14 Signs That A Ghost Is Living With You
Have you ever asked yourself, "Is my house haunted?" Perhaps you've seen a few horror movies like The Conjuring or The Amityville Horror, and some of the spooky occurrences hit a little too close to home for you. Whether you are in this unenviable position or simply curious, there are numerous ghost and haunting signs everyone can detect, if you know what to look for.
These tell-tale indicators will serve as a guide to knowing whether you're being haunted.
You Hear Strange Noises
Photo: William H. Rau / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainDon't immediately jump to conclusions concerning strange noises, they could be natural sounds your house makes, especially if said abode was built in or before the '50s. But don't take these noises for granted, either. A knocking pipe can sound like just about anything, but there's no mistaking genuine footsteps or knuckles rapping against the wall.
Note the timing of mysterious sounds in your home - do they arrive at intervals, or seemingly at random? Do others hear them, or just you? What about pets? Do they get nervous when the sounds occur? Get familiar with the usual goings-on in your home, and make note of anything that seems out of the ordinary.You Find Furniture And Other Objects Out Of Place
Is a particular dresser or chair always out of place? Are particular objects always going missing, no matter how many times you find them? You might have a mischievous poltergeist in your house.
Be aware that some more extreme cases of poltergeists are pranks by attention-seeking humans, which is known as poltergeist-faking syndrome. But this doesn't mean you're not being pranked by a ghost.
You Wake Up Around 3 AM Every Night
Photo: Pixo7000 / Flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0If you wake up every night around 3 am, you may be experiencing the gentle prod of a spirit. "The veil between here and the spiritual world is thinnest between 3 and 5 am, but most often we are woken up between 3:15 am and 3:30 am," spirit medium Maureen Hancock told Elle Decor. "Because the veil is so thin, spirits can wake you up or nudge you, or even come to you in a dream."
You Have Random Bites, Scratches, Or Bruises
Do you sometimes wake in the morning, or in the middle of the night, and find a scratch on your body you don't remember getting? Or a bruise that seems to sprout from nowhere? Have you ever found mysterious bite marks on your skin?
While the first two examples could be due to natural causes (the body sometimes doesn't register pain upon injury, particularly if the cut or collision isn't serious), in both cases, and certainly where bite marks are concerned, you might be living with a violent or malicious poltergeist. You may need to take action, or you may need to do nothing - reportedly, many poltergeist hauntings, even those of a more serious nature, only last for a short period of time.You Have An Increased Number Of Nightmares
Photo: TheLegendsOfOld / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0Are you having nightmares more frequently than usual? Are they recurring, often involving the same figure or scenario? Increased nightmares don't necessarily indicate your house is haunted, but they can be a sign, as certain theories insist that people are more susceptible to ghosts when asleep, and especially when we're dreaming.
Of course, if you are seeing and/or hearing things and you also feel paralyzed, it could be you are simply experienced sleep paralysis, not spirits from another realm.
You Witness Disturbances In Electricity
Do your lights ever flicker or surge in intensity? Do electronics and appliances turn off and on or operate on their own? You either need to call an electrician or the Ghostbusters.
Or, do nothing. It's theorized that spirits affect electromagnetic fields, and thus are able to cause fluctuations in light intensity or otherwise make electronic objects behave abnormally. Of course, there are logical explanations for this phenomena, so it's best not to jump to conclusions in these situations (phoning the electrician is the best first step).
You See Mysterious Shadows Or Movements
Ever catch a shadow or some other shape or figure out of the corner of your eye? Could be your imagination, or it could be manifestations of a spirit living in your home. Fear not, however: this simply means the ghost or ghosts in question do not want to be seen, and therefore they likely won't bother you.
Unless you sense their presence might be a threat, best to just let them be. They may hang around and stay out of your way, or may eventually move on from your home.
The Temperature Fluctuates Wildly
If the temperature changes suddenly with no explanation, a ghost may be present. People often experience goosebumps, chills down their neck, and the room may feel heavy or dense.
You Always See 11:11 On The Clock
Photo: Luigi Chiesa / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0If you always catch the clock right when it's 11:11, you may just have a passed loved one living in your home according to spiritual medium Maureen Hancock. It means infinity, and your loved one is trying to let you know they're still by your side.
Pets Exhibit Odd Behavior
Photo: Ildar Sagdejev / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0Have you ever noticed your cat staring into the corner of the living room, eyes glued to... nothing? Or does she raise her back and hiss at air? Do your dogs ever bark or whimper at something you can't see? Your pet can sense or even see an entity you can't detect. Numerous reports of animals reacting to, and even interacting with, spirits have surfaced in the past, so take note when your cat, dog, parrot, or lizard displays odd behavior.
Of course, don't immediately assume something paranormal's happening. Be sure to take your pet to the vet to make sure they don't have other ailments. Or, if you wanna cut straight to the chase, hire a pet psychic.
You Feel Like Someone - Or Something - Is Staring At You
You know the feeling you get when someone is staring at you? As it turns out, you actually can feel their eyes - it's a phenomenon known as gaze detection, and it allows your brain to detect when someone (or, something) is looking directly at you. The evolutionary benefits of such an ability should be obvious.
Now, consider when you get that prickly feeling of being watched when you're home alone. Maybe you check all the doors and windows to make sure no one is peeping. The coast is clear, but you can't shake the feeling. It might be that whoever, or whatever, is watching you cannot be seen, or does not want to be seen...You Hear Inexplicable Voices
Photo: Karl Thomas Moore / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0Hearing voices is a tell-tale sign of schizophrenia, so don't automatically assume the paranormal if you experience this on a regular basis. Voices heard by schizophrenics seem to speak from within the individual's head, while voices made by ghosts typically sound as if someone else is in the room, speaking to you.
The thing is, the ghost might not even be speaking to you directly. It could be the spirit thinks you are someone else. Or, it could be you are merely hearing an echo of a past event that is psychically charged; in other words, there isn't any direct communication happening at all, and you're unintentionally eavesdropping on a conversation that happened long ago.
This is a phenomenon known as residual haunting. Basically, it occurs when a voice or apparition is "recorded" into the atmosphere and appears at a later time. Residual haunting is harmless aside from being creepy.
You Smell A Scent, But You Don't Know The Source
If you smell a scent that conjures memories of a deceased relative or loved one, you may just have a ghost in your home. Often, loved ones try to comfort family members and close friends. The smell can be anything from deodorant to a dish your grandmother makes during holidays.
You Straight Up See A Ghost
Photo: James Michael DuPont / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0Perhaps the strongest indicator that you have a ghost in your house is seeing a ghost in your house. The question is, do you see this apparition more than once? And if so, does it attempt to engage with you If you see a ghost (or ghosts) engaged in the same activity over and over, you're likely experiencing a residual haunting, which is no more harmful than a movie projected onto your wall.
The vision might be scary at first, but in time you'll learn to accept it, and after a while the image may even disappear. However, if the ghost seems sentient, you may try communicating with it. If it seems harmless, you can always ignore it. You should only fret over a ghost's presence if it disrupts your life.
