Taking control of a ghost named 'Polterguy', the player must bring various household items to life in order to frighten a family away from their home.

[1] The protagonist, Polterguy, is a rebellious punk teenager who was killed in an accident involving defective skateboards manufactured by business mogul Vito Sardini.

In the single-player game, the player controls a rebellious dead teenager, Polterguy, in a house occupied by a yuppie Italian family, the Sardinis, through an isometric, 3/4 perspective.

The player's task is to scare each family member out of the house by possessing various household objects through the use of colored indicators called "Fright 'ems".

With the use of green Fright 'ems, the player can use the D-pad to float around ghostly heads, possessed toy airplanes, or severed hands, to name a few.

The dungeon is also the place where Polterguy may find special spells; these drop from the roof like ecto but disappear much faster.

Health does not replenish between Underworld stages but very rarely a star shaped ecto drop will appear and fully heal Polterguy when picked up.

In the dungeon levels there are several hazards that may reduce Polterguy's life portrait: these include steam vents, disembodied hands, bats, and bouncing skulls.

The family dog, a Chinese crested whose name is unknown, is the only living creature in the game that can detect Polterguy in the house.

Once all the members of the family have left the final house, the dog moves to a square vacant room which has no objects that Polterguy may possess.