Do you have a haunting

GHG Ghost Hunters

More often than not suspected hauntings have logical explanations. Above all the safety and well being of you and your family should come first.

If unexplained occurrences have you considering the possibility of paranormal influences GHG hopes that you will find the following of some assistance.

Is a draft slamming doors, a loose wire that's making the lights flicker, or an underground stream causing the house to moan and shift? A recent study in England discovered that some phenomena is actually the result of natural, low-frequency sounds.

Opinions vary, but some feel there are distinct differences among ghosts, hauntings and poltergeists:

Ghosts are thought to be the spirits of people that have been caught between this plane of existence and the next- others may have chosen to return to watch over those familiar. We believe that they are intelligent energy forms, often capable of interacting with the living.

Some hauntings are thought to be residuals of an event on an event on an environment - think of this like a video replaying. Normally they do not interact with the living.

Poltergeists are considered neither ghosts nor hauntings, but are caused by the unconscious mind of a living person, usually under some kind of stress, most often connected to pubescent and early teen years.

The possibility of a combination of these phenomena might occur in one place. One might very well influence or even trigger another, which is why a variety of such phenomena can be found in a haunting.

On a normal day occupants of a home might experience a few or several of the following paranormal events in their day. The events are normally minor will often go unnoticed. Keep in mind that there are most likely very rational explanations in most cases.

When electrical, plumbing or structural possibilities as cause have been exhausted, then one might consider the paranormal as an influence:

Footsteps are heard when you know no one else is present.
Knockings, crashes or breaking being heard without any apparent cause.
The sound of crying or a voice calling out, usually when no one is present.
Low, muted voices or music coming from empty rooms.
Missing items that reappear in the same or unexplained location.
Electrical appliances, lights, television, radios, etc. that power on/off without logical explanation.
Doors open and close or slam unaccountably.
Commonly used items disappear and reappear in unusual places without a plausible explanation.
Appliances or light come on by unexplainably.
The uncommon scent of a strange perfume, flowers, cigar or wood smoke in areas where the items mentioned are not present.
The family pet reacting strangely to something unseen by you.
Physical sensation of being touched.
The feeling of being watched.
The unseen leaving an impressions on soft surfaces such as a bed or sofa.
Human shaped apparitions that appear and disappear.

While these may be indications that your house is haunted. A true haunting is a rare occurrence, and it may be difficult to determine whether or not any strange phenomena you are experiencing in your home might be due to a haunting. No one really knows what a "real" haunting is - what causes it or why it starts.

The first step is to organize, research, document and try to determine, as best you can, whether or not you truly have a legitimate case of a haunting.

Start A Journal

If you feel you have ruled out rational explanations for the phenomena that are taking place in your house, and they are still occurring on a more or less regular basis, then it is advisable to begin documenting the incidents. Keep a journal of the phenomena as they happen. A calendar, notebook or computer - as an example:

10/02/03; 10:30 p.m. - Was sitting watch TV when the bathroom light switched on by itself. Went in and turned it off again.
10/05/03; 9:14 p.m. - Was in the kitchen and heard the footsteps crossing the upstairs hallway again. No one was up there. Went up to investigate and could find no cause.
10/15/03; 6:15 p.m. - Dog barked and growled at the wall above the bookcase, cowered and hid.
10/20/03; 8:30 a.m. - A long search for the car keys, keys found in the dryer.
10/21/03; 4:00 p.m. - A visitor asked who the woman is upstairs, we had no other guests.
11/05/03; 7:15 p.m. - cigar smoke is smelled in the hallway. No one smokes in the house.
11/06/03; 7:30 p.m. - Heard my name called, but no one was home other than myself.
11/07/03; 4:15 a.m. - Television came on at full volume everyone was sleeping.

A journal could help with any formal investigation of the phenomena by paranormal investigators. Try to comment on the weather conditions or anything odd that might have occurred during the time that might relate.

If a camera(s) are available, still or video - try to take photos each time you feel something unusual is happening or in the time frame that you suspect the activity is taking place if on a scheduled time.

In the cases where sounds and/or voices are being noted, if a tape/digital audio recorder is available, try to record the sounds. Be sure to use new tapes only, previous recordings might come through distorting the current recording.

Some report that doors and cabinets are heard opening and closing - yet the phenomena has not been witnessed. The person(s) either hear the distinct sounds of the doors opening and closing. Most are quite familiar with the distinctive sounds in their homes/offices. Other times the person(s) will return to a room to find a door open or closed when they are certain that it was left in the opposite position. Occasionally furniture, like dining chairs, are thought to have been moved, other time the chairs have been found stacked on the table.. Very rarely will one actually witness the phenomenon taking place.

~ Check the balance and levels of the doors, rule out a logical explanation such as settling of the foundation. Check for sources of drafts and air currents. Make note if the opening/closing takes places at or near the time of the central heat/air system cycles on and off.

The sounds of crying and whispers - on occasion, muffled voices, whispering and crying can be heard. Sometimes it's music from some unknown source. People hear their names being said. This phenomenon gains more credibility if more than one person hears or sees the same thing at the same time.

~ Most often these situations are difficult to pin down. It would be important to determine if a radio, television, etc might be the source - either from inside the location or even coming from a neighboring apartment, house, building or even an automobile. Note as many details relating to the sound as possible.

Radio, televisions, lamps, overhead lights or other electrically powered items, turning off and on - again, these events are seldom seen actually occurring, but the lights are switched on or off when the individual(s) are quite certain they were not left that way. There have been rare reports of items disconnected from a power source, such as a lamp coming on.

~ Verify with a reputable electrician that a problematic electrical situation is not occurring. Most electrical powered appliances maintain a certain amount of energy even when powered off, unplug the item or try a different outlet - try another electrical item in the problematic area to monitor if the situation reoccurs. The same holds true for battery operated items, try replacing the batteries and monitor. If in an area with high power lines, make a note. Check for new transmitting towers in the area, did the unusual electrical disturbances begin near the time the tower was installed?.

Items disappearing and reappearing - this phenomenon some refer to as "the borrowers" phenomenon, and it's the familiar experience of not being able to find a regularly used item - for example car keys - which you believe you placed in a spot you routinely place them. But they're gone and you search extensively for keys without success. Later, the keys are found - in the exact the place you normally put them. It's as if the object was borrowed for a short time, then returned. Sometimes they are not returned for days or even weeks, but when they are, it's in an obvious place that could not have been missed by even a casual search.

~ If a particular item is suspect, make a point to place the item in the normal location, mark around the item with chalk to monitor any movement and return placement.

Those unexplained shadows, sighting of fleeting shapes and shadows, usually seen in the peripheral vision, only to turn and find nothing. The shadows may have vaguely human forms, while other times they are less distinguishable or smaller. Some are described transparent shadow forms, while others are described as a solid looking black void.

~ Rule out vision issues with an optician or ophthalmologist. Look about to determine if natural light through the windows or ambient lighting is creating shadows.

Animal behavior, your dog, cat or other pet behaves strangely. Cats may seem to be "watching" something cross a room or stalk something unseen by you. Dogs may bark at something unseen, cower without apparent reason or refuse to enter a room. Animals have sharper senses than humans, and many researchers think their psychic abilities might be more finely tuned also.

~ Check with your veterinarian, be sure your pet does not have an illness that might contribute to the behavior. Keep an eye on the pet's behavior when guests are present, does the pet behave differently?

Feelings of being watched is not an uncommon feeling and can be attributed to many things, but may have a paranormal source if the feeling consistently occurs in a particular part of the house at a particular time or when combined with other suspected activity.

~ Do a visual safety/security inspection of the home to be sure the feeling is not coming from a source that should be reported to law enforcement.

Feelings of being touched - the feeling of being watched is one thing, and actually feeling like you are being touched is quite another. Some people feel something brush past them, something touching their hair or "a hand" on the shoulder. Some feel a gentle poke, push or nudge. It is our opinion that one's personal space is just that, personal and that touching is not appropriate.

Psychokinetic phenomena - hearing a door open or close is one thing, but actually witnessing the incident is quite another. Witnessing seeing a light go on or off by itself is greater proof that something unexplained is happening. Do you see the TV or radio turn on? Or perhaps you're present when a child's powered toy begins to operate on its own. Doors and windows are locked or unlocked. Some people report that when they are in bed they can feel and/or hear something sitting on the bed.

Cold or hot spots - cold spots are classic haunting symptoms, but any instance of a noticeable variance in temperature without a discernable cause could be evidence.

~ Place a temperature gauge in the area of temperature fluctuations and monitor. Check the placement of vents, fans, air returns and possible drafty windows or doors.

Unexplained odors, such as the distinct fragrance of a perfume or cologne , fresh flowers, cigarette, cigar or wood smoke that you do not have in your house. This phenomenon comes and goes without any apparent cause and may accompany other phenomena, such as shadows, voices or psychokinetic phenomena. Foul odors can happen in the same way.

Rarer still are more extreme phenomena, some of which have been called poltergeist phenomena, and can be quite strong evidence of a true haunting:

The movement or levitation of objects such as dinner plates sliding across the table; pictures flying off walls; doors slamming shut with great force; furniture sliding across the floor might be .

Personal physical assault such as scratches, slaps and hard shoves. This kind of personal assault is extremely rare, but obviously highly disturbing.

Other physical evidence - unexplained writing on paper or walls; handprints and footprints.

Apparitions - physical manifestation of a spirit or entity. These phenomena are also very rare and can take many forms: human-shaped mists or forming mists of some indistinguishable shape; transparent human forms that disappear quickly; and most rarely, human forms that look as real and solid as any living person, but that disappear into a room or even while being viewed.

A person who has experienced some of these phenomena might have cause to believe that his or her house is haunted. But maybe not. In fact, according to most experts, probably not. The human mind and human senses are easily fooled. And people can often mistake explainable occurrences in their homes for the paranormal.

Before you decide there's a ghost in your house or move out from fear, do your best to find rational explanations for what you are experiencing. Virtually all of the phenomena listed above could have perfectly natural causes:

Noises could be house settling, plumbing or even animals such as mice and squirrels
Opening and closing doors could be faulty hinges or caused by drafts
Some phenomena could just be carelessness and forgetfulness
Shadows could be just that - shadows caused, perhaps, by a passing car's headlights
As real as some of these things might seem to you, they really could be just products of previously unnoticed normal happenings.

If multiple witnesses experience the same phenomena, they are likely to be taken more seriously.

Get help in finding rational explanations for the phenomena. A plumber might help you find the cause of that banging. A carpenter can fix that door from closing on its own. A friend or neighbor might be able to look at your particular experience in a different way and offer a reasonable explanation for your "haunting" that you might not have though of. In short, make every possible effort to prove that your house is not haunted.

Call the Experts

When should you call a paranormal investigator? Only when you have ruled out any rational explanations for the phenomena you are experiencing and are thoroughly convinced that your house is truly haunted should you contact the experts. Of course, if the phenomena are extreme and you feel that you and your family are in any kind of physical or psychological danger, you should call for help right away.

Who are the experts? There are hundreds of paranormal investigation organizations across the U.S. and Canada. You can find a state-by-state listing of many of them here, although GHG cannot vouch for the expertise of any of them, do not hesitate to ask for references.

While GHG does not charge any fees, some groups may ask for reimbursement for the cost of tapes, film, travel expenses etc. Determine what is acceptable for you and your budget. Also determine if your investigation is to remain confidential, if so ask if the data and photos will be publicized in any way - again this should be your choice and your privacy should be a factor.

Very certainly, each vary in expertise and in the degree of their practical experience, so you should be careful in your choice. Troy Taylor, in his article "What Do To When Your House is Haunted," provides some very good advice for choosing paranormal investigators, including the qualities they should have and specific questions you should ask them before inviting them to check out your home.

Despite whatever strangeness you are experiencing, your house probably is not haunted. But if it is, perhaps it is a benign spirit or phenomenon that you can live with. Usually, it is something you need not fear.