Is My House Haunted?
If you’re asking yourself (or Google) “is my house haunted?” you’ve probably been witnessing some weird stuff (or have a really nasty neighbor spreading rumors). First things first, should you be suspicious?
Reasons to be suspicious that your house is haunted
Signs your house is haunted
Here are some of the more common signs that your house is haunted:
- Disappearing or moving items
- Strange noises or voices coming from an unknown source or location
- Temperature fluctuations
- Children turning their head 180+ degrees (like an owl) or change in personality
- Animals acting weird
- Repeated eery or violent nightmares
- Electrical disturbances
- Doors or cabinets opening (or closing) on their own
- Run-ins with ghosts or apparitions
- Smells that don’t belong
Causes
In short, is there a valid reason to wonder ‘is my house haunted’?
First of all, you should determine if there are valid reasons your house might be haunted. Typical evidence to look for includes:
- Location: If the house is located near an old battlefield or possibly sitting right on top of an Indian burial ground then maybe you have a right to be suspicious.
- Activity: If the previous owner plastered her husband’s brains all over the bathroom, that is not a good sign.
- Age: If the house is over 75 years old, there’s no way to know what happened there long ago. Past crimes and past victims may have a hard time forgetting even though society has.
- Occult/witchcraft. When I was a child, I was helping my grandmother clean up the overgrown backyard of one of her rental houses. We uncovered a large circle of candles around a firepit. Great…my child mind assumed they had been conducting animal sacrifices. Is there any way to take that out of the deposit?? Yikes.
Alternative Explanations
Haunted houses are like UFOs. Even if they do exist there is almost always a completely rational explanation for weird things happening. So even if the house is built on an Indian burial mound, the previous owner hung himself, and you’re waking up with cuts on your arms after having a nightmare about Freddy Kruger, I’d still search for a better explanation. Might as well, no one is going to believe you anyway until you rule out these alternative explanations.
In my other post, titled “how to sell a haunted house,” I describe the things you should check for and address if you think your house is haunted. Basically you want to fix all the creaky boards and flickering lights to see if this solves the problem.
Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, said “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.” In short, if you do everything you can to remove the signs of the ghosts, and bloody handprints are still showing up in your mirror, you can reasonably conclude that your house is haunted.
What to do if your house is haunted
If you still believe that your house is haunted, don’t burn it to the ground. The first thing you should do is start keeping track of all your observations. Keep a notepad with you, and everytime you notice something, write down the time and what you observed with a very detailed explanation. This will help you prove your case to suspicious others. And it will also help professionals troubleshoot your home and find rational reasons for the weird things you’ve been noticing.
Bring in the pros
Next, call professionals. Start with your handyman, contractor, plumber, and electrician. Show them your notes about your observations and let them address the problem. If they can’t figure it out, get a second opinion.
After you’ve talked to the experts who understand a lot about construction and buildings, and they haven’t solved the problem, call in a psychic medium or paranormal expert.
Resolution
If you’ve reached this stage, and the psychic confirms your house is haunted, you need to decide what to do. You have a few choices.
- Expel the ghost
- If the ghost is evil or uncooperative, and is negatively affecting your life, you might want to expel the ghost.
- Make terms with the ghost
- If the ghost in your house is Casper, you might not mind keeping him. In many situations, the ghost can be an ally, even protecting you and your loved ones against harm while you’re in the house.
- Sell the house
- If you can’t get rid of the ghost, and you don’t want to make terms, your final option may be to sell your haunted house. Here’s my advice on how to sell a haunted house. If you’ve reached the conclusion that you can’t go on living in your haunted house, please give me a call. I buy haunted houses.
Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only and does not provide legal, accounting, or financial advice. I am not a lawyer or accountant. Visitors should not rely upon this information as a substitute for legal, accounting, or financial advice. While I make every effort to provide accurate website information, laws can change and inaccuracies happen despite our best efforts. If you have a specific problem, you should seek advice from a qualified professional in your own jurisdiction.