Minecraft’s Nether is full of dangers, but hidden among the hostile mobs and lava lakes is a rare, peaceful creature—the Happy Ghast. Unlike its fiery, explosive cousin, this floating mob is friendly, rideable, and even a little adorable. If you’ve ever wanted a flying companion to explore the skies with, taming a Happy Ghast is the way to go.
Before you can tame a Happy Ghast, you need to start with its dried-up form. Dried Ghasts don’t spawn naturally in the Overworld—you’ll have to venture into the Nether to find one. They usually appear near bone block structures in the Soul Sand Valley biome, looking like small, sad-faced gray blocks. You can mine them by hand or with any tool, and they’ll drop as an item for you to collect.
If you’re having trouble locating one, there’s another way to get a Dried Ghast: crafting. Combine one Soul Sand block with eight Ghast Tears in a crafting grid. Ghast Tears drop from regular hostile Ghasts, so you might need to do some fighting first. Alternatively, you can try bartering with Piglins—they occasionally offer Dried Ghasts in exchange for Gold Ingots, though the chance is low.
Turning a Dried Ghast into a Ghastling
Once you have a Dried Ghast, the next step is rehydrating it. Place the block in water—either in the Overworld or a waterlogged area in the Nether—and wait. Over the next 20 minutes, you’ll see it slowly transform. Its expression will shift from sad to neutral, then finally to happy before it turns into a Ghastling, the baby form of a Happy Ghast.
If you remove the water too soon, the process will reverse, so be patient. Breaking the block mid-transformation will only give you back a Dried Ghast, forcing you to start over. But once the Ghastling appears, it’ll float around curiously, following nearby players and passive mobs.
Taming and Growing Your Ghastling
Ghastlings don’t need traditional taming like wolves or cats. Instead, they naturally bond with the nearest player when they spawn. If you’re on a multiplayer server, make sure you’re the closest one to the Ghastling, or it might start following someone else.
To speed up its growth into a Happy Ghast, feed it snowballs. Each snowball reduces the waiting time, and after about 10 snowballs, your Ghastling will fully mature. Without feeding, it takes another 20 minutes for the transformation to complete. Once grown, your Happy Ghast will stay loyal, hovering near you with its signature smile.
Crafting a Harness and Riding Your Happy Ghast
Happy Ghasts aren’t just cute—they’re also functional. With a harness, you can ride them like a flying mount. To craft one, you’ll need:
- 3 Leather
- 2 Glass Blocks
- 1 Wool Block (any color)
The wool determines the harness’s color, so pick your favorite. Once crafted, right-click the Happy Ghast to equip it. Now, up to four players can ride at once, though only the first rider controls the direction.
What makes Happy Ghasts unique is their ability to stay perfectly still in the air when players stand on them. This makes them perfect for building sky platforms or exploring hard-to-reach places. You can even dismount mid-flight and stand on their heads without fear of falling.
Tips for Using Happy Ghasts
- Transportation: While slower than Elytra, Happy Ghasts are great for group travel. Leash them to carry mobs or items across long distances.
- Building Aid: Their hovering ability makes them ideal for constructing tall structures without scaffolding.
- Safety First: Happy Ghasts are vulnerable to fire damage and hostile Ghasts. Keep them away from lava and enemy fireballs.
- Home Radius: A harnessed Happy Ghast wanders within 32 blocks of its home point. Without one, it may roam up to 64 blocks away.
