Captain Toad starts at the front path and must dodge a Goomba to enter the house. He promptly exits to the left of the mansion. After getting over a fence by moving Touchstones and doors in a puzzle, Toad must sneak around the mansion, avoiding a Boo and a Goomba Tower that has a Super Gem on top. After getting on the roof via a door, two Big Boos make a last attempt to stop Captain Toad, but they can easily be dodged using either the nearby door or using Captain Toad's headlamp to defeat them.
Toad never actually goes inside the Mansion, unless the doors are counted, though they act more like portals.
If the player waits for 5 minutes (300 seconds) at the stage, a lot of creepy handprints will appear suddenly on the backside's wall of the Ghost Mansion. Each of these handprints' position is random every time it appears.