The Typology

Friendly Visitors

The most common paranormal encounter is with a Friendly Visitor or spirit. You awaken in the middle of the night two weeks after Grandma dies. She is standing at the end of your bed. She looks healthy and happy. Grandma smiles at you and disappears. This happens once or twice and never again. Grandma is not a ghost who has returned to haunt you. She crossed over just as she should have, but comes back to let you know that she is alright and that she wants you to go on with your life. The encounter may not be in the form of a sighting. It could be hearing her voice, smelling her perfume, or finding her locket out on the dresser instead of inside the jewelry box. The message has meaning to the recipient and is usually one of comfort.

Earthbound Spirits

This is a ghost who did not cross over to the other side at the time of death. The ghost may not realize he is dead or may be in denial that he is dead. The earthbound spirit is like a neurotic person, repeating patterns of self-defeating or self-destructive behavior. We do not let go of the baggage of this life until we cross over. An earthbound spirit will usually become attached to a place which has emotional significance to him in life. It may be his home, his land, his business, or the place where he died.

Phantoms

A phantom is an energy imprint on the land or a building from an event occurring in the past. There is an energy present, but not consciousness. When conditions are right, the event replays itself much like a videotape. Examples include ghostly reenactments of Civil War battles in battlefields such as Gettysburg. A way to tell the difference between a phantom and a ghost is the event happens exactly the same way every time with no variation. Also known as Residual or Trace Memory haunting

Poltergeist

A poltergeist is a catch-all label for a series of paranormal events occuring at a high frequency and high intensity. The activity can include object movement, sounds, fire starting, or other very alarming activity. The causes can vary from a very active ghost to a disturbed teenager who may be causing the events to occur through unconscious use of psychokinetic energy. Poltergeist activity usually burns out within a few months.

Non-Human Entity

Such paranormal activity is rarely encountered. Occasionally, an entity who has never been human will cause mischief or serious trouble. In all my years of investigating, only once have encountered anything that possibly had a non-human entity behind it. This was a house where a murder had taken place in the 1800's.