A hunt is when the ghost manifests into its form in the real world and begins hunting the intruders (the players). Each ghost takes five seconds to manifest before it begins hunting the players within the building. If the ghost catches line of sight (meaning that it can see you), you will hear a heartbeat noise and it will follow you until line of sight is broken via closing a door, etc. Once a hunt starts, all doors leading outside will be shut and locked and the lights will begin flickering for the duration of the hunt. After the ghost begins it's search, enter any room that is not the ghost room, and simply hide. Hiding will prevent the ghost from catching line of sight (unless it enters your room) and will keep you safe from the ghost. Alternatively, if the ghost has normal speed (meaning that it isn't a Revenant or a Jinn) you can attempt to outrun it, using tables and couches for looping spots.

Hunts are initiated by the ghost depending on a few factors. If your sanity is low, the ghost has a higher chance to attack you and that chance is amplified by some ghosts (like the Demon) naturally or depending on other factors. Likewise, angering the ghost by asking it to hunt you, repeating the same questions, or tossing a voodo doll can cause a hunt to occur.

To prevent hunts from happening, you have many choices to choose from. Placing crucifixes in the ghost room have a chance to prevent the ghost from hunting, which you will know if it succeeded or not depending if the crucifix has disappeared (keep in mind crucifixes have a 3 meter radius of effect). Smudging the room thoroughly will prevent each ghost for a minimum of 90 seconds, depending if the ghost you are dealing with has a unique weakness to it. Alternatively, you can take pills to make your sanity higher, although this doesn't have a guaranteed chance to work late into the night. These are only a few methods of preventing hunts due to all 12 ghost types all having their strengths and weaknesses.