The Wizard is an odd NPC in Stardew Valley. He lives far outside the town in the woods and deals with arcane magics too complicated for the average farmer to comprehend. Some people even think he could be Abigail's true father. However, sometimes he'll ask you for a special favor. They're worth doing because the reward you get from him will usually be a special magical item.

These favors are advertised on the town's special orders board, and one you may come across will request the item ectoplasm. Before receiving this special order, you most likely won't have come across this item before. This guide will walk you through how to get the quest and then find and kill the ghosts for ectoplasm.

Updated April 17, 2024 by Jacqueline Zalace: Are you hesitant to start A Curious Substance in Stardew Valley because you've never seen ectoplasm? Don't worry, we are still here to help! We've updated the formatting of this guide and provided a bit more information to help you complete this special order.

How To Obtain The Quest A Curious Substance

When you unlock the special orders board in the first fall in Stardew Valley, the Wizard may post an advertisement looking for ectoplasm entitled "A Curious Substance."

Ectoplasm isn't used in any crafting recipes and has no purpose other than to give to the Wizard for this quest. Additionally, you will only be able to find it when this quest is active; it does not appear at any other time.

What Enemies Drop Ectoplasm?

Ectoplasm will only drop from Ghosts. There are only three types of Ghosts, with each one having a 9.5 percent chance to drop Ectoplasm. Below, you can check out these Ghost types, where they are found, and what they look like.

Ghosts aren't too difficult to kill, since they're slow-moving and don't do too much damage each hit.

The Carbon Ghost is a little more challenging than the ordinary kind, and the Putrid Ghost is designed specifically as a challenge, so it's probably best to search the regular Mines, not Skull Cavern or the Dangerous Mines (as they're called after activating the Shrine of Challenge or relevant Qi Challenge).

You'll probably need to kill more than one before a ghost drops ectoplasm.

If you happen to be hunting Putrid ghosts, though, keep in mind that they will get faster each time they knock you back. You may want to choose a slightly faster weapon or a slow one that does a lot of damage, so they don't have a chance to get fast on you.

Rewards For Completing A Curious Substance

Once you have your ectoplasm, give it to the Wizard in his tower and claim your reward, which can be found below.

• 2,500g
• Mini-Obelisk Recipe

Mini-Obelisk

The Mini-Obelisk is a piece of equipment that lets you teleport to connected locations on your farm. In order to work, you will need two separate Mini-Obelisks, as they connect together. By interacting with one, you will then be able to teleport to the other.

This can come in handy if you have a lot of land used on your farm, or if you want a quick way to reach the southern exit of your farm. Regardless of what you do with the Mini-Obelisk, it will require the following materials to craft.

• 30x Hardwood
• 20x Solar Essence
• 3x Gold Bar