Webster’s online dictionary states a haunt as 3 : to visit or inhabit as a ghost. Allwords.com says a haunting is 1. Said of a ghost or spirit: to be present in (a place) or visit (a person or place) regularly. But is this really what a haunting is? There has to be more to this than that, right? Well my friend there is so much more. The haunting is the backbone of paranormal research and investigation, making up a great deal of our time and effort in the field. Hauntings are so varied that to define what they are with a simple definition is merely impossible. There are so many types of haunting that I feel each deserves the proper amount of coverage for one to truly understand what is going on.

One thing I cannot stress enough is the misconceptions of the haunting. Having a ghost does not mean you are experiencing a haunting. Ghosts sometimes roam and venture to places other than that which they are familiar. These roaming spirits may come for a little while and then leave. Also I must add you can be haunted without having an actual ghost in your home. This may sound odd at first but later in this article that point will be made much clearer. First let’s really look into this amazing topic, the haunting.

To me, there are 4 types of haunting, each a bit different from the last, but each equally important to the study of ghosts. Let’s begin with the most common.

Residual Haunting

The residual haunt is the most common and probably the most misunderstood of all the hauntings we will discuss here. In truth this type of haunting does not involve “ghosts” as much as memories. The simplest and best way to view this topic is to think of a film projector that at random shows the same scene over and over again, in a continuous loop. The common theory is all objects, be it a chair, table or what not have an energy field around them. When a strong emotional discharge (death, birth, etc.) happens the event may be stored on that energy field and played back at a later time. Another theory is that underground water sources or atmospheric differences can record these events just like the energy fields of objects.

One misconception is that all residuals are visual, this is however not the case. Many residuals are merely sounds, or even smells. It is not uncommon for a residual to be simply a feeling that overtakes the person experiencing it. You may ask how can I tell if I am experiencing a residual haunt? This is easy actually. First off the ghost in question will not respond to you. It will not interact because to it you are not there, it is merely a memory being relived by an entity that no longer exists. Objects will not be moved or misplaced in this type of haunt because the entity is totally unaware of the items existence. It is not to uncommon for doors or windows to open but this is mainly do to the recordings energy being expanded. The residual haunt is one of the more difficult haunts to have come to an end. Sometimes the activity can be linked to an object in the location and when the object is removed the haunt is removed as well. Sometimes however the location itself is the recorder and projector and in that case the haunt can go on for an infinite amount of time. This type of activity, while unnerving, is not one that should cause much concern, as it is relatively safe, unless you get scared and in a panic fall or bump into something.

Ghosts of the Living

One event exclusive to the residual is what I have called the living ghost. This is when a residual recording is made of an event in which the person involved is still alive. Many people make the assumption that death and violent events are what cause residuals but this is quite wrong. Any event where a great deal of emotional energy is dispersed will have the potential to be recorded by energy fields and upon random times played back. Many cases have been reported in which a living person has managed to see or even photograph themselves haunting the place they live. This is further proof that we are not looking at a real ghost in residual haunts.

Although the above occurrence is quite rare it is still encountered and can be a very awkward experience to have happen. I like to use the film “Back to the Future” as reference. Imagine the scene were the girlfriend sees herself in the future and passes out because the shock. This is the same thing as seeing yourself as what you might feel is a ghost. Once again I must stress residual haunts are not caused by ghosts in any way, it is merely a played over recording.

The Intelligent Haunting

This form of haunting is by far the most interesting and in truth the type a researcher really has to work at to get any answers. Some people call this a traditional, or real ghost haunting as well. This type of haunting may have the same effects as the residual but we are no longer dealing with a recorded scene, or image. We are now dealing with a real ghost that has the ability to react to you as you do it. It may manipulate it’s surroundings by moving objects, turning off lights and other things of that nature. It is not known exactly why the ghost is still here and has not moved on to a final resting area, but there are many theories on the subject. One is the theory of untimely death, or to put it in layman’s terms, wrongful death. This would be a murder or an accident resulting in death. Many researchers feel this coincides with another theory that states ghost stick around to complete unfinished business which can include things such as watching out for family or even something as simple as seeing a play they missed while alive.

Another very interesting fact to this type of haunting is the way the spirit might choose to make contact. A residual is pretty much what you see is what you get while the intelligent haunt can be a whole different ball game. The ghost in question can actually make contact by touch, smell or any senses. One common way we as investigators into the paranormal make contact is by a process called EVP (electronic voice phenomena) This is a technique in which questions are asked aloud to a recorder with space in between each question. Upon play back you might hear the questions be answered by the ghost itself.

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