Ghostly Manifestations or Types of Hauntings
Anyone can read on the internet about how ghostly manifestations are commonly divided, as there are many kinds and a lot written on this. They are also referred to as ‘Types (or Kinds) of Hauntings’. I seemed to be getting a pattern when I checked these out, so I would like to write about my research and give you all my opinions on this matter. First, I will write general information I have found on the net about the Types or Kinds of Hauntings. As we are on a journey to seek knowledge above all, I will attempt to give opinions here and there, and later put out a theory about ghosts that I have, because I cannot keep my mouth shut!
The interesting thing to note here is that ‘ghost’ or ‘spirit’ are synonyms in a dictionary. “synonyms 1. apparition, phantom, phantasm, wraith, revenant; shade, spook. Ghost, specter, spirit all refer to the disembodied soul of a person. A ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person, which appears or otherwise makes its presence known to the living: the ghost of a drowned child. A specter is a ghost or apparition of more or less weird, unearthly, or terrifying aspect: a frightening specter. Spirit is often interchangeable with ghost but may mean a supernatural being, usually with an indication of good or malign intent toward human beings: the spirit of a friend; an evil spirit.” (From Dictionary.com) However, the definition of spirit seems to have a more supernatural meaning to it. Interestingly enough, in my travels around the net, I have discovered that mostly in the UK, people tend to make a distinction between a ghost and a spirit as well. This happens more often there than here in the States. In fact on many sites I found that they referred to a ghost as the imprint of the soul which does not interact with a human, but only is the actor of a residual haunting or ‘stone-tape theory’. Thus, the ‘ghost’ would never acknowledge the presence of a human being, but just go about re-enacting its death or any common, every day situation that once took place in its life. A ‘spirit’ however, would be the one that interacted with a human being, and certainly acknowledged the human being’s presence, either to warn, give a message, or whatever reason would justify its presence or haunting in a place. I thought this was interesting, particularly since they attributed residual hauntings to ghosts, and not to spirits! Just think about this: we refer to evil spirits as evil spirits, not evil ghosts, so clearly there must be a difference between both!
On to the types of ghostly manifestations, and I’ll list them and group them out below.
Poltergeists (or ‘noisy ghosts’): The consensus here tells us that this manifests when there are teenagers in the home or emotional stress that is suppressed. The idea is that the pent-up energy is released in the form of noises, objects moving, appearing or disappearing, and in some cases human levitation. The most famous cases of poltergeists have usually revolved around children or teenagers. A good example of this is the Enfield Poltergeist, which occurred in the UK in 1977. The girls that were attacked were Janet and Margaret, though Janet was the center of attention most of the time. A good site to visit and learn about all that happened there is Haunted Mansions. Just click the link below to visit and read about this world-famous poltergeist.
http://www.zurichmansion.org/ghosts/video2.html#List%20of%20visitors%20to%20the%20house
Shadow People/Ghosts: This kind of ghostly manifestation is one that many sites have written about, but nobody really has a clue as to what they are or why it is that they are dark/black. Some people think that they are evil, others say that they choose to manifest this way, much like a person would choose to wear a certain color when dressing. Nevertheless, the typical manifestation of a shadow person is often accompanied by the feeling of dread by the human being who is experiencing it. Also to note here is that often they can be a result of pareidolia, as they are seen out of the corner of our eyes. Another common theory is that electromagnetic fields can cause hallucinations, which can result in apparitions or shadow ghosts haunting a place. The most common types of shadow people are the ‘hooded ‘monk’ appartion’, and the ‘hat man apparition’. Both have no recognizable features, of course, except for what seem to be a hood and robes or a cloak in the first case, and a 1930’s Fedora style hat in the second case. Some of the people who have seen shadow ghosts say that in some cases glowing red eyes accompany the vision. The only thing that all the accounts have in common is that they are dark and that they are fast, besides the fact that you cannot see any features or details of clothing on them. There is a lot written about shadow people/ghosts on the net. All you have to do is google for them and you’ll find so much, it will take you several hours (or even days) to get through all of them!
Shadow ghosts caught on camera? (Terribly pixilated video clip though!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2OGpErMFSg
Ghostly apparitions: The greatest piece of evidence a paranormal investigating team can capture is a ghostly apparition. Of course, like any piece of evidence, it could be faked. There is much going on in the world today in technology. A ghost picture can easily be reproduced using an editing software program. But that is a topic for another article!
Ghostly apparitions are extremely rare. Many people who have seen one say it may look as real as you or me. Others say it looks transparent or semi-transparent. Still others say it may be surrounded by mist or it may be giving some kind of light, but these are few and far between. The general consensus is that a ghost looks pretty solid, much like a human being does. This is not very unusual as ghosts were people once!
Why do ghosts appear to human beings? There are many reasons, and this is what makes ghostly manifestations interesting, for it takes us to different types of hauntings. A ghost can appear to warn, advise, foretell or because he needs to focus on unfinished business. (This is referred to an interactive or intelligent haunting). A ghost can also appear in a battlefield, re-enacting this event; or walking through walls or doors, seemingly performing an everyday task in a house that clearly doesn’t fit the rooms or blueprints of the house you are in. (Residual hauntings, Historical and battlefield apparitions, stone-tape theory hauntings). One of the apparitions I actually found on the net speaks of ‘Atmospheric Apparitions’ and the strong imprint of the ghost in the location where he is seen. They relate this to quantum physics (time-slips) and other atmospheric hypothesis that have not been proved yet. Interesting to note, I have a theory of mine about time-slips and residual hauntings, but more about that later! Last but not least, are the apparitions that choose to make themselves known to a close friend or relative at the moment of their death as if saying goodbye. (Deathbed or crisis apparitions).
Whatever the kind of apparition or haunting, this much is clear: they are not as commonplace as they may seem and clearly only some people seem to be able to witness them.
Ghost caught in surveillance camera at Woodchester mansion or a light refraction?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LFWeJuSC0k&feature=related
I will not write about orbs here, as I have already done so in my previous article, and I don’t believe them to be paranormal at all. I also will omit ghostly mists and vortexes, for the simple reason that the majority of the so-called ‘vortexes’ are camera straps unknowingly caught in the picture and because mists could be breath while taking the photograph. Believe me, you can even hold your breath or think you do, but breath has a way of lingering in the air, particularly when it is cold! Humidity also does a lot in the way of anomalous photographs. Now, I’m not saying here that there could be some interesting mists out there that are genuine! However, I do want to clarify that they are extremely difficult to capture, just like a true orb may also be. The fact of the matter here that people seem to forget is that ghosts do NOT perform on demand, and that ghost hunting is very boring, as you can spend countless nights without getting any evidence at all! If you do want to be a serious paranormal investigator, you must be prepared for the truth and that is that you won’t be catching a whole lot of evidence all the time. Nor will you be asking the ghost to perform and get an answer! Let’s face it folks, ghosts can and do appear, but they don’t appear as often as you would like them to!
Which now brings me to my unanswered questions: Why do ghosts appear to some people and not to all people? Why is it that some people can see residual hauntings and others (even if they are there with the person who sees the residual haunting) can’t? Why do some ghosts seem to disappear or fade in time? Is it because their ‘imprint’ wears off? How is it possible to see ghosts dressed in period clothing walking through the house but their feet seem to disappear into the floor, as if the house stood on lower grounds before? Are we really witnessing a ghost in this case? What triggers residual hauntings? Does it have to do with electromagnetic fields or something in the person who is witnessing the residual haunting?
There are even more questions, but that would make this too long for the reader. Nevertheless, I’m sure you are asking yourselves some questions also! And time-slips and residual hauntings makes all of us think about the nature of ghosts as well. These two topics are fascinating and there is a lot written about them on the net. So, it looks like I’ll have to write about them another time. Till then, have fun and if you do live in a haunted house, make sure you ask your ghost to step in front of the camera and smile! You might just get the ultimate ghost picture!
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