Ghost hunt questions

[Beth]

Fairly new player here and I'm really struggling to get any momentum going into building money and xp due to hunts being guaranteed death for me. I'm not sure if I'm misunderstanding some fundamentals or just really unlucky to be just constantly dying even with how careful i try to be managing sanity.

Ghost speeds and sensing a player
It feels like nearly all the ghosts can outrun me and sense my position from across the map, enabling them to beeline straight for me. Do I have to dump/turn off my equipment like in Phasmo if i realize a hunt has started? How can i tell if a hunt has started if i'm too far away to hear the front door? Do the ghosts have object permanence in a chase? Closing doors and cutting corners does not seem to help at all with trying to loose the ghost, i can't shake them with anything i try. Looping doesn't seem to work, either, as i'm eventually ran down by them.

Reaction time to a hunting ghost
Is there any sort of a grace period to not dying if you're caught flat footed in/next to the ghost room, or are you just screwed? How far away is the flickering light warming supposed to be in a relative distance to myself and the ghost? It seems to be in my games, by the time the lights start to flicker, the ghost is already in killing distance and there is no time for me to react.

Any insights are very appreciated, as i do like this game, but the grinding to finally afford equipment and then just lose it all the next round is really frustrating me.

[DOOOODGE]

The only truly aggressive ghost as far as I've seen is the revenant, so tough luck if you get him.
More than outrunning the ghost, you should try to loop him. Being new, I imagine you only have the abandoned house. TO escape the ghost during the hunt, your best bet is to loop him by going in circle around the kitchen, living room, past the basement, the blocked stairs and back in the kitchen. The ghost might not be as good as you at turning. Turning off the flashlight also helps.
Do not try to buy the exorcism stuff right away on the abandoned house, it's not worth it, keep guessing the ghost, maybe finding the silhouette with the ecto lens (first bonus objective) and going home after this, don't bother buying photo cam and candle as first items.
Once you will have Cyclone st. that's where you can actually start farming money, because that map is way easier and it doesn't need extra items for the bonus objectives/exorcism.

Hunting also is way more subtle in this game than phasmo, it's not clearly recognizable. My suggestions are: if you see the torch starting to flicker, assume the ghost is hunting.
Sometimes the ghost talk before hunting, so if you hear a ghost talk, rush out of the house and wait a bit for it to calm down. That's unless it's that one talkative ghost, I don't remember the name, in that case that might be a false alarm. Still, going out of the house when you hear the ghost talk might be a good idea.

[Jake Deviant]

Go in with default equipment, make sure you read the journal tips on how to use each item.
Test the limits on things for me talking to the ghost can really get things going investigation wise. Spirit box I tend to have a conversation because "Can you speak?" usually never gives a result. Anything you buy and bring in if you die you only get half the money back even if it's in the tent.
Abandoned House is a bad starter map, once you get to level 5 Cyclone St. Will be open, play there to earn/learn more. Don't fear dying try all the things and you will learn.

[The_Jinxer]

I have to say both of these points also frustrate me a lot. a hunt essentially means someone is going to die if you don't cheese it or have a crucifix.
And yes, the ghost can insta snap you if it spawns in range of you - has happened to me