Do you have a haunting in YOUR home? See if you have any of the signs.

So, you think you may have a haunted home, huh? And it happens in not only old, decrepit, run-down homes that were abandoned long ago. Nor does it only stay to land that has been occupied over the centuries. A haunting can happen ANYWHERE, in pretty much any kind of setting. A home, a piece of land, a building or even within possessions. Especially antiques from long ago.

So what are the signs of a possibly haunted home (or other place)? Let's find out.

http://paranormalactivityinvestigationteam.com/signs-of-a-haunting.html

• Unexplained noises - footsteps; knocks, banging, rapping; scratching sounds; sounds of something being dropped. Sometimes these noises can be subtle and other times they can be quite loud. Doors, cabinets and cupboards opening and closing - most often, these phenomena are not seen directly. The person experiencing the event either hears the distinct sounds of the doors opening and closing (homeowners get to know quite well the distinctive sounds their houses make) or the person experiencing the event will return to a room to find a door open or closed when they are certain that it was left in the opposite position. Sometimes furniture, like kitchen chairs; are perceived to have been moved. Very rarely will the person experiencing the event actually witness the phenomenon taking place.

• Lights turning off and on - likewise, these events are seldom seen actually occurring, but the lights are switched on or off when the person experiencing the event knows they were not left that way. This can also happen with TVs, radios and other electrically powered items.

• Items disappearing and reappearing - this phenomena, has been dubbed the “DOP effect” (Disappearing Object Phenomenon). Others have called this "the borrowers" phenomenon, and it's the familiar experience of not being able to find a regularly used item - say, your set of car keys - which you believe you placed in a spot you routinely place them. But they're gone and you look high and low for them with no success. Some time later, the keys are found - in exactly the place you normally put them. It's as if the object was borrowed by someone or something for a short time, then returned. Sometimes they are not returned for days or even weeks, but when they are, it's in an obvious place that could not have been missed by even a casual search.

• Unexplained shadows - the sighting of fleeting shapes and shadows, usually seen out of the corner of the eye. Many times, the shadows have vaguely human forms, while other times they are less distinguishable or smaller.

• Strange animal behavior - a dog, cat or other pet behaves strangely. Dogs may bark at something unseen or at a wall, cower without apparent reason or refuse to enter a room they normally do. Cats may seem to be "watching" something cross a room. Animals have sharper senses than humans, and
many researchers think their psychic abilities might be more finely tuned also.

• Feelings of being watched - this is not an uncommon feeling and can be attributed to many things, but it could have a paranormal source if the feeling consistently occurs in a particular part of the house at a particular time.
Those are some of the most common experiences of those who think their houses are haunted. Yet even stranger things can happen...

Stronger Evidence
The following phenomena are rare, but could be stronger evidence of a haunting:

• Mild psychokinetic phenomena - hearing a door open or close is one thing. Actually seeing it happen is quite another. Similarly, actually seeing a light turn on or off by itself is greater proof that something unexplained is happening. Do you see the TV or radio turn on? Or perhaps you're present when a child's powered toy begins to operate on its own. Doors and windows are locked or unlocked. Some people report that when they are in bed they can feel and/or hear something sitting on the bed.

• Feelings of being touched - the feeling of being watched is one thing, and actually feeling like you are being touched is quite another. Some people feel something brush past them, something touching their hair or "a hand" on the shoulder. Some feel a gentle poke, push or nudge.

• Cries and whispers - on occasion, muffled voices, whispering and crying can be heard. Sometimes it's music from some unknown source. People hear their names being said. This phenomenon, as is true for the one above, gains more credibility if more than one person hears or sees the same thing at the same time.

• Cold or hot spots - cold spots are classic haunting symptoms, but any instance of a noticeable variance in temperature without a discernable cause could be evidence.

• Unexplained smells - the distinct fragrance of a perfume or cologne that you do not have in your house. This phenomenon comes and goes without any apparent cause and may accompany other phenomena, such as shadows, voices or psychokinetic phenomena. Foul odors can happen in the same way.
Rarer still are more extreme phenomena, some of which have been called poltergeist phenomena, and can be quite strong evidence of a true haunting:

• Moving or levitating objects (severe psychokinetic phenomena) - dinner plates sliding across the table; pictures flying off walls; doors slamming shut with great force; furniture sliding across the floor.

• Physical assault - scratches, slaps and hard shoves. This kind of personal assault is extremely rare, but obviously highly disturbing.

• Other physical evidence - unexplained writing on paper or walls; handprints and footprints.

• Apparitions - physical manifestation of a spirit or entity. These phenomena are also very rare and can take many forms: human-shaped mists or forming mists of some indistinguishable shape; transparent human forms that disappear quickly; and most rarely, human forms that look as real and solid as any living person, but that disappear into a room or even while being viewed.

I myself have had several of the above things happen to me and around me throughout the years. I have experienced hearing crying, hearing my name being called or shouted at. I have been touched and have had 'someone' sit on the edge of my bed. I have even been kissed on the forehead, and have felt eyes staring at me from the corner of the room. I have also been "tossed" down a flight of stairs (here in this home I currently reside in), have seen apparitions, had smelled odd fragrances (including coffee and cooking on the stove when neither were even on). And that is only the tip of the iceberg for me and what I have seen, heard, and felt.

Please feel free to tell YOUR tale of living in a haunted home or working, playing or just visiting a haunted location. I WANT THIS ONE TO BE INTERACTIVE!