Before anyone can start investigating for ghosts, one must know what a ghost is and the different types. Let's start with the basic description. Merriam-Webster defines a ghost as "a disembodied soul; the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness". This is a pretty basic, but self-explanatory description. There is so much more to a ghost than that though.
People pass on at different times, ages and ways. Many leave this world knowing exactly how they are going to go, whether it be am illness or just old age creeping in. These people normally do not become the ghosts that we know. They have had their time for closure, and are normally at peace with the world before they die. There they can go to their rightful place and their sould be a rest. Unfortunately, the world is not always as kind to everyone. Many people go to quickly. Therfore, they don't realize they are dead. Some may realize they have died, but didn't have the time for closure that some do. This is an unfortunate occurance that can lead to hauntings.
Just as ghosts are, hauntings have their different forms. The two different types of hauntings are residual and intelligent. Although they can produce the same evidence, they are vastly different. A residual haunting is something that occurs normally, maybe not everyday, but can occur at a certain time of the day or night. Think of this type of haunting as a tape recorder playing the same senario over and over again. The ghosts don't realize they are dead. They are going about their business as they would if they were still alive in their time period. They never harm or interact. Many occurances that can happen are footsteps and door shutting and opening.
Intelligent hauntings are just what they seem. The ghost are able to interact with the living. They can communicate and make the living aware that they are there. This is where you can get your best evidence. While doing EVP sessions, which I'll discuss at a later time, you can ask a question and they will anser you with a response that is appropriate to what you just asked. If they have enough energy to do so, they can appear by themselves or even on command. They can move and hide things, touch you, talk to you and even make you feel their emotions. In places of great tragedy, they can make you feel the sadness or anger they felt at the time and even to this day.
Ghosts are nothing to be labeled and defined as something simple and basic, they are far from that. What you have to remember is that they were alive and human just like you and me. They still can feel the sadness, despair or anger they felt in this world. Or they can go about their way as if nothing in the world has changed at all. You'll need to keep these things in mind when you go out and start investigating. This will help with your capturing of evidence and helping to prove that their is a world beyond ours filled with people just like you and me.
