Hauntings: Intelligent or Traditional Ghost
Presented by Troy Taylor
Author of the GHOST HUNTER'S GUIDEBOOK
and President of the American Ghost Society
As I have mentioned already in past sections, I don’t have all of the answers about ghosts and probably never will.... at least until I have the opportunity to become one myself. People often ask me if I have ever seen a ghost... but I really can’t say for sure. I have certainly seen a lot of things that I cannot explain except to say that they were paranormal in nature. Besides that, seeing a ghost is not the only way to experience them. Ghosts are known for the sounds and sensations they cause and the activity which they cause to occur. They are known for these things as much, or perhaps more, than for the sightings which are reported.
Many things happen in the course of a paranormal investigation which might be caused by a ghost. I know that I cannot explain some of the things which happen any other way than to say they were caused by spirit energy... but are these things always caused by ghosts? Perhaps, or even probably, not.... you may not believe some of the strange things that can happen that are caused by natural means. Obviously, weird things can and do take place that are easily explained away.
But what about those things which are not so easy to dismiss?The following is a quick study of the nature of various hauntings. This is certainly not the final word on the spirit world.... I have never claimed that it could be. The idea that a ghost, or a type of haunting, could be one, all-encompassing thing is a nice idea, but unfortunately is an unrealistic one. I wish that it could be that easy but even the word "ghost" is rather misleading. We are forced to use it as a generic term for "spirits" and "apparitions", paranormal manifestations that are actually very different things.
There seem to be several different kinds of paranormal events which have been linked to ghosts. Are they all cases of spirit activity? That is for you to decide. I will present the facts, the theories and the evidence and you can use that information in conjunction with your own ideas and investigations.
- THE TRADITIONAL OR INTELLIGENT HAUNTING -
This type of haunting is
perhaps the most widely accepted kind of ghostly
activity, although not as common as you might
think. In this case, the spirit or entity
involved is an "intelligent" presence in a
haunted location. It is there because of a
connection to the site of to the people in the
location.
This ghost is best (and most simply) described as
the personality of a person who once lived and
who has stayed behind in our world instead of
passing over to the other side. This sometimes
happens in the case of a murder, traumatic event
or some unfinished business that took place in
the person’s life. At the time of death, the
spirit refused to pass over because of these
events. The spirits often linger because of the
emotions that tie them to the earth, from anger
to love. It may not have been that the person did
not pass because they couldn’t... it may have
been because they did not want to. In other
cases, there is the chance that the spirit did
not yet even realize they were dead. This can
occur when the death involved is sudden or
unexpected.
We have to remember that these spirits are now
made up of the energy that once made up the soul
of some living person. These Intelligent spirits
are not evil or demonic, as some so-called
experts would have you believe. I have never
encountered an "evil spirit" in the time that I
have been involved in this field. I have,
however, run across a few "negative" spirits
though, and realizing they were the personalities
of people who were angry and bitter in life, I
could explain the types of behavior they were
manifesting in the location. Spirits are simply
human personalities, or souls, and if the spirit
was a kind and caring person in life, the spirit
will most likely hang onto those qualities. On
the other hand, those angry and cruel people will
also keep those same qualities if they choose to
stay behind after death.
These negative spirits can be frightening,
especially to people not trained in the
paranormal, and in very rare cases they have been
able to harm the living... but that is generally
not the case. It is much more common to hear of
an encounter with a benevolent spirit than with a
negative one.
So, what can you do if you
if you get involved in a case like this? The fact
that some of these spirits have remained behind
because of some unfinished business is a hard
obstacle to overcome. There are many spirits
remaining in our world who have left behind
relatives and love ones, or tasks which they feel
cannot be completed by anyone other than
themselves. They may not rest because of some
injustice done to them or maybe because of
something as simple as wanting to see their
children grow up.
For the most part, the idea of these spirits
being still here in our world is actually very
sad. In all of our excitement over finding a
ghost, we also must keep in mind that many
spirits are confused over what has happened to
them, sometimes not realizing they are dead. Many
of them died suddenly. Others cling to life,
afraid to let go of something they no longer
have. Because of this, they are drawn back to
places where they experienced joy, peace and
happiness during their lifetimes. Many of these
spirits just felt they had too much life in them
and have refused to pass over.
These ghosts often need help to be convinced that
they don’t belong here anymore. They don’t need
to be exorcised (they aren’t demons), they
just need to be shown the right way to go and
introduced to the fact that there is now more for
them in the next world than in this one. There
are many different ways to accomplish this,
ranging from simple explanations to perhaps a
prayer from a clergyman of the spirit’s former
faith.
SIGNS OF AN INTELLIGENT HAUNTING: The spirit will usually manifest itself in physical ways like slamming, opening and unlocking doors and windows; strange sounds; voices; cold chills and a strong presence. It may make itself seen and it will most likely look as it did when alive. The witness should be sure however, that the visible spirit seems to interact and is not just an imprinted image.
The annoyance factor with this type of haunting will be very high as the spirit seeks to get the attention of the living occupants at or in the location. These spirits are known for hiding objects; moving things about; turning things off and on and other nuisances that would be similar to a child seeking attention. In this sort of case, the spirit may be looking for assistance to pass over or to accomplish a certain task. It has also been documented that the spirit may just be seeking company from the residents, or even from the investigators themselves.
© Copyright 2004 by Troy Taylor. All Rights Reserved.