GHOST PSYCHOLOGY

 

“Everything is easy when you live in a dream world.
As long as you know that you're dreaming.”

 

 

Ghosts come in 2 different sizes: Conscious and Unconscious.

Unconscious ghosts, or the “Confused Dead” constitute a minor majority of hauntings. These are dead people who are not aware that they have passed over. Infrequently, these spirits are so wrapped up within their own infinite purgatory that they do not recognize other ghosts or the living. This happens more when the person died an extremely violent or untimely death, were mentally ill/insane, or committed suicide. These people may still believe that they are alive, and spend most of their time wandering aimlessly awaiting a fate that has already transpired. These spirits are very hard to communicate with and are usually not conscious enough to realize what is transpiring around them.  

One such ghost is at the White Eagle tavern. She performs her death walk back and forth between the last two rooms at the end of the hallway near the emergency exit. Fashioned in a dirty and torn white nightgown, her frazzled black hair covering half her face, she holds her stomach, bent over in pain. She will go to one room to the next, lay down on the each bed for a few minutes, before rising to take her restless walk once more. When you try to speak to her she will look upon you with fear, and then whisk you away with her hands as if she was fighting off a hoard of locusts. In this individuals mind she is still suffering from whatever ailed her right before her death, as well as causing her to have horrifying hallucinations. To her, we are the ghosts.  If you stand in the middle of the hallway when she is performing this ritual and happen to be in her path, you can feel her walk right through you.

The “Conscious Dead” are the majority of ghosts and hauntings. These people are aware that something is different, and refuse to leave a residence or other location where they feel comfortable. It’s true that some ghosts have met a violent or unnatural demise, but this is not always the case. These entities are awaiting some type of validation or unfinished business before they decide to move on. They have chosen to be where they are and are not interesting in leaving until they are ready. There are more than one of them in one location in many cases, and in many cases they know about one another, but do not socialize. Just as when they were living, the dead still carry their emotions and personality- if you were a negative and angry person in your life, you would be this way in death.

Ghosts are not inherently evil. There are good people and bad people; hence, there are good ghosts and bad ghosts. Male ghosts tend to be more possessive and stay in a location to continue to both try and control it (such as a business) or refusing to give up a homestead because either they had built it themselves or were former residents there. Female ghosts are driven more by emotional needs such as waiting for a lost love to return. The ghosts of children are the hardest to deal with, as most of them were initially dealing with guilt and are too scared or confused to move on. Many of them have claimed that even when Mommy and Daddy come to take them away that they won’t go because, “I did something bad and they are going to give me a spanking.” In many cases where there are children or pre-teen ghosts, there is an adult ghost keeping them safe and protected. We have seen this numerous times.

Adult ghosts all seem to have one thing in common, and that is some type of deep-rooted psychological issue. Most adult ghosts are obsessive compulsive if not downright stubborn. Ghosts will also do things that make them feel comfortable. They have no boundaries unless someone sets some for them, and if given the run of a household they can make things miserable if not downright terrifying for the living. Letting a ghost have control of your home or business is never a good idea.

One of the main things to remember when dealing with ghosts is that they are people. Yes, they are dead people who have moved up a dimensional level and no longer ‘live’ in our 3^rd-dimensional world, but they are people just the same. They have the same personalities and convictions that they had when they were alive, including their religious propensity. They may not ‘live’ in our world, but they ‘function’ quite well in it.

    We had the displeasure of meeting a very pious and religious ghost in one of our investigations. He took great pains to appear to the employees of this business dressed in his 1800’s Sunday best, holding what appeared to be a Bible and fervently shaking his finger at them in disgust. Resigning himself to the room upstairs which was used for equipment and supplies for this business, this ghost was a terrifying apparition to the new owners and their employees and many of them refused to go up there. Looking into the historical background of this particular property, it was determined that this devout man was quite a bad little monkey while he was alive. After having the opportunity to speak with him myself, he told me that he had no choice but to stay in this, his original home, due to the fact that he knew what he had done was so very wrong, that if he did leave he would certainly go to hell. When I expressed the knowledge to him that I knew the horrors of what he had done, he switched his story completely and told me that this was none of my business and that nobody would ever understand why he did the things he did…only God.  He proceeded to tell me that his crimes were done in the, “Name of the Lord,” and only a person as devout as himself could understand. Obviously not in the best frame of mind by this time, the man also accused me of ‘witchcraft’ since I could see and speak with him. It’s frustrating if not pointless to try and reason with a person like this. 

    Let’s move on to exorcisms. Yeah, not a big fan. I’ve gotten a lot of flack over the years for my views on this, but I believe that exorcisms should only be done when there are spirits of extreme evil intent present, and I’m not speaking of ghosts. Trying to exorcise ghosts at all is a waste of time. Remember, they were given CHOICES and FREE WILL to be where they are. Somebody much higher than any of us gave them those CHOICES, and that is the only individual who could take it away. Psychics and some qualified ghost hunters can sometimes help calm a ghost down and even stop them from misbehaving, and yes, sometimes they have left after a visit from us, but this was done on their own accord. I’ve had many people write to me and tell me that they can go into a house and wave their arms around and play the “ghost-be-gone” card. Some people even charge for this service. I know of one individual who charged her clients $1500.00. Not surprisingly, all that these services did was to create a much more hostile environment than before. Again, not surprisingly, this self-proclaimed ‘ghost-buster’ unceremoniously skipped town with her pocketful of cash.

    Seriously, the only outcome we’ve experienced from the performances of exorcisms of ghosts in the United States is a ghost who is uber-peeved. Furthermore, trying to exorcise the ghost of a Buddhist monk by a Catholic priest would be an exercise in futility. In fact, it will most certainly make things worse. Once a ghost figures out that you had to bring out the “Big Kahunas” to try and make them leave, then they know they have the upper hand. It’s truly better to try and work things out on your own. Sometimes ghosts get tired and are ready to leave. Sometimes just setting boundaries with them or even compromising with them helps things become 110% better for everyone. Sometimes just giving them a listening ear or acknowledging their presence stops the bad behavior. Sometimes the simple cures the impossible. You’d be surprised.

    Ghosts can manifest themselves in different ways. They can and will manipulate objects in our 3^rd dimensional physical environment. They love to open and close things over and over (obsessive/compulsive). They can project smells to you that can range from pleasant (floral, perfume, food) to unpleasant (cigar or cigarette smoke) to highly unpleasant (feces, body odor). They will stay in areas that are comfortable for them- if a ghost wants to be left alone then they will choose a basement or an attic. If they are sociable, they will go through the house as if nothing has changed and integrate themselves within the current family structure (whether you are aware of them or not). If they do appear to you, the most common complaint by the living is a “problem with the eyes” as well as the appearance of the apparition floating and not walking. Most people do not see the feet of a ghost. This is because they are no longer in the 3^rd-dimension but their existence is raised up a little higher, usually about 2-3 feet. You may hear their boot stomps and even see mud-tracked in from the outside, but you probably won’t see their feet unless they take their shoes off and leave them somewhere in the 3^rd-dimensional world specifically for you to find.

    Be aware that there are 2 things that make ghosts active- first there is remodeling, and the second is a dramatic change in your family structure. You may not even know you have a ghost until these things take place. Remodeling especially is the number one thing to get a ghost riled up. Since they are able to create their own realities now, once you punch a hole in it they will immediately let you know their displeasure.

    
      Ghosts carry the same type of emotional energy that they did while they were living. This includes their original personalities and physicality’s- that is, if they have chosen to express and show themselves. Ghosts carry negative and positive energies just like living persons…some are good, some are bad. They may be possessive of a location or a family, and are suspicious of intruders. They may show this displeasure by feeding off the fear that we project when dealing with them. They may get angry and do things to show that they are unhappy. They are people, after all.

    It is actually not uncommon to meet up with angry or suspicious ghosts. Their emotions have kept them here and for the most part, they are not easy people to reason with. However, they will not normally hurt you as long as you treat them with respect and remember that you are visiting their home. Sociable ghosts may even pose for pictures or speak into your recorders if you ask nice enough, and base this on the positive energy they are receiving from their ghost-hunting guests.
           

Unfinished Business

            Most ghosts are here due to an emotional attachment that has transpired or they believe it should transpire in or at a particular physical location. Some unfinished business could include the following:

           

Guilt ridden

Retribution/vengeance

Shock

Denial

Possessiveness

Waiting for something to happen

Waiting for someone to return

Control

Stubborness

 

There are common psychological mindsets when describing ghosts. For ghost hunters, learning their basic feelings and mindset is paramount to a successful investigation. You are not just there to “hunt” them, your research should include your trying to understand them. The following emotions are commonly felt by the ghosts we encounter:

 

Afraid/Fearful

Caretaking

Confused

Controlling  

Depressed

Denial

Frustrated

Guilt-Ridden

 Inpatient

Lonely

Possessive of a place or object

Shy

Stubborn

Tired

Vengeful

 

Test yourself!

 

Which feelings listed above do you think are most common with the following: male ghosts, female ghosts, or children ghosts? Answers below. *

 

What to do if you have a ghost

 

            If you truly believe you have a ghost, there some important do’s and don’ts we recommend on your own before calling in someone to help you.

 

DO

Go about your business and routines as usual.

Educate yourself on ghosts/hauntings/paranormal

Talk aloud to your ghost(s)

Set boundaries with your ghost(s)

Always remain in control

Remain calm- when they ‘spook’ you & take a deep breath.

Try to understand them

Remember that Ghosts are people!

DON’T

 

Threaten a ghost with exorcism or violence

Antagonize, taunt or tease your ghost(s)

Expect “pet tricks” on cue when your friends are over

Give it a room of its own and never go in it (we call this a “dead room”).

Become too jumpy or live in fear all the time

Expect it to leave because you want it to

Expect somebody else to come in and get rid of it for you

PAY someone to get rid of it.

Create ghosts where there are none!!!

 

Note- be careful doing ghost hunting techniques in your home. Getting EVP’s from your ghost may be exciting, but remember that ghosts are severely lacking in social skills. They have no sense of time, so whenever they feel like having a rap session with you again, they’ll just show up…and this is usually in the middle of the night, or while you’re in the shower, or while you’re kids are getting ready for bed, etc. We do not recommend trying to have recorded conversations ‘ghost-hunter-style’ unless you truly want the conversational floodgates to open. We’ve had many clients complain that once they started doing this, that their ghost became completely overactive and over-stimulated and wouldn’t leave them alone! Once they started to ignore him/her again, then things quieted down again but it took quite awhile.

Keep in mind that us ghost hunter types are removed to them- we are like grandparents- we get to babysit and have our special time with them, and then we get to go home.

You’re actually stuck with them 24/7 plus, they KNOW you.

So what if the ghost becomes a problem?

 

Here are 5 remedies to try on your own for a problematic ghost. No guarantees are offered here, but we have had many, many clients report success.

 

1.      Set boundaries right away (this shows you mean business and have control)

2.      Set out photos of your ancestors and speak to them and ask them to help you.

3.      Smudge all the doors and rooms in your home

4.      Call upon the deity of your faith to help you

5.      Call paranormal investigators

 

 

*Answers: Could be any of them, but these are the most common:

 Male ghosts – Controlling, possessive, denial, vengeful, tired, stubborn.

Female ghosts – Caretaking, depressed, frustrated, guilt-ridden, lonely, tired,   stubborn.

            Child ghosts – Confused, afraid, shy, guilt-ridden.