How to Tell if a Place is Haunted

Haunted farmhouse attic window

The quaint Oregon farmhouse looks like a dream to live in. It’s the oldest building in the county, and it used to serve as a wagon station and post office. It has the coolest attic which, even in the daytime, appears a little creepy. Once you moved in, you found out why. The place is haunted. Oregon farmhouses are not the only places that can contain a ghost or two. While ghosts are often found in older buildings, there is no stopping them from hanging around newer places, especially if the place is built on an old graveyard or near the place their old house once stood. You can use some exciting measures to tell if a place is haunted.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Spend the night. Ghosts, ghouls and spirits prefer the darkness of night for their activities. If at all possible, spend a night in the place to gauge if it’s haunted. Even if it’s a public place, you may get permission from the city if you promise to write a report the town can keep in its archives.

2. Listen for strange noises. Howls, footsteps, creaking you know dang well is not from the old stairs settling, and shutters that bang against the house with no wind could all be signs of a spirit lurking. A telltale one is human voices or a bloodcurdling scream when nobody else is home.

3. Note if your things are moved around. Some ghosts like to play games, like hiding your car keys, messing around with knickknacks or even rearranging furniture. They can do pretty much anything, you know. Keep an eye out for items that have been moved that you know for sure were not touched by you, your visitors or the housekeeper.

4. Be aware of sudden, cold chills. If you are simply standing or sitting around and are hit with an icy, sudden chill that leaves as suddenly as it arrives, a ghost may have just walked through you, you lucky duck.

5. Beware if you are seeing things. Seeing an actual ghost, of course, would kind of be a dead giveaway, pun intended, that the place is haunted. Ghosts don’t always take the shape of humans. You may note a ghost by seeing misty, cloudy apparitions or swirls of smoke.

6. Bring a pet in. Animals have very acute senses and, many are convinced, can actually see ghosts that are invisible to us. Take your dog for a stroll inside the place and gauge his reaction. Not every animal will pick up on the supernatural, but you may be surprised how many do. A pet that refuses to enter a certain room or refuses to budge from a hiding place beneath the bed could indicate ghosts in your midst.

7. Find out the place’s history. Reading up on the area and talking to locals are grand ways to weed out any glorious ghost stories. Maybe the place used to be owned by a woman who got mad if anyone else visited. The land could have been the site of a burial ground. Perhaps a man was murdered or hung himself in the attic. Restless souls, like those whose life were taken before their time or those who will never be content, are prone to stick around and haunt things.

Tips & Warnings

• You can always bring in experts who commune with the dead to also check the place for hauntings, but it's much more fun to find them on your own.

• If ghosts are angry—and you’ll know if they are angry—they may try to get you to leave by continued annoyances that could turn dangerous. Just leave then.