This game has been designed with a time limit feature. It's highly recommended to complete the tutorial mode first to familiarize yourself with the core mechanics.
Does that also include AFTER you capture the ghost? Because when you capture the ghost/banish the ghost the time limit can also run out negating ALL of your work? Is that intentional? And it would be nice if we were able to see how much time we have left.
Yep, that was intentional. You only have until 4 a.m. Each contract appears to include wall clocks placed in certain rooms, which can be used to monitor the time. Go past 4, and it's game over.