It’s a scenario we’ve all seen in Hollywood films. A family moves into a new home excited about the new possibilities it offers, perhaps delighted to have got it at what seemed an unusually low price. Then things begin to go wrong. The family can’t settle. Relationships deteriorate. Something about the new home just seems to give rise to problems. Could it be haunted? Can it happen to you?
In classic ghost tales, spirits tend to manifest themselves visually, appearing dramatically before the bewildered witnesses. Often they are described as staring at the living; or even sometimes ignoring them altogether, performing some action they may regularly have performed in life. But ghosts don’t always make their presence obvious. Sometimes they manifest visually only rarely, or not at all. There can be more subtle signs that your house is haunted, however.
Things to Look For
Pets can often provide the first clue that there is a ghostly presence in your house. For some reason animals often seem to be more attuned to the “other side” than we humans are. If your normally friendly dog appears to be reacting to something you can’t see, growling at something in a particular part of the house, for example, it could be a sign that a ghost is nearby.
Ghosts are often said to create a sense of coldness wherever they go. Many experienced ghost-hunters take thermometers with them so they can measure differences in temperature between one part of a building and another, giving them a first indication of the possible presence of a ghost. If a creepy coldness seems to occur in your house from time to time, particularly if it’s associated with one specific part of the house (for example a room where a now deceased person may once have spent much of their life), and the coldness seems to defy any heating equipment you have installed, it may not just be an insulation problem!
Ghosts are often said to interfere with electrical equipment. Batteries depleting unusually quickly, for example, is something often experienced by dedicated ghost hunters. If this is something you experience in your home, it might be a sign of a ghost.
Objects moving around on their own can be a sign of a haunted house. Some ghosts are mischievous, and some like to play around with objects they used regularly in life. Of course, if you actually see the object flying through the air you’ll know something is amiss! But even if you don’t directly see the object move, and only notice it in its new position after the fact, it may still be a pointer to a paranormal problem. Of course, you may have moved it yourself and forgotten all about it, or someone else in your family may have moved it. If it happens once of twice, it’s probably nothing to get excited about, but if the problem of misplaced objects is something you continually experience in your house, it might well be a sign of a haunting.
Further Investigation
If you do begin to suspect that your house is haunted, what should you do? The best thing is probably to talk it over with the neighbours, ask them about the history of the home, and whoever lived there before you did. Did anything unusual happen? Did a family tragedy occur? Was a crime committed? You may find out something that confirms your suspicions that the house is haunted. Perhaps something you learn will even allow you to make a judgement about who is doing the haunting.
If you do move into a new home and experience strange happenings, you might well be living in a haunted house. Although considered on their own, each of the signs mentioned might well have an innocent explanation, taken together they may point to a paranormal infestation!
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