Types of Hauntings

Residual hauntings:

A residual haunting is the most common and most benign type of a haunting. This is because it's not really a haunting in the sense that most people think of when they think of a haunting. Residual hauntings occur when the energy of a certain event (usually involving an extreme emotional situation) gets imprinted in the environment and is played back on a regular interval, almost like a movie being projected over and over again on a certain anniversary. This can happen every day at a certain time, every other month, every 60 days, once a year ... there's really no way to pinpoint when and where a residual haunting is going to take place unless you've done extensive repetitive research in the same area.


In some cases, people experiencing a residual haunting may also experience the feelings that are being replayed during the haunting, such as sorrow, fear, or anger. Surprisingly, there may also be smells that may arise during a residual haunting, such as the smell of cigarettes, perfume, or flowers. There is no way to interact with a residual haunting. These types of hauntings never pose any danger, although witnessing them can be a very unsettling experience.

In other cases, residual hauntings may even sometimes be a very mundane act that was repeated often in life. Residual hauntings are generally not considered an "actual" ghost, but in fact is some form of energy that remains in a particular location.

Intelligent hauntings:

An intelligent haunting is one of the more rare types of hauntings. With an intelligent haunting, the entity is aware of its surroundings, including living people who may be present in the home or business of where it haunts. The entity may or may not want the people (who it sees as invading it's space) to remain in the area. Or, in some other cases, the entity may want to communicate with only one person in the house who it sees as having a connection with, and will not communicate with others.

That being said, these types of intelligent hauntings can be seen as either benevolent or malevolent.

A benevolent haunting is by an entity that seeks to help or protect the living, sometimes from another evil spirit in the house, or from a living person it sees as being evil and who will bring harm to the residents of the house.

On the other hand, a malevolent haunting is by an entity that seeks to inflict harm on the living (or at least scare them pretty badly so that they will leave the place that the entity sees as it's own). The entity may have been evil in life, or it may just be displeased that new home owners have moved into it's space and is changing things around the house. Often times people will see a tremendous lift in the amount of paranormal activity that takes place when homes or businesses are being renovated or changed in drastic ways.

Sometimes when a benevolent entity is trying to communicate with residents of a house and cannot speak to them, they revert to opening and slamming doors or moving objects around to let the residents of the house know that they are there. The scared residents will (more often than not) believe that they have a malevolent haunting because of the way the entity is trying to communicate with them. This is where investigators such as ourselves can help to decipher what the entity wants by trying to communicate with it. Maybe it just wants to be heard. Maybe it has a message that it wants you to deliver to a loved one of theirs. Maybe it's trying to alert you to some sort of danger. You never know until you ask!

Demonic hauntings:

A demonic haunting is another type of intelligent haunting.  It is a haunting by a nonhuman entity called a "demon"  which can be very traumatic and violent. Demonic hauntings often start out with relatively simple paranormal activity, then quickly increase to stronger activity.  These type of hauntings most often effect people that are under great amounts of personal stress from conditions such as alcohol or drug abuse, psychological or emotional problems, etc.  It is believed the demon can take advantage of people in such a weakened psychological, emotional, and spiritual condition.

The word "demon" comes from the Greek word "daimon"  which means "a divine or semi-divine power that determined a person's fate". Some people believe that demons are angels who have fallen from grace. Demons are evil entities with immense power. They have the power to invade your home, attach themselves to objects, and inflict torture (both mentally and emotionally) by attacking and sometimes even possessing the human body. In many cases, demons can be summoned by someone using a Ouija board, or by someone who tinkers with some form to black magic or demon worship.

Demonic hauntings are commonly represented by a stench similar to rotting flesh. The air in the area will feel thick, and the temperature will change drastically. The demon may make verbal threats or throw objects. They like to push, shove, hit, and scratch. They may cause people to feel an overwhelming senses of anger, hate, and evil. This is because, as mentioned before, a demon's main goal is to break down a person's free will so they can possess them.

If you believe you have are being subjected to a demonic haunting, you should immediately seek both professional paranormal assistance (this is where M.C.P.I. comes in) and counseling - religious or otherwise. If you are not familiar with demonic hauntings and what is needed to relieve yourself of them, do not try to challenge a demon yourself.  Most demonic entities like a challenge and are incredibly conniving; they may have you believing that they are good spirits (or may appear to have gone away), only to confront you again later in your most vulnerable moments.

Poltergeists:

The word "poltergeist" is a German word meaning "noisy spirit" ... thus, the term refers to a spirit that makes noises, throws small objects, and can generally be described as an obnoxiously loud nuisance. Most of the time poltergeist activity seems to be centered around women under the age of 20.  This type of activity is more mischievous than dangerous, and very few injuries or serious damage have ever been documented.

The poltergeist phenomenon has been reported around the world throughout history. Before the nineteenth century, these occurrences were blamed on the devil, demons, and witches. However, in the 1930s, psychologists first suggested the theory that poltergeist disturbances are actually events that are mentally projected by individuals suffering intense repressed anger, frustration, and hostility .... not by spirits. Research in this area has shown that mental and emotional stress, personality disorders, phobias, obsessive behaviors, and schizophrenia are all linked to "supposed" poltergeist phenomena, and in some cases psychotherapy has eliminated the poltergeist disturbances all together.