*Entities / Intelligent Haunt (Spirit vs. Ghost)

First we need to differentiate between a spirit and a ghost. A ghost can be considered a simple psychic recording of a person or event, while a spirit is an actual sentient presence of an individual that remains earthbound after the body has physically died. Another way to put this, is the surviving conciseness of a deceased human. Intelligent haunts will show many signs of activity, among which – they will also try to gain your attention. Manifestations of an intelligent haunt will include anything that encompasses your senses; be it smell, sounds, feelings, down to touches, apparitions, or movement of objects. They want you to be aware of their presence – and in most cases are not doing it to be harmful, but rather to let you know that they are aware of what is going on. The activities surrounding this type of haunt would be anything from doors opening and closing, hearing their footsteps, voices being heard, feeling a chill in it’s presence, the scent of the person’s cologne worn during life (things that are “signature” for that particular person. In most cases, if an apparition of this person is actually able to manifest – it will most likely appear as it did in life. Other manifestations include shadows, vaporous mists or distortions in the atmosphere, lights, etc. If a spirit is malevolent and the property owner wishes to banish it, religious provocation will not always work (as in life many people do not follow a specific religion at all). Rather, you will need to work with a universal cleansing in order to bring light and positive energy to the location to rid it of any negativity. However, in many cases, spirits do not mean any harm – and it is just a matter of working with the people involved and teach them how to co-exist with the spirit(s). There are two different categories of intelligent hauntings: Visitor and Grounded. A spirit in visitation is one who is at a location for only a temporary time, simply to return out of love or some other attachment to a place. This time varies, but is usually very short in duration – usually to get a message across to someone living. Those in residence have a strong affinity to the location they have chosen to haunt. They have been attached to a location for many years (sometimes even hundreds of years), usually for the very same reasons that a spirit is in visitation, but for some reason can not move on.


*Why do they stick around?

There are many reasons why a spirit may return to a location after death, either in visitation or as a grounded haunt. Some of which will be touched on here, but are not limited to these. The soul of the person may not have properly passed over; the soul has not gone to “the next level” (whichever that would be for each person: heaven, the light, etc.). Some souls are attached to the location near their death (especially if it was a sudden or traumatic death) – some may not even know they are dead or refuse to accept it. Certain souls may have a fear of crossing over (fear of the unknown, fear of judgment). There is always the possibility of “unfinished business”; to help loved ones, stay in contact with them – or anything that might have compelled them in life. Guilt can certainly tie a spirit to a location or person; this would especially pertinent for those who have committed suicide or someone who’s death was caused by their own actions (reckless driving, overdoses, etc.). The living can also keep a spirit tied here by not “letting go” or being over obsessed with the one who has passed over.


*Residual Haunt

Imprints of past activities play back as if a recorded video is running. Entire scenes can play back and even alter the surroundings of your location for a few moments. These images are just that, and the spirits that are taking part are mere recordings of the past and are not conscious of your presence – they are nothing to fear. Their energy has made a physical imprint that will last for an indeterminate period of time, over and over. These events play out exactly as they had in the spirits life. In most cases, the reports of these sightings fade over time – which must show that the energy of the imprint does in fact lose it’s strength over time, and fades like anything else would – like a photograph. Eventually the occurrences will end, or become too transparent to see most likely. These events can be tied to specific dates as well – such as anniversaries of the death or other days in which this specific event unfolded. Other variations of residual hauntings could just be simple day to day activities. Many of the manifestations of a residual haunting can easily be mistaken for an intelligent haunting and warrant research into each specific case. These would include footsteps, doors opening and closing, voices or sounds (such as music). These are simply events that have recorded into the surroundings and the energy can still surface in order to make these events unfold (simply because energy continually expends itself, not because a spirit is manipulating something).


*Poltergeist Cranky spirits! – or – Noisy Ghosts

While history shows that we used to believe much of this paranormal activity was due to spirit involvement, modern day researchers believe it to be much different. While a variety of phenomenon can take place (knocking and other noises, movement of objects, doors slamming, electrical interference, fires, and more) – many of which can be the sign of an intelligent haunting, but in the case of a poltergeist, it is usually connected to a single person! Known as the “human agent”, usually an adolecent girl, one is emotionally troubled and can trigger these events. Since energy is an unconscious factor in humans, they do not usually realize that they are the cause to the destruction. As an investigator, you need to be able to pinpoint the disruption to the single person. In these cases, as investigators, you will not be able to aid in absolving the home of activity. Rather, suggest that the family seek council in a reputable therapist who can help get to the root of the anxiety the trigger person may be experiencing. In all cases of poltergeist activity, there is a peak and a low. The events will climax in an ultimate disruption, and end up fading away to nothing as the person’s life returns to normality and they work through their issues.


*Demons A rare occurrence!

Demons are beings that have never occupied a human body. They will usually disguise themselves as a “friendly” spirit to bring your attention to them and then trick you into doing treacherous things (usually via a Ouija board, through black magic, Satan worship, etc.). Signs of demonic residence can be horrific smells of sulfur or rotting flesh. Frightening growls or words will sound as if from everywhere at once, sometimes several voices together, or in a language you may not understand. Harsh physical contact might be made – shoving, pushing, scratching, pounding, etc. They can affect your whole environment – making it feel like a heavy, stagnant fog surrounding everything. They are very strong physically (much stronger than human spirits) and will use this to their advantage to break down the demeanor of the residents where it has taken over. It will tear at their spirit until they are susceptible to a possession. Commonly demons will take the form of half human and half animal, surrounded by a horrible stench. Many times upon investigation it is found that they will take the form of a human to avoid being banished or blessed, they find this potential a huge threat to their existence. Because of the nature of these creatures, it is believed by many that you cannot truly destroy the demon – but rather are only able to prevent it from returning to a specific person or home. They are able to move from location to location on a mere thought, so most likely when an exorcism or blessing is performed, the creature is simply being exiled from the current location. It is possible to perform a location cleansing in order to release some of the negativity surrounding the problem, but the person does need to confront their “demons” before a true resolution can be reached.


*Portal Haunting

Believed to be a transport vehicle for entities to be able to manifest. Usually a collection of strong electromagnetic fields (can even be large areas – such as beneath power lines, along a waterfront, etc. – any area where a strong energy is being cultivated) which can allow for a spirit to collect and gather energy without much effort in order to manifest. Referred to as “a doorway for spirits”, serving as a passage between spirit and earth planes. Some believe that cemeteries also serve in this manner as there is usually no certain event to tie particular spirits to a cemetery location. Rather this portal would provide a passageway for the spirit to return for whatever business it has tied to it’s physical person buried in the cemetery. The most frequent manifestation in portal hauntings seems to be “ghost lights” or orbs… simply because of the nature of orbs being a natural collection of energy. This could be a mere physical manifestation of the energy produced by the portal itself, rather than the spirits emerging from it in some cases.


*Attachment

This happens most frequently to those who have extrasensory perception of supernatural occurrences, but it certainly not limited to them. Sometimes while visiting a haunted location (sometimes unknowingly and without proper precautions) you could “pick up” an intelligent entity that will stay with you for an indefinite period of time. They can find something in common with you, our through provocation – they “attach” to you. When they are ready they will leave, unless they have alterior motives (dark entities or demons). In certain cases, if they remain with you for an extended period of time or are causing disruption in your life, you may wish to perform a cleansing to release the spirit.



*Various forms that paranormal energy may take on during investigations

*Apparition
*Orb / balls of light
*Mist (ectoplasm)
*Vortex/Funnel
*Shadows / Dark Form
*Streams of Energy
*Rods

(Articles taken from http://home.earthlink.net/~ghosthunters.il/index.html)

BACK TO: FOR THE INVESTIGATORS