diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 31e086842..6b92ab79c 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
     Bug #4800: Standing collisions are not updated immediately when an object is teleported without a cell change
     Bug #4803: Stray special characters before begin statement break script compilation
     Bug #4804: Particle system with the "Has Sizes = false" causes an exception
+    Bug #4820: Spell absorption is broken
     Feature #2229: Improve pathfinding AI
     Feature #3442: Default values for fallbacks from ini file
     Feature #3610: Option to invert X axis
diff --git a/apps/openmw/mwmechanics/spellcasting.cpp b/apps/openmw/mwmechanics/spellcasting.cpp
index 58d5a85a0..9f272e1f3 100644
--- a/apps/openmw/mwmechanics/spellcasting.cpp
+++ b/apps/openmw/mwmechanics/spellcasting.cpp
@@ -501,8 +501,11 @@ namespace MWMechanics
 
             float magnitudeMult = 1;
 
-            if (!absorbed && target.getClass().isActor())
+            if (target.getClass().isActor())
             {
+                if (absorbed)
+                    continue;
+
                 bool isHarmful = magicEffect->mData.mFlags & ESM::MagicEffect::Harmful;
                 // Reflect harmful effects
                 if (isHarmful && !reflected && !caster.isEmpty() && caster != target && !(magicEffect->mData.mFlags & ESM::MagicEffect::Unreflectable))