GTA Online Ghost Exposed Guide: All Ghost Locations

Rockstar's annual ghost hunt is back in Grand Theft Auto V, and the 2026 version has shuffled every location and swapped in a new final ghost. There are 10 ghosts to photograph across Los Santos and Blaine County, each appearing during a specific in-game hour between 8 PM and 6 AM. Complete the full set and you walk away with $250,000 in GTA Online cash plus the exclusive Ghosts Exposed Jacket. This guide covers every spawn time, both possible positions per ghost, and the unlock condition for the locked final target.

How does the Ghost Exposed challenge work?

When you log into GTA Online during the event, you'll receive an in-game email from the Ghost Exposed team offering rewards for Snapmatic submissions. From that point, you can hunt ghosts in either a public or private lobby.

Each ghost appears during a specific one-hour window of in-game time, not your real-world clock. During that window, the ghost is active for 2 real-world minutes at one of two fixed positions within its area. Open your phone camera, frame the ghost, take the photo, and then select Send to Ghosts Exposed. Just saving the photo to your gallery does not count as a submission.

You can track your progress under the Collectibles section of the Interaction Menu, which shows a running counter like 3/10. Ghosts 1 through 9 can be completed in any order, but Ghost 10 only unlocks after all nine others have been submitted.

GTA Online Ghost Exposed Guide: All Ghost Locations

What are the best strategies before you start hunting?

The route design works against you if you chase ghosts in strict numerical order. Ghosts 1, 3, 7, and 9 are in the northern half of the map, while ghosts 2, 4, 6, and 8 are in or near Los Santos. Driving back and forth wastes entire time windows.

A smarter approach is to split the hunt into two sessions. On the first night, target all the Blaine County ghosts (1, 3, 5, 7, 9) during their respective hours. On a second session, clean up the city ghosts (2, 4, 6, 8). This gives you a full in-game hour to reach each location rather than burning half of it on the road.

Ghost 4 sits on top of a bridge pylon on Exceptionalists Way near the airport, and Ghost 8 is inside a church belfry in Little Seoul. Both require a flying vehicle to reach cleanly. Have one ready before those windows open.

All ghost locations and spawn times

All times below are in-game time.

Detailed ghost locations walkthrough

Ghost 1 (8 PM to 9 PM) - Paleto Bay

Head to the old house in Paleto Bay near Los Santos Customs. The ghost appears either in the front attic window, visible from the road, or in the window of the shed addition at the rear of the property. Check both sides if you do not see it immediately.

Ghost 2 (9 PM to 10 PM) - Los Santos overpass

This one is under the overpass in the Strawberry area, inside a homeless encampment. It spawns either beside the makeshift tarp shelter near the old sofa or in the far corner in front of the graffiti-covered wall among the rubble.

Ghost 3 (10 PM to 11 PM) - Grapeseed barn

Find the open wooden barn on the west side of Grapeseed. The ghost is up in the hayloft, either on the left or right side when you approach from the main entrance with the tractor.

Ghost 4 (11 PM to 12 AM) - Exceptionalists Way bridge pylon

This ghost sits at the top of the bridge pylon near Los Santos International Airport. You need a helicopter or flying vehicle to reach the platform. Once up there, check both ends of the A-frame structure: one faces downtown, the other faces the airport.

Ghost 5 (1 AM to 2 AM) - El Gordo Lighthouse

The ghost appears at El Gordo Lighthouse, either on the base platform near the door railing or up in the lantern room at the very top. The top position is harder to reach on foot, so approach by air if you are short on time.

Ghost 6 (2 AM to 3 AM) - Cypress Flats railway

Along the railway tracks between the industrial warehouses in Cypress Flats. Look for the ghost either hanging from the hook of the gantry crane directly over the tracks, or on the elevated platform beside the upper door of the building with RAVEN painted on it (the one with the orange ladder).

Ghost 7 (3 AM to 4 AM) - Zancudo River house

Find the run-down house by the Zancudo River. The ghost appears in the window of the wooden shed addition on the side of the building, or on top of the front porch roof on the left side.

Ghost 8 (4 AM to 5 AM) - Little Seoul church

The ghost is inside the belfry of the church in Little Seoul, standing in one of the two arched openings on either side of the tower. A flying vehicle gives you the best angle for the Snapmatic shot without having to climb up.

Ghost 9 (5 AM to 6 AM) - Tongva Hills waterfall

Head to the waterfall in Tongva Hills. The ghost spawns either on the rocky ledge to the left of the falls (best viewed from the pool at the bottom) or on the grassy bank right at the top of the waterfall next to the stream.

Ghost 10 (12 AM to 1 AM) - Paleto Cove

The final ghost is Devin Weston, the antagonist from GTA V's story mode. He appears at Paleto Cove, the cliff where he was pushed into the ocean in the trunk of his car. Head to the tip of the rocky outcrop and look out over the water. He floats just offshore.

This ghost only spawns after all nine previous photos have been submitted. Because Ghost 9 does not appear until 5 AM to 6 AM, the midnight window on that same in-game night has already passed by the time you finish. Once all nine are submitted, head to Paleto Cove before midnight on any subsequent in-game night and Devin will be there.

What rewards do you get for completing Ghost Exposed?

Each successful Snapmatic submission earns $20,000 GTA Online cash and 500 RP. Submitting all 10 ghosts adds a $50,000 bonus, bringing the total to $250,000 and 5,000 RP for a full run.

The exclusive cosmetic reward is the Ghosts Exposed Jacket, found under the Tactical Jackets category in your wardrobe after completing the hunt.

Bonus multipliers are active during the event period. From October 1 to 7, Ghosts Exposed paid 2x GTA$. From October 8 to 14, the multiplier increased to 2x GTA$ baseline (4x for GTA+ members). Check the current event week for whatever multiplier is live when you play.

GTA Online Ghost Exposed Guide: All Ghost Locations

For more GTA Online content beyond the Halloween event, the Grand Theft Auto V guides collection covers everything from heist prep to property management. If the Kortz Center Heist is on your list, the full Kortz Center Heist setup guide walks through buying the Art Studio, completing all 6 prep missions, and hitting the gallery. You can also check the Kortz Center Heist scope out guide to map every entry point before you go in.