This type of haunting is perhaps the most widely accepted kind of ghost activity, although not as common as you might think. In this case, the spirit or entity involved is an "intelligent" presence in a haunted location. It is there because of a connection to the site or to the people in the location.
This ghost is best (and most simply) described as the personality of a person who once lived and who has stayed behind in our world instead of passing over to the other side. This sometimes happens in the case of a murder, traumatic event, or some unfinished business that took place in the person's life. At the time of death, the spirit refused to pass over because of these events. the spirits often linger because of the emotions that tie them to the earth. It may not have been that the person did not pass because they couldn't; It may have been because they did not want to. In other cases, there is the chance that the spirit did not yet even realize they were dead. This can occur when the death involved is sudden or unexpected.
We have to remember that these spirits are now made up of the energy that once made up the soul of some living person. These intelligent spirits are not evil or demonic, as some experts would have you believe. We have never encountered an "evil spirit" in the time we have been involved in this field. We have, however, run across a few negative spirits, and realizing they were the personalities of people who were angry and bitter in life, we could explain the types of behavior they were manifesting in the location. Spirits are simply human personalities, or souls, and if the spirit was a kind and caring person in life, the spirit will most likely hang onto those qualities. On the other hand, those angry and cruel people will also keep those same qualities if they choose to stay behind after death.
These negative spirits can be frightening, especially to people not trained in the paranormal, and in very rare cases they have been able to harm the living; that is generally not the case. It is much more common to hear of an encounter with a benevolent spirit than with a negative one. So, what can you do if you get involved in a case like this? The fact that some of these spirits have remained behind because of some unfinished business is a hard obstacle to overcome. There are many spirits remaining in our world who have left behind relatives and loved ones, or tasks which they feel cannot be completed by anyone other than themselves. They may not rest because of some injustice done to them or maybe because of something as simple as wanting to see their children grow up.
For the most part, the idea of these spirits remaining in our world is actually very sad. In all of our excitement over finding a ghost, we must also keep in mind that many spirits are confused as to what has happened to them, sometimes not realizing they are dead. Many of them died suddenly. Others cling to life, afraid to let go of something they no longer have. Because of this, they are drawn back to places where they experienced joy, peace, and happiness during their lifetimes. Many of these spirits just felt they had too much life in them and have refused to pass over.
These ghosts often need help to be convinced that they don't belong here anymore. They don't need to be exorcised (they aren't demons), they just need to be shown the right way to go and introduced to the fact that there is now more for them in the next world than in this one. there are many different way to accomplish this, ranging from simple explanations to perhaps a prayer from a clergyman of the spirit's former faith.
The spirit will usually manifest itself in physical ways, like slamming, opening, and unlocking doors and windows, strange sounds, voices, cold chills, and feeling a strong presence. It may make itself seen, and it will most likely look as it did when alive. The witness should be sure however, that the visible spirit seems to interact and is not just an imprinted image.
The annoyance factor with this type of haunting will be very high, as the spirit seeks to get the attention of the living occupants at or in the location. These spirits are known for hiding objects, moving things, turning things off or on, and other nuisances that would be similar to a child seeking attention. In this sort of case, the spirit may be looking for assistance to pass over or to accomplish a certain task. It has also been documented that the spirit may just be seeking company from the residence, or even from the investigators themselves.
This type of phenomena is much more common than people think, and we would even go so far to say that it is the most common type of reported phenomena around. we have to remember not to confuse this type of phenomena with an intelligent haunting because, while it is fascinating and unexplained, it may not be specifically related to ghosts.
The easiest way to explain this haunting is to compare it to an old film loop, meaning that it has a scene or image that is played over and over again through the years. many of these locations, where these hauntings take place, experience an event or series of events, which imprint themselves on the atmosphere of a place. this event can suddenly discharge and play itself at various times. The events are not always visual either. They are often replayed as sounds and noises that have no explanation. The famous "phantom footsteps" reported in many haunted places are a perfect example of this, as well as hearing things fall in another room, only to find everything in its proper place.
In other situations, the images have been created by events or actions that were repeated over and over again and cause an impression. Researchers have suggested that there are so many haunted staircases because of the number of times people go up and down them, and the amount of energy that is expended in doing so.
These locations act as giant storage batteries, saving up the impressions of sights and sounds from the past. Then, as the years go by, these impressions appear again as if a film projector has started to run.
How is this possible? No one really knows for sure but there have been lots of suggestions. Some believe that the building materials of the structure may absorb the energy. In England and Europe, some have suggested that the porous stones of the castle walls may soak up that energy and that may explain why there are so many haunted old buildings there. This might be the case, even though it would not explain why we have residual haunts in America without the castles. Still, we should remember that many of these residual hauntings do occur in older structures, so there might be something to this idea. We personally believe, however, it is more likely that the number of people passing through old homes, and the tapestry of history played out in them, are the main reasons why these hauntings come into existence.
Sometimes, this type of activity can make itself known in similar ways to an Intelligent Haunting, but the most important signs will be different. A spirit, or an image in this case, will not interact with any of the living occupants of the location. The activity and the sightings will be random. There will be no missing items. While doors and windows may open and close by themselves, it will be because of energy expending itself and not because of spirit activity.
Commonly reported in these cases are sounds of footsteps, walking and breathing and odd, usually repetitive sounds. Apparitions are commonly reported but they will not notice the living persons around them and will usually repeat the same actions over and over again. It is much more common to visibly spot an image in this type of haunting but remember, there will be no consciousness behind it.
Poltergeists, translated from German as "noisy ghosts," have commonly been blamed for any violent or destructive activity in a haunting. In the past, researchers believed that all such activity at a haunted location was the work of spirits or outside forces, but today most investigators don’t think so. While interactive spirits may be the culprits in some cases, many of cases have a force behind them that is much closer to home.
In a poltergeist case (and in its counterpart) there can be a variety of phenomena taking place. There are reports of knocking and tapping noises, sounds with no visible cause, disturbance of stationary objects (such as furniture), doors slamming, lights turning on and off, fires breaking out and much more. In some cases this activity can be connected to ghosts, in other cases it probably isn’t. Although, it usually remains paranormal and because of this, it is also unexplained and very controversial.
The current theory behind this Poltergeist-like phenomena is that the activity is caused by a person in the household, known as the "human agent". The agent is usually an adolescent girl and normally one that is troubled emotionally. It is believed that she unconsciously manipulates physical objects in the house by psychokinesis (PK), the power to move things by energy generated in the brain. This kinetic type of energy remains unexplained, but even some mainstream scientists are starting to explore the idea that it does exist.
It is unknown why this energy seems to appear in females around the age of puberty, but documentation of its existence is starting to appear as more and more case studies have become public. It seems that when the activity begins to manifest, the girl is usually in the midst of some emotional or sexual turmoil. The presence of the energy is almost always an unconscious one and it is rare when any of the agents actually realize that they are the source of the destruction around them. They do not realize that they are the reason that objects in the home have become displaced and are usually of the impression that a ghost (or some sort of other supernatural entity) is present instead. The bursts of PK come and go and most poltergeist-like cases will peak early and then slowly fade away.
It should be noted that while most cases such as this manifest around young women, it is possible for puberty age boys (and even older adults) to show this same unknowing ability. As with the young women, the vast majority will have no idea that they are causing the activity and will be surprised to find there is even a possibility that strange things are happening because of them.
In most cases like this, an excellent chance can be provided the researcher to document strange activity. Unfortunately, the case will have nothing to do with ghosts and there is really no way to help the witnesses. It is usually better to refer the family to a good counselor or mental health care provider rather than try to act as a paranormal investigator. A counselor is usually the best person to provide assistance under these circumstances because PK normally manifests because of emotional disturbance.
But not all such cases involve disturbed individuals. We have already discussed that not all hauntings can be easily categorized and we must be careful not to jump to conclusions in any case. In some cases, what appears to be the work of a human agent may actually be that of the spirits, and vice versa. In addition, some genuinely haunted spots seem to be so filled with energy that witnesses at the location can manifest their own phenomena.
The already mentioned types of physical activity are most common in these cases, usually involving the violent manipulation of household and stationary objects, which seem to move about under their own power. Watch for these reports of phenomena to escalate for a period as time goes by. Also watch for a female adolescent to be present in the household or for all of the activity to be centered around one person in particular. It is common that none of the activity will take place unless that person is present at the time.
This type of haunting, or paranormal phenomena, is the most controversial type of haunting that has been documented to date by paranormal researchers. The idea that this type of activity may actually exist is still mostly theory and conjecture, although evidence is starting to be collected which may actually prove these portals exist. The problem is that this type of haunting is the least understood and least traditional of all types of spirit activity.
Many ghost researchers reject the theories behind portals because they do not fit into their accepted ideas of haunted places, but we cannot afford to do this. We cannot afford to just reject off-hand something that we simply do not understand. Just think, if we had done this, many researchers would still be thinking that poltergeist activity was the work of evil spirits, and not activity caused by the hidden depths of the human mind.
So, strange and untraditional or not, the idea of the portal must be examined because evidence is starting to appear which just may surprise the doubters among you.
The idea of a "portal" or a "doorway" to another dimension is not a new one. Many researchers believe that there are places all over the world that serve as "doorways" from our world to another. These doorways are thought to provide access for entities to enter our world. They may be the spirits of people who have lived before, or they could be something else altogether. Some researchers even believe that they could be other-worldly beings from another dimension.
If that sounds far-fetched, it isn't as strange as it sounds. The entities sighted, reported and even photographed around what many believe to be "portals" could be the spirits of the dead.... or something much stranger.
If locations like this do exist and they are "doorways", isn't it an easy assumption to make that these spots could have been labeled as "haunted" over the years by people who have seen things near them that they couldn't explain? I believe this has probably happened quite often and these places didn't become "haunted" as other places do, through tragic events or death; These locations had already been that way for many, many years.
One of the most common locations for these "doorways" seem to be in cemeteries. As a rule, most cemeteries are not haunted, but in the past few years, ghost hunters have collected dozens and dozens of anomalous photographs taken in cemeteries. There seems to be no explanation as to why many of these cemeteries would become haunted unless they provided access for entities to pass from one world to the next.
Of course, some of the cemeteries are haunted in the traditional manner; It's the ones that aren't which causes the puzzle. It is possible that these sites were "haunted" long before a cemetery was located there. It is possible that the psychic draw of the area was what caused our ancestors to locate a cemetery there in the first place. They may have felt there was something "sacred" or "spiritual" about the place and without realizing why, they placed a burial ground there and made it a protected place.
The Native Americans chose their burial grounds in this manner, although they did it consciously. They found a place to bury and honor the dead which they felt was more closely connected to the next world. Many of these locations are now considered to be "haunted" or at least inhabited by spirits.
So why not our own cemeteries? Could our own ancestors have not chosen the sites for our own burial grounds in the same manner, albeit in an unconscious way? These "doorways" could be passages to the next world and the entities captured on film here could be the spirits of the dead, passing back and forth between two worlds, or they could be something far stranger.
So what does all of this mean? We will have to leave that up to you to decide. Are portals real and do they really connect with another world or dimension? We believe the possibility is very strong! For now, the theory involves a lot of speculation but we do believe it has merit and should not be dismissed without much more study and research.
If we refuse to consider the idea, then where does that get us? Even after all of these years, the paranormal sciences are still in the beginning stages. All we can do right now is speculate and theorize and try to gather as much evidence as possible that something is out there.
Used with permission from AGS.