Types of Haunting

Have you ever felt a cold, prickling sensation shoot down your back, heard an unexplained cry in the night or experienced sudden temperature changes without any rational explanation? When these encounters happen with regularity or growing frequency, it may be a sign that spirits are haunting you!

While Hollywood and book publishers have made a fortune off of scaring the public with stories of horrific hauntings, the reality of a haunting is often different than its fictional depictions. In fact, there are many kinds of haunting, and while not all hauntings are malevolent, they need assistance from the living to be resolved.

Intelligent

An intelligent haunting is when a spirit is attempting or able to communicate with you in a way that you understand. The hallmark of an intelligent ghost is that you can interact with the spirit. The spirit will make itself known with typical signs of a haunting, including sounds, apparitions or other actions. One way to determine if it is an intelligent haunting is if the ghost notices and attempts to interact with any living humans or if their activity changes the surrounding environment.

Residual

A residual haunting is when energy from past events or living spirits make themselves manifest in the present. Often, a traumatic event generated this energy, and it will continue to play out in the present. A residual ghost or haunting won’t ever interact or communicate with living beings, and its actions can’t change the surrounding environment. Also, a residual haunting may play out like a movie on a loop, and the ghost won’t be able to alter their actions or the paths they take, and they never acknowledge or interact with living observers.

Demonic

A demonic haunting occurs when a demon, or evil spirit, possess an individual so that they act cruelly to their loved ones and commit heinous acts. A demonic haunting is also known as a demonic possession and can only be broken by an exorcism conducted by a trained spiritual leader. A demonic haunting may mark a radical shift in behavior and a sudden understanding of foreign languages or other knowledge. This type of haunting is particularly tricky to handle, especially as a demon grows stronger in the face of fear or physical weakness.

Poltergeists

A poltergeist is a noisy and troublesome ghost known for breaking household objects, creating loud disturbances and other distracting behaviors. Poltergeist activity may occur sporadically or at regular intervals lasting anywhere from minutes to days or even years. Many times a poltergeist is created by energy generated by a “catalyst” or the highly-charged emotions of an adolescent or other individual going through a very stressful time. The individual who is the catalyst has no awareness of the havoc their feelings are creating in the physical environment.

As you begin your exploration of the ghostly world, you will come to understand that intelligent, residual, poltergeists and demonic hauntings are only four broad classifications. A better understanding of these basic types of hauntings will help you face any hauntings you encounter.