Types of Ghosts
Types of Ghosts
Qualities of an Entity:
Names of Ghosts:
Spirits, phantoms, wraiths, visions, shades,
specters, haints and apparitions.
"Nearly every community in the United States can claim at least one haunted house.
Some have more than one... In most cases, the citizenry, except for a few
knowledgeable individuals, is totally unaware of
the fact that macabre dwellings are standing in their midst."
RICHARD WINER
In the Field Guide to Ghosts and Other Apparitions, Hilary Evans and Patrick Huyghe
devote some thought to organizing ghosts into past, present and future categories. If
you want to explore that area more their book is
recommended. However, here is a basic breakdown of each type of spirit.
Ghosts of the Past
These are the ones with which you are most familiar. We usually talk about ghosts of
the past when addressing entities. Revenant is a term for an entity that comes back
only a few times after death. It might be a spirit who's procrastinating about moving on,
or one who wants to accomplish some quick goals or tie up a few loose ends before
leaving the physical plane. You might think of a haunter as a ghost that sticks around for
decades, centuries or even longer.
Ghosts of the Present
When exploring ghosts, we're usually talking about the paranormal remnant of
someone or something that no longer exists in the physical plane. However,
sometimes the ghost of a living person is seen. This is an extremely rare
occurrence, though. We can explore what may happen to the etheric body when it
leaves behind the dead physical body. But it seem the etheric body can sometimes
leave the living physical body behind, returning later to carry on life
as usual. There are also cases where a phantom double appears. For example, in
1845, thirteen students in Lativa watched their teacher, Emilie Sagee, working on a
blackboard. Suddenly, there was an exact duplicate of her working
alongside her in the same identical fashion. The teacher was oblivious to the
occurrence. The duplicate looked like her in every way, including clothing except it held
no chalk. After a few moments the two figures merged into one woman
again.
A Doppelganger encounter is similar to that of seeing a double. However, it is not
engaged in the same actions. An other experienced that he was walking down a street
in New York when he had the most shocking experience of his life.
At one point he casually glanced up to see himself walking toward himself! His
Doppelganger looked just like him and even wore the same clothes. However, he
seemed just as shocked to see him as he was to see himself. They stared at
each other for a moment, then the apparition disappeared. Manifestations of this
category usually only happen once
Ghosts of the Future
Like Ghosts of the present, these entities usually only appear once. A basic example
would be when people see apparitions of themselves or someone they know who
appears to be older than that person currently is. However most of the time, a spirit from
the future is carrying a message to inform the observer of future events. This type of
phantom is known as an Harbinger. It usually appears to be a warning. Nursing home
staff members report harbingers on a regular basis. Harbingers can also prevent
death. In one case, a business man told of a story of being awakened in the night by the
spirit of his dead father. The apparition told him and his wife to get up and leave
immediately. They soon realized there house was ablaze.
Intelligent
Described as "intelligent" or an "interactive" presence in a haunted location. It is there
because of an attachment to the site or to the people at that location. It is described as
the personality of a person who has stayed behind. This may happen for many reasons
such as murder, suicide, or traumatic and sudden death or maybe even unfinished
business.
So the physical body has died but the energy and emotions are still there. Most likely
they will behave in personality as they did in life. The signs of an intelligent haunting are:
Poltergeist (Noisy Ghost)
Poltergeists have been commonly 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 the spirits, or an outside force, but most investigators
don't think so today. While interactive spirits may be the culprits in some cases, many
hauntings have a force behind them that is much closer to home. 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 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 was also portrayed as an alternative ending in the movie
"An American Haunting" based on the true life "Bell Witch Haunting" where it seems that
the only time in history someone has died as a result of a haunting. In cases like this,
the movement of physical objects can be sudden and violent and occur more frequently
than in cases involving actual interactive spirits.
Residual
This is probably the most common of hauntings. It is possible that these hauntings
have nothing to do with an actual ghost. Many of the locations where these hauntings
occur experience an event that imprints itself on the atmosphere of that particular
location. This energy can suddenly discharge and play itself at various times just as a
recording would.
These events are not always visual. They can be replayed as sounds and noises and
have no apparent explanation.
Hearing phantom footsteps is a perfect example of a residual haunting. Also famous
battlefields and crime scenes and places where traumatic events have taken place
such as in England and the Tower of London. The signs of a residual haunting are:
All information and excerpts from Troy Taylor
and The Ghost Hunters Handbook
All information and excerpts from Joshua P.
Warren and How to Hunt Ghosts
Qualities of an Entity:
- Are conscious beings.
- Are usually humans or animals who have died.
- Often use the electrical environment to manifest.
- Can create both objective and subjective experiences.
- Can come from the past, present or future.
Names of Ghosts:
Spirits, phantoms, wraiths, visions, shades,
specters, haints and apparitions.
"Nearly every community in the United States can claim at least one haunted house.
Some have more than one... In most cases, the citizenry, except for a few
knowledgeable individuals, is totally unaware of
the fact that macabre dwellings are standing in their midst."
RICHARD WINER
In the Field Guide to Ghosts and Other Apparitions, Hilary Evans and Patrick Huyghe
devote some thought to organizing ghosts into past, present and future categories. If
you want to explore that area more their book is
recommended. However, here is a basic breakdown of each type of spirit.
Ghosts of the Past
These are the ones with which you are most familiar. We usually talk about ghosts of
the past when addressing entities. Revenant is a term for an entity that comes back
only a few times after death. It might be a spirit who's procrastinating about moving on,
or one who wants to accomplish some quick goals or tie up a few loose ends before
leaving the physical plane. You might think of a haunter as a ghost that sticks around for
decades, centuries or even longer.
Ghosts of the Present
When exploring ghosts, we're usually talking about the paranormal remnant of
someone or something that no longer exists in the physical plane. However,
sometimes the ghost of a living person is seen. This is an extremely rare
occurrence, though. We can explore what may happen to the etheric body when it
leaves behind the dead physical body. But it seem the etheric body can sometimes
leave the living physical body behind, returning later to carry on life
as usual. There are also cases where a phantom double appears. For example, in
1845, thirteen students in Lativa watched their teacher, Emilie Sagee, working on a
blackboard. Suddenly, there was an exact duplicate of her working
alongside her in the same identical fashion. The teacher was oblivious to the
occurrence. The duplicate looked like her in every way, including clothing except it held
no chalk. After a few moments the two figures merged into one woman
again.
A Doppelganger encounter is similar to that of seeing a double. However, it is not
engaged in the same actions. An other experienced that he was walking down a street
in New York when he had the most shocking experience of his life.
At one point he casually glanced up to see himself walking toward himself! His
Doppelganger looked just like him and even wore the same clothes. However, he
seemed just as shocked to see him as he was to see himself. They stared at
each other for a moment, then the apparition disappeared. Manifestations of this
category usually only happen once
Ghosts of the Future
Like Ghosts of the present, these entities usually only appear once. A basic example
would be when people see apparitions of themselves or someone they know who
appears to be older than that person currently is. However most of the time, a spirit from
the future is carrying a message to inform the observer of future events. This type of
phantom is known as an Harbinger. It usually appears to be a warning. Nursing home
staff members report harbingers on a regular basis. Harbingers can also prevent
death. In one case, a business man told of a story of being awakened in the night by the
spirit of his dead father. The apparition told him and his wife to get up and leave
immediately. They soon realized there house was ablaze.
Intelligent
Described as "intelligent" or an "interactive" presence in a haunted location. It is there
because of an attachment to the site or to the people at that location. It is described as
the personality of a person who has stayed behind. This may happen for many reasons
such as murder, suicide, or traumatic and sudden death or maybe even unfinished
business.
So the physical body has died but the energy and emotions are still there. Most likely
they will behave in personality as they did in life. The signs of an intelligent haunting are:
- Slamming doors.
- Windows that open and close.
- Cold chills and a strong presence.
- Personal items being moved.
- On rare occasions will manifest as he or she looked in life.
Poltergeist (Noisy Ghost)
Poltergeists have been commonly 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 the spirits, or an outside force, but most investigators
don't think so today. While interactive spirits may be the culprits in some cases, many
hauntings have a force behind them that is much closer to home. 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 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 was also portrayed as an alternative ending in the movie
"An American Haunting" based on the true life "Bell Witch Haunting" where it seems that
the only time in history someone has died as a result of a haunting. In cases like this,
the movement of physical objects can be sudden and violent and occur more frequently
than in cases involving actual interactive spirits.
Residual
This is probably the most common of hauntings. It is possible that these hauntings
have nothing to do with an actual ghost. Many of the locations where these hauntings
occur experience an event that imprints itself on the atmosphere of that particular
location. This energy can suddenly discharge and play itself at various times just as a
recording would.
These events are not always visual. They can be replayed as sounds and noises and
have no apparent explanation.
Hearing phantom footsteps is a perfect example of a residual haunting. Also famous
battlefields and crime scenes and places where traumatic events have taken place
such as in England and the Tower of London. The signs of a residual haunting are:
- They do not have any interaction with the living.
- Hearing sounds like footsteps, voices, knocking, rapping etc.
- Items will not vanish.
- High humidity in the area could be the cause of residual haunting.
All information and excerpts from Troy Taylor
and The Ghost Hunters Handbook
All information and excerpts from Joshua P.
Warren and How to Hunt Ghosts
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