Feeling a little afraid in your own house? Have a talk with it.

As a teenager, I experienced a lot of strange things in my mother's house that no one else did. It scared me and I didn't know what to do. I hid, covered my face with blankets, etc.

One day my mom told me to have a talk with the house, tell it how I felt. You want me to do WHAT??, I thought, but did it anyway. Can't hurt, right?

I talked to the house later that day. I told it I was afraid of all the things that were happening, and that I didn't want to feel that way anymore. No one should feel that uneasy in their home. I also told it I didn't want to experience these things ever again.

...and I never did after that. (Even today when I visit, nothing happens.)

In fact, I had gone so long without experiencing anything paranormal, that I had convinced myself it didn't exist (to ease my fears), until I grew older and curious enough to start researching and find out the truth for myself...

Chances are, ghosts, whatever/whomever they may be, just want to make themselves known and communicate. Imagine if no one could see you and you wanted to tell someone something.. they're not responding to light taps on the shoulder (because they're not paying attention), so you'd probably try harder, right? Maybe try pushing them? Eventually, the people you're pushing are going to notice and probably feel uneasy. Does this role reversal sound a little familiar?

If you and/or your family are too skittish to deal with this regularly, talk to the ghost.

Tell it you know it's there, that it had made itself known to everyone involved, and although you'd happily share the house with it, it is scaring you and you don't want to experience that fear anymore. Establish boundaries that seem fair, and voice them. That's it.

I'm not going to claim that's going to fix all situations as far as home hauntings go- it will, ideally, help with intelligent hauntings. This will have no effect on "replays", as those are moments in time that, you guessed it, replay on a regular basis.

If you continue to feel harassed and afraid after talking with your 'ghost', perhaps this situation may need investigation. Try to keep calm and contact a paranormal investigator (or group) you trust for assistance.

Elmira, NY Haunting - What do you think?

Recently there was an article in the local Star Gazette about a home in Elmira, NY that is supposedly haunted by a man killed there 19 years ago.

Read the article here.

What are your thoughts?
Let us know via Facebook or Google+.

What Are Ghosts?

photo by Steve Donna Omeara

One common misconception about ghosts is the idea that they are spirits. People also debate that they are hallucinations, misperceptions, replays, etc. But the truth is, ghosts are a multiple cause phenomena, meaning different sightings have different causes.

Some ghost sightings are caused by hallucination, misperception, coincidence, etc, and this explains how, in different cases, they display very different characteristics. A witness may supposedly interact with a ghost caused by hallucination, but with misperception, this will not happen. 

So with that said, there is a problem in looking for a single explanation for all ghost sightings. Overall, the evidence is very contradictory, and this makes it impossible to come up with a single testable theory to explain everything. But if different explanations are considered, we can now realize that "ghost" actually refers to a number of phenomena that results in people seeing human (or animal) figures.

**Did you know:
Very few ghosts can be easily identified as an actual person, past or present. And although the 'spirit' theory is a popular assumption, there is little evidence to support the idea that ghosts are people who were once associated with a haunted location.

[Guide To Choosing A Good Paranormal Investigative Team]