Ways to Properly Cleanse and Bless Your Home

**This is a compilation of techniques tried, tested and successfully used in a number of cases by Sacramento Paranormal Intuitive Research Investigation Team “S.P.I.R.I.T.” – and the Lead Medium, Melissa Lockett**

Some of the ingredients/tools you will want to purchase/have on hand are: (these can be tailored to your spiritual preferences/availability of items)

  • White Sage (wands and/or loose leaf)
  • Palo Santo wood sticks (to be shaved into small burnable pieces or pre-shaved bits) (you can use the whole stick like a wand as well). The darker energies do NOT like the wood items.
  • Other useful smudge/burnable items: Sweet grass, Cedar, Yerba Santa, Mugwort – depending on the activity some items can be swapped for others.
  • Lighter (to light burnable items, candles, etc.)
  • Abalone shell to place sage and wood or other smudge items in.
  • Holy Water or Holy Oil (try to search for a very reputable source such as Lourdes – see end of article regarding where to obtain – the water direct from the grotto in Lourdes, France has been used for many years and has been involved with healings and miracles – the first one was documented in 1858)
    • Blessed waters and essential oils can be an option for those unable to locate holy water or that wish to use an alternative due to spiritual preference. Full moon water is commonly used for pagan and similar belief systems.
  • Frankincense and Myrrh incense sticks (and a holder). Sandalwood and Dragons blood also are good options.
  • Bible (or other religious text that suits your needs/copies of specific prayers or scriptures that fit your belief system). (Psalm 91, 23, 27:1, 37, Isaiah 41:10, and the prayer of St. Michael are all very good). Any prayer or spiritual text that is significant for you will hold power and help you claim the space.
  • Small white candles (and holder)
  • Crystals – metaphysical properties have been greatly studied in the last few decades and specific vibrational properties and the chemical makeup of numerous stones have been shown to be highly effective in changing the overall energy of a location. Each stone carries its own specific energy signature coming from the geological processes which created it. Just as an improper balance of electromagnetic energy in a home can cause sickness, confusion, etc. (scientifically studied and verified) – the stones can balance those energy fluxes.
    • Some stones to be buried on the four corners outside of the home, and some to keep on your person or near your bedside:
      • For “Gridding” the property – bury a full set of these four stones on the corners of your home, if an apartment, place them in small bags in the four main corners of your residence.  Use SMALL pieces – you can buy these rocks in larger pieces and break them with a hammer – or some can be found already in small chunks:
        • WHITE aragonite (may have to be ordered online if you cannot find a piece in rock/mineral shop (must be the white kind). There are some local Sacramento shops you can find it.
        • Selenite (wands/shards usually can be found easily and broken up into smaller pieces for gridding).
        • Jet (search online and rock shops) (can switch out for small pieces of Black Tourmaline as well).
        • Rose Quartz.
        • Also useful – labradorite, black tourmaline, moldavite, tourmilated quartz.
      • For yourself – carry in your pocket, purse, set on your night stand:
        • Black Tourmaline (Very protective stone, my favorite, transmutes negative energy into positive & light) (I carry it on every investigation).
        • Selenite (cleanses the aura and dispels the negative).
        • Labradorite – protects the aura.
          • Optional stones
            • Tigers Eye
            • Amethyst
            • Any other stone you find that feels good and the metaphysical properties match your needs at that specific time.
  • Sea salt (lots of it) or pink Himalayan salt.
  • Items that you may not need/be able to find but a reputable cleanser may use/have on them during an investigation or house blessing may be: Red brick dust, Tar Water, holy/blessed medals, etc.  SPIRIT has a special recipe we have named “Parafunk Spray”. It is exclusive to SPIRIT.

Once you’ve assembled your items, get everything laid out (a kitchen table or counter is usually great, with plenty of room to work with.).

INTENT is KEY in ALL blessings/cleansings. Whether we as a team come and assist you with it, or you do this yourself, YOU CAN do this – because it is your home. Your intent to reclaim and keep it as your space and your intent of coming from a good place of love and light mean everything to the success of a cleansing. If you are angry, yelling, or excessively fearful, you can undermine the process. Some natural base level fear and being upset is normal, and perfectly ok, allow those emotions – but do not consume yourself with them. Focus on the fact you are doing something GOOD and proactive for yourself, your family and your home. Know that with good intent – YOU can work miracles.

Start with blessing each occupant present with a sprinkle of holy water, moon water, essential oils on the head or draw a cross or symbol meaningful to you/them upon the forehead with water or holy oil. Or say a prayer that fits your needs and bless with sage or incense.  Once you feel you are in a safe bubble of white light and blessed, you may commence the house cleansing. Before and After, you also may waft sage around the entire body of each person, clearing their aura.

Begin with opening a few windows and a door or two if you can, to allow any entities or energies to EXIT during the cleansing. Start at the front door and move clockwise through the entire house for each stage of the cleansing.

Light one white candle in the home and let it burn all the way down. Do Not blow it out. If you must extinguish it for any reason, snuff it with a snuffer or spoon. Blowing it out blows away the energy you are putting into the cleansing.  Light the incense near the candle and allow it to burn down as well. This is the opening of the blessing.

Take holy oil or holy water or other blessed waters/oils and on EACH doorway and window opening, place the sign of the cross on the door and window frames or a simple thumbprint on each door/window. Also sprinkle/splash holy water or other blessed waters in each corner of each room. While doing this, you are stating that this is your home, your space, and it is blessed in His name (or that of your higher power(s)/deity(ies)).

Once each room is properly blessed with the holy oil, holy water or other blessed waters/oils, you may then assemble the sage and Palo Santo wood (and other smudge items as desired). If you have a sage wand, you can start with that – again at the front door going clockwise through the house – getting into EVERY corner, every closet, every cabinet, attic openings, all the while claiming the space, saying prayers, scriptures, meditations, or other spiritual mantras that fit your faith. If you have sage pieces you may combine them with the shavings of Palo Santo in the abalone shell and light them (you can also add other smudge items in this mix, the darker the entity, the more wood you will want, including cedar) – blow them out so the smoke wafts. If you did the sage separately, follow up with the Palo Santo wood (and other burnable smudges) in the same exact fashion, getting the smoke into every corner, nook & cranny of the home you can reach – with prayers, good intent and claiming the home. (“This is my home, my family’s home, my space, only Good energy and love is welcome here, I cast out all negative energy, you do not belong here, only Angels and light may dwell in this place”… etc… fit it to your needs and what feels good to your heart).

After that has been done, go through the home with the sea salt or Pink Himalayan Salt and sprinkle a light amount in every windowsill and every doorway, sealing the home. You may also sprinkle a light border all the way around the entire outside of your home if you have a large amount of activity or suspect the land is involved with the haunting. This should NOT be done until the smudge has been concluded.

When outside – take the crystals mentioned earlier and bury a set of the 4 stones on the 4 corners of your home. If you have additional odd corners of the house, you may also place a set of the 4 stones there. It is also helpful to place something of yourself in those burial spots if you can – even a petal from a flower you grew. Some herbs that are also good would be lavender, rosemary, or sage leaves. It is not mandatory, but it adds to the process.  This placing of the stones grids the property in an energy bubble that is very repulsive to negative energies, and they become sealed out of the house.

Once you’ve completed the tasks above, you may still have the candle still going, which is fine, and will finish the process (let the candle go out by itself if possible – the sage may now be extinguished). I will often take the remnants of the smudge and sprinkle them in a line at the driveway as a seal.

During this whole process you may say the prayers, the casting out and space claiming mantra, all at your comfort level. Again, intent is key.

If your land is affected, consider burying stones at the four corners of the property line as well – in addition to the house. Also consider having the land blessed by a shaman or Native American tribe member of some kind – if your land has Native American ties.

It is important that the family work together as a TEAM and face this bravely together, knowing they are very loved and protected by a Divine source. You are not alone.

What a paranormal team or medium/cleanser can add to the process:

  • A medium that can cross over lost spirits – they may not be negative, just confused. Mediums  can also communicate with familial spirits that may be there protecting you or offering a message.
  • Gifted energy workers to close a portal that may exist in your home (the average homeowner does not necessarily have the experience to close a portal).
  • Extra cleansing tools that are not “typical” and from other spiritual practices (Voodoo, Wicca, Roman Catholic blessed items, special Native American only items, etc.)
  • Investigative tools to gather and document specific activity and evidence.
    • Considerations to take:
      • Most paranormal teams have day jobs and their immediate availability can be a factor; having the tools on hand for yourself gives you the time and ability to claim the space yourself.
      • Travel time for teams/expense could prevent a quick turnaround time.
      • Do full research on the team you plan to have in – Do they have a medium? What experience do they have in house blessings? What are their qualifications?
      • Do they charge? Or do they run only on donations and their desire to help the public?

Whether you invite a team in to your home, or you bless the home yourself, this may be a process that has to be repeated a time or two, or be kept up like “housework.” Maybe you do not have to do the ritual full-time, but occasionally saging or using the Palo Santo wood to refresh the energy and spiritual borders is always a good idea. Keeping daily meditations or prayers in your life is also very helpful in maintaining those energy borders. You may salt your home and property as often as you like as well. Any time you feel things are becoming too heavy, it’s time to break out at least the sage & Palo Santo wood to lighten the air.

For additional help and information, please feel free to contact us!

www.Sacspirit.com

https://www.facebook.com/Sacspirit/

Places to find supplies – Local metaphysical and rock/mineral shops, or Wiccan stores

  • Local shops are where you will find most of the crystals/stones – you can also search online via Google for each of the stones. http://www.healingcrystals.com/ is an example of one such site.
  • https://www.etsy.com/search?q=White+Aragonite (buy a chunk of white aragonite and place it in a towel and break down with a hammer).
  • https://www.etsy.com/search?q=Selenite (Selenite can be found in reasonably priced small wands that can be broken down)
  • Jet can be found on Etsy as well, and on a lot of other websites, or in metaphysical shops. Look around, there are GOOD deals, it just takes some searching.  Again, you can also use Black Tourmaline in place of jet.
  • Rose quartz is readily available at most shops and all over the Internet.

Amazon.com has a great deal of the products as well.

https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aholy%20oil

https://www.amazon.com/Indio-Products-Holy-Oil-fl/dp/B008AZ1EY8/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&qid=1467390232&sr=8-17&keywords=holy+oil

https://www.amazon.com/Palo-Santo-20-Sticks-4-5oz/dp/B00JDUCSD0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1467390345&sr=8-3&keywords=Palo+Santo

https://www.amazon.com/Govinda%C2%AE-Palo-Santo-Wood-Chips/dp/B0128UGL8Y/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&qid=1467390318&sr=8-17&keywords=Palo+Santo

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Sage

http://www.directfromlourdes.com/lourdes_water_gifts is a great place to obtain the holy water that is direct from the grotto in Lourdes, France.

Disclosures:

Every haunt is different and sometimes you have to tailor a blessing. Some items you may need to do more of, or less of. Adding religious or spiritual items to the home and coming back to your specific faith can often restore some balance in your life and home. On occasion, repeats of full blessings have been necessary. Additionally, keeping up a routine of monthly saging or burning Palo Santo wood is a great idea, and will help to keep up the positivity and lightness in a location. Not all haunts will require a full-on multi-faceted cleansing as described above. Consulting with a local paranormal investigation team might be helpful in guiding you as to what could be required for your situation. New homes with decent energy may only need a gentle dose of sage to refresh the space.

Also, avoiding Ouija boards, darker practices or unsafe paranormal dabbling is highly advisable. Anything with a negative intent or desire to harm, hex, curse, or hurt will usually bring back severe karmic results to the individual doing the activity. Using extra spiritual practices to cleanse a home is fine – if you are of a different practice or religion, that still works equally well. We like to combine 4 – 5 spiritual practices to combat things from EVERY angle. It’s when the person takes a route of harm and ill will that usually darker things emerge and portals open. Or when the impressionable and inexperienced dabble and do not practice “safe paranormal” – various dangerous things can and do occur. When in doubt, just don’t do it.

Some cases require further intervention beyond that of a paranormal team. Adding mediums, shaman, spiritualists and other religious practitioners can be very effective. The Catholic Church has to be brought in for some exceedingly rare cases, especially for a full Rite of Exorcism.  Expecting one cleansing by one team to fix it all can be an unreasonable expectation for many cases. Always remember to keep up your faith and spiritual boundaries, and keep your intent positive while a team or you as an individual cleanses the home.

**This is a compilation of techniques tried, tested and successfully used in a number of cases by Sacramento Paranormal Intuitive Research Investigation Team “S.P.I.R.I.T.” – and the Lead Medium, Melissa Lockett**

We are not official exorcists, but we do have extensive knowledge and experience with dark cases, “demonics,” and are well-read in various areas of paranormal activity and paranormal attacks.  The Catholic Church usually only becomes involved in proven fully demonic cases where a major Rite of Exorcism is required. Standard day to day churches will likely not have the knowledge base you require when experiencing something very traumatic such as a severe haunting or negative entity attack. Regular practice & attendance in your local spiritual or religious community of choice will add to your protection, confidence and faith, and that should definitely be kept up if you are already doing so. Only you know if your local community or pastor would be able to assist you beyond that of what a paranormal team offers.

Refresher Cleansing & Removal Of Negative Energy Sent By The Living (or dead)

candle

Use this if you are dealing with energy sent by a living human or PK manifestation from a living person. Other instructions apply for general refresher cleansings.

Supply list:

Small white, black and red candles
Incense (Frankincense & Myrrh or Sandalwood) Sage & Palo Santo or Cedar
Holy water or holy oil
Sea salt or Pink Himalayan salt

Begin with opening a few windows and a door or two if you can, to allow any entities or energies to EXIT during the cleansing. Start at the front door and move clockwise through the entire house for each stage of the cleansing.

Light a white, black & red candle together (these are the specific colors for reversal of energy) along with frankincense & myrrh incense asking for light and Divine energy to return around the home and the family. Do Not blow them out. If you must extinguish them for any reason, snuff it with a snuffer or spoon. Blowing it out blows away the energy you are putting into the cleansing. Tell ALL energy that is unjust, harmful, sent in anger or malice immediately be returned to its sender/origin and that no darkness may dwell in the space. Show no anger or fear – simply be firm and assertive that your space is only for positive and light energy. Ask that all earth bound spirits be released and that they have no place in the home. Command all Dark energy sent with ill intent be removed and sent back. With spirits or positive energy, you never “command” … only use that terminology when you are requiring dark, harmful energy to exit your space.

Take Holy Water or oil and anoint each member of the family for protection. Then go to each door and window with the Holy Water and anoint the doorway and windowpane with a small drop of the Holy Water.

Starting at the front door, open it and leave it open during the smudging – go through the entire house, in a clockwise direction, getting into every corner and space (closets and cabinets), with either Palo Santo, Sage or Cedar (any combination thereof). Light the herbs or wood and blow them out to produce a healthy amount of smoke. While you are smudging, continue to set boundaries with the other side and ask for healing light to replace all dark energy, command dark intent to leave and return to sender.

If you are comfortable with any prayers you may add those – or scripture if desired. Psalm 91 is one of the best protection scriptures and the Prayer of St. Michael as well.

Optional – Salt every door threshold and windowsill with Pink Himalayan sea salt or White Sea salt. A small dusting/line is fine. This is always done after the smudge.

Intent is always KEY in these blessings. Even refresher cleansings meant to add protection after a full blessing has been done. Your desire to reclaim your space is always the most powerful, even more so than what anyone else can do.

When it comes to energy sent by a living human out of malice, often more refreshers may be required. As they are still actively sending it … the walls must be kept up ardently.

Reasons Why Gifted People Should Follow Their Abilities

The following document is from a Christian or Catholic perspective and for those with blessings/gifts that struggle with judgements or fears from their faith base. This document was created through extensive discussions and research within the Christian faith community and those with the qualifications to make the analysis below.

The argument of Deuteronomy warning of Wizards, witches and so forth is based on historical facts of that time – discussing those that practice Polytheistic practices (worshiping multiple Gods or themselves); additionally there are warnings of those that swindle or take advantage. What the warnings are about are those that either say they are speaking the Word but are distinctly not or are manipulating others with the hope of profit or personal gain, not a desire to help, heal or speak messages from the Divine or be instruments of peace. The historical reference is clear; it was a different time and society, where there was a great deal of religious upheaval and just as many false prophets or swindlers as in today’s time. Those that did not praise God for messages or prophecies or plain lied to people by giving them “messages” and then essentially robbing them of their money is where the problem was. Other portions of Deuteronomy then go on to speak of Prophets ….

17 The LORD said to me: “What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.

Information I have obtained from a respected ordained minister (theological degrees, Masters in Divinity, etc.) within our denomination had the following to say (paraphrased) regarding me questioning my gifts, and the “why me”, “did God choose me”, “why are people judging me” questions…

Her edited message in part:

Read any of the prophets, and you have biblical affirmation of your gifts. It is arrogant and small-minded for anyone to claim God is not continuing to work through prophets today. Do they really want to claim that they know what God is doing today and say what God can’t do?

1Cor. 12 Paul speaks of the gifts of the spirit and names, utterance of knowledge, wisdom, the gift of prophecy and working miracles, speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, discerning spirits. Since we worship this same Spirit today, these gifts continue to be bestowed on people today. You are expressing these gifts, given to you by God to serve God. As the UCC say, God is still speaking–through intuition, dreams, visions, “hunches.”

Is. 6–he has a vision that is pretty far out! He saw and spoke to the Seraphim, and was given messages and hope.

Isaiah is full of “oracles” which had to have come from visions and prophetic intuitive sensing.

If Jeremiah could be gifted as a prophet before he was born as a way that God works (Jer. 1:4) why not you? Obviously for reasons we may never know God chooses some to have the gifts you manifest. And yes, there are “false prophets” but in every case, their lies further their own agenda, rather than addressing righteousness and justice. If your knowing furthers love and justice, it is of God, I believe.

The prophets are always saying, “the word of the Lord came to me…” That is what happens to you.

Imagine Ezekiel and the dry bones (Ez. 37) or his vision of the chariot (Ez. 1). You know most people must have thought HE was crazy and possessed!

Then there is Jonah who had the gift and tried to run away from God and not use it.

Consider Samuel’s calling, paranormal by every standard–hearing voices?? (1 Sam. 3)

It is hard to get biblical literates to accept that God still works in these miraculous ways today, but we have different ways to view it because of science and education. You will likely not convince everyone, but hopefully this makes you feel even better and more confident about it in your own soul.

These words from my trusted source who has far more religious and theological knowledge and studies under her belt that most of those people you encounter that will pass snap judgements hopefully are helpful. Those that criticize your choice to follow divine gifts are in fact violating another scripture – ‘Just not lest ye be judged’.

I feel I’d be denying my God if I DIDN’T follow his command to use my gifts. How could I dare question his intent to use me?

I think there are indeed “chosen” people to pass on messages of healing. What we do is offer peace of mind – and strengthening of faith – some of our clients end up realizing there IS a beyond, therefore there is a God & Heaven… that is huge. They realize a lot in that moment, that our souls are real, sin does have consequence, their loved ones do go somewhere Good and are safe, Angels exist, healing is possible, we are NOT ALONE, there is hope. This is what I believe God is calling us to do… pass this hope on to others. Sometimes just hearing from a loved one, or knowing their future is safer and brighter than they originally thought is all they need to continue on and reaffirm their faith in Him. Never once have we inappropriately taken from, used, lied to, mislead a client. We have never touted WE are the source – I know for a fact I’ve always acknowledged that I am not in control of this, that when I’m meant to “tune in”

it is because of pure Divine inspiration and His will. So when people want to question you – perhaps ask them when they were told they could speak on the behalf of God. Nobody has all the answers – but I am sure, deep in my heart, we are doing good works, in His name.

What Do You Ask?

bandwknowledgebuilders As investigators we need to be looking at every possible reason for unexplained activity. This is a classic Loyd Auerbach article about what to ask that is a good reference to use when determining the origin of unexplained phenomenon.
From ESP, HAUNTINGS AND POLTERGEISTS by Loyd Auerbach

The following questions are suggested for certain investigations of apparitions, poltergeists, and hauntings. Keep in mind that these questions may have to be chosen according to whether they are applicable to the experience reported and to the family (or office) situation. For these questions, besides some of my own composition, I have drawn on those suggested by William G. Roll and Dr. J. G. Pratt (published in Roll’s book, The Poltergeist, first printed in Theta, the Journal of the Psychical Research Foundation, Number 16, Winter, 1967), and a questionnaire developed by Cynthia Siegel and Sharon Solfvin.

Also, remember to ask the applicable questions not only of the people directly involved (those who actually witnessed something or who live or work in the situations) but also throw them at any secondary witnesses (e.g., neighbors or police or priests) who may have learned what was going on.

INITIAL QUESTIONS (to help determine whether an investigation is warranted)

1. Please give a general description of the occurrences.

2. Please list the names and ages of all those living/working in the situation where the disturbances have taken place.

3. Please list the relationships of all those in household/office to one another (their place in the family in relation to everyone else; positions in the office and works with whom; etc.)

4. Are there any pets?

5. What are the occupations of those in the location who are or have been working?

6. Please give educational background of all those in the location.

7. Where have the occurrences taken place? Address and specific locations within the premises, please. Describe the premises, please.

8. How long have you lived/worked there?

9. Any disturbances noted at previous addresses?

10. When did the current disturbances begin?

11. What sorts of things went on at the beginning?

12. What did you think of them?

13. When was the most recent incident?

14. Would you say the occurrences are frequent? Are they occurring with any apparent regularity?

15. Have the disturbances been increasing in frequency and severity since they first began?

16. Who are those people directly involved? What did they experience? 17. Any witnesses from outside the household/office? Please give their names, occupations, and phone numbers. What did they experience, as far as you know?

18. Is there a pattern of any kind to these disturbances that you’ve noticed (i.e., when the events occurred, what sorts of objects were affected, what locations were involved, who was around at the time, etc.)?

19. Have you looked for ordinary, normal explanations? What makes you sure the events are paranormal?

20. Have you or any of the others involved had any psychic experiences in the past?

21. Have you (or anyone else who witnessed the events) been interested in psychic phenomena for a while? Has family discussed psychic phenomena in the past? If so, in what context?

22. Does anyone involved have a theory as to what may be going on?

23. Have you contacted any “experts”? (Such as, obviously, a parapsychologist, or psychologist, police, priest, rabbi, psychic, etc.)

24. If so, what did/do they have to say?

25. What kinds of books or articles have you read about psychic phenomena or the occult/supernatural/unsolved mysteries?

26. Have you seen films like Ghostbusters, Poltergeist, The Entity, The Amityville Horror, Dreamscape, Resurrection, The Exorcist, The Fury, Carrie, etc.? Which ones?

27. What did you think of them (in terms of how they portrayed psychic experiences/disturbances)?

28. How about others involved? Reading? Films? TV shows?

29. What are your feelings/beliefs regarding psychic phenomena or the spiritual world? Religious background (both family and your present religious status)?

30. Have you ever taken any courses on parapsychology, the occult, or any self-development or psychic development courses? The others?

31. Have you or any of the others ever been to see a psychic?

32. Has there been any publicity of these events? In other words, has the press found out about what’s going on? If so, which members of the media, and how can we contact them? If not, can you be sure there won’t be any publicity (can you keep this quiet… the press tends to disrupt investigations)?

33. What would you like done to help you?

34. Would you allow me and perhaps some colleagues to do a serious investigation of the occurrences in your home/office?

The above questions should give you a good handle on the beliefs, background, and thoughts of at least the person being initially interviewed (which we generally do by phone), and a general idea of what the psi disturbance might be. The answers to these questions will certainly give you enough to decide whether or not to go ahead with an investigation. Again, you might want to ask some of these questions of the others involved, when you get to them. In addition, the background questions in the above group will help you assess the kind of people you’re dealing with.

You also might want to ask everyone involved to fill out the survey in Appendix D, to get a feel for the kinds of experiences they may have had.

Who/What/When/Where/How

These questions will help you narrow down the general patterning of the disturbances/experiences. You could, of course, ask these questions from the start, but you may get a better handle on what’s going on if they are asked when you are actually in the location where the incidents are occurring. In some respects these questions do duplicate some of the aims of the above questions, but it helps to ask some of the same questions in different ways, since by doing so you can often pick up different pieces of the puzzle (in other words, the answers may differ slightly).

1. Have you connected the disturbances with any particular people witnessing or living/working in the location? With any particular visitors?

2. If there is an apparition seen, does the apparition represent anyone identifiable (does anyone know “who” the apparition represents)?

3. Are there particular activities going on when the incidents occur (such as eating, watching TV, arguments, etc.)? Explain.

4. Are there certain times during the day or night when the incidents appear to be more frequent? If so, when are they?

5. Are the events seen to occur more in one spot (or in more than one place) than in others (certain rooms or parts of the room)? Where are these places?

6. Are certain people seemingly more affected than others? Who? What reactions do the people in the situation have when confronted by one of the disturbances?

7. Do all witnesses to the events have to be around for anything to happen? If not, give examples of such incidents where not everyone was around, and who was there.

8. Have any disturbances been noted to occur when no one was around (i.e., has anyone noted the after-effects of a disturbance that may have occurred with no witnesses, perhaps by objects having been moved)?

9. Has any one person appeared to be very close to the starting points of moving objects? Do you think there’s any chance that that person could have physically thrown or pushed the objects to simulate a paranormal event?

10. Is there any reason to think that someone in the home/office might fake the events?

11. Have you thought about normal explanations for some or all of the events? Have you taken note of outside sounds, vibrations, etc. (such as a truck rumbling down the street) when the occurrences happen?

The Phenomena

These questions will help you got a good picture of the actual goings-on. Remember not to jump to any immediate conclusions about the events being paranormal. Always look everywhere for normal explanations for the events, whether considering fraud or problems with the electrical system or earth movements, before making a “paranormal” judgment. Also, I want to say not all of these questions are applicable to any one situation, given that many of them relate to physical disturbances (like those in a poltergeist case) or to a haunting where there may or may not be noises heard or objects affected.

1. Please describe the disturbances/experiences in terms of what you actually observed. (Note: this should be asked of everyone involved, both in separate interviews and later in the presence of all witnesses.)

2. Were there any unusual feelings or emotions associated with the disturbances/experiences?

3. How often do they occur?

4. Who first noticed them? When were they first noticed? Under what circumstances?

5. Please describe the experiences/observations of the others to the best of your knowledge.

6. In terms of movement of objects, describe the movements and what was unusual about them. Did objects seemingly take flight or visibly move by themselves? Were there unusual flight patterns (in other words, did they move like someone had pushed or thrown them, or did they make unusual curves in the air or on a surface, such as making right-angle turns)?

7. Could someone have been near enough to an object to move, push, or throw it, either purposely or by accident?

8. Did objects hit their final resting point with unusual force?

9. Did they make unusually loud noises when they struck something? 10. Were breakable objects seen to move and strike something without breaking?

11. Were heavier objects seen to move or rearrange themselves (such as furniture being piled up, especially in such a way that one person could not have done it)? Describe, please. Were these objects seen in motion, or were they simply discovered in rearranged fashion after had been moved?

12. Has anyone seen an object start its motion? In other words, have there been any witnesses to an object disturbance beginning with the point just before it took flight or began to move?

13. What were the objects affected? Any particular kind of object affected more than others? Any particular single affected more than others? If yes to either one, are any relationships between the object(s) and any of the people in the household/office?

14. Have you noticed any metal objects particularly affected? Bent silverware, for example? If yes, are you certain no one could have had access to the pieces and bent them normally? Any chance that the pieces of metal/silverware could have already been bent through normal use (and that you simply never noticed the bends)?

15. Have there been any unusual electrically related effects? Have appliances, TVs, stereos, lights, or computers been affected? If so, to what extent and how frequently? When any particular person(s) were around?

16. If certain persons were associated with the appliances/ devices, what are their attitudes towards the function of those devices (i.e., if a vacuum cleaner, does the person hate housework? If a computer, does the person dislike computers)?

17. Have there been any occurrences of unusual noises? Have these sounds been found to have a cause connected with them, or have they occurred with no seeming cause? Describe the sounds and why you think them unusual.

18. Have any of the sounds been connected in any way with the movement/disturbance of physical objects?

19. When the others who have witnessed the events had their first experiences, were they aware of previous encounters or observations or experiences by those who first noticed them? What did they know about them, if anything?

20. Have there been instances where one or more persons saw an apparition (ghost)? If yes, please describe what was seen.

21. If nothing was seen, yet you (and others) are sure there is something there (a presence or “entity” or “force”), what makes you so sure?

22. Have voices been heard, either with or without the appearance of an apparitional form? Were attempts made to see if the voices had a (living or mechanical) source?

23. Have unusual smells been noticed? What was unusual about them? Have they appeared at only certain times or only in certain areas? Have they been localized, yet mobile (confined to a specific area in the air, yet that area has been observed to move about)? Were attempts made to find a natural source of the smell?

24. Who has been around in each instance of a visual apparition? Of voices? Of unusual smells?

25. Have you or anyone else gotten unusual feelings in a particular place or at particular times (example, do you sense a “presence” or get “cold chills” under certain conditions/in certain locations)?

26. Has the temperature of the location been affected unusually? Have normal causes been looked at as being behind such effects?

27. Have there been times when apparitions/ghosts, smells, voices, footsteps, or odd noises have been experienced by only some of the people (or just one person) and not by others at the same time? Please describe these instances.

28. Have the images been associated with particular people or events? Have they been associated with particular people who are witnesses to the events or whom you know (example, maybe the ghost is that of your Uncle Harry from Cincinnati)? Were these images connected with the past (the past of the people present or of the house) or with the present (could the images represent living persons or current/future events)?

29. How about the noises or the smells (if present)? Could they be connected with persons not present (living or dead)? Or can they be connected with the house or building (past or present)?

30. Did the witnesses who had the experience of seeing/hearing a ghost know about that person (whom the ghost represents) before the experience?

31. In the case of images seen, did everyone who saw something see the exact same thing, or were there the kinds of differences one would expect if the apparition had been a living person, there in the flesh? (In other words, if one person stood in front of where the apparition appeared, and another behind it, did the people see the figure from the proper perspective [front and back] or not?)

32. Describe the behavior of the apparition(s). Does the apparition repeat the same activity every time it appears? Or does it seem as if it is aware of your presence as well?

33. Is there attempted communication on the part of the apparition? Have you or anyone else who has experienced the apparition tried to communicate with it? Any results (like communications back, reactions on the part of the apparition, changes in behavior of the phenomena, etc.)?

34. Would you say the apparition seems to be one that is conscious or aware of its surroundings, that it is an intelligent “entity”?

35. If not, would you say that the experience might represent a past event repeating itself like a video “instant-replay”?

36. What is known about the house/building? Previous owners? History of the location it stands on?

37. How did you feel just before the experience(s) (physically, mentally, and emotionally)? Any common factors between each of the experiences?

38. How did you feel while the experience was actually happening?

39. How did you feel/react after the experience(s) was completed?

40. Did you discuss the experiences with anyone (witness or not) just after it happened? Describe the discussions.

The above questions should give you a fairly complete picture of the phenomenon itself, what may be going on, paranormally or otherwise. Keep in mind that all witnesses and others connected should be asked their opinions and given the chance to answer all relevant questions, so as to help form that complete picture.

Interactions and Symbols

Given that I (and the folks I interviewed for the “Handbook” section of this book) have talked about looking at the incidents as symbolic of underlying psychological and interpersonal dynamics, more or less viewing the disturbances as dreams come to life (but dreams nonetheless), you should try to pick out the symbolic meaning of the experiences. I have a few suggested questions below, but really one needs to explore the lives of the people involved, the relationships, their history as a family or work group, to get that overall picture of how to deal with the phenomena.

1. Do you see the events as representing any emotions or tensions that you or others may have at the moment?

2. Have there been any changes in the daily routine/ lives of the people involved (such as new job, new, school, divorce, marriage, death of relative or friend, etc.)? If so, what are they? When did they happen in relation to the disturbances?

3. Do you see the way the disturbances/experiences are happening as being symbolic of anyone’s emotional state or thought processes?

4. Are the events perhaps symbolic of any problems that may be going on between people in the affected group (here, not just direct witnesses, but all those with relationship to the people having the experiences)?

5. If you were to pretend this were all happening in a dream, what would you make of it (the “dream,” that is)?

6. Are there any visible problems between the people having the experiences and anyone else?

7. Is anyone particularly tense or frustrated or under some stress? What do you think this may be related to (job, friendships, housework, sexual relationships, school, lack of leisure time, etc.)?

8. What would you say your overall health (both physical and mental) was before the experiences began?

9. What would you say your overall health (both physical and mental) has been since the disturbances started?

10. Are you taking any medication or non-prescription drugs? What are they?

11. Are you drinking alcohol, drinks with caffeine, or taking in a lot of sugar, or smoking tobacco? Which one(s), and how much?

12. Was there any change in your diet or use of the above substances before the initial experiences?

13. Has there been any change in your diet or use of the above substances since the disturbances began?

14. Are you or any of the others currently under the care of a doctor or psychological counselor/therapist?

15. Do you practice: yoga, meditation, self-hypnosis, biofeedback, relaxation exercises, or physical exercises?

16. Would you be willing to work on any social, psychological, or physical problems that may be related to the incidence of the disturbances?

17. Would you be willing to see a counselor, therapist, or doctor if that is the most positive way to help deal with the experiences?

18. Are you interested in participating in future parapsychological research, or in learning more about the field?

There you have it. If you apply these questions to the experience and ask the appropriate ones of all involved, you should have an excellent idea of what may be going on, not only as far as potential paranormal events are concerned, but also as far as the underlying problems are concerned.

I mentioned earlier that Gertrude Schmeidler and Thelma Moss came up with a way to help understand what may be going on in haunting cases (whether there’s an apparition or not): that is, to have a group of psi sensitives each give independent assessments of what they think is going on. They came up with a list of activities and adjectives to help pin down the apparition/haunting. The use of this checklist, which I have added to, is appropriate for everyone involved in the situation, whether witnesses to phenomena or not. One can take all independent lists and see if the perceptions of what is going on are similar or not.

The list was first published in the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research (Volume 62, October 1968) in an article entitled “Quantitative Investigation of a ‘Haunted House’ with Sensitives and a Control Group.”

In addition to the above list, you might add a few more descriptive adjectives that relate to the activities the images or presences or ghosts are carrying out, or to the accompanying emotions or behavior.

Also, you may ask all to take down physical descriptions of sights, sounds, smells, and their own feelings.

Instructions: Circle those descriptive terms that seem to relate to the ghost’s activity or intent. Cross out any terms that are opposite to what you think relates to the ghost or presence. Those terms that are not applicable you can just leave alone.

Afraid
Angry
Annoying someone
Attacking someone
Bored
Building something
Cautious
Cold/nonfeeling Compassionate/warm
Cooking something Communicating
Crazy
Crying
Dancing
Depressed
Eating
Fearful
Floating above the ground
Flying in the air
Fun-loving
Gesturing in a specific way
Getting rid of someone/something Happy
Harassing someone
Helping someone
Hiding himself
Humorous
Insulting someone
Intelligent
Laughing
Lonely
Loving
Lying down
Mischievous
Nonthinking
Obnoxious Pacing restlessly
Passive
Peering around Playful
Playing a musical instrument
Playing a game
Protective (of someone or something)
Purposeful
Pursuing someone
Puttering around
Reading
Repairing something Resting
Restless
Running
Sad
Sarcastic
Searching for someone or something
Sensual
Serious
Sewing
Shy
Singing
Sitting
Standing up
Stealing something
SternTalking
Threatening someone
Trapped
Vengeful
Violent
Walking/moving in a definite direction Wandering aimlessly
Writing