Signs of Ghosts & Phases of Hauntings

Signs of Ghosts & Hauntings

Hauntings start out as very subtle but they have unmistakable first signs that can be overlooked if one isn’t paying attention or used to such things. Often the haunting begins as strange odors or the displacement of objects. You may find yourself always searching for keys, your cell phone, or purse to later discover them in areas you know you would never place them. You may suddenly arrive home and notice that an item you’ve not seen in years, such as an album of family photographs, placed in the center of your dining room table. Some household objects may levitate, or are picked up and dropped as if by unseen hands. Or, more typically, you will hear something go crash and see that an object has been tossed across the room while there is no other living soul around.

Changes in temperature are apparent in many haunted areas. This is especially true of cold spots and areas that are difficult to keep warm. At times the cold (and even hot) spots will move around, but you may find them centralized in one area. Why are there cold spots? Some theorize that spirits draw upon the thermal energies of an area in order to appear.

Other signs include electrical equipment going haywire, strange disturbances in the lights, television sets, telephones, lights switched back on after the person has turned them off and left the room. Ghost hunters know from experience that any haunting will drain electricity as well, so haunted houses tend to use up lots of light bulbs and ghost hunts in haunted areas deplete new batteries.

Disturbing dreams that involve characters the sleeper doesn’t know while in a waking state can indicate the presence of spirits. Hearing your name being called, and then turning to find no one is there is evidence of haunting spirits. When pets avoid certain rooms, or cower and bark as they do around strangers, or when frightened, is something to take note of.

Another odd phenomenon is hearing voices over the sound of a fan or air- conditioner or running water. (See “White Noise.”) As soon as the interference ceases, the voices will invariably stop. Most often the voices will appear to be whispering or the mumbling of several voices. Hearing your name being called or spoken and then finding no one there is not uncommon.

A number of haunted areas will have the sound of running water or plumbing problems, and yet the source of the problem may never been found. Water problems are typical in many hauntings.

Doors being repeatedly opened and closed either witnessed visually or just by hearing odd sounds in your home, such as footsteps, are typical in ghost infestations. Glimpsing shadows, lights or movement out of the corner of your eye indicates spirits afoot. Phones continually ringing, and no one on the line is also an indicator that a spirit wants to be in communication. (Make sure, though, it is not a bad link on a cell phone.)

Other signs of hauntings are the witnessing of white or black wisps floating about, seeing mysterious balls of light, either captured on cameras or witnessed by the naked eye, hearing slamming noises or the sound of broken glass.

A number of spirits announce themselves as muffled voices, disembodied whispering, or low-level growls. You may also hear moaning or soft crying. An area that remains dim or cold, not matter what you do, implies the presence of a haunting.

Some experience their haunting or spirit attachments as Old Hag night terrors, feelings of being brushed up against or touched, physical objects being tossed and witnessing full-blown apparitions, all imply ghosts like to hang out in your corner of the world.

What to do?

You can start to investigate your ghost or haunting or more simply, ignore it. Most hauntings eventually peter out and go away on their own. Oh, this doesn’t mean you’re rid of ghosts. Just learn to accept them. There is very little danger they can cause you. But if ghosts are attracted to you, they probably always will be. If you don’t want this, you should not be reading a book like this. Study of ghosts tends to open a window allowing their spirits to pour through.

If you find yourself suffering from a number of headaches, depression, bad luck or some form of substance abuse, you might want to move out, if you believe your house to be haunted. Not everyone is cut out for communications with ghosts. If these problems continue to plague you, learn how to spiritually protect yourself, through casting a circle, white lighting exercises, chants and prayers. Better yet, take a vacation from it all. A positive frame of mind will only attract positive spirits. The negative ones won’t be attracted to your positive energy and love light and they will quickly go away.

Let’s go over the most universal elements involving hauntings and ghost appearances:

Signs of Hauntings

>Dark, cold areas in a home or building that are difficult to warm or light.

> Hearing whisperings, mumbling or even clearly enunciating voices.

> Shadows or lights in the peripheral vision, such as images reflected in mirrors, windows of in the computer screen that should not be there.

> Unusual odors or smells.

> Hearing moaning or growling.

> Hearing scratching inside the walls or at the door.

> Doors opening and closing on their own.

>Much more rarely, windows opening and closing on their own.

> Glass rattling or the sound of glass shattering.

> Infestations of insects in certain rooms.

> Seeing a full-blown apparition.

>Feeling pressed down, or attacked in your bed.

> Waking up paralyzed or unable to move even a finger.

> The sound of footsteps in areas of the home where no one is.

> Feeling touched or brushed against.

> Getting sudden chills for no apparent reason.

> Seeing what looks like smoky light, balls of light, sparks or what looks to be a sudden camera flash.

Phases of Hauntings

To know what phase your haunting is in, read the following explanations of how the appearances of ghosts tend to progress:

> First Phase. Most hauntings start out as barely noticed. They may involve the moving of objects, the misplacing of objects and objects turning up in unexpected or unlikely places. Places in the home will seem abnormally cold or difficult to heat. Pets may begin to act strangely and refuse to enter certain rooms. Strange shadows may be noted out of the corner of the eyes fleetingly.

>Second Phase. There are smells or odors that stand out as being not attached to the place, such as old-fashioned perfume, the smell of a pipe, cologne, cigars, fresh cut flowers, gasoline, or what is associated with the spirit in life. You may hear low moaning, crying sounds and conversations, thinking the television or radio is on.

> Third Phase. The haunting will progress into loud noises such as the sound of footsteps, often above or below the floor where the witness is, the opening and closing of doors, windows opening, shutting, creaking in the walls and rapping and banging sounds throughout the house. Sometimes lamps will swing. You may feel breezes pass by, with no one there.

> Fourth Phase. Lights and other electrical appliances may malfunction, but most specifically, turn themselves off and on. This alone, is very noticeable and may be the very thing that convinces the family or individuals they are caught in the midst of a haunting. Light bulbs and other energy sources get drained quickly. Instead of going out, light bulbs will explode or make a loud noise While doing so.

> Fifth Phase. There may be the feeling of unseen hands or a touch or brush of the hair. Perhaps indistinct voices, such as whispers, and the sound of your name being called will attract attention. There can be the noise of breaking and shattering glass, but when checked upon, nothing is amiss. Objects may be tossed or will fly about, usually just as you have turned a corner, or have taken your attention away from where the ghostly actions is. Marking, writing or shapes may appear on the walls, or carpets.

> Sixth Phase. Full apparitions will appear, as real living people or as shadow people that tend to be quite elongated or tall. Dark figures may move about the house or haunted area. There may be the attempt to communicate with the living, such as having a bizarre dream, then waking up to feeling a presence at the foot of the bed. (IF the spirit does not attempt or show any interest in communication, then it is probably a residual or imprint haunting.) Sometimes there will be the shape of a person glowing somewhat, like an aura without a body.

> Seventh Phase. Think of all of the above, but intensifying. Furniture may shake. Items may fly and shatter. Voices are getting louder or at least more violent in nature. Having frequent “Night (Old) Hag” occurrences, or the feeling of nocturnal assault or rape. You may find unusual scratches or bite marks on your body. These, however, are not your typical haunting.

The fact of the matter is, no matter how your frightening your haunting may seem it will eventually die down on its own by doing absolutely nothing. But this is not what Hollywood movies and ghost stories are sold on-- malevolent ghosts. Most of the time spirits are harmless and have no wish to be troublesome.

 It is best to keep in mind, the more you talk about your haunting, the more you are afraid or even excited, spirits will draw upon these emotions for energy and will just become stronger. If you are not comfortable with ghosts and their appearances, consider moving.

Once you get used to your ghosts, they usually leave since you are not giving them the attention they want. In 99.9% of the cases no one ends up hurt at all.

Moonset Lily

Susan A Sheppard

(Séance photo-collage by Mark Carlos Hernandez)