Ghosts don’t roam the map at random. They’re tied to the Sanatorium area and appear around midnight. The bell at the Sanatorium gate is the trigger: arrive before midnight and ring it right as the clock flips to 00:00. The window is tight — roughly from 00:00 to about 00:30 — so don’t show up late. You don’t need thermal or night vision goggles.
If you ring on time, ghosts will populate the grounds rather than sprint straight to you. Expect them inside the perimeter and along the approach roads outside the walls; you may need to sweep the area after a single ring. If nothing happens, try ringing once at 23:50 so they spawn at 00:00, then move and listen for combat cues nearby.
“The Strange Sanatorium” quest (the check prompt, not the fight)
The first part of the Sanatorium quest is a location check, not a combat test. Be on site between roughly 23:00 and 00:59, with a flashlight in your inventory. The interaction appears by the front security barrier on the road near the gate (north/upper-right of the bell position). You do not have to ring the bell to complete this check; in fact, ringing will summon ghosts and can make the prompt harder to interact with.
Weapons that actually work on ghosts
Ghosts have extremely high resistance to conventional damage, including elemental variants. You can whittle them down with bullets, but it’s inefficient and costly. These options cut through them reliably:
- Coin Sword (one-hit solution): Buy the Coin Sword blueprint from the Blue (secret) trader in the Warehouse Town cellar/tunnel and craft it. The price is steep — 66,666 cash — but it turns ghosts into a one-swing kill on normal difficulty. You’ll need access to the Warehouse cellar area (cellar keys are required).
- Candy Gun: Unlock its blueprint by entering the code
42451at both phone booths at midnight, then craft the gun and Candy Bullets. This weapon is designed for the event and performs far better than regular firearms against ghosts. - Psionic Scythe (drop): Ghosts can drop a Psionic Scythe. If you get one, it hits hard and fills the same niche as the Coin Sword for ghost hunting.
Notes:
- Elemental guns don’t meaningfully bypass ghost resistances.
- High-caliber, high-penetration ammo can brute-force a kill, but expect very poor time-to-kill and heavy ammo consumption compared to the options above.
If ghosts aren’t spawning
- Be early, ring once: Arrive before midnight, ring at 00:00 (or once at ~23:50), then start sweeping. Spamming the bell isn’t necessary.
- Check outside the walls: Current behavior spreads spawns across the area. Walk the road, the guard shack approach, and the outer perimeter.
- Don’t mix it with the quest check: Do the Strange Sanatorium interaction first (23:00–00:59, with a flashlight) without ringing. Come back another night to farm kills if needed.
Quick reference
| Task | Where | When | Trigger | Required/Recommended | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strange Sanatorium (location check) | Road by the Sanatorium gate, near the security barrier | ~23:00–00:59 | No bell needed | Flashlight in inventory | Interaction prompt appears near the barrier; ringing can make it harder to complete |
| Summon ghosts to fight | Sanatorium grounds and roads outside the walls | Best at 00:00, viable until ~00:30 | Ring bell once at midnight (or ~23:50) | None | Spawns populate the area; sweep rather than camping the bell |
| Kill ghosts efficiently | Anywhere they spawn | During the midnight window | — | Coin Sword, Candy Gun, Psionic Scythe | Regular guns work but are wildly inefficient |
| Get Coin Sword blueprint | Blue trader, Warehouse Town cellar/tunnel | Any time | — | 66,666 cash; cellar keys required | Craft and bring for one-hit ghost kills |
| Unlock Candy Gun | Phone booths (both) | At midnight | Enter code 42451 at each booth | — | Also unlocks Candy Bullet x30 blueprint |
Loadout and approach that keeps you alive
- Keep it light: Ghosts move fast and hit hard. A melee slot with Coin Sword or Psionic Scythe is the safest bet; otherwise bring the Candy Gun with craftable ammo.
- Do the admin first: Finish the Strange Sanatorium prompt before you ever touch the bell. If you get swarmed mid-interaction, you’ll likely lose the check.
- Work the perimeter: After ringing, patrol the road and outer fence lines to pick off stragglers rather than fighting in tight interiors.
The loop is simple once you know the timing. Check the Sanatorium gate road with a flashlight around 23:30 to tick the quest, then come back another night, ring at midnight, sweep the grounds, and collect your kills with the right tools. If you invest in the Coin Sword or unlock the Candy Gun, the ghosts stop being bullet sponges and turn into quick, clean clears.
