Phasmophobia

It’s late, the house is quiet, and you hear a creak down the hall. Most people roll over and go back to sleep. For some, that creak sets off a wave of dread that keeps them awake with the lights on until morning.

Phasmophobia is an intense fear of ghosts. It can also include spirits and other supernatural beings. Healthline The word isn’t a separate diagnosis. A fear of ghosts that lasts for months and gets in the way of daily life can meet the general description of a specific phobia, which is how a clinician would look at it. APA Dictionary of Psychology

If you searched the word because of the video game, you’re not alone. Phasmophobia is a 2020 ghost-hunting game from the British studio Kinetic Games. It took off in October 2020 after streamers played it, and it became one of the best-selling games on Steam for several weeks. Wikipedia: Phasmophobia (video game) The game borrowed its name from the fear, not the other way around.

Is fear of ghosts a real phobia?

There’s a small amount of clinical writing on it. In 2018, Ricardo de Oliveira-Souza, writing in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry, described six patients whose fear of ghosts disrupted their lives. He argued that this “phobia of the supernatural” meets the criteria for a specific phobia but is poorly recognized, partly because people feel too embarrassed to bring it up with a doctor. Frontiers in Psychiatry

That paper is a set of case descriptions, not a large study. It doesn’t tell us how common the fear is. It does show that, for some adults, fear of ghosts is far more than a party story.

What can it feel like?

The patients in the 2018 paper shared a pattern. Their fear came on mostly when they had to stay home or sleep alone at night. They described a vivid sense that some unseen presence was nearby. Many of them had other phobias too. Frontiers in Psychiatry

Here’s a made-up example. Imagine your partner is away for a work trip. As night falls, you turn on every light in the house. You keep your back to a wall so you can see the doors. Every small noise feels like proof that something is there. You finally fall asleep near dawn, and you’re exhausted at work the next day.

Common experiences include:

• dread about being alone at night
• a strong feeling of being watched or not being alone
• trouble falling asleep, or broken sleep with frightening dreams
• avoiding horror films, ghost stories, or old buildings
• replaying a scary scene from a trailer or show over and over

Sleep often takes the biggest hit. In the 2018 cases, poor sleep and daytime tiredness were among the main problems, and the author suggested doctors ask about ghost fears when patients report insomnia. Frontiers in Psychiatry

How common is believing in ghosts?

Belief and fear aren’t the same thing, but they’re related. In a 2009 Pew Research Center survey, 18% of US adults said they had seen or been in the presence of a ghost. Pew Research Center

You don’t need to believe in ghosts to fear them, though. One person quoted in the 2018 paper wrote that her fears were about supernatural things “even not believing in them.” Frontiers in Psychiatry Plenty of people know a fear makes no sense and still can’t switch it off.

Fear versus phobia

Lots of people love being scared by ghosts. Haunted houses, ghost tours, and horror games exist because a safe scare can be fun. Most children go through a stage of fearing ghosts, and those fears usually fade after the teen years. Frontiers in Psychiatry

It may be more than an ordinary fright when:

• you can’t stay home alone at night, even as an adult
• the fear shapes big choices, such as where you live, whether you travel, or who you live with
• you lose sleep regularly because of it
• it has lasted for months or years

In the 2018 cases, people made major life decisions around the fear. One man turned down work trips because he slept so badly alone in hotels. Frontiers in Psychiatry Our fear versus phobia guide explains more about where that line sits.

How it overlaps with other fears

Fear of ghosts often travels with fear of the dark and fear of being alone. Healthline notes that it isn’t clear whether the ghost fear comes first or grows out of an existing fear of darkness and nighttime. Healthline If darkness itself is the main trigger, our page on nyctophobia may help.

Some people develop rituals to “keep ghosts away,” such as checking rooms or leaving lights on in a set order. If those rituals start to feel compulsory, a professional can check whether something like obsessive-compulsive disorder is involved. Healthline

The 2018 paper also lists other things a doctor may want to rule out, including nighttime panic attacks and certain sleep problems. Frontiers in Psychiatry

Why might it happen?

The causes aren’t well studied. In the 2018 cases, the fears usually started in childhood and carried on into adulthood. Frontiers in Psychiatry Known risk factors for specific phobias in general include a frightening experience, being nervous in new situations as a child, and anxiety in close relatives. NIMH

Grief may play a part for some people. One of the 2018 patients began feeling a presence in her living room after her husband died and she lived alone for the first time. Frontiers in Psychiatry

What can help?

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a well-established treatment for phobias. Exposure therapy, a part of CBT, helps people gradually face situations they’ve been avoiding, and it can be paired with relaxation exercises. NIMH For this fear, that might mean working up to spending an evening alone at home, at your own pace and with support.

The author of the 2018 paper also found that simply telling patients their fear was a recognized, treatable problem was reassuring for them. Frontiers in Psychiatry

Things you might try on your own:

• keep a calming evening routine and cut back on horror content close to bedtime
• notice the thoughts that come with the fear and write them down in daylight
• use a small light or soft background sound if it helps you sleep while you work on the fear

Don’t throw yourself into a “haunted” night to prove a point. Big, sudden scares can make fear stronger.

Helping someone who’s afraid of ghosts

If someone you care about is frightened of ghosts, don’t tease them or sneak up on them for a laugh. Many people with this fear already feel embarrassed. Ask what helps at night, whether that’s a phone call before bed or not watching horror when they’re staying over. Our guide on supporting someone with a phobia has more ideas.

When to talk to a professional

If fear of ghosts keeps you from sleeping, from living alone, or from traveling, it’s worth raising with a doctor or therapist. It may help to say plainly, “I’m afraid of ghosts when I’m alone at night.” That simple sentence gives them what they need. Our appointment preparation tool can help you plan what to say, and our find help page lists where to start.