Typical Signs Of A Haunting
Some Typical Signs of a Suspected Presence: 

A general uneasy feeling: like you are not alone or you are being watched are common in most reports of a possible haunting.

Noises that you can’t explain: Knocking or rapping, sounds of movement similar a shuffling of feet, or the sound of fabric as if someone just turned and walked out of or into a room, footsteps, voices, whispering, subtle or loud banging, the sound of a door opening or closing. 

Items missing or article of furniture moved: Personal or commonly used item such as a hair brush, tooth brush or car keys disappearing only to be returned at a later time, what typically happens is the item is found days later in exactly the place they were left or will turn up in an obvious place that could not have been overlooked during even the most casual search, this phenomena has been referred to as the “barrower's phenomena”.

Electrical or appliance issues: lights and or appliances turning on and off by themselves, most reports of this type are reported to have occurred when the person experiencing the phenomena is not present, usually when they return home or wake up in the morning and they know the appliances or lights were not left in the way they were discovered.

Unexplained movement: such as a light or shadow, sometimes you may even believe you saw or heard someone walk by and you know nobody is there.  The most common report is that of shadows or flashes.

Unexplained temperature changes: These are known as “Cold Spots or “Warm Spots” usually a drop or rise of 10 to 20 degrees in a localized area indicate something either did or attempted to manifest itself, meaning a spirit or entity may have attempted to make itself known. Spirits and entities will draw energy from their surroundings to manifest, creating a cold or warm spot.

Pets Alerting: A dog barking or growling at something that you cannot see, or suddenly runs from a room as if it were being chased, dogs have been known to refuse to enter a room as if they are frightened of something.  Birds reacting as though they were startled for no apparent reason, cats appearing to watch something or someone move across the room.

The Feeling of Being Touched: The typical report of this is the feeling that your hair or an article of your clothing has been tugged on, or someone touches you on the hand, arm, or leg. 

Now all of that being said there are usually perfectly reasonable explanations for these occurrences, however if these things are happening on a regular basis you might consider keeping a log of the times, places, and frequency of the experiences. A log would be extremely helpful if you decide to have a paranormal team come in and conduct an investigation.


Signs of a Demonic or Inhuman Presence.

Please understand that the following symptoms do not always occur in this order, and in cases where no children are present the entity will attempt to gain access to the occupants of the chosen location in any way it deems necessary.

Note that Demonic or Inhuman entities are extremely rare so whenever paranormal activity is suspected please have a Paranormal Research team conduct an investigation in an attempt to determine what you may be dealing with.

1. Young children and pets usually are targeted first.  Pets appear to be able to see or sense the entity and are usually attacked and chased away. Children are targeted because they are the most trusting in the home and are easily controlled. The entity will appear to the child as a playmate or confidant in order to gain control of the child.  You should always be suspicious of any haunting that starts with the most vulnerable of the household.

2. The entity will visit children in their rooms because that is where they are alone and vulnerable.  Again be very suspicious of this activity.

3. Unpleasant odors are present, similar to sulfur or rotting flesh. In some cases growling will be heard.

4. Soon adults begin to notice things occurring in the house as the entity challenges them to obtain knowledge of how strong willed they are.  Note…you are being tested.

5. In most cases the entity will start out seemingly friendly and playful, thus gaining the trust and acceptance of the family, being treated almost like a household pet.

6. The entity will appear in human form; however, since the entity has never been human or for that matter had a corporeal body it will have difficulty with this feat. You will notice imperfections such as, it will have some animal like features. If it shows itself, look closely for these imperfections.

7. The entity will become impatient and quick tempered sometimes lashing out with little or no provocation. 

8. Attacks are eminent! Unexplained scratches and bruises appear on its chosen victims. The entity will establish dominance; it uses fear and pain to its advantage in order to gain control.

9. Victims come down with unexplained illnesses; it will even go so far as to make it appear as though abuse is taking place in the home as a method of torment.

10. Keep in mind, these entities have been known to hide from strangers who come to help, to make it appear that the victims are imagining these occurrences.  However it will make itself known if it feels it has to.  This type of entity has a hate for the living and will stop at nothing to prove its superiority over them.

11. Religious symbols, such as crosses, or statues of saints do not seem to have an effect on the entity, as a matter of fact these things seem to invoke even more anger and hostility from the entity.

12. Large heavy objects move seemingly on their own to show its strength. Remember it is powerful and will prove it.  It seeks total control and will obtain it if you do not act before it gains a stronghold on the location.

Please Note:  This type of entity seeks complete control and destruction and will obtain it if it is allowed to. Do not attempt to deal with it on your own.



Things you should not do if you feel you have a haunting.

First and foremost, NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING!

NEVER attempt to communicate with a suspected spirit by using séances or Ouija boards, these methods can, and usually do invite things much worse than what you have been dealing with.  If you feel you may be dealing with a demonic type of presence contact a reputable investigation group who is familiar with demonic haunts, or contact a demonologist, they will use their experience and knowledge to determine what you are dealing with, all demonic entities are malevolent but not all malevolent spirits are demonic, so you could just have a trouble maker who is getting a kick out of frightening you..

Ouija boards and séances involve the demonic realm and demonic entities can very easily be unintentionally invited.  Remember the demonic type of entity does not care what your intentions were or your state of mind at the time they were invited, and once they are invited in, they are by far the most difficult to remove.

Demonic entities cannot be destroyed, that is a Hollywood myth.  They just move on to someone else; providing you can get them to move on.  It has been our experience that cleansings and blessings only work if the target person truly believes in their faith.

Another thing you need to know if you have a suspected haunting is, YOU have the power, the only power the spirit has over you is the power you give it.  So never become emotional when dealing with a spirit, meaning don’t get angry or panic, try not to show fear, fear can also provide the spirit with energy, and the one thing we never do… and believe me it is easier said than done, but you must overcome the overwhelming desire to run away, most claims of injury due to hauntings is the result of the witness hurting themselves trying to run away, if you feel you must leave by all means do so, but do it with dignity, as calmly as you can, walk out.  Just remember the old saying “never let them see you sweat”.  If malevolent spirits believe they can control you by using your fears against you, they will. 

Normally by using an authoritative tone and making it clear that this is your home and it is not welcome there and must leave now, works but it's important that you are confident and mean what you say, malevolent spirits can spot weakness a mile away.


Things you should do:

Above all, keep calm; odds are you are witnessing a residual type of occurrence.    Remember, intelligent hauntings are rare and demonic or malevolent entities/spirits are EXTREMELY rare.  Spirits mean us no harm; for the most part they are simply trying to communicate with us.

1.Keep a log or journal 

•Note time and date of the occurrences

•As detailed as possible describe what you saw and/or heard, include sounds, colors, voices (male or female), what did the voice sound like it was saying, approximate age, did it appear as though the apparition was aware of you, did the apparition look familiar to you, did the apparition appear transparent or solid.

•Try and describe the conditions when the activity occurred i.e. lights on or off, clear or stormy weather conditions, what you were doing at the time. Etc...

•Note anyone else who was present even if they did not see or hear anything.

2.Try and get the history of the house or structure. Most Paranormal Investigation groups will do this for you should you decide to have an investigation conducted.

3.Call or email a local Paranormal Investigation team and ask questions even if you don’t want an investigation; we love to answer questions.    Knowledge is power.



All of these things will be extremely helpful should you decide to have a team investigate.



© Copyright 2009 by Oquirrh Mountain Paranormal Investigators all rights reserved