16 Signs of Haunting Activity

1. Unexplained noises - footsteps; knocks, banging, rapping; scratching sounds; sounds of something being dropped. Sometimes these noises can be subtle and other times they can be quite loud.

2. Doors, cabinets and cupboards opening and closing - most often, these phenomena are not seen directly. The resident either hears the distinct sounds of the doors opening and closing (homeowners get to know quite well the distinctive sounds their houses make) or the experiencer will return to a room to find a door open or closed when they are certain it was left in the opposite position. Sometimes furniture, like kitchen chairs, are perceived to have been moved. Very rarely will someone actually witness the phenomenon taking place.

3. Feelings of being touched - the feeling of being watched is one thing, and actually feeling like you are being touched is quite another. Some people feel something brush past them, something touching their hair or "a hand" on the shoulder. Some feel a gentle poke, push or nudge. Some have even experienced the sensation that an energy (not their own) has gone right through them.

4. Other physical evidence - unexplained writing on paper or walls; handprints and footprints.





5. Lights turning off and on - likewise, these events are seldom seen actually occurring, but the lights are switched on or off when the person knows they were not left that way. This can also happen with TVs, radios and other electrically powered items.

6. Items disappearing and reappearing - Others have called this "the borrowers" phenomenon. It is the familiar experience of not being able to find a regularly used item - say, a set of car keys - which one believes they placed in a spot they routinely place them. But they're gone and one looks high and low for them with no success. Some time later, the keys are found - in exactly the place you normally put them. It's as if the object was borrowed by someone or something for a short time, then returned. Sometimes they are not returned for days or even weeks, but when they are, it's in an obvious place that could not have been missed by even a casual search.

7. Strange animal behavior - a dog, cat or other pet behaves strangely. Dogs may bark at something unseen, cower without apparent reason or refuse to enter a room they normally do. Cats may seem to be "watching" something cross a room. Animals have sharper senses than humans, and many researchers think their psychic abilities might be more finely tuned also.

8. Mild psycho-kinetic phenomena - hearing a door open or close is one thing. Actually seeing it happen is quite another. Similarly, actually seeing a light go on or off by itself is greater proof that something unexplained is happening. This could be a radio or tv turning on and off. Or perhaps when a child's powered toy begins to operate on its own. Doors and windows are locked or unlocked. Some people report that when they are in bed they can feel and/or hear something sitting on the bed.





9. Cries and whispers - on occasion, muffled voices, whispering and crying can be heard. Sometimes it's music from some unknown source. People hear their names being said. This phenomenon gains more credibility if more than one person hears or sees the same thing at the same time.

10. Cold or hot spots - cold spots are classic haunting symptoms, but any instance of a noticeable variance in temperature without a discernable cause could be evidence.

11. Unexplained smells - the distinct fragrance of a perfume or cologne that you do not have in your house. This phenomenon comes and goes without any apparent cause and may accompany other phenomena, such as shadows, voices or psycho-kinetic phenomena. Unfortunately it is not always a pleasant scent, but a foul odor which is perceived.

12. Feelings of being watched - this is not an uncommon feeling and can be attributed to many things, but it could have a paranormal source if the feeling consistently occurs in a particular part of the house at a particular time.





13. Unexplained shadows - the sighting of fleeting shapes and shadows, usually seen out of the corner of the eye. Many times, the shadows have vaguely human forms, while other times they are less distinguishable or smaller.

14. Moving or levitating objects (severe psycho-kinetic phenomena) - dinner plates sliding across the table; pictures flying off walls; doors slamming shut with great force; furniture sliding across the floor.

15. Physical assault - scratches, slaps and hard shoves. This kind of personal assault is extremely rare, but obviously highly disturbing.

16. Apparitions - physical manifestation of a spirit or entity. These phenomena are also very rare and can take many forms: human-shaped mists, orbs or forming mists of some indistinguishable shape, transparent human forms that disappear quickly, and most rarely, human forms that look as real and solid as any living person, but that disappear into a room or evaporate into thin air while being viewed.