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| Are you Haunted? How do you know? Do you shrug it off or do you delve into it further and seek out a Ghost Hunter? |
In September of 2006 we moved into a little house in Streator, Illinois.
All there was pretty normal. The house was in dire need of paint and
repairs but all in all, a cute little house. However soon after moving in
we started experiencing things like footsteps on the stairs with no one
there, items being moved and disappearing and then reappearing in
the same place we had originally put them. The longer we were there it
seemed almost that whatever this was became braver... Appearing as
a shadow in the basement, a whisper was caught by accident on a
recording, doors opening by themselves, chairs shaking and falling,
electrical shock in mid air and I could go on.
We heard fabricated stories about the house that could not be
validated and so far the library and the city archives hold no solid
explanation. Are we haunted? Well we believe so.
This situation however led me to research what might be present in a
haunting. We are quite sure there are others like us that have these
happenings in their homes or businesses and we would like to share
what we found. Although doing Ghost Hunting and Paranormal
Investigating ourselves we felt this gave a more rounded view in
layman's terms. Should you read this and feel it applies to you please
contact us and if we cannot help we will refer you to a group near you.
All there was pretty normal. The house was in dire need of paint and
repairs but all in all, a cute little house. However soon after moving in
we started experiencing things like footsteps on the stairs with no one
there, items being moved and disappearing and then reappearing in
the same place we had originally put them. The longer we were there it
seemed almost that whatever this was became braver... Appearing as
a shadow in the basement, a whisper was caught by accident on a
recording, doors opening by themselves, chairs shaking and falling,
electrical shock in mid air and I could go on.
We heard fabricated stories about the house that could not be
validated and so far the library and the city archives hold no solid
explanation. Are we haunted? Well we believe so.
This situation however led me to research what might be present in a
haunting. We are quite sure there are others like us that have these
happenings in their homes or businesses and we would like to share
what we found. Although doing Ghost Hunting and Paranormal
Investigating ourselves we felt this gave a more rounded view in
layman's terms. Should you read this and feel it applies to you please
contact us and if we cannot help we will refer you to a group near you.
16 Signs That Your House is Haunted
From Stephen Wagner
You hear heavy footsteps in the upstairs hallway when you know no one
is up there. Doors slam unaccountably. Commonly used items
disappear and reappear without cause. The kitchen light turns on by
itself. There's the unmistakable scent of a strange perfume in the air.
These may be indications that your house is haunted. True hauntings
are rare occurrences, and it may be difficult to determine whether or not
any strange phenomena you are experiencing in your home might be
due to a haunting. For one thing, no one really knows what a "real"
haunting is - what causes it or why it starts.
The Signs of a Haunting
The first step is to determine, as best you can, whether or not you truly
have a legitimate case of a haunting.
Not all hauntings are alike, and they may exhibit a variety of
phenomena. Some hauntings feature a single phenomenon - such as a
particular door slamming shut that occurs repeatedly - while others
consist of many different phenomena, ranging from odd noises to
full-blown apparitions.
Here's a list of phenomena that might indicate that your house is
haunted:
Unexplained noises - footsteps; knocks, banging, rapping; scratching
sounds; sounds of something being dropped. Sometimes these noises
can be subtle and other times they can be quite loud.
Doors, cabinets and cupboards opening and closing - most often, these
phenomena are not seen directly. The experiencer either hears the
distinct sounds of the doors opening and closing (homeowners get to
know quite well the distinctive sounds their houses make) or the
experiencer will return to a room to find a door open or closed when
they are certain that it was left in the opposite position. Sometimes
furniture, like kitchen chairs, are perceived to have been moved. Very
rarely will the experiencer actually witness the phenomenon taking place.
Lights turning off and on - likewise, these events are seldom seen
actually occurring, but the lights are switched on or off when the
experiencer knows they were not left that way. This can also happen
with TVs, radios and other electrically powered items.
Items disappearing and reappearing - this phenomenon, which we have
dubbed "the DOPler Effect" (DOP = Disappearing Object Phenomenon),
has been examined in the article "The DOPler Effect." Others have
called this "the borrowers" phenomenon, and it's the familiar experience
of not being able to find a regularly used item - say, your set of car keys
- which you believe you placed in a spot you routinely place them. But
they're gone and you look high and low for them with no success. Some
time later, the keys are found - in exactly the place you normally put
them. It's as if the object was borrowed by someone or something for a
short time, then returned. Sometimes they are not returned for days or
even weeks, but when they are, it's in an obvious place that could not
have been missed by even a casual search.
Unexplained shadows - the sighting of fleeting shapes and shadows,
usually seen out of the corner of the eye. This phenomenon has also
been discussed in some detail in "Shadow People." Many times, the
shadows have vaguely human forms, while other times they are less
distinguishable or smaller.
Strange animal behavior - a dog, cat or other pet behaves strangely.
Dogs may bark at something unseen, cower without apparent reason or
refuse to enter a room they normally do. Cats may seem to be
"watching" something cross a room. Animals have sharper senses than
humans, and many researchers think their psychic abilities might be
more finely tuned also.
Feelings of being watched - this is not an uncommon feeling and can be
attributed to many things, but it could have a paranormal source if the
feeling consistently occurs in a particular part of the house at a
particular time.
Those are some of the most common experiences of those who think
their houses are haunted. Yet even stranger things can happen...
From Stephen Wagner
You hear heavy footsteps in the upstairs hallway when you know no one
is up there. Doors slam unaccountably. Commonly used items
disappear and reappear without cause. The kitchen light turns on by
itself. There's the unmistakable scent of a strange perfume in the air.
These may be indications that your house is haunted. True hauntings
are rare occurrences, and it may be difficult to determine whether or not
any strange phenomena you are experiencing in your home might be
due to a haunting. For one thing, no one really knows what a "real"
haunting is - what causes it or why it starts.
The Signs of a Haunting
The first step is to determine, as best you can, whether or not you truly
have a legitimate case of a haunting.
Not all hauntings are alike, and they may exhibit a variety of
phenomena. Some hauntings feature a single phenomenon - such as a
particular door slamming shut that occurs repeatedly - while others
consist of many different phenomena, ranging from odd noises to
full-blown apparitions.
Here's a list of phenomena that might indicate that your house is
haunted:
Unexplained noises - footsteps; knocks, banging, rapping; scratching
sounds; sounds of something being dropped. Sometimes these noises
can be subtle and other times they can be quite loud.
Doors, cabinets and cupboards opening and closing - most often, these
phenomena are not seen directly. The experiencer either hears the
distinct sounds of the doors opening and closing (homeowners get to
know quite well the distinctive sounds their houses make) or the
experiencer will return to a room to find a door open or closed when
they are certain that it was left in the opposite position. Sometimes
furniture, like kitchen chairs, are perceived to have been moved. Very
rarely will the experiencer actually witness the phenomenon taking place.
Lights turning off and on - likewise, these events are seldom seen
actually occurring, but the lights are switched on or off when the
experiencer knows they were not left that way. This can also happen
with TVs, radios and other electrically powered items.
Items disappearing and reappearing - this phenomenon, which we have
dubbed "the DOPler Effect" (DOP = Disappearing Object Phenomenon),
has been examined in the article "The DOPler Effect." Others have
called this "the borrowers" phenomenon, and it's the familiar experience
of not being able to find a regularly used item - say, your set of car keys
- which you believe you placed in a spot you routinely place them. But
they're gone and you look high and low for them with no success. Some
time later, the keys are found - in exactly the place you normally put
them. It's as if the object was borrowed by someone or something for a
short time, then returned. Sometimes they are not returned for days or
even weeks, but when they are, it's in an obvious place that could not
have been missed by even a casual search.
Unexplained shadows - the sighting of fleeting shapes and shadows,
usually seen out of the corner of the eye. This phenomenon has also
been discussed in some detail in "Shadow People." Many times, the
shadows have vaguely human forms, while other times they are less
distinguishable or smaller.
Strange animal behavior - a dog, cat or other pet behaves strangely.
Dogs may bark at something unseen, cower without apparent reason or
refuse to enter a room they normally do. Cats may seem to be
"watching" something cross a room. Animals have sharper senses than
humans, and many researchers think their psychic abilities might be
more finely tuned also.
Feelings of being watched - this is not an uncommon feeling and can be
attributed to many things, but it could have a paranormal source if the
feeling consistently occurs in a particular part of the house at a
particular time.
Those are some of the most common experiences of those who think
their houses are haunted. Yet even stranger things can happen...
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