Don’t Panic
Living in a haunted house can come with a wide range of issues, but many homeowners report similar experiences: items going missing, faucets turning on and off for no reason, hearing unexplained footsteps and other noises, or just feeling a strange presence in the home. While these sensations can certainly be spine chilling, there’s usually nothing to be afraid of. Many times, there’s a natural explanation — for instance, noises could be caused by the house settling, plumbing or an infestation of mice or other vermin. But even in the case of a genuine haunting, it’s often possible to coexist with the energies or entities in the home if you can replace your fear with curiosity.
Do Your Research
Many times, the scariest part of living in a haunted house is the unknown — feeling a presence in the home but not knowing who or what it is. One of the simplest things you can do to ease your mind is to explore your home’s background and possibly put a name to your ghost. Try researching your home’s history and former occupants to see if anything sounds like the makings of a possible haunting. Property records can tell you basic information on the home, but if you want to find out if there was a death or a crime committed there, you may need to speak to neighbours, read old articles from local newspapers or search online.
Be Objective
When strange occurrences start happening in a home, family members often blame one another, which causes stress in the household. The stress itself is negative energy that can feed off of the other energies in the home, creating a situation that might be even worse. Once again, it’s important not to panic every time something unexplained happens in your home. Instead, dig a little deeper to try to find an explanation for what you’re experiencing — paranormal or otherwise.
Keep a Journal
Documentation is key when dealing with paranormal activity. If you think your house is haunted, there are going to be skeptics — quite possibly yourself — so the more evidence you can gather of your ghost’s existence, the better. Buy a notebook — or even one notebook for every room where you’ve noticed paranormal activity — and writing down every unusual occurrence.
Be as detailed as possible in your journal, including dates, times and thorough descriptions of the activity. If you’ve noticed unexplained noises or sights in your home, you might want to try to capture them with an audio recorder or video camera as well. If you eventually decide to contact a paranormal expert, this documented activity will be extremely helpful in his or her investigation.
Call in the Ghostbusters
The investigator will likely start by interviewing you. Not only does this give him a feel for what you’ve seen and heard throughout your home, but it also helps him rule out any natural causes for the unexplained activity. For instance, if you notice strange noises at the same times every day, you may just be hearing a furnace kicking in or a train passing nearby. If natural causes are ruled out, the investigation team will explore your home — possibly over several sessions — with cameras, audio recorders and other equipment. The team will then analyze the data and report back to you. Whether paranormal activity is found or not, this should provide you with some insight on the strange occurrences
Try to Coexist
If a paranormal expert backs up your belief that your house is haunted, it’s time to decide whether you feel comfortable staying in a home with ghostly activity.
Acknowledge the Ghost
9 out of 10 hauntings are benign, the ghosts were nice people ( think Barbara and Adam from Beetlejuice) and are nice people in death, and they just want you to know they’re there. They want someone to acknowledge their presence, but you totally have control over that, and I think that’s the thing most people don’t realize. You can tell them to go. I don’t know why it is — there must be some kind of universal law they have to go. You have to tell them not to come back, otherwise they will.
If You Can’t Coexist, Consider Moving
While most ghosts are perfectly pleasant, others are a bit more sinister. It’s usually possible to coexist with spirits, but if you sense a malevolent presence in your home — something that might have a bone to pick with whatever happened in its lifetime — it may be time to find a new place to live. Even if a ghost doesn’t pose a threat to you or your family, some people may still choose to move on.
Know the Law
If you decide to sell your home, you may have to reveal its spooky nature to potential buyers. Depending on where you live, you may need to disclose any type of ghostly activity. Sellers only need to reveal whether a house is haunted if the buyer specifically requests that information. Talk to your real estate agent to learn more about the laws.
Appeal to Homebuyers
Selling a home with a spooky reputation is certainly not easy. Stigmatized properties, or properties that were the scene of a gruesome crime or home to a notorious criminal, stay on the market 45 percent longer than comparable homes. As a result, sellers often have to take steps to make these homes more appealing to buyers. The former owners of the recently sold Amityville Horror House, for instance, extensively remodelled the infamous residence and even changed its address from 112 Ocean Ave. to 108 Ocean Ave. If you don’t want to go quite that far, at the very least, you should slash the price of your home significantly lower than the competition
Happy Halloween!!
