Banshee

## Evidence

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> „*The singing siren, known for attracting its victims through song. It has been known to single out its prey before making a killing blow.*”
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—The Journal

The **Banshee** is a type of ghost in *Phasmophobia*. Banshees are noted for the distinctive screech that they produce on the Parabolic Microphone, as well as their targeting of only one specific player during hunts.

## Behaviour

### Activity

The Banshee has a higher chance of performing singing ghost events over other types.

If all of the following conditions are met:

* The ghost event is a singing event,
* The ghost event is targeted towards the hunt target, and
* The hunt target causes the Banshee to disappear prematurely (by going near it);

Then the hunt target's sanity will decrease by 15%, instead of the usual 10%.

Like other ghosts, who the Banshee targets for a ghost event is random and based on distance; being the hunt target by itself does not increase their chance of being the ghost event target.

There is *another* singing vocalisation that is *not* considered a true singing event, hence the Banshee's sanity deduction from this is the standard 10%.

When in a D.O.T.S. state, the Banshee will try to move towards its hunt target instead of the nearest player.

### Abilities

When the Banshee performs a roam, if the target is inside the investigation area, it has a 2/3 (67%) chance of roaming to the target. This does not occur during hunts.

* This can result in a very high ability count on the post-game statistics.
* The roam cannot be completed if the player is on a different floor.

When a Parabolic Microphone is used, the Banshee has a 33% chance of making a unique shriek-like paranormal sound instead of a whisper or footstep.

### Hunt

At the start of the game a player is randomly selected as the hunt target. If the hunt target leaves the game or dies, a new hunt target will be selected.

The Banshee's hunt threshold is 50%, but it only checks the *target's* sanity when trying to hunt, rather than the *average* sanity like other ghost types, meaning that only the target needs to be at or below 50% sanity for it to attempt to hunt. This means that the Banshee can appear to hunt from as early as 87.5% average sanity, or as low as 12.5% average sanity, on the Sanity Monitor, depending on the target's current sanity and number of other players.

When a Banshee hunts, it will mostly follow standard hunt rules, but it will ignore all players other than its hunt target. It will not attempt to chase other players nor will it kill them, even if it comes into direct contact with a non-target player, instead passing through them. The Banshee will react to Incense lit by other players within range, but this will not allow for completion of the "Repel a ghost while it is chasing someone" optional objective unless the Banshee is also chasing its target when this occurs.

If the hunt target is outside the building, the Banshee will still use the target's sanity to decide whether to hunt. However, if it does hunt, it will hunt like any other ghost, chasing any opportune player.

## Evidence

* Ultraviolet
* Ghost Orb
* D.O.T.S Projector

## Strengths and weaknesses

These are the strengths and weaknesses as listed in the journal:

*Strength: **Banshees** will weaken their target before striking.*

*Weakness: **Banshees** can sometimes be heard screaming with a parabolic microphone.*

## Strategies

Identifying the target player of a Banshee both conclusively identifies it and can provide players with a significant edge, such as making hunt-related objectives much easier, and enabling the other players to continue investigating during hunts with impunity, though it is important to note that the target player must be inside the investigation area for this to be applicable. There are several methods players may use to identify a Banshee's target:

* Banshees will only check for the individual sanity level of the target player when attempting to hunt. If the ghost hunts above the average sanity of 50%, and one or more players are below 50% sanity, then one of them is the target. Likewise, if the ghost refrains from hunting at below 50% average sanity, but one player has high sanity, they can be presumed to be the Banshee's target.
* Having players act as "bait" with Incense and/or escape routes ready can definitively identify the target. Bait players should stand in plain sight and attempt to actively attract the ghost, such as talking into the microphone or holding active electronics; if the ghost ignores them, have another player repeat the process then proceed by elimination until the target is found. Alternatively, multiple players can do this at a time, standing separate from each-other and seeing which of them the Banshee rushes for. This method, though more risky, is useful either when the sanity-based method proves inconclusive, or when playing on Nightmare/Insanity difficulty where the Sanity Monitor is not available. Ensure that all players are inside the building when performing this test.
* Banshees tend to wander towards their target outside of hunts; a player reporting frequent activity or even hunts starting near them and far away from the ghost room is most likely the target. Using motion sensors and salt can help to track the ghost's location.

Note that if the target player dies or disconnects, a new target will be selected. This also applies on Nightmare/Insanity difficulty or when the "Kills extend hunts" setting is turned on: if the Banshee manages to kill its target, it will immediately select another player and continue hunting.

On singleplayer, determining the Banshee by its target ability is impossible, making it much more difficult to identify through behavior alone, so one must rely on other potential tells or pieces of evidence. Using a Parabolic Microphone to pick up its unique vocalization might come in handy, though note that the Banshee only has a chance of producing its shriek, so it mustn't be ruled out simply because only whispers were heard multiple times in a row. Start looking for a ghost that does a lot of singing events first.

## Trivia

* The Banshee is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by wailing or shrieking. A Banshee translates to "woman of the fairy mound" or "fairy woman" in its roots from Ireland. In *Phasmophobia*, Banshees can be either female or male, as the ghost's gender is randomly chosen.

## History

 13 March 2020
 25 March 2020
 3 July 2020
 15 July 2020
 26 August 2020
 26 August 2020(Part 2)
 25 September 2020
 29 September 2020
 Changed the Banshee's special parabolic microphone scream.