The notion of a cursed monkey paw that grants wishes has existed for decades, frequently popping up to teach the foolhardy a lesson about being careful what they wish for. I have no earthly idea who thought of a monkey paw granting wishes in the first place, but the concept has made the rounds, including Phasmophobia. Here’s how to find and use the Monkey Paw in Phasmophobia.
How to Find and Use Monkey Paw in Phasmophobia
The Monkey Paw is a cursed possession item in Phasmophobia that, as you’ve probably guessed, can be used to grant wishes. However, this Monkey Paw is a stickler for the rules: it can only appear once on any given contract, and you only get a certain number of wishes, depending on the difficulty you’re playing on. At higher difficulties, you get 3 wishes, and at lower difficulties, you get 5 wishes.
Related: All Maps in Phasmophobia
In order to actually use the Monkey Paw, you need to audibly speak your wish into your microphone. Of course, the exact wording of the wishes isn’t displayed; you can track down the magic words by exploring the Sunny Meadows Mental Institution, though you can also fudge it by switching the game’s voice recognition mode to text in the options.
Making Wishes
Monkey Paw wishes are broken up into Ghost, Player, and Other categories. When you make a wish, you’ll gain some manner of helpful effect, but you’ll also be hit with a potentially dangerous penalty in exchange. That’s how the Monkey Paw rolls, after all.
Here’s a general list of possible wishes and their effects:
- “I wish to see the Ghost”: The Ghost will appear right in front of you for about five seconds, but triggers a Hunt and makes you temporarily blind.
- “I wish for Ghost activity”: Increases occurrence of Ghost activity, but permanently breaks the fuse box and locks the front door for two minutes.
- “I wish to trap the Ghost”: The Ghost will be trapped in its favorite room for one minute, but also traps you in the room you’re currently in for one minute. A Cursed Hunt begins after the effect ends.
- “I wish to be sane”: Sets all players’ sanity to 50% but increases passive sanity drain. The Ghost may also change its favorite room.
- “I wish to be safe”: All lights in the room you are currently in will break and become disabled.
- “I wish to leave”: Will unlock the front door during a Hunt, but severely lowers your movement speed and dims your sight for five seconds.
- “I wish to revive my friend”: Revives a dead party member, but has a chance of killing you or another party member in exchange. Can’t be used if no one is dead.
- “I wish for knowledge”: Black marks appear in your journal, crossing off incorrect evidence about the current Ghost, but dampens your hearing and darkens your sight as a Cursed Hunt starts.
- “I wish for (weather)”: Can wish for any weather type, after which you will go blind for a few moments until the weather switches over.
- “I wish for anything”: Grants one of the above wishes at random.
If you’re planning on using the Monkey Paw, make sure you formulate a plan with your teammates, because odds are good one of you is about to get royally messed up by whatever wish you make. If you have to get hit with a cruel, ironic punishment, you can at least plan for it.
For more nifty info on dangerous magical artifacts in Phasmophobia, check out our guides on using the Haunted Mirror and the Tarot Cards. Visit our Facebook page as well for more news and guides.
