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Christina Corsetti manages and writes "Haunted Salem's" web page and blog. She's the ultimate paranormal historian and finds out more about hauntings than one could imagine. Recently, she posted this great blog about "Signs of a Haunting." This outline really provides you with a great understanding of hauntings and things associated with ghostly activity. You should also check out her page at: https://www.facebook.com/hauntedsalem - Rob
by Christina Corsetti, Haunted Salem
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 partial 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- Lets 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.
https://www.facebook.com/hauntedsalem 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. (Rob's NOTE: high electromagnetic fields, such as those generated from a fuse box or electrical wiring can cause the same feelings).
STRONGER EVIDENCE
The following phenomena are more rare, but could be stronger evidence of a haunting:
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Feelings of being touched - the feeling of being watched is one thing, and actually feeling like you are being touched is quite another. Some people feel something brush past them, something touching their hair or “a hand” on the shoulder. Some feel a gentle poke, push or nudge.
Cries and whispers - on occasion, muffled voices, whispering and crying can be heard. Sometimes it’s music from some unknown source. People hear their names being said. This phenomenon, as is true for the one above, gains more credibility if more than one person hears or sees the same thing at the same time.
Cold or hot spots - cold spots are classic haunting symptoms, but any instance of a noticeable variance in temperature without a discernable cause could be evidence.
Unexplained smells - the distinct fragrance of a perfume or cologne that you do not have in your house. This phenomenon comes and goes without any apparent cause and may accompany other phenomena, such as shadows, voices or psychokinetic phenomena. Foul odors can happen in the same way.
Rarer still are more extreme phenomena, some of which have been called poltergeist phenomena, and can be quite strong evidence of a true haunting:
Moving or levitating objects (severe psychokinetic phenomena) - dinner plates sliding across the table; pictures flying off walls; doors slamming shut with great force; furniture sliding across the floor.
Physical assault - scratches, slaps and hard shoves. This kind of personal assault is extremely rare, but obviously highly disturbing.
Other physical evidence - unexplained writing on paper or walls; handprints and footprints.
Apparitions - physical manifestation of a spirit or entity. These phenomena are also very rare and can take many forms: human-shaped mists or forming mists of some indistinguishable shape; transparent human forms that disappear quickly; and most rarely, human forms that look as real and solid as any living person, but that disappear into a room or even while being viewed.
