Residual Hauntings
by Samantha Maine
Hauntings fall under four main categories: intelligent, residual, poltergeist, and inhuman. In this article, we’re only going to deal with residual hauntings. What are they, how/why do they happen, and how can these cases be resolved?
These types of hauntings do not involve any actual spirits, but are by energy being imprinted on an object, room, building, or the environment. There are many hypotheses as to why and how this happens.
Many paranormal researchers believe that residual hauntings occur as a result of traumatic events, emotionally charged events (both negative and positive), or events that were repeated often enough to become ingrained in the environment.
How these cases happen is a more difficult question, and of course, nothing can be proven thus far. However, investigators and researchers speculate that there may be correlations between residual hauntings and some natural materials, and with the Earth’s natural magnetic activity. Some claim that water holds the energy necessary for residual activity to be present, while others say the same for limestone or quartz. Other researchers claim that residual energy can be imprinted on the environment itself, or upon walls of buildings. There are also hypotheses that link certain weather conditions, such as lightning, to residual hauntings.
As previously stated, these hauntings do not involve any actual spirits. Instead, these hauntings are simply caused by energy – imprints of events that tend to repeat, following a different pattern from case to case. Sometimes the events repeat daily, at a specific time of day, or on the anniversary of the original event. Residual hauntings do not have to involve people who are deceased – imprints of events can include the living as well. A small sample of events that can lead to a residual haunting includes: repeated routines that held significant meaning, a replay of a murder, an emotionally charged event, and other traumatic events. But they can be caused by positive events as well – reuniting with a loved one after a long separation, for example.
In this type of haunting, the energetic imprints of people may appear to have no legs, to walk through walls and furniture, and they do not acknowledge the living and cannot interact. This is because they are simply energy constructs representing the people involved in the original event. These energy constructs simply follow the paths of the building or area in which that original event occurred. Since they are only energy, not spirits, they cannot recognize that their environment has changed. Buildings are often remodeled, re-floored, doors moved to new locations, etc. The energy construct is simply following the original lay out, so it may walk through a door that is no longer there, or across a floor that has been replaced with a higher one.
So, if someone encounters a residual haunting, how can they stop the activity? One of the simplest ways is to simply rearrange the furniture in the area where the activity occurs. If this doesn’t help, a cleansing of the room or building may be required, which simply means that the energetic residue is removed.
Religious rites, blessings, and simply talking to the “spirit” does not work, because in this case, there is no actual spirit involved.
These types of hauntings do not involve any actual spirits, but are by energy being imprinted on an object, room, building, or the environment. There are many hypotheses as to why and how this happens.
Many paranormal researchers believe that residual hauntings occur as a result of traumatic events, emotionally charged events (both negative and positive), or events that were repeated often enough to become ingrained in the environment.
How these cases happen is a more difficult question, and of course, nothing can be proven thus far. However, investigators and researchers speculate that there may be correlations between residual hauntings and some natural materials, and with the Earth’s natural magnetic activity. Some claim that water holds the energy necessary for residual activity to be present, while others say the same for limestone or quartz. Other researchers claim that residual energy can be imprinted on the environment itself, or upon walls of buildings. There are also hypotheses that link certain weather conditions, such as lightning, to residual hauntings.
As previously stated, these hauntings do not involve any actual spirits. Instead, these hauntings are simply caused by energy – imprints of events that tend to repeat, following a different pattern from case to case. Sometimes the events repeat daily, at a specific time of day, or on the anniversary of the original event. Residual hauntings do not have to involve people who are deceased – imprints of events can include the living as well. A small sample of events that can lead to a residual haunting includes: repeated routines that held significant meaning, a replay of a murder, an emotionally charged event, and other traumatic events. But they can be caused by positive events as well – reuniting with a loved one after a long separation, for example.
In this type of haunting, the energetic imprints of people may appear to have no legs, to walk through walls and furniture, and they do not acknowledge the living and cannot interact. This is because they are simply energy constructs representing the people involved in the original event. These energy constructs simply follow the paths of the building or area in which that original event occurred. Since they are only energy, not spirits, they cannot recognize that their environment has changed. Buildings are often remodeled, re-floored, doors moved to new locations, etc. The energy construct is simply following the original lay out, so it may walk through a door that is no longer there, or across a floor that has been replaced with a higher one.
So, if someone encounters a residual haunting, how can they stop the activity? One of the simplest ways is to simply rearrange the furniture in the area where the activity occurs. If this doesn’t help, a cleansing of the room or building may be required, which simply means that the energetic residue is removed.
Religious rites, blessings, and simply talking to the “spirit” does not work, because in this case, there is no actual spirit involved.