So how do I get rid of it?

I have heard several conversations among people who believe that they have a haunting. Many times these people just want to know how to get rid of the damn thing. Then inevitably, someone always brings up the whole burning sage thing, or having your house blessed sort of treatment.

I'm not saying these are bad ideas, but I've never really been sold on this sort of lore myself. I found this excerpt from a website for one of the ghost hunter groups out there. I think anyone who believes that they may have a haunting of some type should definitely read this.

"If you conclude that you do have such a situation, realize that you and/or one or more household members are part of the problem. Consciously or unconsciously, people in troubled houses always have a part in causing and/or feeding the phenomena. So you need to find what you're doing that's introducing or encouraging negative energy."

Here's the link http://www.strangehappenings.org/I-Have-Ghosts.htm

Lady Death Tribute

Mama's House and the Shadowman

When I was young, from the time I could remember and until my teens, I spent almost every weekend at my grandmother’s house. I called her Mama.
The old house came with the stigma of being haunted not only from being an old house, but from experiences passed down through my mother and grandmother.
I want to say there were 2 separate things within its walls, although my mother only spoke of the 1.
There was the usual haunting. Odd noises, unexplainable footsteps, cabinets, doors, and windows opening or closing, and often the overwhelming feeling of being watched.
I can’t remember how many times I would sit on the couch and gaze through the doorway into the kitchen, knowing I in turn was being looked at. Oftentimes I was too afraid to look there.
My mother had told of the phone ringing, and when she would answer, it would be there, on the other end or in the phone, whichever. I experienced this once. Mama had one of those old rotary dial wall phones. As it rang I answered, and the deep buzzing and popping that spoke back began to travel up my arm and through my shoulder. I dropped the phone and dreaded answering it every time it rang thereafter.
As Mama grew older, her health deteriorated and she could no longer live by herself.
So she moved in with us.
My mother and I would frequently visit the old house, either to retrieve items, care for the property, and so on.
This is when whatever was there began to get a little creepier.
Things would be moved from where we had put them. Clothes unfolded, boxes we had packed would be unpacked. Objects I had just looked away from for a second would be moved dramatically. Several times I felt as if I were touched or brushed against by something.
And more than once the atmosphere would become so alarming that both my mother and I would immediately leave, with the feeling of being chased to the front door.
Several times we even found 'it' right inside the front door and would wait to enter.
Whatever was there was undeniable to mother, my grandmother, and myself.
It seemed to leave when my grandmother passed away. As if it belonged to her.

The second part to the story was something only I seemed to experience.
My shadowman.
To get to the basement of the old house, you had to go through the laundry room down a flight of steps to a landing, and turn right and down another flight of steps to the basement.
I know, you're already thinking young boy+basement+old house= severe paranoia.
But the thing was, the basement never bothered me. It was the shadowman on the steps that scared the hell out of me.
He wasn't there all the time, but was frequently.
He looked about the same size and shape as an adult man, but featureless and without defined boundaries. He wasn't so much a shadow, but the absence or at least consumption of light. Even through the sunlight coming in through a door window at the first landing.
He would begin about halfway up the lower staircase and move rapidly to the landing and wait in the corner. The closer I would get, he would drift up the upper staircase and stop at the top. As if he were waiting me out.
Rarely would I get the courage to pass him, when I did I was overcome with the feeling of pins and needles, dread, and sheer terror. If he was trying to keep me from the basement, most of the time he won.
I don't remember the last time I saw my shadowman, but I don't see him anymore.
I rarely go to the old house anymore, but when I do, sometimes I still get the pins and needles and feeling of dread on that concrete staircase. As if he's still there. Perhaps just blind to the eyes of a grown man.

The Ouija Board Incident

When I was about 12 or 13, a friend of mine had an older brother who was in high school, and like many rebellious teens in the late 80's he had jumped on the heavy metal sponsored satanism bandwagon. In his room he kept a large trunk full of cult related items (I'm guessing as to hide them from his parents), things like a ouija board, medallions, the necrominon,candles, and cult art.One summer afternoon my friend Nate and I decided that since nobody was home, It would be a good opportunity to rifle through his brothers belongings and play with all the "neat stuff"after doing a little examining and reading, and candle burning, and spell casting, and something to do with a pentagram, we decided to fire up the ol' ouija board.After a few rounds of "stop moving it, I'm not doing it" (I think we were moving it)we decided to put his brothers room back in order as to avoid getting our asses kicked if he came home soon.All of a sudden the "tone" of the room around us changed, I deffinatley felt it and i could tell by the look on Nates face he did too. And there was a distinct smell of something, not like the candles we'd blown out 5 minutes ago, but something acrid or hot. The pops and creaks began and sounded to be coming from the wash room just outside the door,Nate and I stepped out to have a look when the pops and creaks became noticibly more distinct upsatairs. I was still standing in his brothers room doorway when Nate started up the stairs to investigate.At that point it happened, thats the best way I have to explain it "it"doors slammed shut, pops, moans, creaks, and the central cold air intake ducting sounded like it was expanding and contracting. The activity distinctly began at one end of the house and moved to the other. When it was "over me" Nate sprang up the stairs to escape. At the same moment I felt "movement" beside me, a tingling all over me, and heard it's rapid muffled whispers. The upstairs door slammed shut. Nate quickly opened it back up, and by that time I was right behind him.We ran outside and just kept running. Neither one of us spoke for a moment or two as we began to walk back. When we got back to the house, we checked all the outside windows, they were shut. The central air was running quietly, as it had been all day.When we went back inside we discovered every interior door shut (even the 2 we had just ran through) and many lights turned on that hadn't been before.No one had come or gone during the entire incident and for a while thereafter, as we could see the entry door from downstairs and never lost sight of the house during our retreat.I run into Nate once in a while, and to this day the account still chills us both.

Comment from old blog

When I redid this page I saved this comment from a submitter. Just wasn't sure where to post it, so here it is....

BRECK24 said...
I can not belive people belive in this crap, but i do belive in it only to a certain point.
June 23, 2007 12:11 PM

Most Haunted - A Paranormal Mockery

For those of us who venture to believe in the paranormal or at least some aspects if it, ultra-skeptics and outright non believers are hard to argue with when they are armed with evidence to show that we are all just a bunch of lunatics.Case in point, 'Most Haunted'. C'mon, for crying out loud. The world is filled with people who have experienced paranormal phenomenon and it's been that way practically since the beginning of time and in almost every culture and religion. And this is the best you can do to represent us?A hand full of neo-sensitive 'freaks' that run around the catacombs and voluntarily become possessed by 13th century pedophile warlocks? Every time?Any of you out there who really do have physic ability or claim yourself to be 'sensitive' in one way or another aught to be outright disgusted. This is how you are being portrayed.There are bona-fide paranormal research teams all over the world, even some who rely on a psychic is some fashion or another that do real research and never have these 'demonic possessions' ever, let alone every day.Maybe their intent was good at some point in time, but now it's a joke.Most Haunted is the official mascot of the non believer and the ultra-skeptic.I have a bona-fide interest in the paranormal and have had several experiences; these people do not represent me.With any luck maybe Sylvia Browne could join the team and we could all look a little crazier.

A Haunting - Hollywoodified

Okay, so I enjoy this show and my DVR is trained do make sure I never miss a new episode.But here's what I want everyone to understand. This is Hollywood’s version of peoples paranormal experiences, just that. If your gonna sell it you have to make it shiny.Let me sum up "A Haunting' for you;

-Family moves into home far from where they used to live.

-Family's oldest or youngest or mentally handicapped child begins to report strange things.

-Head of family is ultra-skeptic and dismisses them.

-Ultra-skeptic is attacked in some way by ghost.

-Ultra-skeptic is now believer.

-Husband, and or wife, and or kids are all pissed at each other.

-Family is scared but can't afford to move or believes ghost will move with them if they do.

-Priest comes to bless house.

-Things are better for a day or two.

-Ghost is now pissed about the whole blessing thing.

-Ghost retaliates.

-Paranormal researchers arrive, psychic in tow.

-Overwhelming evidence ensues.

-Psychic banishes ghost from home.

-All is well, well kinda.

Yep, that pretty much sums it up. I'm sure at least some of what is portrayed maybe actually happened, in at least some fashion or degree.These people probably were haunted by something and really were scared.But for Hollywood to tell their story they have to dress it up a lot to make people want to by what they are selling.So if you are going to watch it, please accept that fact.In the meantime, I'll wait on my trusty DVR do deliver more haunting goodness