Ghosts are the supernatural life state of The Sims 4 Base Game. This guide covers everything you need to know about Death, The Grim Reaper, Ghosts, Interactions, and Resurrection.
Death in The Sims 4
The Sims 4 includes 11 different death types: Drowning, Electrocution, Hunger, Fire, Rocket Ship Crash Landing, Old Age, Overexertion, Cowplant, Embarrassment, Anger, and Hysteria. Modern Grim Reaper included.
Death types are categorized as “Natural” or “Emotional”. Drowning, Fire, Electrocution, Hunger, Old Age, Overexertion and Cowplant are filed under Natural Deaths, while Embarrassment, Anger, and Hysteria are filed under Emotional.
❗ There are no cemeteries/graveyards in The Sims 4.
❗ Children can only die by Fire and Drowning
❗ Death in The Sims 4 is more rare and much harder to achieve than ever before.
Emotions have different intensity levels. Once a Sim reaches the highest level of a specific emotion, they will eventually be greeted with death. There’s only so much Embarrassment, Anger and Hysteria Sims can handle.
No matter which way your Sims dies, the Grim Reaper will be sure to come by and scoop up their soul. You will have the option to “Plead” for the dying Sim when the Grim Reaper appears, but if unsuccessful, he will leave you with the Sim’s Tombstone/Urn. You always have the option to resurrect a Sim as well.
Death by Drowning
If you do not attend to your swimming Sim’s decaying needs, they will slowly become uncomfortable and fatigued. If left neglected, a Sim will become “Exhausted”, which only leaves you with a few short hours to tend to their needs. If you don’t tend to their needs, Sims will drown in the pool and die.
NOTE: Due to the fact that Sims are self-sufficient survivalists, the only easy way to ensure they drown in the pool, is to enclose the pool with a wall or fence. This prevents a Sim from exiting the pool.
Death by Fire
Fire and flames can move through the walls in The Sims 4, so do your best to extinguish nearby flames immediately. Sims who are not able to get away in time will burn to their death.
Death by Rocket Ship (Fire)
“Racing” in space (Adventure Text) with a low level Rocket Science Skill, or exploring space after using the “Stuff a Fruit in exhaust pipe” action (Mischief Skill), are guaranteed ways to crash land the rocket ship. Sims who crash in the rocket ship may catch fire from the surrounding flames and die.
Death by Electrocution
Sims who repair electronics with a low level Handiness skill risk being shocked. Sims who are shocked during repair will receive the “Singed” moodlet for a few hours. If you attempt to repair broken items before your Sim has overcome the first shock, the Sim will be electrocuted and die.
Death by Hunger
As mentioned above, it is much harder to force death in The Sims 4. Sims have a natural instinct to survive, even when you turn their free will off. There are two different 24-hour moodlets your Sims will have to overcome before completely dying of starvation: Hungry and Ravenous. Once your Sim has had the Ravenous moodlet for 24 hours without eating, they will die.
Death by Cowplant
The Cowplant must be fed at least once every 12 hours, and if left unfed, the Cowplant will attempt to lure Sims its way by teasing them with cake. Once the Cowplant sticks out his cake tongue, Sims can either Eat the Cake, or feed the Cowplant.
Sims that attempt to grab the piece of cake from the Cowplant’s mouth will be eaten alive by the plant. Some Sims will be spit back out to the ground, while other Sims will take their last breath in the Cowplant’s “stem”.
It is my finding that the Cowplant will “kill” a Sim every other time they “eat cake”. So while you might get lucky the first time, they second is probably going to kill you. Sims who die will be take away by the Grim Reaper, and a tombstone will be left behind.
Death by Old Age
Unless you have aging turned off, or they constantly drink the “Potion of Youth”, Elder Sims will eventually pass away. There isn’t much you can to do prevent their life cycle from expiring.
Death by Overexertion (Elders)
Elder Sims do not have the stamina they had as Adults, which easily exhausts them when exercising or Woohoo-ing. Elder Sims who reach their limit will receive the “Dangerously Tired” moodlet for 4 hours. Avoid any strenuous activities during this time or they’ll die of overexertion.
Death by Cardiac Explosion (Anger)
The angry emotion has four different intensity levels: Angry, Very Angry, Furious, and Enraged. Sims who reach the Enraged emotional state will only have a short period of time to cool off.
Emotions give Sims special interactions, and using them will help lower the intensity level. Sims who are left in the Enraged Emotional State for a long period of time will die.
Death by Laughter (Hysteria)
The Hysteria emotion has four different intensity levels: Playful, Very Playful, Silly, and Hysterical. Sims who reach the Hysterical emotional state will only have a short period of time to rid this feeling.
Emotions give Sims special interactions, and using them will help lower the intensity level. Sims who are left in the Hysterical Emotional State for a long period of time will die.
Death by Embarrassment
The Hysteria emotion has four different intensity levels: Embarrassed, Very Embarrassed, Humiliated and Mortified. Sims who reach the Mortified emotional state will only have a short period of time to calm down.
Emotions give Sims special interactions, and using them will help lower the intensity level. Sims who are left in the Mortified Emotional State for a long period of time will die.
Saving a Sim from Death
If you do not want your Sims dying and turning into ghosts, there are three ways to save them from death:
• Demand that the Grim Reaper spare the Sim’s life (Requires Confident Emotion)
• Seduce the Grim Reaper into sparing the Sim’s life (Requires Flirty Emotion)
• Plead for the Sim’s life when the Grim Reaper appears
• Toy with Death via Voodoo Doll
• Give the Grim Reaper a Death Flower (Acquired by splicing the Orchid and Pomegranate plants)
Playing as a Ghost
Once a Sim has moved on to the afterlife, you can choose to keep their Tombstone/Urn on your lot, or release their spirit to the Netherworld. Keep the tombstones/urns on your lot if you want to play with ghosts, as released spirits are gone forever.
Several days after death the ghost of the deceased Sim will linger around your home lot as an NPC (Non-playable Character). You are able to interact with these Sims as you would any other Sims, however you are not able to “Try for Baby”. Ghosts can Woohoo with other Sims, but they cannot procreate. (No ghost babies)
❗ If you have created an “Epic Saga” for the target Sim via the Book of Life, you can summon the ghost immediately after death. No need to wait!
So let’s get us a ghost to play! There’s the easy way, and the hard way. Developers wanted to ensure playing as a ghost was challenging, so if you want a ghost without having to do a thing, head over to The Sims 4 Gallery. If you want to earn the ghost, you will need to do the following:
• Achieve a Ghostly Friendship level of 95%
• Invite the ghost to live in your household
• Play as a ghost!
Seems simple, but keep in mind that it is challenging to raise Friendship and Romance relationships in the game. If you are having difficulties leveling up your ghostly relationship, feel free to use the relationship cheats to raise your relationship faster, or Shift + Click and “Add” the ghost to your family immediately.
❗ Ghosts do not age. The only way to age the Sim is to resurrect the ghost.
Now that you have a Sim in your household you can resume life as usual. Once a ghost is “playable” it can get a job, get married and contribute to the family like any other living Sim. Ghosts can also change colors depending on their emotion, they have special interactions, and acquire unique abilities in their ghostly form. As a ghost, Sims have the following interactions available with Sims, Ghosts and Objects:
• Ghost Scare – Ghost disappears and reappears
• Pass Through – Ghost passes through the body of the target Sim
• Possess – Ghost enters and elevates electronics and appliances
• Repair – Ghosts repair objects much faster than living Sims
• Talk about Death – Social Interaction
• Ask about Death – Social Interaction
Ghosts possessing the fridge, microwave and stereo
The color of a ghost depends on their mood. If they are Sad, they will be blue. If they are Happy, they will be Green. If they are Flirty or Playful, they will be pink. You get the point. Not only does the color of a ghost make for a colorful household, the emotions themselves also give Sims special interactions.
• Start Fires – Sims that died by fire can “Start a Fire” anywhere by clicking on the ground
• Share Emotions – Sims that died by an emotional death will pass on their emotion to other Sims
• Break Electronics – Sims that died by electrocution, when angry, have the “Possess to Break” interaction to break electronic devices. They also have the “Trick with Hand Buzzer” interaction by default.
• Decay Plants – Sims that died by Cowplant, when angry, have the ability to “Decay” plants
Death Traits
Once you have successfully added a playable ghost to your household, their cause of death can be viewed in their Simology Panel. Every Sim that dies is given a unique “Death Trait” explaining how the Sim died.
 | Death by Drowning | This Sim drowned in a body of water and now has a fear of all water. |
 | Death By Laughter | This Sim died from a fit of the giggles that continues to pop up now and then. |
 | Death By Cow Plant | This Sim was eaten by a Cow Plant, and still feels a bit oddly towards plants. |
 | Death by Fire | This Sim died in a fire, and flames haunt them still. |
 | Death by Old Age | This Sim died when their time was up. |
 | Death by Overexertion | Apparently it is possible to overdo it. This Sim did it to death. |
 | Death by Anger | This Sim died of apoplexy, and their rage is still with them. |
 | Death by Electrocution | This Sim was shocked when they suffered a fatal electrocution. |
 | Death by Hunger | This Sims starved to death, and hunger pangs have followed them into the afterlife. |
 | Death by Embarrassment | This Sim was mortified, and died of embarrassment. Literally. |
Resurrection
Just because your Sim is dead doesn’t mean they are gone forever. Sims who advance in the Writing, Cooking, and Gardening Skills are able to resurrect a deceased Sim. There’s two ways to resurrect a Sim in The Sims 4.
Resurrect via the Book of Life
The Book of Life’s functionality has been updated since the October 1st patch that added ghosts. Rather than resurrecting a Sim, the book will only summon the ghost from their grave.
Once summoned you will have to invite them into your household, and have the ghost “Restore” their own life from the book. SimGuruDaniel confirms this change is part of the challenge.
• Reach Level 10 in the Writing Skill
• Complete the “Bestselling Author” Aspiration
• Write “The Book of Life” on the Computer
• Once the book is complete, click it and “Capture Epic Saga…” of a nearby Sim
• You must “Capture Epic Saga” of a Sim BEFORE they die
• When the Sim dies, use the “Summon” interaction for their ghost to emerge from the grave
• Invite the ghost to be a part of your household (Requires 95% Friendship level)
• The ghost must then use their Book of Life to “Restore Life”
Note: You must build a friendship level of 95% in order to ask a ghost to move into your home. Feel free to use the relationship cheats to raise your relationship faster, or Shift + Click and “Add to Family”
This process can be performed on multiple Sims, with multiple books. There is no limit on how many “The Book of Life” books you can write, nor how many different Sims you can bring to life.
Resurrect via Ambrosia
If writing is not your forte, try learning to Cook. Ambrosia is a rare single serving food dish that can bring a ghost back to life or reset the age of a living Sim. The dish can be worth upwards of 2500 Simoleons, and lasts 10 hours outside the fridge without spoiling.
Skill Levels required for Ambrosia:
- Level 10 of the Cooking Skill
- Level 10 of the Gourmet Cooking Skill
- Level 7 of the Gardening Skill
Ingredients required for Ambrosia:
- Angelfish – (Uncommon Fish found in Willow Creek)
- Death Flower – (Acquired by splicing the Orchid and Pomegranate plants)
- Pomegranates are acquired by splicing Apple & Cherry Trees, or fishing in Sylvan Glades.
- Orchids are acquired by completing the Space Rock Collection
- Potion of Youth – (Purchase this from the Rewards Store for 1500 Satisfaction Points)
