Types of Hauntings

Types of Hauntings

This article is to give ghost hunters an insight to the different types of hauntings that can be found during an investigation.
Many people do not know that there are more than one type of haunting.
Many people classify hauntings as any type of experience with a ghost.
While ghosts are an essential part of hauntings, they are not associated with all hauntings.
This article will give a brief breakdown of the types of hantings.

Traditional (Conscious) Hauntings - This type of haunting is probably the most accepted type of haunting but is not as common as one might think. These type of hauntings involve a ghost that is an intelligent or interactive type of ghost. This means that they can interact with this world and know what is going on around them. They will try to communicate and are aware when people are around. They will respond to someone who talks to them and when an apparition appears, may even look at someone that calls to them or acknowledges their presence. These type of hauntings are usually connected to the location or a person that is at that location.
The interactive ghost is the consciousness of the person that once lived. This means that it has all of the personality, habits and knowledge of the person that lived. What this means is that the person decided to stay behind instead of moving on, whether it was because of a murder, unfinished business, an accidental death, undying love for someone, or many other reasons.
Because of the fact that the ghost retains all of the emotions and personality of the living person it once was, there is the potential for there to be benevolent, or peaceful spirits as well as malevolent, or angry sprits.
The more benevolent sprits are peaceful and give a sense of "everything's ok".
The malevolent spirits give off an angry feel in the air and there is tension and animosity around the area that is haunted by a malevolent spirit.
These negative spirits are not evil but are angry. This may be due to their confusion and unsure of what is going on around them. They may also be have been an angry person in life and carried that over in death.

Residual Hauntings - This type of haunting is like watching a movie loop over and over again. These hauntings are caused by energy that has been imprinted on a particular place.
Residual hauntings can take place at places where many people congregate such as hotels, sports complexes, apartments complexes, etc.
These hauntings are caused when a major event takes place at a location and the psychic memory of that event is left behind after those people are gone.
Many times these hauntings are said to have sounds and smells as well as the rare apparition sighting.
The difference between a traditional and a residual haunting is that the ghost in the residual haunting is not responsive.
You can talk to it and it will not respond. You can be standing near it and it will not acknowledge your presence.
This is because is is a replay of an event long passed.
This haunting can also be connected to plots of land as well.
Residual hauntings can occur even when the building that it once occurred in is gone. T
here have been reports of people being in the woods of an area whether camping or hunting and then all of a sudden be caught in the middle of a civil war battle. This is due to the psychic energy of that major battle imprinted on that land replaying itself. Evidence of ghosts can be recorded such as EVP, EM readings and photographic evidence.

Poltergeist Hauntings - Thanks to Hollywood, the word poltergeist is a household word.
While entertaining, the movies of Hollywood do not show the true poltergeist.
From the German word meaning "noisy ghost", a poltergeist is centered around a person, usually called an agent.
This person is unknowing that they are causing the events that are taking place. While poltergeist activity can take place with any agent, it is more prevalent in adolescent girls during their puberty stage of life.
Poltergeist activity is associated with objects being moved and thrown through the air as well as footsteps and rapping sounds.
While these sounds are similar to the activity of the previous two types, the activity is coming from a person, not the ghost.
The agent is actually causing the events to happen unknowingly.
The agent has emotions held up inside due to stress and other aggravating factors. The agent has no way of expressing these emotions so they lash out psychically through the events found in a poltergeist case.
When investigating a poltergeist case, there will be no scientific evidence to be found in the form of EM readings, EVP and photographic evidence.
That is because there is no ghost.
The way to determine this type of haunting is to remove the possible agent and see if the activity continues.
This activity is short term, ranging from a few weeks to as long as a few years. Poltergeist activity however averages from weeks to a few months long.
Counseling for the agent will often help if not extinguish the activity all together.

Inhuman Hauntings - This type of haunting is not very common.
Inhuman hauntings are almost always malevolent beings.
The difference between ghostly hauntings and inhuman hauntings is that the name says it all, they were never human. These hauntings fall under a "demonic" category. These hauntings may in fact coincide with possession.
Anyone who has ever encountered one of the beings can tell you that it is not a pleasant experience.
These usually have to be dealt with on a much higher level such as having spiritual leaders come and assist in banishing the entity.
This can be a grueling ordeal.
Let's hope we don't ever have to deal with many of these.

Different Point of Views

Different Types of Hauntings

Ghosts are here for Different Reasons

When a specter makes its presence known, it can be extremely frightening, but they usually mean no harm. They may not be aware that anyone can see them.

A ghost is a ghost, or is it? Actually there is more to it than that. There are several different types of entities. Some of them are aware of those around them, while others are simply replaying events that have happened in the past. Any of these can be very scary for those who can see them, but most are harmless.
Here is a brief description of the most common types of hauntings.

Residual Ghosts
These are by far the most common type of entity seen.
Usually what is actually happening is a scene from the past is being replayed, with the specter not being aware that anyone else is watching. It is kind of like a tape being played over and over.
Often they are seen at the same time, happening on an anniversary of the actual occurrence.
It may replay every month on a certain day or just once a year.

Intelligent Ghosts
These can be extremely scary, as they are aware of the people around them, and will often try to make their presence known.
They sometimes move around and might attempt to move something to get attention. Usually they have stayed in a certain area for emotional reasons.
It might be where they once lived, or where they died. Possibly they have left something unfinished, and feel that they cannot move on.
They may not have even realized that they are actually dead.

Poltergeists
These are perhaps the most frightening of all types of entities.
This is the kind of haunting most often seen in the movies, probably because they provoke the most activity.
They are able to move heavy objects and call out to those around them.
Often there is a teenage girl in the house, or another person who is in a stressful situation, who is bringing in these spirits without realizing it.
They can be very difficult to eradicate, and may be present for years.

Demons
Very rarely seen, demons have never been human. They are characterized by a strong, foul scent, similar to sulfur.
While most hauntings are accompanied by a feeling of cold, demons often warm the area around them.
Able to present themselves in any form, they are frequently seen as a black mass. Demons are actually able to do harm, and that is usually their intent.
They may attack if they desire, or even possess someone.
They have lived for thousands of years and cannot be destroyed.
The best that can be done is to get them to move on to another space.
Professional help from a paranormal group or member of the clergy is needed to make this happen.

If you are ever in an area where you feel unsafe or are scared,get out.
Do not put yourself or others in harms way.
If you do not want to go into a room or building ,do not enter.

Remember that in most cases a ghost or paranormal activity can not hurt you but may scare you and that will lead to someone getting hurt.