Tell if Your House Is Haunted

Haunted houses are a great place to scare a loved one on a special occasion to get them in your arms, but they are not a great place to settle down your life. Here are a few tips to make sure there are no spooks in your dream home.

Steps

  1. Determine if the haunting is a valid case. There are different levels of phenomena in hauntings because they aren't all the same. There can be single phenomenons and many different phenomena in hauntings. [1]
  2. Investigate to see if anything seems out of the ordinary.
    • Listen for any other voices or noises if you are home alone. You will most likely hear these sounds in the distance. Some sounds you might hear in a haunted house would be footsteps, knocks, banging, rapping,slamming, scratching sounds, or sounds of something being dropped. These noises can range from quiet to extremely loud. [1]
    • Check to see if you ever find doors opened or closed when you are certain the door wasn't positioned like that before. Also, look for electrical items turning on and off unexpectedly. You will probably not witness this type of phenomena taking place. [1]
    • Discover if items are disappearing and reappearing. Look in a certain spot for something that is always there; if it's not, keep your eyes open. Usually, the item will be found in an obvious spot ranging from a day to a few weeks. It would be as if someone or something took an object for a while, then returned it to its normal spot. [1]
    • Check for unexplained shadows. This means you might be seeing shapes and shadows from the corner of your eye. The shadows will probably be similar in form to a human, but sometimes they can be smaller and hard to distinguish. [1]
    • Notice if you feel like you're being watched or touched by someone or something that isn't visible. For example, something might brush up against your arm when you are standing in an empty room. An extreme and very rare example would be getting slapped or punched by the invisible someone or something. [1]
    • Listen for muffled cries and whispers. You might hear music playing from an unknown area or your name being said by someone or something who isn't there. [1]
    • Look for moving objects. Some examples would be dinner plates moving across the table, pictures falling off walls, and furniture sliding across the floor. [1]
    • Pay attention to cold spots as some believe that this means there is a ghost in the room.
    • Pay attention to unusual smells (i.e. perfume, smoke, flowers, food) that come from nowhere or out of the blue.
  3. Try to find rational reasons for what is happening. It may be hard to dismiss some of the more extreme phenomena. The phenomena will most likely be taken more seriously if more than one person witnesses it happening.
  4. Locate some help in proving your house isn't haunted. The local plumber might be able to help you explain why there are banging noises around the pipes. Carpenters can fix tables that wobble on their own or doors that close by themselves. Family or friends might be able to offer new explanations for why you are hearing or seeing a certain something. [1]
  5. Keep a journal and a tape recorder by your side. Write down the date, time, and what the phenomena did in your journal when something unusual happens. If you are hearing strange noises a lot, it is good to record what you hear on the tape recorder for evidence. By doing this, you will be able to help out the paranormal investigators if you would like them to come to your house. [1]
  6. Do historical research. Haunted houses are usually the site of a historical tragedy of some sort. Find out who has owned the house before, and if anything unusual has happened in that home. A good reference librarian, your town hall, historical society, even history teacher can help get you started.
    • Contact the people who have lived in your house before you. Ask them if they ever noticed anything unusual, strange, or unexplained behavior while they were living there. If multiple people have lived in your house before you, be sure to contact as many as possible.
  7. Contact a paranormal investigator. Have them visit your house, and ask them if they notice anything unusual. Only call one if you are very certain your house is actually haunted. If you believe that your family may be in some kind of danger with the phenomena being in your house, don't be afraid to call for help as soon as possible. [1]
  8. Follow the guidance of investigators. If your house turns out to be haunted, then listen to what others tell you to do. If you don't like your house being haunted, try sprinkling holy water in the areas that seem most haunted.



Tips

  • Don't provoke them. The activity might stay the same or even worsen.
  • Keep in mind that having noise such as Televisions, playing in one or multiple rooms and a lot of movement while alone can make the house seem a lot safer.
  • Set up hidden cameras at night or when someone is by themselves so you can see if a family member is tricking you.
  • Don't make a ghost feel threatened.
  • If something strange is happening, look out of the corner of your eye.
  • Make sure you know what your dealing with before making drastic choices, e.g. moving out.
  • Make sure you are not setting something up to seem like a ghost. Ex: leaving windows open, putting stuff on the edge of the table, mistaking glares from something shiny for a shape, and don't get too scared!!!
  • Do not panic if you find your home inhabited by spirits, there is little evidence they can (or will) actually harm anyone.
  • If you live in an apartment, you may be hearing voices from surrounding rooms.
  • In the state of Connecticut, USA, if you are intending to purchase a house reputed to be haunted, your real estate agent must disclose this fact, so be sure to ask. (It's really a law!) The same law has been enacted in several other states.
  • Don't move out of the house unless nothing else seems to work. It's entirely possible to co-exist with "roommates" from beyond with a little work.
  • If you are certain a spirit is living in your house politely ask them to leave.
  • Just remember they could be good to so don't be scared and ask them politely to leave or get a spirit board to contact them.

Warnings

  • Don't try to investigate a haunted house by yourself if you don't have experience. Always contact someone who specializes in this type of thing to help you.
  • Make sure the person who specializes in the paranormal has a clear goal, and can be trusted.
  • Sometimes natural phenomena occurs that can make a house "haunted." Be sure to investigate thoroughly before doing something drastic (such as moving out).
  • Ensure to know if the entity is evil or good, ensure you know that the entity you may speak to, is who you are speaking to.
  • If you start hearing "hisses" or you start getting scratched then that means you have a demon inside. The best way to get the demon out or not get hurt is to either move, or buy a new house.

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Sources and Citations

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