6 DIY ways to tell if your house is haunted

[Hum]

Being a first-time homeowner can be an absolutely terrifying experience. And needless to say, things can only get more terrifying if after moving into the fixer-upper of your dreams your 5-year-old daughter makes a new imaginary friend prone to dressing in turn-of-the-century garb, your ottoman starts levitating, and you find a bunch of weird symbols scratched into your bedroom wall.

Do you have reason to believe that you?re sharing your home with the spirits of its past inhabitants? You could simply ask them to give all that moaning and slamming of doors a rest and to kindly chip in with the mortgage payments. That may do the trick. Or you can review these six methods in which to detect and to dispel any unwanted housemates of the supernatural variety. Most are of the DIY variety ? after all, you want to be perfectly certain that something is going on before you call in the big guns or go on a spending spree at GhostStop.com ? and most have beneficial side effects such as saving on energy bills, getting to better know your neighbors and clearing out boxes of junk from your garage.

Have you ever suspected that your house was haunted? What were the symptoms? And what did you do to clean house?

Grill the neighbors

Grilling your neighbors ? particularly ones who have lived in your neighborhood for eons and may be familiar with the history of your home and its past inhabitants ? about supernatural goings-on in your home requires finesse and tact. Whatever you do, don?t start in with ?I think my house is haunted and need more info? approach as that may only raise eyebrows, not yield answers.

Play the part of detective and start in with your research in a subtle manner. Don?t act panicked, scared or desperate.Call up your real estate agent.

Like tactfully gathering information from your neighbors about the history of your home, calling up the real estate agent who sold it to you and urging them to spill the beans about whether or not your house is haunted can also be helpful. That said, it varies from state to state as to whether sellers are required to disclose if a house is a ?stigmatized property? that falls under the haunted category.

Steven J.J. Weisman, a professor of business law at Bentley University, explains the basics of selling allegedly haunted houses to RealtorMag: ?Haunted properties fall within the category of stigmatized properties, or real estate that is not defective in any physical manner, but due to psychological or emotional factors may have a reduced value. Among the situations covered under the title of stigmatized is a property that was the site of a murder, suicide, alleged haunting, or other parapsychological phenomenon.? Weisman adds: ?In one well-documented New York case from 1991, the sale was voided due to the seller not informing the buyer of the house?s reputation for being haunted.

Conduct an energy audit

Subjecting your home to a full energy assessment may be something that you?ve considered doing for a while now but have balked for some reason or another (yes, it can be invasive but in a nothing-but-beneficial way). A suspected haunting is an excellent reason to finally get ?er done. Click here to find an energy auditor near you and remember to take advantage of any weatherization-related rebates or incentives offered by your local utility company. DIY energy audits are also a fine alternative if you?d rather not bring in outside help.

In addition to blower door testx, most professional energy audits include the use of a thermal imaging camera to pinpoint sources of heat loss around the home.

Smudge ?em out

Remember that scene from the second ?Paranormal Activity? film when Martine, the nanny/housekeeper, is caught ? and subsequently fired by her doomed employers for ? burning sage? Well, she was on to something. Smudging is an ancient purifying ritual that involves burning bundles of pungent dried herbs ? usually white sage but sometimes cedar, sweetgrass or tobacco ? to cast out existing negative energy from a home and further keep bad mojo at bay. A smudge bowl, commonly a simple earthenware bowl or an abalone shell, is used to catch the embers and ashes from the smudge stick and a feather is used to distribute the smoke to every nook and cranny of a home. Incantations, whether elaborate and read from a book or simple and improvised (please leave, please leave, please leave) generally accompany the burning of a smudge stick.

Focus on critters

So yeah, all those unexplained scratching and bumping noises, the inhuman wailing, the mysterious stains on the floor and the fact that your beloved antique vase that was found broken when you woke in the morning? It could end being the handiwork of a mischievous pet, not a vengeful poltergeist, so don?t be quick to rule your beloved and well-behaved kitty or pooch out of the equation.

Don?t have a pet? Well, a critter of another sort could be responsible for the disturbances ? a squirrel in the attic, a family of mice living in the basement, etc.

If you come to the conclusion that ghostly goings-on are not stemming for your pets or another type of animal that may be taking up residence in your home, it may help to observe your cat or dog?s behavior. Has it changed? Have they become suddenly more aggressive or high-strung?

Hold a garage sale

By unearthing boxes of crap from your basement or garage in preparation for a yard sale or a run to the Salvation Army, you may stumble upon some forgotten-about relics that could prove to be useful in the quest to find out whether your home is populated by spirits. Key items to look for: old VHS camcorders, baby monitors, motion sensors, Ouija Boards or, umm, EMF detectors. If you eventually decide to employ any of these items, keep in mind that politeness and keeping an open line of communication is key when hunting for and/or trying to contact ghosts.

Purging your home of unwanted material possessions is also an opportunity to cast out any objects that you suspect may have something to do with a haunting (particularly objects that came with the house like photos, paintings and keepsakes).

After all, ghosts can have sentimental attachments, too.

full article

[shakey]

There has never been any actual recorded abuse by ghost... Ever.

[Hum]

^ There are 100's of stories -- try reading.

The Entity is a film made in the 80's that tells the alleged true story of a woman (Carla Moran, played by Barbara Hershey) who suffered sexual abuse by an invisible force or an, 'Entity.'

The films key scenes are disturbing to watch which has made this film a popular case within the paranormal field especially down to the closing paragraphs stating that even though the attcks have diminished in intensity, they are still occurring to this day.

http://www.ghosttheo...of-doris-bither

Top 10 Most Likely To Be REAL Hauntings

Read more: http://www.toptenz.n...p#ixzz29ZhEFh9W

The Entity is a film made in the 80's that tells the alleged true story of a woman (Carla Moran, played by Barbara Hershey) who suffered sexual abuse by an invisible force or an, 'Entity.'

The films key scenes are disturbing to watch which has made this film a popular case within the paranormal field especially down to the closing paragraphs stating that even though the attcks have diminished in intensity, they are still occurring to this day. When we where doing research for this film however, the true story became a lot more interesting and didn't involve "freezing" a ghost.

[neo1911]

Someone is watching too much of Supernatural.

[shakey]

^ There are 100's of stories -- try reading.

The Entity is a film made in the 80's that tells the alleged true story of a woman (Carla Moran, played by Barbara Hershey) who suffered sexual abuse by an invisible force or an, 'Entity.'

The films key scenes are disturbing to watch which has made this film a popular case within the paranormal field especially down to the closing paragraphs stating that even though the attcks have diminished in intensity, they are still occurring to this day.

http://www.ghosttheo...of-doris-bither

Top 10 Most Likely To Be REAL Hauntings

Read more: http://www.toptenz.n...p#ixzz29ZhEFh9W

The Entity is a film made in the 80's that tells the alleged true story of a woman (Carla Moran, played by Barbara Hershey) who suffered sexual abuse by an invisible force or an, 'Entity.'

The films key scenes are disturbing to watch which has made this film a popular case within the paranormal field especially down to the closing paragraphs stating that even though the attcks have diminished in intensity, they are still occurring to this day. When we where doing research for this film however, the true story became a lot more interesting and didn't involve "freezing" a ghost.

There are storys about all types of things, doesn't make any of them true.

There are more stories about Clifford the big red dog. :p

[Hum]

^ Can say the same thing about CNN, Fox News, NBC, CBS, ABC .... probably all made up ... :laugh:

[The King of GnG]

1 - Ghosts don't exist. 2 - Potergeist don't exist. 3 - Zombies don't exist. 4 - Haunted houses don't exist. 5 - Supernatural beings don't exist. 6 - Superstition is for dumb people. Here you are, I've solved the haunted house problem for you :-D

[Charisma Veteran]

Where do you find this stuff? :laugh:

[Packet1009]

Isn't there a documented case in the US? And that resulted in a movie as well.

Ah, found it: An American Haunting: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429573/

[exotoxic]

?Haunted properties fall within the category of stigmatized properties, or real estate that is not defective in any physical manner, but due to psychological or emotional factors may have a reduced value. Among the situations covered under the title of stigmatized is a property that was the site of a murder, suicide, alleged haunting, or other parapsychological phenomenon.?

Its a good scam to get the value down :laugh:

[TPreston]

Isn't there a documented case in the US? And that resulted in a movie as well.

Ah, found it: An American Haunting: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429573/

By the same logic alien abductions are "documented"

[Hum]

1 - Ghosts don't exist. 2 - Potergeist don't exist. 3 - Zombies don't exist. 4 - Haunted houses don't exist. 5 - Supernatural beings don't exist. 6 - Superstition is for dumb people. Here you are, I've solved the haunted house problem for you :-D

Based on what ? Nothing ? Thought so.

[TPreston]

Based on what ? Nothing ? Thought so.

Based on the inability of people like you to prove their claim. We got the boson in 19 years your side has had what 200+ years to "investigate" this and came up with jack ****.

Within half that time we have gone from the first powered flight to the space shuttle. While you cant prove a negative the above makes me as confident as I can be that the paranormal at leas as we know it is a crock.

[neufuse Veteran]

How about you walk out into your foyer and see a girl standing on the balcony above... and then vanishes before your eyes... that happened to me once, my wife once, and when we had furniture delivered last year the one guy came right out to me and said "You know your house is haunted?" I just asked them what did you see, and the guy said a girl that disappeared...

the year we bought our house right after we bought it, the previous owners daugther died... we found out 2 days after we had our first experience she died when "gifts" started showing up at our house by friends of the previous owners that didn't know they moved yet...

[shakey]

Isn't there a documented case in the US? And that resulted in a movie as well.

Ah, found it: An American Haunting: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429573/

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2006/05/little_ghost_on_the_prairie.html

It's also not a true story. If lying is the latest trend in American pop culture (cf James Frey, Kaavya Viswanathan), then An American Haunting is on the cutting edge. It's closely based on The Bell Witch: An American Haunting by Brent Monahan, a 1995 novel that claims to be the true story of the Bell Witch based on newly discovered papers belonging to Richard Powell, Betsy Bell's husband. These papers don't exist. Monahan's book is an expert fabrication and a good read, but it's fiction, as Monahan himself will tell you. Most of the books about the Bell Witch are sourced from an 1894 volume called An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch of Tennessee by Martin Van Buren Ingram. This volume was written 60 years after the fact and is regarded by some historians as a novel that used real people and places to give it the appearance of reality. Ingram was a newspaperman who was on the hustle for a story all of his life. Repeated business setbacks, family problems, and poor health may have made him hungry for a hit. In 1896, the act of cashing in was not anachronistic.

[TPreston]

How about you walk out into your foyer and see a girl standing on the balcony above... and then vanishes before your eyes... that happened to me once, my wife once, and when we had furniture delivered last year the one guy came right out to me and said "You know your house is haunted?" I just asked them what did you see, and the guy said a girl that disappeared...

the year we bought our house right after we bought it, the previous owners daugther died... we found out 2 days after we had our first experience she died when "gifts" started showing up at our house by friends of the previous owners that didn't know they moved yet...

http://www.bing.com/search?q=alien+abduction+testamonials&qs=n&form=QBLH&filt=all&pq=alien+abduction+testamonial&sc=0-0&sp=-1&sk=

[neufuse Veteran]

http://www.bing.com/...sc=0-0&sp=-1=

huh? what does alien abduction have to do with seeing a ghost? two COMPLETELY different things

[TPreston]

huh? what does alien abduction have to do with seeing a ghost? two COMPLETELY different things

It shows how utterly useless your testimony is, Shall I link you to people who claim to have seen politicians shape shift from reptiles ?

Why should someone believe yours over theirs ? Or should everyone use their brain as a trash compactor and just accept the lot even the contradictory ones ?

[Packet1009]

http://www.slate.com...he_prairie.html

woah well i'll be.

thanks, man - had no idea

[freak180]

It shows how utterly useless your testimony is, Shall I link you to people who claim to have seen politicians shape shift from reptiles ?

Why should someone believe yours over theirs ? Or should everyone use their brain as a trash compactor and just accept the lot even the contradictory ones ?

It's shocking to see such ignorant people in this community. Time to take out the trash!

[TPreston]

It's shocking to see such ignorant people in this community. Time to take out the trash!

Or you could... You know come up with an argument :rofl:

[neufuse Veteran]

It shows how utterly useless your testimony is, Shall I link you to people who claim to have seen politicians shape shift from reptiles ?

Why should someone believe yours over theirs ? Or should everyone use their brain as a trash compactor and just accept the lot even the contradictory ones ?

you sound a lot like the church when people started saying the Earth is round and not the center of the universe...

[PsYcHoKiLLa]

I have one way to tell if your house is haunted.

1. It isn't. There's no such thing as ghosts.

[freak180]

Or you could... You know come up with an argument :rofl:

LOL and what would be the point of that if your close minded? Just because you haven't experienced it your self you assume its not real.

[TPreston]

you sound a lot like the church when people started saying the Earth is round and not the center of the universe...

Yeah because saying you need to prove claims not just assert them totally equates to bloodthirsty theocracy . Oh and that whole thing wasn't resolved with testimonials :rolleyes:

LOL and what would be the point of that if your close minded? Just because you haven't experienced it your self you assume its not real.

You cant over 200 years of "research" and your side has come up with bunk in half that time we went from powered flight to space. In 1/10 of that time we went from concept to proving the boson.

Just how long do we have to spend on this before we conclude its probably bunk ? 100 years ? 500 years ? 1000 years ?

If we accept peoples claims of ghosts as evidence we must also accept those of alien abductions, bigfoot, reptilians etc etc etc leaving the mind so open the brain falls out.