Hauntings 101

To say a place is "haunted" is to very broadly and vaguely describe the unexplained phenomena occurring in said place.
There are several different categories most hauntings can be filed into, and with a little investigation into a haunting, it usually doesn't take long to realise what you are dealing with. A location may well have a multiple of these hauntings, all co-existing and feeding off of the same energy.

Here are the main types and some of their typical traits experienced:

1. Residual Haunting

Residual hauntings are simply remnants of the past; moments of high energy (negative or positive) captured within the atmosphere and replaying over and over again.
A lot of these types of hauntings seem to replay a victims last moments; playing out the scene of their murder or accidental death. One could only imagine the heightened state of terror a person would feel when faced with sudden death (especially in a violent situation) and the immense energy caused by these emotions. This energy leaves a kind of imprint on the surroundings, so lasting that it can replay for hundreds of years, perhaps longer.

These residual hauntings are not considered to be spirits of the deceased, just a soulless projection of what was. Therefore they cannot be communicated with, will not give intelligent answers to questions nor will they notice your presence. EVPs can be captured of them, as can visual evidence. They can also be heard by the ear, seen by the eye and energies can be felt, but they will not respond.

As well as visual and audio phenomena, a residual haunting may also include experiences of mild to extreme emotions and feelings. The energy left behind creating this haunting can replicate the feelings that were had at the time. A person experiencing this type of haunting may suddenly have a sudden rush of terror, faintness, nausea, anger or even happiness.

2. Active/intelligent Haunting

This is the kind of haunting that provide the best visual and audio evidence. As these are human spirits, they are able to listen and communicate.
Depending on their willingness, a spirit will often intelligently respond to a question asked of them such as saying a name when asked who they are, naming the location they are at etc.
As in life, not all spirits are 'good souls'. Some may be unwelcoming, angry and violent and wish you harm. This does not mean they are demonic, and should not be confused as being so.

An intelligent haunting can show the same sort of signs as a residual haunting so at first can be hard to distinguish between the two. It is not until communication is attempted that the two can be properly distinguished.

3. Poltergeist Haunting

A poltergeist is the source of much debate. Some consider it a ghost, others a non-human energy, some believe it to be a projection of energy from a highly emotional person.
This kind of haunting can be very frightening and unpredictable as strong poltergeist activity is capable of great destruction.
Bumps in the night, tappings, and feelings of pressure on the body are early and mild signs of a poltergeist. This can quickly escalate into objects thrown, heavy furniture moved, people pushed, even fires started.

So what exactly is a poltergeist?
We may never know for sure. It is never a 'good' sort of haunting, preferring pesky behaviour and utter chaos to a peaceful co-existence. This leads to the general conclusion that it is not of human decent.
A large percentage of poltergeist cases involve adolescent girls (notoriously emotional) or people in a troubled mental state. This leads to the theory of energy projection creating this poltergeist. A subconscious and uncontrolled effort by these people, a blast of pent up energy and emotion manifesting itself to manipulate the environment. Is this just the body relieving itself of energy and emotion when it gets to breaking point?

Many people have their own opinion and theory of what a poltergeist could be. I have often thought of a poltergeist as a pre-existing type of parasitic energy, leaked through from some sort of vortex like the ones spirit and demons enter through. At first they are weak of energy, until they find a host (someone of heightened emotional state to 'feed' off of). The more unstable this person's energy is, the more the poltergeist will draw upon this energy resulting in a stronger presence and ability to manipulate the environment.

 4. Demon Haunting

Nothing sends chills down an investigators spine more than the thought of dealing with a demon. Although one of the rare kinds of hauntings, they are ever present and are a serious matter. They are known to latch on to people in their presence, darkening their lives with attacks of increasing aggressiveness.
It's very possible for a demon to follow a person from place to place, as they are usually not attached to a dwelling. It is also said a demon is capable of travelling long distances in the blink of an eye.
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They are cunning and deceiving. Often taking the form of something very innocent (such as the spectre of a child) to try and lure a potential victim in. They can imitate voices of both living and dead children, adults, even animals.
Made up of dark energy, no one is sure where they come from or what they truly are. They are not of this world and have never been human, therefore are not 'ghosts'. They can take the shape of what a human assumes a demon to look like, or can appear as simply a black mass.


5. Shadow People

The mysterious shadow people. I have written an entire post about them before (see: March 19, 2010). An unexplained black featureless silhouette that can move through walls but yet seem to be different from ghosts. Whoever sees them has an immediate feeling of dread. Most people who have been haunted by them, as well as psychics and mediums who encounter them all agree that they do not feel them to be human. Of course this is not definite- they very well could be 'dark souls' who were unable to move on after death.

They most often appear to be made up of a black smoke and do not appear to be wearing clothes apart from the often spotted 'man wearing a hat' and 'hooded figure'.


6. Doppelganger Haunting

 A doppelganger is a sinister and evil version of someone living. Like an evil clone. Most people who have seen their own doppelganger (often this doppelganger is going about daily activities) have soon been confronted with bad news or death.
They appear and reappear out of nowhere. They may show themselves to their 'twin', or to friends and family of the twin, who are often unaware that what they are looking at is in fact a doppelganger - until they notice a strangeness or unresponsiveness in this entity.