What is a Haunting? -

A haunting is a recurring presence of a ghost or spirit. Old houses, hotels, restaurants, pubs, jails, prisons, cemeteries, and graveyards are the most common haunted places. The accounts of these hauntings are often referred to as ghostlore.

  
A ghost is basically an energy (or deceased being) that periodically makes its presence known through a variety of manifestations. Ghosts typically remain in the same general area, not that they are territorial, but rather they remain in locations where they feel most comfortable or the surroundings are familiar.

 
Ghosts are typically beings that have become tied or bound to the earth plane. They are confused, dazed or even puzzled because they don't understand that they have crossed over into the spiritual realm. But a ghost can also be tied to the earth through the energy transmitted by mourners who can't or won't stop thinking and talking about the deceased soul. In these few cases, the ghost is continually reminded of their presence here on the earth plane and they want to remain, either because they didn't really want to leave at this time, or because they are overly concerned about the loved ones they've left behind.

 

Some reasons the ghost may be tied to the site or people:

1.  Died as a result of a traumatic event, murder, car accident, etc.

2.  Due to unfinished business.

3.  The spirit may have died suddenly and not realized he/she died.

4.  The living loved ones are so emotionally distraught they can’t let go.

5.  The spirit is emotionally connected to their loved ones.

6.  They cannot rest due to an injustice done to them.

7.  Fear of the other side or judgment

 

A haunting would be best described as a place inhabited by apparitions or ghosts. Many investigators are very strict when naming a place as being haunted without having the actual proof of such. It is rare for an investigation to have an actual apparition seen, it would be the “gold” find of evidence, and so most evidence collected is:

 

·    Sounds: footsteps, bangs, scratching, moans, screams, music, whispering

·    Sights: flashes of lights, shadows, floating lights

·    Smells: often unpleasant, sometimes sweet like perfumes

·    Feelings: headaches, static build-up, cold areas, touches felt by unseen things

·    Movement: doors, objects lost or moved, objects falling or getting thrown

·    Pet reactions to ‘unseen’ things

 

Types of Spirits -

 

There are many reasons why ghosts are thought to wander among the living. Some foster a love or hatred towards a particular place or person, so much so that they refuse to leave, even after death. While others perhaps fear punishment in the afterlife for the horrible deeds they committed during life. Many ghosts are believed to stay due to a sense of duty, or some deed they may have left unfinished. According to Sir Isaac Newton, energy is neither created nor destroyed, but always remains constant. That said it is important to note that the human body is a machine, one which operates using energy taken from the food we eat in the form of calories. Every time you blink, breath, sneeze, or wiggle your toe, you are using energy. Both to make such actions happen, but also in the form of electrical impulses telling said body parts to do as you ask. So, based on this knowledge, I feel that ghosts are simply the energy which allowed our bodies to function while we are living, now set free upon our death. Some may call this our soul, our chi, or perhaps even our essence. While many of these “souls” apparently go to some cosmic storehouse for escaped energy, sometimes referred to as heaven, nirvana, or the afterlife, some simply do not get there, and remain here on Earth wandering through time and space.

Residual Haunting – These are benign spirits in with the haunting is actually a “recording” of an event in time that are left at a location, that are played back at a later time, where the spirit actually isn’t there just its energy is. Many hauntings are thought to be residual in nature, showing signs such as screaming or crying due to the violence factor that may have caused this traumatic event to happen. Consistent footsteps in the hallway, ghostly battles seen on battlefields, or seeing an apparition on the staircase. They are endless loops of the same scene being played over and over, and they are usually always experienced in the same location.

 

A couple ways these impressions are left on a location are, from a traumatic event happening at the location, or by someone doing an action over and over as a type of routine while they were living, causing the action to be imprinted in time. It is almost like it the energy has become part of the dwelling that they once occupied on an every day basis. A traumatic moment in time leaves an indelible impression on a building or area, examples being battles, murders, traumatic accidents. There are numerous accounts of people seeing soldiers fighting battles on an old battlefield, only to learn that day there were no reenactments going on.

 

There is usually very little you can do on this style of a haunting except make the family who is having these problems understand what is going on and explain to them that they are in no danger due to the energy not being controlled by the person who left it behind.

 

There is no actual entity present in this style of haunting, and the energy that was left behind is just like a video playing the same scene over and over again. Even though it is not aware that people are there, it can still be a scary and emotional situation to the people who have to deal with it happening in their home.

It may happen every night or every week or even every year. It is the most frequent haunting investigators will come across in their cases. An investigator will tell you there is nothing they can do about this style haunting and they are correct. People need to either except what happens and learn to deal with it, or move on.

Anniversary Haunting – these spirits do, as the title suggests, only appear on an anniversary of some significance like deaths, birthdays and other times that held some meaning for the deceased or are of historical significance to them. Since this type of ghost only appears on the anniversary of a special event, it seems likely this type of haunting could be a residual haunting, reenacting a certain event in time on that one day or night.

 

Intelligent Haunting – Unlike residual hauntings, these type of spirits are not “stuck in time”. They actually show signs of intelligence by being interactive, and sometimes verging into the territory of the poltergeist. They may try and attract your attention by creating odors, moving things, making noises such as taps or footsteps, and slamming doors.

Usually, between the hours of 11pm and 4am are the times that the entities can more efficiently manifest themselves, due to this time period being the darkest hours of the night. Most of the time these spirits are not strong enough to show themselves during the daylight, because it takes too much energy to make themselves visible. Think of it as if you were to turn on a flashlight during the daytime you would hardly notice the light, but if you were to turn it on in the dead of night, the light would be clearly visible. This is how spirits work as well. If they use too much energy during the day they will be too weak to show themselves at night.

These spirits can be benevolent or mischievous, depending on the reason that they are haunting a location, and there are several reasons. They may be haunting it because it was once their home and they want you to leave. They may be there because they've found that a child is able to see them so they feel noticed and are willing to stay around for this fact. There may be some kind of artifact that they are staying with and following due to some emotional bond with it. They also may be looking for something or someone. They may even not be willing to except that they have died. Whatever the reason may be, they are there and they do not want to leave.

Malevolent Haunting – An intelligent spirit with the intent to harm and/or cause mischief to the living.

 

Benevolent Haunting – An intelligent spirit, opposite of the malevolent, this spirit tends to try and protect the living.

 

Poltergeist – The activity that takes place will start of with knocks and bangs, furniture starting to move around by itself. Then, the activity will become more intense, manifesting itself through voices and even the appearance of full apparitions. Furniture may slide across the room and beds may shake. Many shows are based on this is a style of haunting because it tends to be the most terrifying and rarest type of haunting that occurs.

Most of the time, in the case of a poltergeist, the haunting circles around a female in her teen years. Some of these cases seem to be caused by the female unknowingly controlling the energy around herself. Some cases happen around people that are stable and in the right mind space.

This haunting is hard to classify due to certain situations. No two are ever really the same. Most of the time you will find that one person in the household seems to be more affected by the haunting than anyone else. It may seem that most of the activity doesn't happen unless that certain person is present. Usually, the activity appears to stop when that person leaves the home. The majority of the time poltergeists are experienced by several people, but again they seem to center around one certain person. This person may be highly stressed as of late or maybe this person has gone through some type of extreme emotional situation. If this is the case, see that the individual involved gets some medical care, and soon afterwards the poltergeist will subside.

When it is not the teenager that is manifesting activity there are usually several spirits in the area. The spirits appear to pool their energy together in order to become strong enough to move larger objects and make more noises. In order to remedy the situation, you need to find the root of their anger so that they can pass over and leave you in peace. On most poltergeist cases they will disappear with out any warning, just as they appeared. Certain times it may stop within a few days, other times it may take years. You may never know the reason that it happened. Most people are just happy to see it go and that's enough for them.

By understanding why it was there in the first place helps you to understand how to keep it from ever coming back again. Knowledge is the key in protecting yourself in this world.

 

Demonic Possession – Demons are one of the known inhuman entities out there. Fortunately, they are a rare occurrence.

 

They are usually very easy to identify as long as they are not hiding. When it is a demonic haunting you typically notice a revolting stench similar to rotted flesh or sulfuric acid. They often let loose a growl that sounds like it is coming from everywhere at once. They like to make contact by pushing, shoving, hitting, and even scratching. The whole air in the affected area will feel thick like fog and the temperature will drastically change, typically becoming warmer.

 

These creatures are very strong, unlike human spirits, and they don't mind showing it. There have been cases where people have been thrown through the air and even attacked. Apparently, their main goal is to break down a person's free will in order to make way for possession. This can take days, months or years, but time is of no concern to them. They can take on any form they wish, but mostly commonly it is a half man, half animal form. They will have the head of an animal, the torso of a man, and the hairy legs of an animal. When they are approached by an investigating paranormal team they may feel threatened and appear in a human form to keep the home from being blessed and stop the use of religious provocation.

During an investigation you need to assess the situation more by what happened before you arrived than what is actually going on during the time you are there. Demons are capable of changing form right in front of you from a human form to an inhuman form. They are neither male nor female, but then can change that to meet their needs. People mostly see demons as black masses standing in doorways or near rooms. Sometimes they are called shadow devils.