Ghost

Ghost
File:Ghost in trash.jpg
Ghost and trash.

See also: Ghost pet

Ghosts are featured in all The Sims games. Some lots will have pre-made ghosts, and after Sims die, they linger as ghosts.

The Sims

Ghosts appear on residential lots that have the remains of a deceased Sim in a form of either an urn or tombstone. They can appear at any time between 11:00 pm and daybreak but they do not always appear. When they appear, eerie music will play indicating their presence. They will usually hang around for a few hours doing nothing but just walking around while making windy noises. They take on the same appearance that they had when they died, except that they appear to be pale green-blue and transparent. Although playable Sims cannot interact with them, ghosts can "Spook" living Sims. This causes the Sim to scream frantically and then run away, while some of his or her needs will be depleted. This "Be Spooked" interaction can be canceled. It will not override what is in the Sim's action queue, so it can be canceled before the Sim is spooked.

In Makin' Magic, magical Sims can make the Shed Your Skin charm. When it's used at night, the Sim who used it will be transformed into a green, ghost-like figure and will be able to talk to ghosts, as well as walk through walls and objects. Also, drinking Magic Nectar (x2 Grapes, x1 Fairy Dust) has the same effect as Shed Your Skin - but can be used during the day, as well.

The Sims 2

Simon Crumplebottom, one of the many ghosts that haunt The Goth mansion, spun a bear's head

There is a different type of ghost for each type of death in The Sims 2. Each has their own color and many have special abilities. All ghosts can scare living Sims - sometimes even to death - by showing themselves. Seeing a ghost is a common want for Knowledge Sims, and they will get a positive memory when they see one. Other Sims will get a negative memory. Sims may also have wants to "See the Ghost" of Sims they are enemies with or furious at. All ghosts can interact with some objects, for example: making a chair float or a teddy bear's head spin. Sims do not seem to notice or react to ghosts unless one chooses to make its presence known.

The environment need of a Sim who goes outside at night while more than one ghost is out haunting will drastically fall down into the red zone.

Abilities

Microwave door floating

• Scare Sims (Sims can die from shock if this happens and hunger need is low.)
• Float chairs (with Sims on them), other small objects and even their graves.
• Turn on appliances.
• Make a bowling alley float.
• Make musical instruments play by themselves.
• Reenact their death.
• Cause baths to fill of their own accord.
• Visit their bed (the last one they slept in) and other objects they might have been close to. For example: the ghost of a Sim who used to paint a lot may check the easel.
• The ghost of a Sim that died by fire or can go swimming if there is a swimming pool near his/her tombstone.
• The ghost of a Sim who died by drowning will leave a puddle and sometimes she/he will mop it up.
• The ghost of a Sim who died of hunger may open the fridge and look around in it, and even steal food from it.
• Walk through walls, fences, and furniture.
• Cry over other Sims who have died recently.

Trivia

• Ghosts may also smile very strangely after they scare someone.
• In Apartment Life, when witches stop time with "Tempus Interruptus", ghosts are unaffected by the spell. Also, if a witch tries to banish the ghost by magical means, using "Expello Simae", they will be unable to do so, since the ghost will immediately spook the witch.
• Pets can't be harmed by ghosts, but they get disturbed. Dogs and cats will be extremely vocal when a ghost is around.
• Pets can also become ghosts after they die.
• With Boolprop testingCheatsEnabled true, ghosts can be made selectable.
• Never delete a tombstone as this will serverely corrupt your neighborhood! It is best to move them to community lots (Nightlife required) or move the family out of the house to create a "haunted" house. Do not delete the affected lot either! {{[TS2:NL]}}

Angry spirits

Some Sims can get angry if they find their spouse happily married again.

There are lots of reasons a Sim's ghost could be angry. If a Sim's life was unhappy, if a Sim died of starvation and there is no food in the fridge, if a grave is destroyed, if his/her spouse remarries, selling his/her bed, a Sim kicking his/her grave, removing the lot they lived on if they died on another lot or have been moved to another lot, or if a non-relative moves on to the lot. Parents will be enraged to see their orphaned child with a boyfriend/girlfriend. If a dead Sim has an unfulfilled family aspiration, they will be upset if a Sim has a child on the lot. Although all ghosts interact with objects and scare Sims, angry ghosts do so more violently. An angry ghost may do things such as:

• Breaking electronics
• Making threatening gestures
• Specific haunting of a certain Sim
• Yelling and thinking about what made them angry

When to expect them

Ghosts have been known to appear at 8:00 pm (20:00), but they usually appear later in the night, closer to midnight. Ghosts disappear at or around 6:00 am. They're never seen in the daytime or within the hour before or past light (with one possible exception). More than one angry ghost can appear at night, but it's more common to only see one. When there are only a few ghosts, they tend to appear around every three nights. When there are more than five though, they may appear every night. When a tombstone is on the lot, eerie background music may play if a Sim is outside. When a ghost is out, the music will be percussionary, and will play at intervals or whenever a ghost jumps into something.

The exception to the daytime rule is if a grave is struck by lightning. A blue rod can strike a gravestone, resulting in a ghost appearing during daytime hours. They will float around the house for a much shorter period that they would during the night before returning to their grave.

Keeping ghosts at bay

The easiest way to keep ghosts quiet is to move their graves to a cemetery. When there, several anger triggers won't work, however a starving ghost will still be unhappy if there is no fridge. Mourning a grave will keep the ghost quiet for the time being, and building a moat around the grave site will stop them from invading the Sim's home, as they can't cross water. If Testingcheatsenabled is on and there is a ghost wandering around, the player can pause the game and make the ghost selectable, then just cancel the "*Haunt" action and quickly make the ghost unselectable again. The ghost will then disappear. It is also possible to ForceError them, as this acts like canceling the action.

Players who are irritated by ghosts raiding the fridge or leaving puddles can change how they died by first using testingcheatsenabled and then shift clicking on the ghost's tombstone. Options will then appear to change the cause of death; old age and satellite create fairly quiet ghosts.

Types of ghost in The Sims 2

A scaring Sim

• Old age: Sim or pet appears white. Ghost dogs dig phantom holes.
• Fire: Sim appears red. They will sometimes swim in pools or in the sea. While these ghosts are not always angry or violent, they are more likely to be unquiet.
• Electrocution: Sim appears yellow and occasionally re-enacts their death.
• Drowning: Sim appears blue, leaving puddles of water on the lot.
• Fright: Sim appears pink.
• Starvation: Sim appears transparent and occasionally opens the fridge, removing food points from it. Ghost gets angry if there is no fridge on the lot or if the fridge is empty.
• Illness: Sim appears light green and occasionally re-enacts their death.
• Satellite: Sim appears orange.
• Flies: Sim appears purple.
• Cowplant: Sim appears green. If the Cowplant is still on the lot, the ghost Sim will taunt it with a slab of meat. Additionally, if another Sim drank the ghost Sim's life essence, then the ghost will be angry at that Sim.
• Sunlight: Sim appears white and is still a vampire.
• Rally forth: Sim appears golden with a megaphone in his/her hand.

  

  The ghost of a Sim who died by Rally Forth

• Hail: Sim appears magenta and occasionally re-enacts their death.
• Wishing Well: Sim appears white.
• Murphy bed: Sim appears white.

Certain types of death don't have unique ghost color. Instead, their color will be similar to Sims who die of starvation, but their behavior might. The ghosts include the death by sunlight, coffin scare, wishing well, and Murphy bed. Ghosts who were struck by lightning will be similar to ghosts of electrocution. The Running with Scissors Playset ghost will be similar to death by fright.

Happy Ghosts

If a Sim dies happily of old age, their ghost is not easily angered. If they are kept happy, they might even do advantageous things for Sims, such as cleaning the toilet.

The Sims: Bustin' Out (PS2/NGC/XBOX)

In The Sims: Bustin' Out ghost work mostly the same as they do in The Sims for PC. The ghosts of dead sims will appear at night and haunt the living Sims and scare them, 'scary' music will also play when ghosts appear on a Lot. Only one Lot has pre made ghosts and that is Goth Manor, where the ghosts can be exorcised by using the Seanse Table. After this, the ghosts will not appear in the Lot.

The Sims 2 (console)

In the console versions of The Sims 2, all dead Sims become ghosts that the player can fully control. Ghosts will be able to perform different social interactions with living Sims, including the ability to possess and scare them. All ghosts look the same regardless of how the Sim died. Unlike most Sims games, ghosts will appear at all times of day. Ghosts can also be revived by winning a fiddle challenge with the Grim Reaper or giving him §100. Dead Sims are never really lost forever (or at least for a long time) as they are in the PC version.

The Sims 3

Ghosts in the Riverview Graveyard

Ghosts also appear in The Sims 3, and are fairly similar to those in The Sims 2. They also appear in different colors depending on how they died, but are much richer in color and look more realistic than those in The Sims 2. There are premade ghosts in each graveyard and also in some houses that ship with The Sims 3 and each of its expansions. Unlike in previous games, ghosts are treated like normal Sims and can be interacted with as soon as they appear on the lot by simply clicking on them. They can also be turned into playable characters and can do all of the things normal Sims can do. They are the only life state other than normal Sims in The Sims 3 base game. The ghost state can be combined with all other life states.

They are also seen briefly right after a Sim dies as the Grim Reaper comes to reap the ghost Sim from their mortal body. This also makes it possible for a Sim to fulfill a wish to see a ghost just after another Sim dies.

When talking to a ghost, they sound like a normal Sim with a little echo. Prior to patch 1.26, they will make weird sounds such as screaming or shrieking. Ghosts move by floating instead of walking. They can become invisible, as well as possessing and haunting furniture. Ghosts, including playable ones, have free will actions which tell them to scare other Sims, but they do not do this all the time, and scaring Sims cannot cause death. As of patch 1.6, ghosts float rather than stand (but do walk up and down stairs), and autonomously go through objects, walls and even other Sims.

When a Sim's spouse dies (of any cause except for old age), it will still show the Sim as being in a relationship with their deceased partner. Therefore, if the ghost finds their living spouse (who will be shown as a fiancee instead) doing any strong romantic action with their new partner, the ghost will be angry, as he or she will think of it as cheating. If a Sim goes around town and performs romantic interactions with their new romantic interest, girl/boyfriend, fiancee, or spouse, he or she may get the Cheater reputation. The player can stop this by having the surviving partner break up with the ghost when he or she is haunting. However, angry ghosts can be quite violent, so it would be smart to either put the grave in the graveyard, sell it, place it in a Sim's inventory, or hire a ghost exterminator.

Another unique thing about ghosts in The Sims 3 is that they can also go outside of the graveyard to go to other lots and haunt other Sims, but they will only target homes that are somehow related to them. If taken notice of at the graveyard when they are already floating around, some ghosts will seen going out to the entrance and driving away in cars (either a Sloppy Jalopy or Big Lemon). However, the cars will look perfectly normal, not like ghost cars/

Note that, when a ghost goes back to its grave, the relationships will reset to zero. Therefore, it is useless trying to have a Sim become friends with a ghost unless take their urn or tombstone is placed in the Sim's inventory and taken into his or her house.

Sometimes, when using the cheat ResetSim [InsertNameHere] on a ghost, the ghost may return to the Netherworld.

Types of Ghosts

See also: Hybrid

As in The Sims 2, ghosts have different colors depending on how the Sim died, but their appearance is rather different. They have blank eyes, which is their most notable feature. Different ghosts may behave a little differently depending on their traits when they were alive and how they died.

Base Game

• Old Age: A Sim who died of old age appears grey with cloudy skin and sparkles. These ghosts occasionally nap in empty beds or complain that they're tired and bored.

• Drowning: A Sim who dies by drowning appears blue with rippling skin and dripping water (does not create puddles of water like they did in The Sims 2). They will avoid water and often complain of exhaustion.

• Electrocution: A Sim who dies by electrocution appears yellow with electrical sparking skin and sometimes emit blue electric sparks.

• Fire: A Sim who dies by fire appears orange with fiery skin and smoke. The ghost occasionally takes showers and baths.

• Starvation: A Sim who dies by starvation appears magenta with cloudy skin and doesn't make ghostly noises (only if they move). The ghost will eat any food left lying around, or prepare food for themselves. They will always be thin, no matter how fat they were when they were alive.

World Adventures

• Mummy's Curse: A Sim who dies by mummy's curse appears gold with cloudy skin and emits black haze. These ghosts only make ghostly noises if they move. Prior to Late Night and its subsequent patch, the ghost was dark grey or black.

Ambitions

• Meteor: A Sim who dies by getting crushed by a giant meteor appears dark orange with fiery skin.

Late Night

• Thirst: A Vampire Sim that die of thirst appears dark crimson with rippling skin, occasionally emitting a pulsing red light from their heart. They are also skinny, like the ghosts of Sims who died from starvation.

Showtime

• Magic: Unskilled Magicians who improperly execute tricks with the Box of Mystery can kill Sims. The ghost appears smokey. Sims can also die from trying the "Buried Alive" trick with the Box of Danger. The ghost appears to be invisible with hints of black.

Supernatural

The trailer for The Sims 3: Supernatural shows a ghost that appears pitch black with green outlining, and which emits small tombstone, bat and skull effects.

A blue ghost and purple ghost are also expected in this expansion pack and will probably differ from the Starvation and Drowed ghost Sims.

Playable ghosts

Ghost Family.

Ghosts can be resurrected to become playable using the Oh My Ghost! opportunity. They can also get married and have babies, including ghost babies. As a playable character, the ghost will be added to the household, like a family member. They can then be resurrected as normal Sims if they are fed with Ambrosia. Ghosts who have lost their gravestones cannot be resurrected. In The Sims 3 for console, a ghost can be brought back to life by using the Divine Intervention Karma Power.

Ghost Sims carry their own tombstones in their inventory, and can never be removed from inventory. If the player no longer wishes for the ghost to be around, the ghost can be dismissed by simply clicking on it and selecting the 'Return to the Netherworld' option. This will revert the ghost to its remains, which will then need to be reburied or turned into an urn.

If the "Generations" expansion pack is installed, a Sim who is good with the Chemistry Set or has a Ghost Potion in their inventory can turn into a ghost for three hours. While under the effects of the Ghost Potion, the Sim has the appearance of a ghost who died of old age and has all of the abilities of a true ghost. However, they do not have an urn in their inventory and therefore cannot use the "Return to the Netherworld" interaction. This is most likely due to the fact that they never actually died in the first place.

At the initial release of The Sims 3, ghosts were unable to become partners in or buy out businesses. However, in fully-updated games, ghosts can now purchase properties (including businesses) by using the "Check Real Estate" interaction on their cell phone.

Related opportunities and wishes

Gold Digger lifetime wish

Sims with the Gold Digger Lifetime Wish want more than anything to see the ghost of their rich spouse. This can be easily achieved by marrying a Young Adult Sim to a wealthy Elder.

Indian Burial Ground

When a family first moves in to a neighborhood, they may find their property is haunted by random ghost Sims. They can either dispose of these ghosts themselves, keep them, or allow an exterminator to deal with them. Players must not place these urns in their inventories if they plan to accept the ghostbusters' offer. This ghostbuster is in fact one of the town's Repo-men.

• Note: Sometimes, when given this situation, some of the ghosts would appear to have died of causes that are normally in expansion packs, even without the software installed.

Misc wishes

• Sims with the Evil trait often wish to see the ghost of living Sims around them. This happens particularly often with the premade Sim Vita Alto, even with her husband, should he cross her.
• Sims working on the photography skill have challenges to photograph ghosts, including a challenge to capture a Mummy-Ghost on film.

Ghost glitches in The Sims 3

In The Sims 3, a glitch might occur; when a ghost is haunting the lot, they may continue to haunt the lot forever and never return to their graves. In order to send the ghost back to its grave, the player must activate "Testingcheatsenabled", hold down shift and left-click on the ghost. The player will see an option titled Force Object; if it is selected, an option titled "Delete it" will become available. Select this and the ghost will disappear, as if it never came out to haunt the lot in the first place. This cheat is mostly harmless and can be used to send a ghost back to their grave if this glitch occurs.

Another bug in the game causes ghosts on community lots to leave the lot and drive to a random unoccupied lot instead. The ghost will move onto the unoccupied space and then vanish. If the player attempts to interact with the ghost or clicks any interaction on it the ghost will disappear. Because of this bug ghosts will no longer haunt the lot even if they are in a graveyard. This will also happen on unselected households.

Prior to Patch 3, it was common for ghosts to lose their gravestone if the player switched families. That meant it could not be resurrected nor could it die.

Another way is to use the ResetSim cheat (ctrl+shift+c, then type "ResetSim (first name) (surname)"). Type the name of the ghost into the ResetSim and they will go back into their urns or graves.

The Sims 3: NDS

Ghosts in The Sims 3 for Nintendo DS, look much like a regular sim, but their features are grayed out slightly, and they are transparent. They don't 'walk', so much as they 'float', by lifting their legs up and moving. They also appear prone to glitches, including getting stuck in the ground, and appear more frequently at night. They can be talked to, angered, and even flirted with, but a ghost has the extra ability to scare other Sims. They can go through walls, and when they move, ghostly simlish can be heard.

It is known that when normal Sims (especially Sims with the "coward" trait) try to interact with ghosts, their hair turns white, and the normal Sim runs away. when this happens, the ghost that the normal Sim ran away from will usually reenact the normal Sim's fright... most normal Sims will run to the stoplight beside the road outside the graveyard, scream, and faint; ghosts will run there (or float), and will do what the Sims did. They will scream, fan themselves if it is a female Sim/ghost, and faint, but instead of being transported to the hospital after fainting like normal Sims, they will get back up and float to back to the graveyard. This could be a sign that ghosts are offended when normal Sims get scared of them.

Three ghost characters are Sarah Abreu, Abrams Daigle, and Star Vega. Obviously, all three start out unemployed. Strangely, Abrams and Sarah both have the 'Insane' trait, while Star Vega has the 'Kleptomaniac' trait. All three of these characters can be found at Pleasant Rest Graveyard, usually only at night. One can play as a ghost by befriending them, inviting them over and convincing them to move in. When played, ghosts act much like regular Sims, and can pursue careers and get hungry. When they get a job, or have a Magic Moment, the ghost will appear alive. This can also be seen if one attempts to edit the appearance of a ghost.

Ghosts are generally quite grumpy, and are hard to make friends with. Abrams will usually reject a proposal.

Gallery

Images

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  The ghost of a Sim who died of the Mummy's Curse

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  A Sim who died of the Mummy's Curse shakes hands with the Grim Reaper

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  A variety of ghosts enjoying a conversation around a table.

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  All the kinds of ghosts up to Ambitions sitting around a table.

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  Agnes Crumplebottom's ex-husband, who died on the night of their honeymoon .

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  Drowning ghost and sim

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  Sim sees her deceased father

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  Mummy's Curse Ghost

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  A vampire ghost that died from thirst. The bright red light resembles a heart, the light pulses similar to a heart beat.

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  Ghost eating.

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  A Sim who died of the Mummy's Curse, after World Adventures is installed.

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  A Ghost floating over Sunset Valley, a possible glitch

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  A ghost haunting a cushion.

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  The ghost of a Sim that died from Hunger in The Sims Medieval: Pirates and Nobles, after drinking Ethereal Potion

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  A vampire-ghost kiss.

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  All ghosts from The Sims 3 (with the ghosts from World Adventures, Late Night, and Ambitions)

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  New ghost from The Sims 3: Showtime

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  New ghost seen in the trailer for The Sims 3: Supernatural

Video

<videogallery> Video:Ways To Kill Your Sim - The Sims 3 ( New Ghosts!)|Do you want to see grim reaper? or see a ghost? Kill your sim. </videogallery>

See also

• Ghosthunter — Profession in The Sims 3: Ambitions

References

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