We all have that friend who thinks their house is haunted and we think they’re just excessively worried. That is until you’re that friend, and you’re noticing some oddities you don’t know how to describe in your house. If you’re concerned that there’s a haunting in your building, there’s a few ways you can tell for sure. If you are looking to further investigate the haunting there’s also methods of doing that. Whatever you do, don’t engage in aggressive behavior in order to facilitate a response. Be open-minded about the process, but be rational in your explanation of events.
In this article, we’ve gathered a few helpful tips on how to start a paranormal investigation.
How to tell if your house is haunted
Before you go poking and prodding around your home, you’ll first want to find out if your house is even haunted. Generally, you’ll have a reason for wanting to investigate if it is, because you’ve noticed some irregularities that can’t be rationally explained. Having the right equipment will definitely help the investigation easier to confirm the speculation of the house as being haunted. Here are a few ways that you can tell your home has an otherworldly visitor.
Temperature fluctuations
One major way to tell if your house is haunted is if there are unexplained temperature fluctuations in any area of your home. A large unexpected drop in temperature is correlated with the presence of a ghost. If you haven’t opened any windows and your furnace is functioning properly, this makes it more likely that you are experiencing an otherworldly encounter. It’s not unheard of for there to be a massive temperature drop in a few seconds. Paranormal experts aren’t exactly sure why this happens, but it’s a recurring theme among many haunts.
Odd pet behavior
Pets are more perceptive than people are and cats are exceptionally good at this. It’s well known that cats can see farther into the ultraviolet spectrum than people. If you notice your pet staring at a wall or being drawn to a certain locale of the house, it might be that they are seeing something you’re not. If your pet is shooting in the air, or afraid to go to certain parts of the house you may have a ghost on your hands. You may also notice that birds are making nests in your neighbor’s yard, but are not coming close to yours. Animals are great at sensing weather patterns, but this can translate into the paranormal setting too.
Unexplained sounds
Old houses tend to make creaks so this one is a bit harder to differentiate from the others. However, if you hear whispers, or running in your house, this can’t always be explained by a building’s age. This is one of the more rare forms of how ghosts interact with the physical world. Ghost’s who interact in this way are known as “poltergeists” which translates to “noisy ghost”, their name deriving from the sound that they make. The ghosts of children are often associated with laughter and similar sounds.
Investigating for ghosts
Even if the above points aren’t hitting your checklist, you might still want to investigate your home for a spirit. You might just feel something isn’t right in your home, and you want to make sure. Thankfully, there’s many tools that you can utilize to identify the presence of a ghost if you are unsure of how to approach the situation. This article doesn’t touch on what you can do if your home is haunted, but it might be something you want to research later on if you yield positive results.
Keep a journal
Your preliminary research into a ghost investigation will require you to keep a journal to find out when the best times to hunt for the ghost are. Ghosts tend to be active around similar times on a day to day basis, for a variety of reasons. If you’re hearing footsteps consistently at 3 AM, this is probably a good time to use equipment to capture a potential ghost. If you have family members, talk to them and find out if they have noticed anything strange, even if they think you’re a bit odd for asking. Keeping a journal to record events also helps you remain objective in the event your home is not haunted.
Record your home at night
Although ghosts don’t operate at night-time exclusively, this is one of the periods where they tend to be the most active. If you’ve noticed objects moving slightly at your house and you can’t explain why, having video evidence can assure yourself you’re not crazy. The best thing you can do is pick up a camera that has night vision but this isn’t absolutely necessary. A well lit room can capture the movement of objects, as you are not likely to capture a physical image of the ghost. You may even end up realizing a mouse may be the perpetrator of objects moving, or another logical explanation.
Scanning radio waves
Professional ghost hunters will frequently use electronic voice phenomena in order to decipher the sounds of potential ghosts. The audio recorders used for these scan FM and AM radio waves and are then listened to afterwards. Again, it’s best to use this sort of device when you know activity will be at its highest. You may only want to invest in this kind of gear if you’re really convinced you have guests in your home. You may even learn something interesting about the ghost through objective analysis of the material.
If you are becoming frustrated attempting to elicit behavior from a ghost, do not provoke it. This is one of the worst things that you can do, as the ghost may react aggressively in response. Keep calm and keep a record of all the events happening in your house. Most haunts don’t consist of a particularly malevolent ghost. Ghost’s just are the spirits of people who have passed from this world, and just like people, the majority of them are not dangerous. Be safe, and good luck on finding your ghost!