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As
we begin our investigations, we need to be aware of the many types of hauntings that we will run into – as well as what
kind of evidence there is out there which will confront us. To introduce us to
the world of the paranormal we need to understand what the various forms are, and how they will affect us during our time
tracking them. Here are some brief summaries of the most typical types of hauntings.
· Entities / Intelligent Haunt (Spirit vs. Ghost) First we need to differentiate between a spirit and
a ghost. A ghost can be considered a simple psychic recording of a person or
event, while a spirit is an actual sentient presence of an individual that remains earthbound after the body has physically
died. Another way to put this, is the surviving conciseness of a deceased human. Intelligent haunts will show many signs of activity, among which – they will
also try to gain your attention. Manifestations of an intelligent haunt will
include anything that encompasses your senses; be it smell, sounds, feelings, down to touches, apparitions, or movement of
objects. They want you to be aware of their presence – and in most cases
are not doing it to be harmful, but rather to let you know that they are aware of what is going on. The activities surrounding this type of haunt would be anything from doors opening and closing, hearing
their footsteps, voices being heard, feeling a chill in it’s presence, the scent of the person’s cologne worn
during life (things that are “signature” for that particular person. In
most cases, if an apparition of this person is actually able to manifest – it will most likely appear as it did in life. Other manifestations include shadows, vaporous mists or distortions in the atmosphere,
lights, etc. If a spirit is malevolent and the property owner wishes to banish
it, religious provocation will not always work (as in life many people do not follow a specific religion at all). Rather, you will need to work with a universal cleansing in order to bring light and positive energy to
the location to rid it of any negativity. However, in many cases, spirits do
not mean any harm – and it is just a matter of working with the people involved and teach them how to co-exist with
the spirit(s). There are two different categories of intelligent hauntings: Visitor
and Grounded. A spirit in visitation is one who is at a location for only a temporary
time, simply to return out of love or some other attachment to a place. This
time varies, but is usually very short in duration – usually to get a message across to someone living. Those in residence have a strong affinity to the location they have chosen to haunt. They have been attached to a location for many years (sometimes even hundreds of years), usually for the
very same reasons that a spirit is in visitation, but for some reason can not move on.
Why do they stick
around? There
are many reasons why a spirit may return to a location after death, either in visitation or as a grounded haunt. Some of which will be touched on here, but are not limited to these.
The soul of the person may not have properly passed over; the soul has not gone to “the next level” (whichever
that would be for each person: heaven, the light, etc.). Some souls are attached
to the location near their death (especially if it was a sudden or traumatic death) – some may not even know they are
dead or refuse to accept it. Certain souls may have a fear of crossing over (fear
of the unknown, fear of judgment). There is always the possibility of “unfinished
business”; to help loved ones, stay in contact with them – or anything that might have compelled them in life. Guilt can certainly tie a spirit to a location or person; this would especially pertinent
for those who have committed suicide or someone who’s death was caused by their own actions (reckless driving, overdoses,
etc.). The living can also keep a spirit tied here by not “letting go”
or being over obsessed with the one who has passed over.
·
Residual Haunt Imprints of past activities play back as if a recorded video is running. Entire scenes can play back and even alter the surroundings of your location for a few moments. These images are just that, and the spirits that are taking part are mere recordings of the past and are
not conscious of your presence – they are nothing to fear. Their energy
has made a physical imprint that will last for an indeterminate period of time, over and over.
These events play out exactly as they had in the spirits life. In most
cases, the reports of these sightings fade over time – which must show that the energy of the imprint does in fact lose
it’s strength over time, and fades like anything else would – like a photograph.
Eventually the occurrences will end, or become too transparent to see most likely.
These events can be tied to specific dates as well – such as anniversaries of the death or other days in which
this specific event unfolded. Other variations of residual hauntings could just
be simple day to day activities. Many of the manifestations of a residual haunting
can easily be mistaken for an intelligent haunting and warrant research into each specific case. These would include footsteps, doors opening and closing, voices or sounds (such as music). These are simply events that have recorded into the surroundings and the energy can still surface in order
to make these events unfold (simply because energy continually expends itself, not because a spirit is manipulating something).
·
Poltergeist Cranky spirits! – or – Noisy Ghosts. While
history shows that we used to believe much of this paranormal activity was due to spirit involvement, modern day researchers
believe it to be much different. While a variety of phenomenon can take place
(knocking and other noises, movement of objects, doors slamming, electrical interference, fires, and more) – many of
which can be the sign of an intelligent haunting, but in the case of a poltergeist, it is usually connected to a single person! Known as the “human agent”, usually an adolecent girl, one is emotionally
troubled and can trigger these events. Since energy is an unconscious factor
in humans, they do not usually realize that they are the cause to the destruction. As
an investigator, you need to be able to pinpoint the disruption to the single person.
In these cases, as investigators, you will not be able to aid in absolving the home of activity. Rather, suggest that the family seek council in a reputable therapist who can help get to the root of the
anxiety the trigger person may be experiencing. In all cases of poltergeist activity,
there is a peak and a low. The events will climax in an ultimate disruption,
and end up fading away to nothing as the person’s life returns to normality and they work through their issues.
·
Demons
A rare occurrence! Demons are beings that have never occupied a human
body. They will usually disguise themselves as a “friendly” spirit
to bring your attention to them and then trick you into doing treacherous things (usually via a Ouija board, through black
magic, Satan worship, etc.). Signs of demonic residence can be horrific smells
of sulfur or rotting flesh. Frightening growls or words will sound as if from
everywhere at once, sometimes several voices together, or in a language you may not understand. Harsh physical contact might be made – shoving, pushing, scratching, pounding, etc. They can affect your whole environment – making it feel like a heavy, stagnant fog surrounding everything. They are very strong physically (much stronger than human spirits) and will use this
to their advantage to break down the demeanor of the residents where it has taken over.
It will tear at their spirit until they are susceptible to a possession. Commonly
demons will take the form of half human and half animal, surrounded by a horrible stench.
Many times upon investigation it is found that they will take the form of a human to avoid being banished or blessed,
they find this potential a huge threat to their existence. Because of the nature
of these creatures, it is believed by many that you cannot truly destroy the demon – but rather are only able to prevent
it from returning to a specific person or home. They are able to move from location
to location on a mere thought, so most likely when an exorcism or blessing is performed, the creature is simply being exiled
from the current location. It is possible to perform a location cleansing in
order to release some of the negativity surrounding the problem, but the person does need to confront their “demons”
before a true resolution can be reached.
·
Portal Haunting Believed to be a transport vehicle for entities to be able to manifest. Usually a collection of strong electromagnetic fields (can even be large areas – such as beneath
power lines, along a waterfront, etc. – any area where a strong energy is being cultivated) which can allow for a spirit
to collect and gather energy without much effort in order to manifest. Referred
to as “a doorway for spirits”, serving as a passage between spirit and earth planes. Some believe that cemeteries also serve in this manner as there is usually no certain event to tie particular
spirits to a cemetery location. Rather this portal would provide a passageway
for the spirit to return for whatever business it has tied to it’s physical person buried in the cemetery. The most frequent manifestation in portal hauntings seems to be “ghost lights” or orbs…
simply because of the nature of orbs being a natural collection of energy. This
could be a mere physical manifestation of the energy produced by the portal itself, rather than the spirits emerging from
it in some cases.
·
Attachment This happens most frequently to those who have extrasensory perception of supernatural occurrences, but
it certainly not limited to them. Sometimes while visiting a haunted location
(sometimes unknowingly and without proper precautions) you could “pick up” an intelligent entity that will stay
with you for an indefinite period of time. They can find something in common
with you, our through provocation – they “attach” to you. When
they are ready they will leave, unless they have alterior motives (dark entities or demons).
In certain cases, if they remain with you for an extended period of time or are causing disruption in your life, you
may wish to perform a cleansing to release the spirit.
Various forms paranormal
energy will take on during investigations
Apparition
Orb / balls of light
Mist (ectoplasm)
Vortex/Funnel
Shadows / Dark Form
Streams of Energy
Rods
We
will touch on these different physical forms at another date, but for now you can see that there are many manifestations in
which you can potentially “see” those that are in spirit around us.
A NOTE on ORBS:
Though some investigators typically believe that orbs are actually a
spirit manifestation, I have done some research on different concepts about this theories surrounding them. I have found that it is believed that orbs are not actually the “spirit” in body itself, but
rather the collection of energy gathering for a spirit to manifest itself. Commonly
this would be energy being transferred from a source – be it from power lines, heat (producing coldspots), batteries
(hence draining), electrical appliances, people, etc. According to the laws of
physics, energy transfer would assume the natural shape of a sphere, thus the common spherical shape of orbs caught on evidence.
This would also verify any EMF fluctuations witnessed during any of these phenomenon, as energy transfers could potentially
alter the physical electrical and magnetic atmospheres. (We will discuss this
more in depth in future meetings.)
Web Resources:
www.the-atlantic-paranormal-society.com
www.prairieghosts.com
www.theshadowlands.net
http://ghoststudy.com
Books:
“The Ghost Hunters Guidebook” – Troy Taylor –
WhiteChapel Press – 2004
“How to be a Ghost Hunter” – Richard Southall –
Llewellyn Publications – 2003
“The Ghost Hunters Bible” – Trent Brandon – Zerotime
Publishing - 2000
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