The only base game way to bring a ghost back to life in The Sims 4 is Ambrosia: a Sim with level 10 Cooking and level 10 Gourmet Cooking gathers an Angelfish, a Death Flower and a Potion of Youth, chooses Make Ambrosia, and gives it to the ghost, who returns to the world of the living. Packs add more routes: the Wishing Well (Romantic Garden), the Book of Life (Bestselling Author aspiration) and the Dedeathify spell (Realm of Magic).
Before any of those work, the ghost has to be reachable, and one wrong click makes a death permanent. Below we cover keeping the ghost, each resurrection method step by step, the cheat route, and the difference between reviving a ghost and cheating death in the moment. Everything here is verified against EA’s official guides to deaths and ghosts.
Step One: Keep the Ghost Reachable
When a Sim dies they leave an urn or tombstone, and that object is your lifeline. EA documents these interactions on it:
- Add Ghost to Household brings the ghost back into your family as a playable Sim, which is the easiest way to feed them Ambrosia.
- Strengthen Connection stops the ghost from moving on.
- Release Spirit to the Netherworld is the one to avoid. EA is explicit that after this, you cannot bring that ghost back.
Community documentation also warns that deleting or selling the urn or tombstone deletes the Sim, so keep it on a lot you own until the revival is done. Fan wikis note that Sims outside your household will not eat Ambrosia on their own, which is another reason to add the ghost to your household first.
Method 1: Ambrosia (Base Game)
- Level two skills. Your cook needs Cooking level 10 and Gourmet Cooking level 10. Our guide to maxing skills fast has the quickest route, and the skill cheats skip the grind.
- Get an Angelfish. Catch one by fishing; community documentation says Realm of Magic owners can also buy Angelfish and Death Flowers at the Magic Realm’s alchemy stall.
- Get a Death Flower. Reach Gardening level 5 to unlock grafting, then graft a Pomegranate onto an Orchid. Our Death Flower guide walks through it.
- Buy a Potion of Youth from the Rewards Store with Satisfaction points.
- Cook it. With all three ingredients in your Sim’s inventory or the fridge, the Make Ambrosia option appears.
- Serve it to the ghost. Once they eat it, they are alive again.
Ambrosia is also how living Sims turn back the clock on their current life stage, which our aging guide covers.
Method 2: Pack Methods
- Wishing Well (Romantic Garden Stuff Pack): choose Wish for Life. EA warns it can backfire and curse your Sim instead.
- The Book of Life (Bestselling Author aspiration): once the aspiration is complete, the author chooses Write, then The Book of Life on the computer, and binds it to a Sim with Capture Epic Saga. After that Sim dies, the author uses Summon to bring the ghost over, and the ghost reads the book to come back. It must be bound before the death, so it is a planning tool.
- Dedeathify (Realm of Magic Game Pack): Spellcasters who master the Untamed school of magic unlock this spell; cast it on a ghost. Our guide to becoming a Spellcaster gets you started.
Method 3: The Cheat Route
Ghosts carry a ghost trait named after how they died. With testingcheats true on, players remove it with traits.remove_trait followed by the trait name, for example traits.remove_trait Ghost_OldAge for a Sim who died of old age. The pattern for other deaths follows Ghost_ plus the death type, but exact names vary by cause and are community-documented rather than published by EA, so check the trait name before typing. The same trait commands are covered in our guide to changing traits. The console opens with Ctrl + Shift + C on PC and Mac; the full list, including console button combos, is in our Sims 4 cheats guide.
Reviving a Ghost vs Cheating Death
Several popular “bring back to life” tips only work before the Sim becomes a ghost. EA lists these as ways to stop the reaping, not to revive:
- Pleading with Grim: one attempt only; seducing Grim first, high Charisma and a Confident moodlet improve the odds.
- Gifting Grim a Death Flower: EA says this works every time.
- Life and Death Expansion Pack: gift Grim a Death Frog (high chance), beat him at a game such as chess on the lot, or have a ghost with the Grim’s Ride-or-Die power use Save a Life, which EA says works on any death except old age.
Keep a spare Death Flower in the household inventory and you will rarely need Ambrosia at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you bring a ghost back to life without packs? Yes. Ambrosia is base game. It needs Cooking 10, Gourmet Cooking 10, an Angelfish, a Death Flower and a Potion of Youth.
Why can’t my ghost be revived? If you chose Release Spirit to the Netherworld, the ghost is gone for good. Community reports say deleting the urn or tombstone has the same result.
Does the revived Sim keep their skills and relationships? Community documentation says yes: resurrection returns the same Sim rather than a copy, so their history comes with them.
Do I need to add the ghost to my household first? For Ambrosia, it is the reliable way, since Sims outside your household will not eat it on their own. Use Add Ghost to Household on the urn or tombstone.
What is the fastest method? If a Death Flower is already growing, Ambrosia. With cheats, removing the ghost trait is instant. More Sims answers live on the Sims guides hub.