by Sam Little

Created on: July 26, 2010

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

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• Next Page >>