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Ghost 5e: Stats, Possession and Running a Haunting
A ghost is a CR 4 Medium Undead (1,100 XP) with AC 11, 45 hit points, a 40-foot hovering fly speed and the ability to pass through walls. Its fight is built on three actions: Withering Touch for necrotic damage, Possession (Recharge 6) to take over a humanoid's body, and Etherealness to step out of reach entirely. The 2024 ghost hits more than twice as hard (two touches for 19 each), trades the 2014 aging effect for psychic damage, and keeps its own statistics while it wears a party member's body.
Ethereal Sight.The ghost can see 60 ft. into the Ethereal Plane when it is on the Material Plane, and vice versa.
Incorporeal Movement.The ghost can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
Actions
Withering Touch.Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (4d6 + 3) necrotic damage.
Etherealness.The ghost enters the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, or vice versa. It is visible on the Material Plane while it is in the Border Ethereal, and vice versa, yet it can't affect or be affected by anything on the other plane.
Horrifying Visage.Each non-undead creature within 60 ft. of the ghost that can see it must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. If the save fails by 5 or more, the target also ages 1d4 × 10 years. A frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the frightened condition on itself on a success. If a target's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the target is immune to this ghost's Horrifying Visage for the next 24 hours. The aging effect can be reversed with a greater restoration spell, but only within 24 hours of it occurring.
Possession (Recharge 6).One humanoid that the ghost can see within 5 ft. of it must succeed on a DC 13 Charisma saving throw or be possessed by the ghost; the ghost then disappears, and the target is incapacitated and loses control of its body. The ghost now controls the body but doesn't deprive the target of awareness. The ghost can't be targeted by any attack, spell, or other effect, except ones that turn undead, and it retains its alignment, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, and immunity to being charmed and frightened. It otherwise uses the possessed target's statistics, but doesn't gain access to the target's knowledge, class features, or proficiencies. The possession lasts until the body drops to 0 hit points, the ghost ends it as a bonus action, or the ghost is turned or forced out by an effect like the dispel evil and good spell. When the possession ends, the ghost reappears in an unoccupied space within 5 ft. of the body. The target is immune to this ghost's Possession for 24 hours after succeeding on the saving throw or after the possession ends.
Stat block from the SRD 5.1 (2014 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
The 2014 ghost is fragile on paper (AC 11, 45 hit points) and slippery in practice. It resists acid, fire, lightning and thunder damage, plus bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from nonmagical attacks, and it's immune to cold, necrotic and poison damage. Its condition immunities read like a list of everything a party uses to pin a monster down: Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Prone and Restrained, plus Charmed, Frightened and Exhaustion.
Its offense is modest. Withering Touch is one +5 attack for 17 (4d6 + 3) necrotic damage, which hits AC 16 half the time for about 8.5 damage a round. The ghost's real threats are Horrifying Visage, which can age a character by decades, and Possession.
Horrifying Visage targets every non-undead creature within 60 feet that can see the ghost. On a failed DC 13 Wisdom save a target is Frightened for up to 1 minute (it repeats the save at the end of each of its turns). If the save fails by 5 or more, the target also ages 1d4 x 10 years. A character with Wisdom +1 fails by 5 or more on a roll of 6 or lower, 30% of the time. Greater Restoration reverses the aging, but only within 24 hours. A target that saves, or whose fear ends, is immune to that ghost's Visage for 24 hours.
The Ghost in the 2024 Rules
The 2024 ghost (SRD 5.2.1) keeps AC 11, 45 hit points and CR 4, and changes most of what it does on its turn.
Ethereal Sight.The ghost can see 60 feet into the Ethereal Plane when it is on the Material Plane.
Incorporeal Movement.The ghost can move through other creatures and objects as if they were Difficult Terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) Force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
Actions
Multiattack.The ghost makes two Withering Touch attacks.
Etherealness.The ghost casts the Etherealness spell, requiring no spell components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability. The ghost is visible on the Material Plane while on the Border Ethereal and vice versa, but it can’t affect or be affected by anything on the other plane.
Horrific Visage.Wisdom Saving Throw: DC 13, each creature in a 60-foot Cone that can see the ghost and isn’t an Undead. Failure: 10 (2d6 + 3) Psychic damage, and the target has the Frightened condition until the start of the ghost’s next turn. Success: The target is immune to this ghost’s Horrific Visage for 24 hours.
Possession (Recharge 6).Charisma Saving Throw: DC 13, one Humanoid the ghost can see within 5 feet. Failure: The target is possessed by the ghost; the ghost disappears, and the target has the Incapacitated condition and loses control of its body. The ghost now controls the body, but the target retains awareness. The ghost can’t be targeted by any attack, spell, or other effect, except ones that specifically target Undead. The ghost’s game statistics are the same, except it uses the possessed target’s Speed, as well as the target’s Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution modifiers. The possession lasts until the body drops to 0 Hit Points or the ghost leaves as a Bonus Action. When the possession ends, the ghost appears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the target, and the target is immune to this ghost’s Possession for 24 hours. Success: The target is immune to this ghost’s Possession for 24 hours.
Stat block from the SRD 5.2.1 (2024 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
2014 Ghost
2024 Ghost
Attack
1 Withering Touch: 17 (4d6 + 3)
Multiattack, 2 Withering Touches: 19 (3d10 + 3) each
Fear action
Horrifying Visage: 60 ft. radius, Frightened up to 1 minute, aging on a fail by 5+
Horrific Visage: 60-ft. Cone, 10 (2d6 + 3) psychic, Frightened until the start of its next turn, no aging
Etherealness
Its own action
Casts the Etherealness spell (no components)
Possession
Ghost uses the host's statistics
Ghost keeps its own statistics, uses host's Speed and Str/Dex/Con modifiers
Who can target a possessing ghost
Only effects that turn undead (Dispel Evil and Good can force it out)
Only effects that specifically target Undead
Resistances
Acid, fire, lightning, thunder, nonmagical B/P/S
Acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder, all B/P/S
Immunities
Cold, necrotic, poison
Necrotic, poison
Speed
0 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)
5 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)
Ethereal Sight
Both directions
From the Material Plane into the Ethereal only
Alignment
Any
Neutral
Two changes reshape the fight:
•Damage per round more than doubles. Two touches at +5 against AC 16 average 19 damage a round (2 x 19 x 0.5), against 8.5 for the 2014 ghost. A single 2024 Withering Touch averages 19, about the full hit points of a level 3 wizard.
•Magic weapons are resisted. The 2014 ghost only resists nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing and slashing. The 2024 ghost resists all of it, so a +1 longsword deals half damage. Force, radiant and psychic damage are the clean options.
How Possession Works
Possession is the ghost's signature, and both editions start it the same way: one Humanoid the ghost can see within 5 feet makes a DC 13 Charisma saving throw. On a failure, the ghost disappears into the body. The target has the Incapacitated condition and loses control of its body but stays aware of what happens. A target that succeeds, or whose possession ends, is immune to that ghost's Possession for 24 hours. Possession has Recharge 6, so after using it the ghost gets it back on a 6 at the start of a turn (about 1 round in 6).
The editions split on what the possessed body can do.
2014: the ghost drives the host's body. It uses the target's statistics but keeps its own alignment, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma and its immunity to being charmed and frightened. It does not get the target's knowledge, class features or proficiencies. A possessed fighter has the fighter's hit points, AC and Strength, but no Extra Attack and no proficiency bonus on attacks. In 2014, the ghost possesses a fighter for the body, not for the damage: a sturdy shell the party is reluctant to hurt, which the ghost can walk off a ledge.
2024: the ghost brings its own actions. Its game statistics stay the same except that it uses the host's Speed and the host's Strength, Dexterity and Constitution modifiers. That means the possessed body can use the ghost's Multiattack. The barbarian turns around and makes two Withering Touches at the wizard.
How it ends. In 2014: when the body drops to 0 hit points, the ghost ends it as a bonus action, or the ghost is turned or forced out by an effect like Dispel Evil and Good. In 2024: when the body drops to 0 Hit Points or the ghost leaves as a Bonus Action. In both editions the ghost itself can't be targeted, so damage aimed at the body hits the host, and the possession ends when the host drops to 0 hit points. The ghost then reappears within 5 feet with its own hit points untouched.
What can affect the ghost inside. While possessing someone, the ghost can't be targeted by attacks, spells or other effects, except (2014) ones that turn undead or (2024) ones that specifically target Undead. Turn Undead works in both. Dispel Evil and Good ends possession in both editions through Break Enchantment, which targets the possessed creature, not the ghost.
What prevents it.Protection from Evil and Good stops the warded creature from being possessed by undead, in both editions.
How the Ghost Fights
A ghost is a hit-and-fade monster that ignores walls. Its stat block points to four habits.
Approach unseen, through stone. Incorporeal Movement lets it move through creatures and objects as difficult terrain (so 20 feet of progress per 40 feet of flying through a wall). It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object, so it moves through the wall and out the other side in the same turn. A ghost that comes out of the floor next to the cleric has chosen its target.
Visage first, then pick off the frightened. Frightened creatures have Disadvantage on attack rolls while they can see the ghost and can't willingly move closer. In 2014, the fear lasts up to a minute, and a frightened character's best option is to back off and use ranged attacks with disadvantage. In 2024 the fear lasts only until the ghost's next turn, but each failed save also costs 10 psychic damage. A character with Wisdom +1 fails the DC 13 save 55% of the time.
Possess the right body. The ghost wants a humanoid with a weak Charisma save who is standing somewhere useful. In 2024, the best host is a martial character in the middle of the party. In 2014, the best host is anyone standing next to a drop, a fire, or the deep water of a flooded crypt.
Fade when hurt. Etherealness takes the ghost into the Border Ethereal. It stays visible on the Material Plane but can't affect or be affected by anything there. In 2024 it's the Etherealness spell with no components, lasting up to 8 hours, and casting it again from the Ethereal Plane ends it. It costs an action either way, so stepping in or out takes the ghost's turn. A ghost below 20 hit points slips into the Ethereal, floats away through the walls and returns tomorrow night.
Ethereal Sight lets the ghost see 60 feet into the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane in both editions; the 2014 ghost can also see 60 feet into the Material Plane from the Ethereal. In 2014 that means the ghost can watch the party from the Ethereal before choosing its moment.
Running a Ghost Encounter
A ghost is worth 1,100 XP. The 2024 budget for four characters:
Ghost + a wight + 2 specters = 2,200 (Moderate, just over the 2,000 Low budget)
The 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines, used by our encounter calculator, put a lone ghost at Medium for four level 4 characters (1,100 XP between the 1,000 Medium and 1,500 Hard thresholds).
Practical notes:
•Watch the 2024 damage at level 3. Two touches averaging 19 each can drop a wizard from full in one turn. Run the 2024 ghost against level 3 parties only if it opens with Visage or Possession rather than going straight for the softest target.
•A ghost is best as a story fight. The SRD gives ghosts an alignment (any in 2014, neutral in 2024) rather than "always evil," and both can speak (the languages it knew in life in 2014, Common plus one other in 2024). Many ghosts can be talked to. Give yours something unfinished, and let the party end the haunting by finishing it.
•Put it on home ground. Thin walls, several floors and a few dangerous spots (a balcony, a well, a burning hearth) make Incorporeal Movement and Possession pay off.
How Players Beat a Ghost
Protection from Evil and Good, first. The warded character can't be possessed or frightened by the ghost, and the ghost has Disadvantage on attacks against it. Put it on the character the ghost would most want to steal.
Use force, radiant and psychic damage.Magic Missile is force and auto-hits, so it ignores the resistances and Withering Touch's AC game alike. Guiding Bolt is radiant. In 2024, plain magic weapons only do half.
Turn it. The ghost's Wisdom save is +1, so it fails against DC 13 on a 1 to 11, 55% of the time. Turn Undead also works while the ghost is possessing someone, in both editions. In the 2014 rules, a level 17 cleric's Destroy Undead destroys CR 4 undead outright on a failed save.
Target Strength. Its worst save is Strength (-2), though few spells use it. Wisdom (+1), Constitution (+0) and Dexterity (+1) saves are all fine targets. Charisma (+3) is its best.
Ready actions for the reappearance. A ghost that went ethereal spends its action to come back. Characters who Ready an attack get to hit it the moment it does.
Don't bother with grapples, nets, Hold spells, sleep effects or poison. It's immune to Grappled, Paralyzed, Restrained, Prone, Petrified, Charmed and Poisoned.
Possessed friend? Use the spell, not the sword. Dispel Evil and Good ends the possession by touch. Turn Undead can drive the ghost out. Beating the host to 0 hit points works too, but the friend is the one who drops.
Ghost, Specter or Wraith?
All three are incorporeal undead that drift through walls, and they play very differently.
A ghost is a character with a grievance. A specter is a hungry remnant. A wraith is an officer with a growing army of specters.
Ghost Encounter Ideas
The double wedding. A bride died the night before her wedding a century ago, and the manor where it happened is hosting a wedding again. At the feast, the ghost possesses the new bride and tries to finish her own ceremony with a groom who has been dead for decades. The party has to end the possession without hurting the bride and work out what the ghost needs to let go.
The lighthouse keeper. A ghost keeps the lighthouse lamp burning and attacks anyone who climbs the tower. It isn't malicious: a shipwreck it caused by sleeping at its post sixty years ago is still on its mind, and it believes the party has come to put the light out. A failed Insight check makes this a fight on a spiral staircase where the ghost can float through the floors and the party can't.
The ethereal witness. A murder happened in a locked room, and the only witness is a ghost that has haunted the house for years. It can speak, it understands Common, and it watched everything from the Border Ethereal. It will talk only after the party does something for it, and the murderer in the house knows the ghost saw.
When the party is juggling a ghost's backstory, the living suspects and what each one said, Loreify can record the session and keep notes on every NPC they met.
Frequently Asked Questions
What CR is a ghost in 5e?
A ghost is CR 4 and worth 1,100 XP in both the 2014 and 2024 rules. It has AC 11, 45 hit points and a 40-foot fly speed with hover.
How does ghost Possession work in 5e?
The ghost targets one Humanoid within 5 feet, which must succeed on a DC 13 Charisma save or be possessed. The target is incapacitated and loses control of its body, and the ghost can't be targeted except by effects that turn or specifically target Undead. Possession ends when the body drops to 0 hit points or the ghost leaves as a bonus action.
Can a ghost be hit by magic weapons?
Yes, but the 2024 ghost resists all bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage, including from magic weapons. The 2014 ghost resists bludgeoning, piercing and slashing only from nonmagical attacks, so magic weapons deal full damage.
Does a ghost's Horrifying Visage really age you?
In the 2014 rules, yes: a target that fails the DC 13 Wisdom save by 5 or more ages 1d4 x 10 years, and Greater Restoration reverses it only within 24 hours. The 2024 Horrific Visage removed the aging and deals 10 (2d6 + 3) psychic damage instead.
How do you stop a ghost from possessing someone?
Protection from Evil and Good prevents the warded creature from being possessed by undead. Once possessed, Dispel Evil and Good or Turn Undead can end it.
Can a ghost go through walls in 5e?
Yes. Incorporeal Movement lets a ghost move through creatures and objects as difficult terrain, but it takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.
This page includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Loreify is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.