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Updated September 30, 2026

How to bring a Sim back to life in The Sims 4

Every way to bring a ghost home, with and without packs, and what to do when it fails.

Lifesim, Inc.

Favorite Sim died? Here’s the short answer

You can bring them back. Get the ghost into your household, then feed it Ambrosia. That works in the base game, with no packs. If you don’t want to earn it, a cheat does the same thing in ten seconds.

Take a breath first. If the Grim Reaper is still on the lot, you may be able to stop the death outright. If the death is done, the Sim is a ghost now, and a ghost can come home. Nothing is lost unless someone clicks “Release Spirit to Netherworld” on the urn or tombstone. Don’t click that.

The rest of this guide covers every method we could confirm in two sources or more, from the fastest to the most fun.

What’s the fastest way to bring a Sim back from the dead?

The resurrect cheat. It works on PC and Mac, and it removes the ghost trait from a Sim in your household.

Step 1: turn on cheats

Press Ctrl + Shift + C (Cmd + Shift + C on Mac). Type testingcheats true and press Enter.

Step 2: select the ghost

The ghost must be in your household and selected. If it isn’t yet, see the next section first.

Step 3: remove the ghost trait

Type traits.remove_trait followed by the ghost trait that matches the death. For example, traits.remove_trait trait_ghost_oldage for old age, or traits.remove_trait trait_ghost_drown for drowning.

Other common ones:

  • trait_ghost_electrocution
  • trait_ghost_embarrassment
  • trait_ghost_frozen
  • trait_ghost_hunger
  • trait_ghost_lightning
  • trait_ghost_poison
  • trait_ghost_elderexhaustion

Fire is different. Some guides list it as ghost_fire, without the “trait_” part. If one form fails, try the other.

Want to stop deaths from now on?

Type death.toggle false. No Sim in the save will die until you turn it back with death.toggle true.

How do you get the ghost into your household?

Every method except the cheat needs the ghost to be playable. That’s easier than it used to be.

Pick “playable ghost” on the death screen

Since base game patch 170, the death screen lets you keep the Sim as a playable ghost in the household. If you saw that choice and took it, you’re set.

Invite an NPC ghost home

If the Sim became an NPC ghost, it haunts the lot where its urn or tombstone is, between midnight and 6 AM, about every two days. Put the urn on your lot and wait up. When it shows, befriend it, then use “Ask to Join Household.”

Keep the spirit from fading

A ghost’s connection to the world fades over time. Use “Strengthen Connection to Physical World” on the urn or tombstone to hold it there.

How do you make Ambrosia?

Ambrosia is the base game way. It takes a few days of play, and it feels earned. You need one cook with maxed skills and three rare ingredients. None of them are for sale in a store.

What the cook needs

Cooking at level 10, and Gourmet Cooking at level 10. There’s no recipe book to buy. The recipe unlocks with the two skills.

Ingredient 1: a Death Flower

Grow it by grafting. Graft a Cherry onto an Apple tree to get a Pomegranate. Graft a Lily onto a Snapdragon to get an Orchid. Then graft the Pomegranate onto the Orchid. The result grows Death Flowers. Grafting needs a mid-level Gardening skill. Most sources say level 5, one says 10.

Ingredient 2: an Angelfish

You need Fishing at level 3. The Sims Wiki points to the river near a boat in Willow Creek.

Ingredient 3: a Potion of Youth

Buy it for 1,500 satisfaction points from the Rewards Store. Your Sims earn points by finishing wants and aspirations.

Cook it, then feed it

At the fridge or the stove, pick Gourmet Cooking, then Make Ambrosia. Then select the ghost and tell it to eat. An NPC ghost won’t eat it on its own. The ghost floats up and comes back alive, at the start of the life stage it died in. An elder comes back an elder.

Have Realm of Magic?

The alchemy stall in the Magic Realm sells Angelfish and Death Flowers. That skips the two slowest ingredients.

Can you save a Sim before they die?

Yes, while the Grim Reaper is on the lot and the reaping isn’t done. Another living Sim on the lot has to step in.

Give Grim a Death Flower

This is the only sure save in the base game. Another Sim, not the dying one, holds a Death Flower in their inventory and uses Give Gift on Grim. It even works on old age, and buys about two more days.

Plead with Grim

Any Sim on the lot can plead. The mood of that Sim changes the odds. The Sims Wiki, from the game files, puts a Confident demand at 40% (50% if Very Confident), a Sad wail at 30 to 40%, and a Happy or Fine plea at about 33%. An Angry Sim always fails. Children do better.

Challenge Grim to a game (Life & Death)

With the Life & Death Expansion Pack, a Sim can challenge Grim to chess, darts, and other games for the soul. The odds favor Grim.

Use the “Save a Life” ghost power (Life & Death)

A ghost that reaches the Grim’s Ride-or-Die power can use Save a Life on Grim. It doesn’t work on death from old age.

Which packs add other ways to revive a Sim?

Realm of Magic: the Dedeathify spell

Dedeathify is an Untamed spell, at Master rank. Cast it on the ghost. The spell Necrocall, at Acolyte rank, can summon the ghost from its remains first. An overcharged caster can backfire and turn into a ghost for a while, so cast rested.

Romantic Garden Stuff: the Wishing Well

A ghost can wish for Life at the Whispering Wishing Well. The best outcome brings the ghost back. A good one gives Ambrosia or its ingredients. A bad one plays the revival and does nothing. The worst blocks revival for four hours. A money offering to the well improves its mood and your odds.

Horse Ranch: Vitality Nectar

Make it from a Death Flower and spinach in the nectar maker. A ghost that drinks it comes back.

Base game: the Book of Life

A Sim with Writing at level 10 and the Bestselling Author aspiration can write it on a computer. Use Capture Epic Saga on a Sim while they’re alive. After they die, use Summon on the book to bring the ghost to your lot. It brings the ghost, not life. Then use Ambrosia or a spell.

Life & Death: Rebirth

Life & Death, released October 31, 2024, adds Rebirth. A Sim who finishes the Soul’s Journey can be reborn from the death screen. EA describes the new Sim as an infant. It’s a new start, not the same Sim at the same age.

Sim is still a ghost after being resurrected?

Check these, in this order.

The ghost isn’t in your household

Ambrosia and the cheat only work on a ghost you can select. Bring the ghost into the household first, then try again.

You used the wrong ghost trait

The cheat must name the trait of this death. Hover over the ghost’s traits to see which one it has, then remove that one.

The ghost is temporary

Players report that ghosts from a ritual, such as the Ghastly Ritual in Paranormal Stuff, don’t come back with Ambrosia. They’re visitors, not your Sim.

The spirit was released

If someone used Release Spirit to Netherworld, the Sim is gone for good. No method brings them back.

Questions

Can you bring a Sim back to life without any packs?

Yes. Ambrosia, the Death Flower, pleading with Grim, and the cheat are all in the base game.

Does a resurrected Sim keep their age?

They come back at the start of the life stage they died in. An elder stays an elder.

Can you call the Grim Reaper on the phone to bargain?

Not in The Sims 4. That was The Sims 2 on PSP.

Why do people care this much about one Sim?

Because they spent years with her. That feeling is the whole reason we made LifeSim, a life sim where the people remember you back. If you’re shopping for something new, see our guide to games like The Sims, or the honest LifeSim vs The Sims.

Sources

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