Types of Hauntings
Intelligent or traditional hauntings
This type of haunting is what most people think of when they hear the word “ghost.” Unfortunately, these types of hauntings are very rare. An intelligent or traditional ghost is kind of like Casper in the sense that they interact with people. The most common belief is that the ghost is connected to the site or people in some way.
Key Points
Some reasons the ghost may be tied to the site or people are:
- died as a result of a traumatic event (murder, car accident, etc.).
- due to unfinished business.
- The spirit may have died unexpectedly and not realised it.
- Living loved ones are emotionally distraught and unable to let go.
- The spirit is emotionally connected to their loved ones.
- They cannot rest due to an injustice done to them.
- Fear of the other side or judgement
Physical activity such as slamming, opening, closing, and unlocking doors and windows, as well as voices and sounds, are commonly associated with these ghosts.A strong presence, a scent, or a touch may be experienced. People rarely see a manifestation of the ghost in the form of an apparition or mist.
Residual Haunting
A residual haunt is believed to be the activity of reoccurring or traumatic actions from past events that leave an imprint on the environment.
This type is probably the most common type of haunting. Because its characteristics are similar to those of an intelligent haunting, people often mistake it for an intelligent or traditional haunting. Like intelligent haunts, some examples of activity are phantom footsteps, sounds, images, and scents. One major difference between this type of haunting and the intelligent or traditional kind is that this type of haunting is not considered to be that of a ghost, and there is no interaction with the living.
It is believed that this activity is the dissipation of stored energy from the site. The theory is that the energy is stored or absorbed by the site due to repetitive or traumatic events and the energy expended while performing such actions. Similar to a tape player, the energy is stored in the magnetic field of the environment. Over time, the energy builds up and is discharged, showing a replay of the event, and then the cycle starts again. Some suggest that atmospheric conditions such as storms may initiate the playback. There is also a quantum physics theory that describes energy as light particles that are dormant until stimulated by an external variable under the right conditions. (The Ghost Hunters Bible) Researchers have observed that the energy tends to diminish over periods of time until eventually it is either exhausted or the level is so low that it is not experienced again.
Portal Hauntings
Portals aren’t really a new concept, as we’ve seen them in a lot of sci-fi flicks. However, portal hauntings are considered controversial in the real world because they are little known and the concept is mostly based on theory or speculation. Portals are thought to be doorways to another world or dimension in which entities travel. It is believed that portals are not limited to a single location, region, or type of sacred ground. Typically, places that experience a wide array of different types of anomalous activity, such as glowing balls of light, odd creatures, strange shapes, or unexplained mists or fog, are suspected to have a portal through which these energies are travelling back and forth.
