Residual Ghosts

     A residual haunt can be thought of like a video or audio recording and is perhaps the most common type of haunting. This type of haunting is a repeat of past events and often involves phenomena such as the sound of footsteps or pacing, sounds of things being moved or the sight of a murder or suicide. Although, visual elements of residual haunts are more rare. Such a haunting could also involve a smell, commonly such smells as flowers, perfume, smoke or something rotten.

   This type of haunt is imprinted on something, usually a place, but sometimes an object. A residual haunt is nothing more than a recording of history being repeated. Negative hauntings are more commonly reported, but this is probably more due to the fact that people are more likely to seek help with a disturbing occurrence than one that is happy or pleasant.

   Residual hauntings are fairly harmless. By most accounts, there isn’t even an entity or spirit involved. The phenomenon does not interact or interfere with its surroundings and therefore causes no damage. However, some of these hauntings can be replays of quite disturbing events and can last a very long time. A residual haunt can recur over decades and even centuries and can be hard to ignore.

   There is often a pattern to when the phenomenon occurs. It could be a certain time of day or year or a particular weather pattern (rain, snow, etc.). The right circumstances act like someone hitting the “play” button, activating the recording.

   Not everyone will experience the same residual haunting in quite the same way. Some people are more or less sensitive to such things. Even a person’s mood may affect how they experience a residual haunt or even if they experience it at all.

   Residual hauntings, because of their very nature, can be very hard to bring to an end. Asking your DVD player to stop playing is ineffectual. You have to hit the right button. One possibility is to introduce powerful magnets, such as rare earth magnets or bulk tape erasers, to the location. These may be able to “erase the recording” and some success has been reported with this technique. Another possibility is to try “recording over” the phenomenon. Throw a party at the location or something similar. Another emotionally charged event at the location may reduce the energy of the original “recording” or eliminate it all together.

D&A Paranormal Investigators