FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

The following are a few of the most frequently asked questions
about ghosts and hauntings. We are providing these as a source
of information. By no means do we consider ourselves experts on
the subject and you should consider each of these questions with
an open mind. If you have any further questions, please visit our
Contact SGH page and we'll do our best to answer them.

Q: What is a haunting?

A: A haunting is the repeated manifestation of strange and
inexplicable sensory phenomena at a certain location. The activity
may appear as physical apparitions, sights, sounds, smells, or
cold areas. Hauntings may last for a brief period of time or
continue for many years.

Q: What types of hauntings are there?

A: The first type of haunting is the intelligent haunting. In this
kind of case the spirit or entity involved is an "intelligent" or
"interactive" presence in a haunted location. It is there because of
a connection to the site or to the people at the location. In most
intelligent hauntings, the spirit will manifest in physical ways in
an attempt to interact with those at the location. This may
include doors or windows that open and close seemingly on their
own, cold spots and a strong presence. On rare occasions, the
spirit may be seen and will most likely look as it did when it was
alive.

The second type of haunting is called the residual haunting. The
best way to explain this type of activity would be to compare it to
an old film loop or recording. These type of hauntings can be a
scene, image, sound, or smell that replays itself like an old movie
over and over again through the years. Generally these can be
caused by a traumatic event that imprints itself on the
atmosphere of a certain place. Also in a residual haunting, the
spirits or entities reported are like moving pictures and will be
unaware of the living people around them - so there is no
interaction.

The third type of haunting is the poltergeist haunting. In these
cases there can be a variety of phenomena taking place. There are
usually reports of knocking or tapping noises, sounds with no
visible cause, disturbance of stationary objects like household
items and furniture, doors slamming, lights turning on and off,
fires breaking out and much more.

Q: What is a ghost?

A: A ghost is an image of a person witnessed after his/her death -
reflecting the appearance of the living, physical body yet less
substantial. These forms seem to exist in a dream-like state of
semi-awareness, sometimes cognizant of their human observers.

Q: Do ghosts hurt people?

A: There have been some incidents of people being hurt by ghosts
and by paranormal activity in their homes. However, this is not
typical and any incidents of injury caused directly by spirits are
very, very rare. Some injuries have been reported due to
displaced objects caused by hauntings. A few injuries have even
been attributed to people running from haunted locations!

Q: Can objects become haunted?

A: Yes, there are several accounts of what some researchers call
"possessed possessions". This refers to physical items which
ghosts have become attached. In most cases, these objects are
connected to residual hauntings. There have been reports of
haunted books, haunted furniture, and even a haunted stamp
collection!

Q: Can ghosts communicate with the living?

A: In some cases yes, but usually this only occurs in intelligent
hauntings. Whereas residual hauntings are merely a replay of
past events and have no real presence behind them, and the
activity is without thought and without any ability to
communicate. Ghosts don't usually speak or make their
messages easily known. Sometimes there are reports of voices,
whispers or cries, but most times spirits seem to communicate
through sounds like knocking or tapping. Also, spirits can get
someone's attention by manipulating objects or manifesting.
Unfortunately, there are no real concrete answers to this
question, other than to say it is possible based on past evidence.

Q: Are children more sensitive to ghosts?

A: We believe the answer here is yes and there are a number of
reasons why. The biggest reason being that a child's belief system
is not as developed as an adults and the child has not yet
"learned" that ghosts cannot exist. For this reason the child's
mind does not shut out or discount the unexplained as an adult
might. So children end up being more open to the unexplained -
not having a "closed mind".

Q: Do ghosts only haunt at night?

A: No, there is really no specific time of day that is more active
than another. If a place is haunted then it is haunted no matter
what time of day it is.

Q: What is an EVP?

A: EVP stands for electronic voice phenomenon. This is the
recording of spirit voices through electronic means - using digital
or tape recorders.

©Sedalia Ghost Hunters 2010