I have lived with the paranormal the majority of my life. As a Sensitive and Empath and Investigator, I've had my share of experiences with the paranormal. However, for those who may be experiencing things they cannot explain or feel that there is a spirit (or more) in their home, I will try to give a lending hand.First, one must keep in mind that regardless of where you live - a home, apartment, mobile home, etc.; all dwellings have their own sounds and idiosyncrasies.
Examples would be:
01. Water Heater turning on
02. Refrigerator fan turning on
03. Improprerly stored pots that may tip over
04. Doors that are not hung properly or have settled and do not latch correctly anymore that open on their own
05. Drafts
06. Creaky floors/stairways - usually found in older homes but can be also heard in newer homes
07. Faulty electrical issues or loose or improper wiring
Not all spiritual visitors and hauntings are identical. While some may be aware of our presence and vice versa; other times our ghostly passerby's may be "stuck" in their existence and totally oblivious to our presence. In addition, unlike movies and other creations of horror for entertainment purposes, a spiritual visitor and/or haunting is not always obvious. Many times, the signs are more .
If you have ruled out the explainable factors for why your experiencing things, then taking a look at the unexplainable might help you resolve questions as to whether or not you may have a spiritual presence in your home or a haunting.
ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
Your dog whimpers or growls at something you cannot see. Your cat hisses or swings its paw with claws extended at air. You cannot figure out why your pet will not go near a chair or room. It seems to be staring at something but there is nothing there that you can see. Just as your pet can tell when a human isn't nice, it can also tell when something is not right in other senses. The senses of animals are extremely keen and are more fine tuned than we, the mere mortals. It does not matter whether it is a dog, cat, bird, or horse. Your animal will act differently and will "talk" to you. Knowing your animals normal behavior and communication is important so as to be able to tell when something is off or "not right". Body language is how they communicate. Pay attention. Native Americans payed close attention to their dogs when one would refuse to enter the woods at a certain location or would refuse to walk down the path with them after a certain point. The belief was that the dogs could sense spirits and evil things. If they refused to enter, that section of the woods would be considered evil and unsafe.
MISSING OBJECTS
Time and again, we all misplace things - our keys, eye glasses, even a purse or wallet. Obviously, sometimes, when we are looking for something it is right under our noses and we don't see it but someone else will and the object or item is found. When the items are still not found, many times folks will start replaying events or retracing their footsteps. They'll recall if they had visitors or their children perhaps had friends over. And, if this were the case, where did they place something while the company was present. Most of the time, this resolves the case of the missing object. But what do you do when you begin noticing things missing and then reappear either in the same place or replaced in a different location when nobody is around?
In paranormal cases, these occurrences are called "Borrowers Phenonmenon". Often, after this has happened several times, folks will start documenting it. They'll take a picture with their camera or cell phone of the object that keeps disappearing. In the case of paranormal, this is usually the cause of a Poltergeist (a mischieveous spirit that makes noise, causes disorder, or acts of maliciousness) or you may have a spirit that is simply trying to capture your attention or who is simply having some fun at your expense.
To say when an object or item will be returned is anyone's guess. Sometimes its a matter of minutes, or it could be a few hours, days or weeks before the item reappears.
SMALL CHILDREN
No, this is not a section about Carol Anne but small children, like animals, are more open or in tune to other planes, dimensions and other things that cannot be physically seen with the naked eye always.
As a child, I often heard or saw things that my mother would swear to me were not there. It was very frustrating to not be believed or be accused of having an overactive imagination. She finally came to accept and believe when I was sixteen after an experience in my bedroom. Needless to say, I cannot begin to stress this enough. The biggest problem a child has with communication with their parents or other adults are that they themselves were told there are no such things as ghosts, monsters, etc. After a child has been told this enough, they are in essence conditioned into a state of non-belief because their parents either don't believe; are closed minded or just don't want to be bothered with the meanderings of a small child with an "overactive imagination".
If your child is telling you "the man is here" or "he/she is my new friend" or you even hear them talking to someone but you know they are "alone", just humor yourself and write it down but do not mock your child. Ask questions. Try to get them to describe them. Drawing and coloring are great ways for small children to express what they see or feel so you could also have them make a picture of their newly found friend or of the visitor that they are seeing.
Another great way to document is to get a "Nanny cam" or another similar device and set it up in the area (bedroom, living room, etc) where this activity seems to be occuring the most. However, the old addage there are no such things as monsters under the bed or in the closet should never be outright dismissed. Take the time to really hear what your child is saying. They might just have someone or something really visiting them.
SCENTS AND SMELLS
The olfactory system is an awesome sense that we all possess. We can tell when there has been a skunk in the area because our noses want to curl up and fall off our faces when we smell them. We get hunger pangs when we smell dinner cooking or some tasty dessert baking in the oven. We relax to aromatherapy candles and we seem to perk up in the morning when we smell that first pot of coffee brewing. But.....
Have you ever noticed the scent of a cologne or perhaps the scent of flowers when there are none present? Perhaps you do not smoke but there is a scent of pipe tobacco or a cigarette that catches your nose. Sometimes it might just be a passing scent that you pick up on only for a second and other times it might linger for a few minutes.
I attended a tour of the Peel Mansion here in Bentonville, Arkansas last year. While we were in the Colonel's library, I pulled the Docent aside and asked, I am smelling pipe tobacco right now. Did the Colonel ever smoke a pipe? Her reply was, "Yes, he did." Upon leaving the library, we went upstairs to the children's bedroom and the Colonel's bedroom. As we were descending the stairs, a few of the others in the group made the statement, "Oh do you smell the pipe?" This type of happening went on all evening. The Docent then at the end of the tour introduced me as a Sensitive and explained to them that everything they smelled off and on throughout the mansion I had quietly mentioned to her before hand.
Flowers and colognes are common scents that are often picked up, especially in days or weeks after a person's passing. This can also include pipe tobacco. However, musty odors, rotten eggs smells, sulfuric odors or the scent of decay can also be detected. Depending on whom you are talking to or relating information to, you might be told various information. This can range from the unpleasant scents as a spirit who is unhappy, or it could be a residual scent from whatever happened to the person (drownings, mining accident, or even a casualty of war or some other unpleasant altercation). The scents can be familiar to someone as that of something that was a favorite to the now deceased person or it might not be recognizable to pinpoint to a certain person.
If you have ruled out the scents in your home as normal, then look at the other explanation.
SOUNDS
Sometimes obvious and other times, quieter, sounds that shouldn't be heard, are. As I said earlier, all homes have their own sounds. But something is nagging at you and you have ruled out the obvious.
Doors opening and/or closing; drawers banging; pots and pans being rattled; silverware being rattled; scratching; knocking (like on a wall or door but noone is there); sounds of walking or climbing steps; these are common sounds that are heard when nobody is there to create those noises. Perhaps you hear giggling or an music from another era but no radios or televisions are on to produce the sounds.
If you cannot justify a reason for the sounds you are hearing (water heater turning on, no drafts or windows are open to cause a door to open or close, etc.) and there are no squirrels or other wildlife critters running around in your walls or attic, it is altogether quite possible that an unseen visitor is present.
ELECTRICITY
Back in the early 90's, I had two gold toned touch lamps. I was fascinated by them and decided this would be a nice addition to my living room. However, I got rid of them after a short while because it seemed that anything, even the slightest knock would turn it off and on. I found I wanted more traditional lighting. But....
Your lights have turned off or on by themselves just out of the blue. You turned the television off before going to bed, only to be woken up by the television running again. You are in the shower getting washed up and the light turns off. You are in the kitchen preparing a meal and suddenly your radio turns on. All of these things, if experienced even once will be considered odd by people, but with repetitious events, can unnerve even the direhard skeptic.
Unlike movies where the blender and mixer turn to life and the tea kettle starts whistling with steam, and the refigerator walks across the kitchen to kill you, if you can rule out a surge or glitch in your electrical system or appliance, you might want to look at another explanation. It is thought that spirits, in order to "communicate" feed off of energy. What better way to capture your attention to let you know something is there.
PHYSICAL CONTACT
These are unexplained events of scratches, bruises, being tapped on the shoulder, hair pulled, being pushed, bedding pulled off of you, a stroke on the cheek, the sensation someone is holding your arm. When being touched, the sensation can feel cold as well as sometimes hot or even a "burning" cold. However, to receive a physical injury such as scratches, bite marks, or bruising is not a commonality and documentation via photo as well as where and when it happened is important to make note of.
COLD SPOTS
When we hear the term "cold spot", probably most minds will jump to some story or show they've seen on the paranormal. However, before one can look at a ghostly cause, look at the surroundings. Are there drafts from windows or ill-fitted doorways. Are there any exterior walls in the rooms where its being felt? If so, what is the temperature outside and what is the weather. Is it windy? What season are you in? Then also we must look at other things such as air conditioners. Even if all the ducts are open, rooms can fluxuate in temperature with central air as well as window units. If these are not the causes, then we can look to the paranormal side.
In the movies, you see people's breath suddenly crystalize in front of them as soon as a presence enters. While this is an over-dramatized description, a cold spot is typically much cooler than the rest of the room or building.
In relation to the paranormal, it is one of the older identifying indicators a spirit is present. However, with this said, not everyone who has an experience reports being cold. I've been to homes where people have reported feeling cold with their encounter while others have made no claim to experience a cold spot. I read a report once where a professor along with some of his students investigated a home in New Jersey and the report was that the door handle and the area around the door became intensely hot.
While one cannot solely base a spiritual presence or a haunting on a cold spot, it is a good indicator when other factors are added in.
SENSE OF BEING WATCHED AND SHADOWS
Nobody likes it when someone stares at them or looks over their shoulder. It gives a very uneasy feeling. However, have you ever had that sensation that someone or something was watching you when you were alone? Perhaps you awoke with that feeling something was watching you. Have you ever been working on something or even talking with someone and catch movement from the corner of your eye where you know nobody is present?
Do you remember when Peter Pan lost his shadow? It seemed in the movie that the shadow was just as free spirited and lurking as Peter Pan was. Unlike Peter Pan, a shadow person or the "hat man" as I have also heard it referred to as seems to be alive and lurking. There is a difference though between Pan's shadow and the ones I'm talking about. Shadow people are not our "friend" as Pan's shadow was to him.
For as probably there has been human life in this world with established languages, there have been shadow people. They lurk just near the door or at the foot of your bed. They seem to linger just out of actual sight and are elusive. While I've not read any confirmed reports of a shadow person attacking someone, they can be quite alarming when catching someone off guard. This is especially true if a person is not aware of their existence.
No person really knows "what" a shadow person is. They range in size but noticable trademarks are a solid dark shadow in the general shape of a man. Many times, it appears they are wearing a Fodora; thus how the term came to be - Hat Man. Some believe they are shape shifters. Others believe them to be different from ghosts and spirits; however, on the flip side, even more believe them to be in the same catagory as a ghost. But, if you can rule out obvious causes for shadows (time of day, refection of light, cars driving by, etc.) and do not suffer from a mental disease or deficiency, then perhaps something unearthly really is watching you.
While this is not a full list of causes or explanatory things that could be causing those bumps in the night, it gives you an idea of what to look for and some aids to help rule things out.
Good luck!
*** This is a republication of the copywritten article written by Leslie Valentin on her blog: http://nwaparanormal.blogspot.coom
*** This is a republication of the copywritten article written by Leslie Valentin on her blog: http://nwaparanormal.blogspot.coom