***We did not write this, but found it worth the read!***

There are 7 basic types of haunting or Ghost: intelligent, residual, demonic, demonic possessed Intelligent human entity, poltergeist, shadow people, and elementals
The following is some information on seven basic categories and some information pertaining to each that can be considered “subcategories”

Not all hauntings can be easily categorized, and we must be careful not to jump to conclusions in any case. In some cases, what appears to be the work of a human agent may actually be that of the spirits, and vice versa. There is also a multitude of exterior factors that do affect the circumstances that be. Solar flares, the earth’s magnetic fields, storms, etc. all a play an important role when trying to discern the cause of and effect of paranormal or ghostly occurrences.

Intelligent Haunting
In this type of haunting, you are dealing with an “intelligent” presence that can communicate with you and interact with you in a seemingly “intelligent” way. An intelligent ghost haunting is best described as a responsive usually human entity with whom you have interactive intelligent communication. This type entity is seemingly the personality of a person who once lived, and who is either “trapped” in our world or in between ours and another realm or has already moved onto the next plane and can now freely travel back and forth between our realm and theirs, and or presumably elsewhere. Intelligent ghosts are not “evil” or “dangerous” as some people would have you believe. “Intelligent“ ghosts are simply human personalities, and if the spirit was a kind and caring person in life, the spirit will most likely be the same way in death. Likewise, angry and mean people will usually keep those same negative character traits as spirits. An intelligent haunting/ghost will likely seek to get the attention of living people. To get attention, the ghost may try turning things on and off, hiding objects, moving things, make noises, and other type of annoying or nuisance behavior.

The ghost/spirit may be looking for assistance to pass over or for assistance to accomplish a certain task or may just be letting you know they are around with no other intent or need. Occasionally the human entity is stuck in a death state and does not know they are dead and is simply continuing with life as unusual. The ghost has somehow been trapped between two planes of existence and is unable to move on. However, more times than not though, the entities we come across are able to move about freely, coming and going as they choose.

The key factor in an intelligent haunting is that the ghost can interact with you (communication—it responds and notices human beings). If the ghost does not notice you or other human beings, and cannot interact or communicate with you, it’s not an intelligent haunting.

Demonic Possessed Human Entity – Intelligent
This type of entity is overlooked by most within the field. I recently added this to the list of Types of Entities in hope of better recognition of it within the field. My thoughts are that more talk about this, the more people will understand the importance of this type of entity being categorized.

Living humans can experience a negative demonic like oppression or possession. The demon or negative entity covenants the soul/energy/consciousness. This negative force does not possess the physical body but can control it while it is still attached to the human’s center conscious energy (soul) that makes that person who they are. If a living person is possessed, they can remain under the oppression or possession even when their bodies die. Furthermore, a human entity (one without a body any longer) can come under attack from a demon or negative entity (even a possessed human entity) while on the other side and become oppressed or possessed even if they weren’t while living.

These types of entities seem to have greater capabilities and strength to accomplish more than your ordinary intelligent human ghost. They are just as dangerous as a demon due to their possession and twisted mindset. They can easily move objects, hurt people and pets, and oppress and possess.

Residual Haunting
This type of phenomena is much more common than people think, and I would even go as far as to say that it is the most common type of reported phenomena around. We have to remember not to confuse this type of phenomena with an “Intelligent” haunting because, while it is fascinating and unexplained, it may not be specifically related to ghosts.

The easiest way to explain this haunting is to compare it to an old film loop, meaning that it is a scene or image that is played over and over again through the years. Many of these locations, where these haunting take place, experience an event or a series of events, which imprints itself on the atmosphere of a place. Scientists believe that energy doesn’t cease to exist but only changes form. The energy may dissipate from one place to appear or exist in another, and/or in another form. It is accepted theory within the scientific community that this type of energy can suddenly discharge and play itself at various times. The events are not always visual either. They are often replayed as sounds and noises that have no explanation. The famous “phantom footsteps” reported in many haunted places are a perfect example of this.

Often the sounds and images recorded are related to traumatic events which took place at the location and caused some sort of disturbance, which we might call “psychic impression” to happen there. Trauma and emotions notoriously evoke and create higher than normal energy. This is the reason why so many battlefields have become famous for their hauntings over the years.

In other situations, the images have been created by events or actions that were repeated over and over again and cause an energy or psychic impression. Researchers have suggested that there exist so many haunted staircases because of the number of times people go up and down them and the amount of energy that is expended in doing so.
These locations act as giant storage batteries, saving up the impressions of sights and sounds from the past. Then, as the years go by, these impressions appear or are heard as they are emitted.

Sometimes, this type of residual activity can make itself known in similar ways to an “Intelligent” haunting, but the most important signs will be different. A spirit or an image in this case, will not interact with any of the living occupants of the location. The activity, and the sightings, will be random. There will be no missing items. While doors and windows may open and close by themselves, it will be because of energy expending itself and not because of spirit activity. Commonly reported in these cases are sounds of footsteps, walking and breathing and odd, usually repetitive sounds. Apparitions are commonly reported but they will not notice the living persons around them and will usually repeat the same actions over and over again.

Poltergeist-Like Activity
Poltergeists (noisy ghosts) have commonly been blamed for any violent or destructive activity in a haunting. In the past, researchers believed that all such activity at a haunted location was the work of the spirits, or an outside force, but today, most investigators don’t think so. While interactive spirits may be the culprits in some cases, many of cases have a force behind them that is much closer to home.
In a poltergeist case (and in its counterpart) there can be a variety of phenomena taking place. There are reports of knocking and tapping noises, sounds with no visible cause, disturbance of stationary objects like household items and furniture, doors slamming, lights turning on and off, fires breaking out and much, much more. While in some cases, this activity can be connected to ghosts, in most cases it probably isn’t. It certainly remains paranormal though and because of this, it is also unexplained and very controversial.

The current theory behind this Poltergeist-like phenomenon is that the activity is caused by a person in the household, known as the “human agent”. The agent is usually an adolescent or teenage female. It is believed that she unconsciously manipulates physical objects in the house by psychokinesis (PK), the power to move things by energy generated in the brain. This kinetic type of energy remains unexplained, but even some mainstream scientists are starting to explore the idea that it does exist.

It is unknown why this energy seems to appear in females around the age of puberty, but documentation of its existence is starting to appear as more and more case studies have become public. It seems that when the activity begins to manifest, the girl is usually in the midst of some emotional or sexual turmoil. The presence of the energy is almost always an unconscious one and it is rare when any of the agents actually realize that they are the source of the destruction around them. They do not realize that they are the reason that objects in the home have become displaced and are usually of the impression that a ghost (or some sort of other supernatural entity) is present instead. The bursts of PK come and go, and most poltergeist-like cases will peak early and then slowly fade away.

It should be noted that while most cases such as this manifest around young women, it is possible for puberty age boys (and even older adults) to show this same unknowing ability. As with the young women, the vast majority will have no idea that they are causing the activity and will be surprised to find there is even a possibility that strange things are happening because of them.

Demonic Haunting
Demon hauntings usually start in a subtle way. Behaviors are typically the same behaviors displayed by a poltergeist, but more extreme. It’s common for one or several entities to exist in one location with a strong evil presence seemingly controlling the others and not allowing them to cross over.

It is believed that demons hate humans and think them very lowly and stupid. Demons should never be challenged. Most demonic entities like a challenge and are master of trickery and incredibly conniving; they may have you believing they are good spirits or may appear to have gone away, only to confront you again at the least expected and most vulnerable moment.

A demon is considered to be a powerful, supernatural being that is generally malevolent (wishing or appearing to wish evil to others) in character. The word demon comes from the Greek word daemon, which means a divine or semi-divine power that determined a person’s fate.

Demons are evil, supernatural beings of intelligence, wit, and immense power. They have the power to invade our homes, attach themselves to objects, and inflict torture both mentally and emotionally by attacking or even possessing the human body.
Demons have the ability to morph into any shape they want. They can change from a human form to an inhuman form before your very eyes. They are neither male nor female but will change to whatever meets their need at the time. Demons are commonly seen as black masses standing in doorways or in the corner of the room.

Shadow People
We still really don’t know what all shadow people are, but they do need a category all their own. There are several different types or forms of shadow people, from Hatman to a plain ordinary human ghost who simply cannot manifest into full-bodied apparition and seem to appear simply as shadow people.

At first, they appear only out of the corner of your eye, furtively darting out of view when you turn to look straight at them but are now gone. Did you really see them? Shaking the image out of your head, you assume that it was some peculiar anomaly of your eyesight (which is possible), however the feeling still lingers. Occasionally, you see the shadow directly in front of you: face to face, blacker than black, darker than dark, like a void that has punched a hole into the fabric of night itself.

Sometimes it appears as the mere silhouette of a person, and it may lack any specific characteristics of gender. However, in no way does the description end there. There are “hatted” shadow beings, hooded shadows, cloaked ones, and solid or wispy, smoky types. Some are seen only from the waist up. Others clearly have legs that are seen fleeing from their observers. They dart into corners, through walls, into closets, or behind television sets, bushes, and buildings. Sometimes they simply fade into the dark recesses of the night. Lacking in the description is one common denominator unifying the many different types of shadow people who enter our world, except that they are “intensely dark.” But even then, there are exceptions.

The personalities and intentions of shadow people are just as varied. One can only hope that serious research into this paranormal genre will paint a clearer understanding of the nature and make-up of these dark mysterious shadows. In the meantime, although their existence isn’t in question, the nature of their being is.

SOURCE: Reblogged from The Paranormal MD Investigative Research & Science Website

https://www.theparanormalmd.com/