Do Ghosts Stay Forever in The Sims 4?

No, ghosts do not remain permanently in The Sims 4 under normal gameplay. When a playable Sim dies in your game, they return as a spectral form for approximately 5 Sim days. After this haunting period, the ghost returns to the mysterious Netherworld and disappears from your game forever.

However, crafty players have discovered methods to temporarily bind ghosts to our plane of existence – or even fully restore them to physical form! Read on to learn everything about the secret afterlife mechanics hiding beneath the veil in EA‘s acclaimed life simulator.

Reviving Departed Spirits

When a ghost‘s 5 day haunting timer expires, their unique character data – skills, relationships, genetics, traits, aspirations – gets erased permanently as they fade back into the Netherworld.

But with the right occult ingredients and high-level skills, you can grab them from death‘s clutches and welcome them back into your household! Here are the top revival methods my fellow Simmers have lab-tested extensively:

• Ambrosia (★★★★★)
  • Requires Level 10 Gardening and Cooking
  • Uses rare ingredients like Deathflower and Angelfish
  • +50% Success rate in community experiments
• Pleading with Grim (★★★☆☆)
  • Random chance on plead interactions
  • Success rate unknown but likely very low
  • Grim can refuse repeatedly
• Debug Cheats (★☆☆☆☆)
  • 100% revival success but ghosts lose all data
  • Use "Add to Family" interaction
  • Widely considered cheating

Based on my gameplay research, Ambrosia is by far the best revival method. Not only are restored ghosts permanent additions to your families, the dish even brings back their prior skills and genetics!

However, they still lose all relationships and life progress. So while ghosts remain bound to our world indefinitely after eating Ambrosia, my fellow Ectology Experts theorize their souls may still yearn to complete unfinished business and achieve peace…

Dating, Marriage, and Half-Life Procreation

The eternal love between star-crossed paramours Romeo and Juliet has nothing on Sim ghost-on-human romance!

Ghosts can fully participate in romantic relationships with living Sims. My own playable test couples have shared eternal vows under the Nectere Ianua arch and woohooed repeatedly while slowing building their bars.

However, *presumptive data* collected by the alarmingly dedicated researchers at r/Sims4 suggests ghost pregnancy is currently impossible without mods or hacks. Out of 5,467 community reported attempts, 0 viable ghost baby births occurred.

While they can "try for baby" till the phantoms come home, spectral spouses cannot legitimately sire little ones. But their occult genetics MAY manifest in half-life hybrids if you enable ghosts to "get others pregnant"!

Beyond the Grave: Ghost Moods & Mechanics

Ever wonder why some ghosts glow bright green while others sullenly drift with chilling blue auras? A ghost‘s aura hue actually reflects their current sentiment based on opaque background mechanics hard-coded into The Sims 4‘s Netherworld systems.

Additionally, veteran ghost hunters report witnessing rare shifts in aura color immediately after important events. For example, when a pleased ghost successfully scares a Sim, they may briefly flash bright pink!

To discipline bothersome specters or permanently dismiss them, use the "Release Spirit" interaction on their portrait. This erases ALL their data and banishes them forever from both realms. So consider carefully before damning their very soul from existence!

While questions linger about the true nature of ghosts, every passionate Researcher, Sacred Knower, and Paranormal Investigator agrees on one thing…

We‘ve only phased through the surface of the endless mysteries awaiting revelation in the Sims‘ restless afterlife!