The Sims 4: Paranormal is a stuff pack with a difference. As well as bringing a range of furniture and clothing items it also contains a large number of gameplay elements. There's a new haunted house lot type, a medium skill, and a freelance paranormal investigator career. All these combine together to create a pack stuffed with more than we've ever seen before.
The highlight of the pack for many is the fact that you'll also be able to bring Bonehilda back into your home and your life. However, her trademark coffin is gone and in its place is a new way to summon the fan-favorite skeletal maid. Here's how it all works.
The Séance Table
In order to summon Bonehilda, you'll need a Séance table. These are available from the build and buy menu and work in the same way as dining tables but with extra options. This means that you can add any dining chair to them and you can even eat your dinner off them.
Just make sure to check you've selected the correct table, especially if you are selecting items under the surfaces category or filtered by pack. This is because there is also a regular dining table in Paranormal Stuff that's the same size. You'll be able to spot the difference by the price and the swatches. The Table of Rage is $360 and has swatches that are plain and patterned as well as some with birds on. The Séance Table is $333 and has only one pattern but a few different colors.
For extra authenticity, you can add a crystal ball to the center of the Séance Table. The table itself is the item you need, along with some form of chair, but the crystal ball will display different images as you use the table.
Summoning Bonehilda
Once you have a Séance Table, you'll need to boost your Medium Skill to level three. This can be done quite quickly by using the table's interactions. Any of the options you can access by clicking on the Séance Table will build the Medium skill.
If you want to know more about how the Medium skill works, what else you can do with it, and how to max it out quickly then we have a separate guide about the Medium skill. Alternatively, you can just keep choosing options from the Séance table and the skills will come quite fast, especially if your Sim is a Spellcaster.
Just make sure your Sim is in a good mood before they start interacting with the other side, otherwise, you may get more than you can handle.
Once you hit level three of the Medium skill then you can simply click the Séance table and select the option to Summon Bonehilda. Alternatively, if you don't want to have the table around, you can level up to five and you'll then be able to draw simple Séance circles on the ground that will fade away after a while.
Bonehilda's Tasks
Bonehilda is a maid, repairwoman, chef, and confidant in one. She will clean your home as well as repair any items that any nastier spirits may have broken. She also likes to leave you gifts of random food. The choice she offers appears to comprise mainly pizza, cookies, and chicken nuggets but these are incredibly useful for quick snacks. If you live in a haunted house you'll also find that Bonehilda is more than just a maid. She's not afraid of a fight and is happy to tackle even the most terrible of ghosts.
She hangs around for about a day or so at once but this can be extended by chatting to her and asking her to hang out. It appears that the more tasks she has to complete or interactions she has with your Sims the longer she'll stick around.
Taking Things To The Next Level
While Bonehilda can't be added to your household and you can't control her, you can befriend or romance her and as soon as she leaves your lot she can be resummoned. You can even WooHoo with her but it's worth noting that some interactions will shatter the illusion.
She's basically a skinned Sim, in a similar way to Grim, the Flower Bunny, and Patchy. This is because she functions in the same way as a townie Sim with regards to social interactions etc. WooHooing her in bed is fine as she just vanishes under the covers but in the shower for instance she turns into a Sim for the animations where she's wearing a towel on the way in and out. The general rule appears to be that interactions that require a transformation of some kind as part of the animation can result in her briefly appearing as a Sim, something that also happened in The Sims 3: Supernatural. These transformations also include things like her getting electrocuted. She will change back after the animation.
While she can't be controlled (she's a strong independent woman after all) you can enjoy many of the same activities with her as you would with any other Sim but you'll need that maxed out Medium Skill.
Séance circles can be used to summon either Bonehilda or Guidry to any lot. This includes community lots. If you've ever wanted to see Bonehilda propping up a bar or getting down on the dancefloor with those funky moves of hers then this is your chance. Once Bonehilda arrives simply ask her to hang out. If you have Get Together then creating a group will make it easier to have an excellent night together wherever you desire.
She loves to dance around the house so much that we recommend taking her to Windenburg's clubs. While you may be disappointed she is no longer the live-in maid you may have wanted, we can promise that you can still have a lot of fun with your favorite skeletal companion.