Haunter is a purple Pokémon with a gaseous body. It has a round head with a pair of disembodied hands. Each hand has three pointed fingers. Its head is flanked by three large, spiked protrusions on either side, and its eyes are large and triangular with small pupils. The gasses composing its head curve down to form several sharp teeth framing a pink mouth and a long tongue. Its body tapers into a jagged tail.
Haunter hides in very dark places, where it plots to take the life of the next living thing that comes near it. It then silently stalks its victim and licks it in order to steal its life force, killing it by inducing continuous shuddering. It has the ability to float through solid walls. Despite its predatory nature, it has been known to entertain and prank people [[in the anime, and even been shown to intense feel loyalty to a deceased trainer. Haunter lives or near graveyards and dark, abandoned caves.
In Fear Factor Phony, a Haunter was living in an abandoned mine with several other Ghost Pokémon. The Ghost Pokémon were having difficulty with the partying Psychic Pokémon living nearby.
In The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Ash encounters a giant Haunter called the Black Fog, notorious for using its Dream Eater attack to kill people and Pokémon by stealing their souls. Sabrina has a vendetta against this Haunter, as her Pokémon were attacked and killed by it when she was eleven, but she falls victim as well in her attempt to protect a team of people trying to hunt it down. With the combined effort of Ash and the team of hunters, the Black Fog managed to be weakened enough for capture, only for it to promptly use Selfdestruct, killing itself right before Ash's Ultra Ball reaches it.
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
A boy that Blue met near the abandoned Power Plant had a Haunter in his team before it was stolen, with which he later fights Agatha's Gengar to free Blue from a coffin created by a Dream Eater attack. Agatha also had armies of Haunter that she used in her attack on Kanto.
Eusine was later seen with a Haunter in Volume 14. It proved useful in knocking out the Masked Man's Gastly after the latter wounded Suicune with its Curse.
Pokémon Pinball: Two Haunter appear in a bonus stage accessible from the Red Table. Once the player knocks out the three Gastly, the pair of Haunter appear, and upon knocking them out, the player must then proceed to defeat the Gengar that appears.
Pokédex entries
This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation I.
Haunter is a dangerous Pokémon. If one beckons you while floating in darkness, you must never approach it. This Pokémon will try to lick you with its tongue and steal your life away.
If a Haunter beckons you while it is floating in darkness, don't approach it. This Pokémon will try to lick you with its tongue and steal your life away.
Haunter, its pre-evolution Gastly, and Flabébé are the lightest Pokémon in existence.
While it is listed at over five feet long in the games, it is only about three feet long in the anime.
Despite all of them being part Poison type, Haunter, together with its evolutionary family, are not able to learn any Poison-type moves by leveling up.
Haunter has a slightly different cry starting in Generation III.
Origin
Haunter is possibly based on the dila, a spirit that passes through walls then licks certain humans to death according to Filipino mythology. It also appears to be based on a generic sort of cartoonish ghost.
Name origin
Haunter is derived from haunt, as ghosts are known to do. It could also be a corruption of "hunter".