Human beings the world over have been reporting ghosts and spectre's for as long as history has been recorded.  The concept of being haunted is nothing new.  In recent years however, scientific progression and the trial and error experiments of devoted sects of people, have finally provided a set of guidelines to assist in establishing the types of haunting's being reported, and what we can attempt to do about them. 

     First lets look at the most prevalent signs that you are experiencing a genuine haunting.  This is of course assuming all natural causes have been thoroughly explored and ruled out.
-Objects going missing or appearing in strange places.
-Emotions coming from nowhere, extreme highs or lows, happy, sad, angry, scared, etc;
-Objects moving of their own accord, sliding, vibrating, flying, etc;
-Physical contact, touch, slap, scratch, pushed, etc; It should be said that people often report a feeling of electricity and/or a sudden temperature drop when coming into physical contact with an entity or ghost.
-Visual phenomena, strange lights, black masses, misty figures, shadow people, apparition, etc;
-Audio phenomena, disembodied footsteps, voices, crashes and bangs, etc;
-Olfactory phenomena, strange smells that should not be present seemingly coming from nowhere and disappearing just as suddenly.

     To some people, any one of these things can be extremely unnerving and hard to come to terms with.  We have been preconditioned from childhood (most of us) to believe these things aren't real and when you're suddenly forced to deal with it your sanity and peace of mind suddenly come into question.  These people are often left alone and confused and don't know where to turn.  Unfortunately these feelings tend to provide the energy necessary for whatever presence is around to manifest itself.  Keeping your mindset positive and living your own life can help immensely when dealing with these entities.  Do your best to pay no attention to whatever it is.  In some cases reported activity has disappeared altogether when whatever was there stopped getting any attention.  This tactic is far from guaranteed however and it is up to the individual(s) to either call in investigators  or attempt to deal with their haunting on their own.  If you choose the latter the first thing to try is to politely ask the entity to leave.  Do not provoke or get angry, simply be polite as if you were talking to a harmless stranger and asking them to leave.  Explain to them that they are no longer a part of this realm.  They have died and need to move on, this is where you belong now.  NEVER bargain or make deals, just state the facts.  In many cases it has been reported that activity stopped or declined to the point of non-existence when a polite approach like this is used.  But not all the time.

     If this doesn't do the trick then an investigation into the activity might be the best option.  Lets assume you have chosen to call in a group to investigate the haunting.  If not you can follow this process on your own but you may have to go and buy some equipment.  First and foremost, start a ghost journal.  The investigators can use this as an excellent reference tool as can the client.  In this journal note any and all activity that occurs and any other information you can think of at the time.  Note the feelings at the time, the weather, moon cycle, anything at all.  Sometimes the most trivial information can be of the utmost importance later on.  This is not an exact science so the more we can log, hopefully the more we can correlate later on. 

     We prefer to do our investigation of the home first to see what evidence we can gather and then try to match anything with the history of the property through historical research.  This allows our investigation to be conducted without any preconceived notions about who or what might be there and why.  Unfortunately situations sometimes dictate this process gets reversed and the research is done first.  In these cases it is up to the  investigators to remain neutral and unbiased when conducting their investigation.  The power of suggestion can lead to a wrong conclusion.  During the investigation itself voice recorders with external mics should be placed in areas where auditory phenomena has been the primary activity and cameras where visual phenomena occurs.  EMF sweeps of the property should be done as well to determine normal electromagnetic field ranges to help locate "hot spots" where energy fluctuations occur for no apparent reason.  During the investigation do your best to rule out any and all natural causes.  Understandably not everyone is a handyman or a home inspector so this can be difficult.  But common sense and simply taking a moment to think things through carefully will sometimes yield your answer unexpectedly.  Like when a light bulb goes off in your head.  Be vigilant.  If a door seems to open by itself across a room every time you walk across a certain area of a hardwood floor,  step on every panel individually, one of them is probably loose and pressing up against the door.  If this door is just a bunch of random opening and closing at all times of the day, it might be paranormal.  You get the point.  Persistence and common sense.

     Upon completing the investigation all the data should be reviewed.  Go over all the notes taken, watch every second of video in detail, and go through all the audio using headphones.  Share any and all personal experiences and determine the type of haunting.  Depending on the type, start the historical research.  There are three primary types of haunting's.  Residual, intelligent, and poltergeist.  A residual haunting is a recording of a particular event being played over and over like a broken record.  The same phenomena is reported consistently and the presence is unaware of its surroundings and will never interact.  This would be like seeing the same apparition walking through the same wall at the same time all the time.  Or perhaps you hear the crying of a child routinely every night.  Hopefully some of this was caught on video or audio during the investigation. 

    The second type of haunting is an intelligent haunting.  In this case investigators can sometimes get specific answers to questions on audio devices that weren't heard otherwise.  These are referred to as EVP's.  Electric Voice Phenomena.  Intelligent haunting's can interact with their surroundings.  Including people.  They can manifest themselves as shadows, lifelike apparitions, balls of light, and mists.  Intelligent spirits will sometimes touch people and cause sudden cold spots to occur as well as an electric sensation.  These spirits can range from being playful and harmless to being angry and somewhat aggressive.  This type of haunting can be sub-grouped into two other categories, human and in-human or demonic.  The best way to differentiate between the two is by the magnitude of the activity.  An in-human entity will sometimes appear to be friendly but will be prone to outbursts of in-human strength and fits of anger.  For all intents and purposes it seems as though in-human entities are bent on breaking the human spirit.  In these cases EXERCISE CAUTION.  Especially if the evidence is on the borderline of being human or in-human.  The biggest difference between the two, aside from one being a person on this plane at one time and the other being an evil energy in it's pure form,  will be the displays of anger and strength.  A human spirit will never toss entire pieces of furniture around or completely immobilize a person no matter how angry it may be.  They will just be a giant pain in the butt.  In-human entities will show blatant aggression and severe dislike for the church and any relics related to the church.  An in-human entity will try to harm people physically.  Often times they are reported to have a strong pungent odor associated with them.  These smells are either similar to feces, or death.  All of our research shows that the only way to get rid of in-human or demonic spirits is a full blown cleansing or exorcism of the property.  This process can take a very long time depending on the entity and its level of anger and aggression.

     The third type of haunting is the Poltergeist haunting.  German for "noisy spirit" this aptly named spirit is the one that people read about stacking furniture in rooms and wreaking havoc on dishes.  Poltergeist activity is a form of in-human entity that is usually haunting a residence where one of the tenants is going through a hormonal change.  Poltergeists often are attached to an individual in a home and in most cases this is an adolescent female whose body is changing physically and emotionally.  Nobody knows why this is but the evidence throughout recorded history points in this direction.  The most popular theory is that the energy given off during puberty is so strong that these spirits search out and thrive off of these prepubescent girls and their raging emotions.  Often the activity of the poltergeist will be directed towards the person whom the teenager is mad at.  For example, a 14 year old girl plagued with a poltergeist is always angry at her mother.  Her mother will be sitting alone in the kitchen reading while the daughter is upstairs.  Even though the daughter isn't thinking of harming her mother a plate flies out of the cupboard and smashes at her mother's feet.  The next day they have an argument out of the home at the mall.  The daughter is fuming mad (like teenagers get) and when the family arrives home the furniture is piled in a messy stack in the middle of the room.  Sometimes the spirit can physically harm people in the home as well.  In some cases scratches have appeared on people and people have been physically accosted.  These entities fall into the in-human category.  Often the poltergeist will leave when an emotional balance can be reached by the person who was unstable.  If not then a full cleansing or exorcism may be needed.  Once again err on the side of caution in these cases.  While a poltergeist is not considered a demonic presence, the same traits are often exhibited.

     Now comes the time to figure out what is the best course of action.  If a residual haunting is the case their is not much that can be done about it.  In due time this activity will let up and eventually stop altogether.  In the case of an intelligent human type it is dependant on the person involved.  Some people find the idea of a spectral guest appealing and will allow their ghost to live with them.  In most cases however a simple cleansing ritual will do the trick if you want it to leave.  In the case of in-human spirits, whether poltergeist or demonic,  It is highly recommended that an experienced member of the clergy is contacted to perform the proper ritual.

     It is important to remember that a positive mindset is a huge key to coping with a haunting.  This article is intended to provide simple basic guidelines for dealing with a haunting.  This field is an inexact science at best  and nothing here is set in stone.  Only the continued work of paranormal researchers and investigators will hopefully provide concrete answers.


Doug,
Other Side Investigations
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Help Me, I'm Haunted