly drops sanity to 0%.
- The Sun (5% chance) Instantly restores sanity to 100%.
- The Tower (20% chance) Triggers a ghost interaction.
- The Wheel of Fortune (20% chance) Instantly lose 25% sanity if the card burns red; instantly gain 25% sanity if the card burns green.
The Tarot Cards only have 10 per deck in a given contract, and once all are used up, any subsequent hunts are extended by 20 seconds. Given the high risks presented by this Cursed Possession, Phasmophobia players will want to be careful before using these too much.
Voodoo Doll
The disarmingly cute-but-unsettling Voodoo Doll is among the simplest Cursed Possessions to use in Phasmophobia, but you absolutely must be mindful of your sanity when using it. Much like the Haunted Mirror, Tarot Cards, and Music Box, you’ll need an inventory space freed up to pick up the Voodoo Doll, after which you can use it and you’ll see an individual pin on the doll pressing in. Pushing pins in drops the user’s sanity by 5%, and make sure you never have less than 5%, otherwise, a Cursed Hunt commences.
Each time you push a pin, it triggers a ghost interaction, which is excellent as you can check for evidence on the Spirit Box, Ghost Writing Book, UV Light, EMF, and more after each of these. But be careful, once the pin on the heart goes in, a Cursed Hunt will commence. But this item carves out a solid niche for itself in confirming a ghost’s type, which can save plenty of effort at a relatively low cost, so don’t overdo it.
This concludes our guide on All Cursed Possessions in Phasmophobia and How to Use them! These items are dangerous if used carelessly, but can be indispensable if you’re confident and don’t overdo them. Be sure to check out our other guides!
