Hauntings
Halfway through the game, your apartment not only stops charging your health but also fills with heavy air and you will start experiencing mini events called hauntings. The beginning of this period is marked by your living room ceiling fan falling during the Hospital World. Already with heavy themes of Ghosts and spirits in the game, hauntings are small invasions of possessed spirits trying to take over various objects in your apartment, such the TV, clock, chair, window frames, etc. Some hauntings are seen, some are heard, some are both and some are hidden entirely. What remains the same with all is your screen will flash red and potentially harm you if you hang around the infected area long enough. You'll also hear a distinct sound indicating the haunting's presence when near it and Henry will point out the negative energy upon finding the first one. You'll experience several of these hauntings over the game and your apartment can become a deathtrap if you don't address them. However, you have the ability to fight back and exorcise them with anti-spirit items (read below). Not only do hauntings threaten you in your apartment, but whether you do or do not exorcise them dictates one half of the equation for which ending you will receive. Get rid of them to improve the result of your ending. One thing to note is that hauntings can disappear if left for too long, which is a win on one end but this works against your ability to get one of the good endings, since a haunting that leaves on its own chalks up as one that wasn't exorcised. Handling them as they come will prevent this. Note that turning on your living room radio will clue you in to whether any hauntings are present in your apartment. It will blare static if any spirit is present, just as the portable radios in the other games did around monsters. So leave it on for a quick visual clue, knowing that if it's silent you're all clear. Once the radio is turned on, it will remain on for all future visits unless manually turned off. |
How to Exorcise Hauntings
To fight back against hauntings you will have to turn to two different anti-spirit items out in the field – Holy Candles and Saint Medallions. When a haunting is found, place a Holy Candle on the floor right in front of it, or on a chair or table near it. Every haunting is a bit different but will have a certain spot where a Holy Candle can be placed (find specific locations below). You'll have to get in close and probably flash your screen red to plant it, but back away once it's set. Just be careful you don't place it too far away or it won't do anything at all. Once it's planted, it'll begin burning at a quick rate, working its magic to expel the haunting. It'll take about 10 seconds for it to expel, at which point the candle will neutralize and remain with a bit of wick to go. This means it's finished its job and the haunting is either gone already or fading away. Note that sometimes if hauntings are close enough, one Holy Candle placed between them can eradicate both at the same time. With Saint Medallions, equip one and physically walk into the radius of the haunting. Watch your Medallion pulse in your inventory as it works to rid of the spirit, taking about the same length as a Holy Candle. Note that Saint Medallions can break, whereby any expelling energy will be wasted as the haunting wasn't completely exorcised, unless you have another Medallion on you to continue to job. Each Medallion is only capable of expelling one full haunting on its own and will break during an attempted second exorcism. Some hauntings like the Item Chest cannot even be cleared with a full Saint Medallion. Quite frankly, Saint Medallions are better saved for the field to repel Ghosts. They're rarer and too valuable to use on hauntings since there's plenty of Holy Candles to find that'll do that job well. So only use Saint Medallions for this purpose if you have no Holy Candles. |
All Hauntings and Locations
A total of 14 different hauntings can appear in Room 302, with some able to appear in different rooms. Clearing a haunting only eradicates it that one time and it does not mean it won't appear again. In fact some hauntings are more likely to reappear than others, while some are very rare and may not occur at all in some runs. Note that several hauntings will not appear in the PC version for whatever reason, including some of the more prominent ones which is a shame. Other hauntings are just as likely to occur, but since some are missing you will always encounter fewer total hauntings on PC. Refer to the checklist below for a quick reference of what will appear in each version, while we'll go into detail about every single one right here. |
Rattling Windows |
Description: Your living room windows will rattle like crazy, making a lot of noise while also physically seen. This is often an early haunting and tends to reappear even if eradicated. Although your bedroom also has windows, this haunting is exclusive to the living room. Place Holy Candle: On the small table right by the window. This is the same position to expel the cushion chair, making it possible to exorcise both at the same time if present. It's also close enough to the ticking clock to eradicate both or all three together. |
Cushion Chair |
Description: The single-person couch seat in your living room will silently become possessed. This one is not at all visible until you begin to exorcise it, making it a mystery otherwise despite your screen flashing when near it. You will however see the cushion chair become all bloody and rusty during the exorcism before fading away. Place Holy Candle: On the small table right by the window. Same spot as the rattling windows, potentially eradicating both at once (and the nearby ticking clock). Can also be placed on the floor right in front of it. |
Television Set |
Description: The television set in the living room will blast snow and static, making it seen and heard. It may also flash DeSalvo's face as well. This occurs right beside your item chest so you'll want to clear it right away. Place Holy Candle: On the floor right in front of the TV. Can also eradicate the ticking clock or item chest hauntings from this same spot if present. |
Wall Clock |
Description: Your living room wall clock (left of the TV) will tick like crazy and the clock hands will zoom around the clock face. This is often the very first haunting or at least an early one to show up. Place Holy Candle: On the chair right under the clock (left of the TV), or even on the floor by the chair. Can potentially eradicate the rattling windows, single couch and TV all at the same time. |
Wall Cracks |
Description: Mysterious large cracks, somewhat web-like or like cracked glass, will form on your living room and bedroom walls. When approached, they pulse and move around. This is probably the most common haunting and tends to reappear often. It is capable of appearing in your living room and bedroom at the same time. Expelling it in one spot will clear it in the other. Place Holy Candle: On the floor in front of it, close to the wall where they appear. |
Emerging Ghosts |
Description: Victim 01 will emerge from the walls in every room of your apartment. Rather than fully entering, it will peer in from the torso, somewhat like a Wall Man. It will emerge from the wall above small living room cabinet by Eileen's peephole, beside the painting at the head of Henry's bed, above the toilet in the washroom, and above the washer and dryer in the laundry room. There's no avoiding its radius in the laundry room and so expelling it is crucial. Place Holy Candle: On the floor right near it. |
Refrigerator |
Description: At first you'll hear a meow every now and then but the only other clue is your screen flashing when near the fridge. Open it to find the headless body of a bloody dead cat inside, as if taken from the fridge in room 102 of the Apartment World. This will affect you whenever near the door to collect memos. Place Holy Candle: On the floor right in front of the fridge. The door does not need to be open to expel it. Can also expel the kitchen faucet and wandering shoes hauntings if also present, or can also expel the front door haunting if placed between it and the fridge. |
Kitchen Faucet |
Description: The kitchen faucet will poor blood continuously into the sink. Does not appear on PC. Place Holy Candle: On the floor right in front of the sink. Can also expel the fridge and wandering shoes hauntings if present. |
Wandering Shoes |
Description: Henry's shoes normally found by your front door will be missing, but a trail of bloody footprints will lead you to their new location on the kitchen floor. Does not appear on PC. Place Holy Candle: On the floor beside them. Can also expel the fridge and sink hauntings at the same time. |
Front Door Peephole |
Description: A stream of blood will be found coming from your front door peephole and down the door. Check the peephole to see Victim 21/21 in the hall – you might know him. This will affect you whenever near the door collecting memos. Rarer haunting that won't always appear. Does not appear on PC. Place Holy Candle: On the floor right in front of the door. Can also exorcise the fridge haunting from this location. |
Telephone Caller |
Description: A voice from your bedroom telephone will constantly remind you, "I'm always watching you". There is no visual clue but your screen flashes when near the phone. This is a rarer haunting you're not always likely to see. It's also right where you wake up, making it ideal to clear immediately. Does not appear on PC. Place Holy Candle: On the floor by the phone. This is the same spot as the closet shadow, although it is unlikely both will appear at the same time. |
Closet Shadow |
Description: The shadow of a small boy resembling little Walter will appear in your bedroom closet and you will hear his cries. This will affect you every time you wake up. Does not appear on PC. Place Holy Candle: On the floor right in front of it. Same spot as the phone, although these two are unlikely to occur together. |
Walter's Portrait |
Description: The photo of the church taken by Henry inside his bedroom will change to a portrait of Walter's corpse in the back room, accompanied by a roar of perhaps Walter's Conjurer form. This is a very rare haunting that you're more unlikely than likely to see, so consider yourself lucky if it shows up. Does not appear on PC. Place Holy Candle: On the dresser below the portrait, or the floor below. |
Item Chest Wall |
Description: Several small dolls will protrude from the wall above your item chest to the sound of crying. This haunting only occurs if you take the Shabby Doll (of which they take after) offered by Walter in the Apartment World and dump it into your chest. The doll has no other purpose but to do this and it won't appear inside your chest to be removed while the haunting is occurring. It may also appear on repeat if left in the chest, even if eradicated. Simply don't take it to avoid it entirely (or keep it in your inventory if you took it). If present, it'll affect you every time you need to use your chest and is perhaps the most annoying haunting. Does not appear on PC, offering no consequence of taking the Shabby Doll. Place Holy Candle: On the floor right by the chest. Can potentially exorcise the TV and ticking clock as well if present and placed in front of the TV. |
Haunting Checklist
Here is a checklist of all the hauntings that can appear in every room: Living Room:
Kitchen:
Bedroom:
Washroom:
Laundry Room:
* - Only may occur if Shabby Doll is taken and dumped in item chest |
| by Andrew Haffenden aka Conquerer (Silent Hill 4: The Room FAQ/Walkthrough), thanks to SilentPrayerCG |