Ghost hunters and paranormal investigators are unique in one very important way, we are not exactly sure what we are looking for. What do I mean by this? If you go bird watching you know what to look for right, birds. Deer hunters look for deer and so on. So what are ghosts? The short answer is that no one knows for sure but there are several intriguing possibilities that exist.
First let me say that I don't claim to have all the answers as to what a ghost is. No one knows for sure what ghosts are, in fact the entire area of the paranormal is open to many different interpretations. I have personally witnessed many paranormal events but I am still not certain I ever actually saw a ghost.
Intelligent Haunting
It is commonly believed that an intelligent haunting is actually the spirit of a deceased person whose soul is not at rest. How can this be? It is a scientific fact that the human mind is a conductor of energy and that energy can not be destroyed but only changed to a different form of energy. It is possible that this energy leaves your body upon death and is known as your soul. While your lifeless body is buried your soul "lives" on and in some cases is heard from again in the form of a spirit haunting. Many times the soul or spirit is seen in a shapeless mist or orb (see paranormal dictionary). On rare occasions the spirit takes on a more human look and is sometimes hard to distinguish from a living person. This type of haunting is called an apparition.
There are several tell-tale signs to look for to determine if the haunting is by an intelligent spirit. The spirit may attempt to make contact with you buy moving physical objects near you. On rare occasions you may actually see an apparition or mist like form. Most often you will feel a cold chill or experience slamming doors and windows and objects that seemingly move on their own.
The spirit may haunt a particular site or may be more centered on an individual or group of people. Many intelligent spirits appear to center their activities around the presence of young children. This may be because children tend to have a more open mind and tend not to dismiss anything that does not fit into a nice neat little pattern. The intelligent haunting is often the result of a tragic or unexpected death. Of course this is just one possible theory and there are others.
Some people believe that a spirit is the soul of a deceased person who had some kind of unfinished business here on earth or who simply refuses to acknowledge the fact that they have died. This type of intelligent spirit is often heard weeping or crying out loud. This makes for a sad and melancholy atmosphere of the haunted location.
Critics ask why a ghost never speaks or materializes when requested to appear. It could be that the spirit is unable to control when they are seen. Or maybe, they choose not to show themselves for some other reason unknown to us.
Residual Haunting
A residual haunting on the other hand is merely a form of paranormal energy that has been left behind and is replayed time after time at the same location and often at the same time of day. A residual haunting seems to be the most common type of haunting you will encounter during your investigations. Many times a residual haunting occurs when a tremendous amount of energy or emotion leaves its imprint in the surroundings. Events that trigger such an energy release are fights, murders, rapes, kidnappings, or wars. It is also possible to leave an imprint on a site due to repetitive movements or actions. For example a crowded hallway in an office building after many years can leave its imprint in the hallway to be replayed time after time.
It is still not understood how this energy imprint takes place and thus is paranormal in nature. Could it be that the building materials soak up the energy of the location and replay these stored energies at a later time or is the energy stored in the atmosphere and triggered by an atmospheric change. These are both possible explanations but only much more study by devoted paranormal investigators may lead to the facts.
It must be understood that a residual haunting is not a spirit or ghost and the residual effects will never acknowledge your presence. You can find an example of a residual haunting at many Civil War Battlefields across the United States. In the battlefields of Gettysburg Pennsylvania the roar of cannon fire and the sounds of gunshots can often be heard in the evening hours. The smell of gun powder can sometimes be detected in and around the sunken road (also known as bloody lane) where fierce fighting took place for many hours during the Battle of Antietam in Sharpsburg Maryland.
Why do some tragic deaths result in a haunting and others do not? If we knew the answer to that question ghost hunting, as we know it now would be a thing of the past. Every time a tragic or untimely death occurred, we would know if a haunting would result. It could be that some spirits are better able to deal with their deaths then others, just as some living people are better prepared than others to deal with everyday problems.
