Blackout

Lightning striking the mansion

“Criminy! What a calamity! The elec...the electricity has gone out! That lightning strike just now must've caused a blackout. I can't see anything in this blasted darkness... The ghosts will have the run of the place in the dark! Be careful, Luigi!”

—Professor E. Gadd, Luigi's Mansion

The blackout is an event that happens in Luigi's Mansion and its Nintendo 3DS remake. After Luigi defeats Boolossus and opens the door to Area 4, several bolts of lightning strike the mansion. This causes the power to go out, darkening every room, including ones Luigi has already completed, and allowing ghosts to wander freely.

During the blackout, set groups of ghosts appear in rooms, even replacing ones Luigi has not caught, including portrait ghosts. This can make the mansion difficult to navigate. Gold Mice reappear in the darkened rooms if Luigi had not captured them before, so the blackout can be used to his advantage. Ghosts in a room respawn if Luigi captures all of them and reenters the room during the blackout. The only rooms without ghosts are the Foyer, the Bottom of the Well and the Breaker Room, though they still go dark. The player cannot save during the blackout as none of the Toads appear and no Boos can be caught. This means Luigi has only one chance to catch all of the Speedy Spirits available only during the blackout.

In order to turn the power back on, Luigi must find and capture Uncle Grimmly in the Wardrobe Room, causing a chest containing the key to the Breaker Room to appear. He can get a hint about this by talking to Professor E. Gadd in the Telephone Room. Luigi can use the key to enter the Breaker Room and pull a switch that restores the mansion. Rooms that Luigi had not previously completed stay dark except the Breaker Room, which lights up.

Until the blackout situation is resolved and Uncle Grimmly captured, Luigi cannot go back to the lab via the Mansion's entrance in the 3DS remake of the game as the door is locked by a "mysterious force".

The blackout returns in Luigi's Mansion 3, though only in ScareScraper mode. Sometimes when playing a floor, a blackout may occur and make all rooms go dark, unlike in Luigi's Mansion; this makes it hard to see the Luigis and Gooigis. They must find a storage room containing a Strobulb terminal; once flashed, all the lights come back on.

Ghosts

It has been requested that this section be rewritten and expanded to include more information. Reason: Specific amounts (position-wise) of non-small ghosts seem to be found consistently in hallways during blackout, which need to be noted

Luigi on the Balcony during the blackout.

Luigi talking to Professor E. Gadd.

This list shows the different ghosts that appear during the blackout and the rooms in which they are found. They are listed in roughly the ordered in which they are encountered.

Room	Ghosts
Telephone Room	1 Gold Ghost 1 Purple Puncher 1 Blue Twirler
3F Left Hallway	1 Bowling Ghost
Balcony (3F)	2 Gold Ghosts 2 Purple Punchers 2 Blue Twirlers
3F Right Hallway	1 Bowling Ghost
Safari Room	2 Gold Ghosts 2 White Grabbing Ghosts
2F Hallway	Purple Bats Sparks Gold Bats Ceiling Surprises Bowling Ghosts Purple Bombers Blue Mice Purple Mice
Astral Hall	6 Ghost Guys
Washroom (2F)	2 Temper Terrors
Bathroom (2F)	2 Blue Twirlers
Nana's Room	5 Purple Punchers
Tea Room	1 Blue Blaze
2F Staircase	3 Gold Bats
Rec Room	2 White Grabbing Ghosts 3 Blue Twirlers
Courtyard	Flying Fish
Bottom of the Well
1F Hallway	Purple Bats Ceiling Surprises Purple Bombers Blue Mice Purple Mice Gold Bats
Bathroom (1F)	3 Temper Terrors
Washroom (1F)	1 Red Grabbing Ghost
Billiards Room	3 Gold Ghosts 3 White Grabbing Ghosts
Projection Room	7 Cinema Ghosts
Conservatory	3 Gold Ghosts 1 Purple Puncher 1 Speedy Spirit
Ball Room	5 Ghost Guys
Storage Room	2 Purple Punchers 2 White Grabbing Ghosts
Dining Room	1 Gold Ghost 2 Garbage Can Ghosts
Kitchen	1 Gold Ghost 2 Purple Punchers
Boneyard	3 Temper Terrors
Graveyard	N/A
Fortune-teller's Room	2 Purple Punchers 1 Blue Twirler
Mirror Room	6 Mirror Ghosts
Laundry Room	3 Garbage Can Ghosts
Butler's Room	2 Gold Ghosts 2 Flashes Blue Mice
Hidden Room	1 White Grabbing Ghost 2 Blue Twirlers Gold Bats 1 Speedy Spirit
Foyer	N/A
2F Area 1 Hallway	Blue Mice Purple Mice Ceiling Surprise Purple Bomber
Study	1 Red Grabbing Ghost
Master Bedroom	2 Gold Ghosts 3 Red Grabbing Ghosts
Nursery	2 Gold Ghosts 1 Purple Puncher 1 Blue Twirler 1 Speedy Spirit
The Twins' Room	2 Ghost Guys 2 White Grabbing Ghosts
Parlor	5 Gold Ghosts
Anteroom	4 Gold Ghosts 1 Purple Puncher
Wardrobe Room	Uncle Grimmly
Balcony (2F)	2 Gold Ghosts
Basement Staircase	N/A
Breaker Room	Blue Mice

Notes

• The Speedy Spirits only appear if Luigi has not yet found them. Any Speedy Spirit that has been discovered but managed to escape do not respawn.
• The Speedy Spirits in the Conservatory, the Hidden Room, and the Nursery only appear during the Blackout.
• Ghosts continue to spawn during the Blackout if Luigi travels at least two rooms away from where they spawn.

Trivia

• Although the Sitting Room and Guest Room are inaccessible during the blackout, they have ghosts set to appear there. The Sitting Room has four Temper Terrors, and the Guest Room has two Garbage Can Ghosts along with two Temper Terrors.