So I just released a new book called More Haunted Houses Around The World and it lead me to the question for this week. How do you know if your house is haunted and do people jump the gun and assume their house is?
Bumps in the night, shadows and unexplainable occurrences happen in many homes. Much of these experiences can be attributed to the house settling, airflow through a house, light reflection and so on. If you have found yourself wondering if the strange experiences you have had could be something more than just coincidence you may be wondering “Is My House Haunted?”
The first step to deciding whether or not your house could in fact be haunted is to do some investigating. First, you need to know the history of your home. How old is your house? Who owned it before? This may seem tedious but many haunted places have a story behind them. Were there ever any traumatic or high energy events that took place in your home or on it’s grounds? Just because your home is only a few years old does not mean that your house cannot be haunted. In fact it is a misconception that only old, dark and cob web filled houses can be haunted. Suppose you decided to build a house on the Gettysburg Battlefield. We all know the tragedy and pain that transpired there. The grounds themselves hold somewhat of an energy of their own. So in addition to the house history you should also find out the grounds history as well.
Talk to locals. Ask locals who have been around for awhile if they know anything about your house. You don’t have to say “Is My House Haunted?” You can just ask if they know any history. You may be surprised at just how many people know more about your house than you do. Also, if there are any ghost stories associated with it, folks are usually quick to tell you without anyone asking.
Verify Claims. This step is often overlooked even by seasoned ghost hunters. Check your local library and other sources of public records. Decide which stories have validity and which do not. You may even be able to start connecting your own experiences with the home’s history.
Survey your home. Is there scientific explanation for what you have experienced? Checking to see whether or not there are high emf readings in or around your home that could answer some of your questions. Sometimes it could be as simple as the electrical wiring in your home that is causing your haunted experiences. High levels of electromagnetic energy has been known to cause paranoia and even hallucinations.
Sometimes these EMF’s can happen naturally within the earth. They are also associated with the manifestations of ghosts and spirits. So if there are no obvious sources of the EMF but you can detect spikes that are associated with haunted happenings, you may just have a haunted house. These detectors are readily available online and are usually not very expensive.
Talk to what you think may be causing you to wonder “Is My House Haunted?” I know it sounds silly. You can buy a digital recorder and record your one sided conversation. Just like you may have seen famous ghost hunters do on TV, you can play it back and even enhance or analyze your recordings with free software like audacity. You might find out that they weren’t one sided conversations after all.
Another important step to deciding if your house is haunted is to look within yourself. Are you normally a completely sane and rational person? Do you take any medications that could be causing the feelings that your house is haunted? As funny as this sounds..Have you bumped your head? Sometimes brain injuries do not manifest themselves instantly and abnormal feelings including hallucinations could be a sign of something far scarier than a ghost.
So back to the original question....How Do You Know Your House Is Haunted And Do People Jump The Gun And Assume Their House Is?