Types of Hauntings - Did This Happen to You?

Have you heard creeks and bumps in the house? Are things getting moved around, and you don’t know why? Are you seeing shadow shapes out of the corner of your eye? Perhaps some strange events have occurred, like all the doors in your home closed at the same time. Or, maybe you were one of the really lucky ones, and an apparition actually spoke to you. Below I will list the most common types of hauntings and their terminology according to paranormal investigators.

Intelligent Haunting

This is the most common type of haunting that Hollywood utilizes. It is the essence that a person leaves behind when their mortal body dies. They are sometimes referred to as “earth bound spirits.” In this situation, the spirit or entity is usually able to touch and communicate with the living, often through signals and occasionally with a voice. Most often the person/entity has an issue that holds them here from unfinished business to mourning loved ones refusing to let them go. These guys can sometimes be mischievous, and not only can they move objects, they can interfere with electronic equipment.

Demonic Haunting

Demons are entities that have never been mortal, and they are pure energy. Luckily demonic hauntings are very rare, and they are usually easy to identify. A stench that could smell like rotten flesh or sulfuric acid will usually accompany them. Sometimes they growl, and it sounds like it is coming from everywhere, and they usually get more active around the hour of 3AM. They like to make contact by pushing, shoving, scratching, and even hitting. They can appear very nice and nonthreatening at first, but they quickly increase their intensity. They often try to weaken their victims and eventually possess them. If you feel like you are dealing with a demon, get professional help.

Poltergeist Activity

Poltergeists are usually some sort of kinetic (moving) energy, but occasionally they can manifest as sounds and apparitions. They are similar to intelligent hauntings, but the poltergeist is usually attached to a person, most often a teenager going through puberty. Stressful situations for the teen often aggravates the poltergeists. Some believe that the poltergeist has possessed the person, and others believe it is a natural telekinetic ability coming from the person. Poltergeists means noisy ghosts, and they can bring violent and destructive activity. They can cause knocking and tapping noises, stationary objects moving, doors slamming, lights turning on and off, and even fires breaking out.

Residual Haunting

If a traumatic event happens, it can sometimes leave residual energy. Negative actions can actually leave an energy behind, kind of like the energy surrounding a magnet. Civil War battlefields are a common place to find residual hauntings. Residual hauntings are probably the most common form of hauntings. The people who generated the residual energy could still be living. An example of places that carry large amounts of residual hauntings are hospitals and domestic violence shelters. Even though the people have healed and moved on, the anxiety they endured at the time was recorded in the atmosphere and environment at at quantum level. They are like video recorders playing the event over and over again, but there are no humans or entities fueling them. Residual hauntings cannot harm anyone.

Shadow Creatures

The shadow creatures are the least explained of hauntings. They usually appear as a dark form, often with no discernable features. The can move through walls, and some have even seen them dance. The two most common forms of the shadow creatures are a man in a hat and a person wearing a hood. Sometimes they take the forms of animals such as cats or dogs, but without any eyes or facial features. They are most often see out of the corner of one’s eye (peripheral vision), and most psychic mediums consider them to be neither human nor non-human. If you have read any of the Odd Thomas books by Dean Koontz, Odd called them bodachs. I think that Dean Koontz has the best description of them that I have encountered.

There are other types of hauntings, and some like to classify the intelligent hauntings into more categories, but this is a simple overview of the types of hauntings and how to recognize them. If you feel that you are living in a situation where a haunting is active, please consider contacting the professionals for more advice.