Today, we’re not just skimming the surface; we’re diving deep into the ghostly realm. Let’s explore the different types of ghosts and the different forms they might take. Grab your EMF meters, and let’s get started!

What is a Ghost?

A ghost, in the simplest terms, is thought to be the spirit or soul of a deceased person or animal that can appear to the living. Throughout history and across cultures, ghosts have been a prevalent part of folklore and have taken on various forms and characteristics, influenced by different beliefs about the afterlife and the spirit world. The concept of ghosts is often linked to the idea of an afterlife, where spirits of the dead have not fully moved on to a peaceful existence beyond but remain connected to the physical world for a variety of reasons.

Scientifically speaking, there’s no conclusive evidence to prove the existence of ghosts, leading to a division between believers and skeptics. However, many people report experiences that they interpret as encounters with ghosts, such as seeing apparitions, feeling cold spots, hearing unexplained sounds, or sensing a presence.

Ghosts are often categorized by their behavior or the reasons they are believed to haunt particular locations. These categories can include:

Residual Hauntings: Where what’s witnessed is like a recording of past events, not an intelligent spirit interacting with the living.
Intelligent Hauntings: Where the spirit is aware of the living and can interact with them, showing awareness of its surroundings and events.
Poltergeists: Typically associated with physical disturbances, such as loud noises, objects being moved, or even harm to living people, often thought to be caused by a malevolent spirit or a manifestation of psychic energy.
Orbs, Mists, and Shadows: Forms that ghosts are said to appear in, ranging from balls of light captured in photos, to eerie mists, to dark shadows that seem to have a presence.

Theories about why ghosts exist include unfinished business, a traumatic death, or a strong emotional attachment to a place or person. In more metaphysical explanations, ghosts are seen as manifestations of the energy left behind by a person after their death.

1. The Good Spirits

These are your friendly neighborhood ghosts, often believed to be loved ones sticking around to keep an eye on things. Some experts believe that these types of ghosts still retain the personality and emotions they had when they were living. The common thought is that this person knows that you want to see them or they have a message for you. They might manifest as:

Full Apparitions: You might walk into a room and see a loved one sitting in their favorite chair for just a moment, before they fade away. I have heard of children having their ‘imaginary friend’ be loved ones who passed on before the child was even born. Think grandpa protecting and telling the child stories, but grandpa passed away 5 years before the child was born.
Familiar Scents: Sometimes, it’s not what you see but what you smell - a whiff of a departed loved one’s perfume or cologne. This could be their way of letting you know they’re there with you even though you can’t see them.
Soft Whispers or Muffled Sounds: Hearing your name called when you’re alone? It could be a benevolent spirit, one that is trying to get your attention.

This used to happen to me in my childhood home. I would always hear my mom calling my name up the stairs, but whenever I opened the door, she was never there. I checked with my mom to see if she called me the first few times, then one day when I opened the door, I saw a little girl, around 7-10 years old. She was dressed in what I can best describe as ‘her Easter best’ down to the frilly socks, standing at my door. Then she disappeared. After a few times of her appearing at my door, I realized that she didn’t like when I closed the door to my room. I started leaving it cracked open and I never saw her or mysteriously heard my mom calling my name again…. until I closed my door.

2. Poltergeists

Known for their love of theatrics, poltergeists are the loud personalities in the ghost world. The word poltergeist comes from the German word for ‘noisy ghost’ and has accounts all the way back to Ancient Rome. Their manifestations can be quite startling:

Object Manipulation: From levitating objects to hurling them across the room.
Electrical Interference: Lights flickering or electronics going haywire? Classic poltergeist move.
Noises: Banging on the walls or floors, knocking on doors and windows, rattling. They might even create a creepy voice that you hear.
Apparitions and Attacks: Just to freak you out even more these types are known to appear in creepy forms and even cause physical harm, like scratches or marks on your body.

One common theory about where poltergeists come from is related to a female who is approaching puberty or pre-pubescent. In the 1960s, William G. Roll undertook a study covering more than 100 cases spanning four centuries. He identified consistent patterns in these cases, which he termed "recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis" (RSPK). The majority of these instances featured a child or adolescent unknowingly using psychokinetic abilities to influence objects or events, demonstrating mind over matter.

It’s believed that the hormonal and stressful changes that a young girls body and brain go through during puberty are not handled properly and can result in poltergeist activity.

A second theory is that multiple spirits are combining their energy to create a stronger action- like moving a bookcase. To help these spirits, and rid your home of the terrors, you need to find the root of their anger so they can move onto the other side instead of being trapped here.

3. Residual Hauntings

These ghosts are like living (well, not exactly living) history books. These type of ghosts appear when there is something traumatic or stressful that happened at the location. They’re commonly found haunting locations that have seen war activity, murder, rape, etc. The negative energy from the event caused an imprint on the atmosphere, recording the event. As the entity is usually stuck within the “recording” they’re usually unaware of their surroundings and typically ignore the living, just repeating the same cycle of events.

On occasion, you can also have a residual type haunting from a positive event, such as a party. The large amount of positive energy imprints on the atmosphere and then you might hear things like music, but always at the same time/day/cycle. They often appear as:

Full Apparitions: These ghosts can appear as detailed, full-bodied figures, often in period clothing. This is what they looked like during the event that was recorded.
Repetitive Actions: Doing the same thing over and over, like a residual recording of the past.

4. The Unseen Energies: Orbs and Ectoplasm

These manifestations of spirits are the ones that aren’t human shaped and sometimes not seen at all. It’s believed that these are the ghosts of people that may not know how or have enough energy to fully manifest. They could be good, bad, or residual.

Orbs: These are balls of light that often show up in photographs. Some believe they’re the simplest form of a ghost. A true orb will have a solid inside circle with a fuzzy outer circle around it and will move in a weird pattern that would be unlike that of a bug flying or dust floating. Think of an orb stopping and reversing direction- a bug MIGHT be able to do this, but not likely.
Ectoplasmic Mists: A classic ghostly manifestation, these mists or fogs can sometimes take on a human-like shape. Most of the time they appear a few feet in the air and are white, grey or black.
Unexplained Movements: Objects moving on their own, suggesting an unseen presence. This is something that you might never see, but when you leave something on the table, you come back 5 minutes later and it’s across the room. You might be able to catch this on a security camera, but the activity usually happens when no one is around.
Cold Spots: You hear ghost hunters talk about cold spots all the time. All of a sudden they feel the temperature drop, and sometimes even are able to document the drop. The drop doesn’t have to affect the whole room, it could only be one small area. This is assumed to be the spirit taking the ‘heat energy’ out of the air and using it to manifest or communicate in some way.

5. Demonic Activity

I’m not trying to scare anyone with this section, but it something that I feel should be discussed when talking about ghosts. A demon can be the cause of a haunting when something horrific has happened in a location. The fear, anguish, and pain that happened in a location can attract the demonic energy. Think about it as negativity attracts negativity.

Formless: Demons are entities that have never had a human form. Sometimes they’re known to appear as a child, to trick you into believing they’re innocent and trusting them. But they can appear in a few different forms from children, something evil and horrific looking to scare you, a black figure with no real defined form, or just a black mist/fog/smoke.

Smells and Sounds: A demonic haunting will likely be accompanied by a deep guttural growl that is heard, but can never really be placed. It’s like it’s everywhere and nowhere. You might also smell disgusting odors, like sulfur or garbage.

Attacks and Attachments: Demons are here to cause harm or to get you to cause harm to yourself. They want you to sin. To get you to do this, they can attack you- some have even been known to throw people across a room.

They can also do what is known as an ‘attachment’ which is where the energy of the demon starts to intertwine with your own and you find it hard to tell what are your thoughts and what are not your thoughts. Friends and family might start to notice that you’re acting out of the ordinary and different that you usually would. When a normally calm person all of a sudden starts being quick to anger and screams at people might be a cause for concern if nothing else in their life is causing this.

An attachment is what I like to think of as the first stage of a possession. The demon is starting to influence you and your thoughts, but hasn’t fully taken control of you as they would in a full possession.

Understanding Ghostly Appearances

So, why do ghosts appear in these various forms? Theories range from ghosts being energy imprints left on the environment to them being a product of our own psychic energy. Some paranormal researchers suggest that the form a ghost takes can be influenced by their energy level or how they passed away.

Conclusion

There you have it – a deep dive into the different types of ghosts and their various appearances. Whether you’re a skeptic, a believer, or just love a good ghost story, it’s hard to deny the fascination these spectral entities hold for us.

Next time you think you see something out of the corner of your eye or feel a sudden chill, remember, it might just be one of these ghostly types saying ‘hello’.

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