Parapsychology's "Big Three"

This page will cover:

• Identifying Apparitions from Hauntings from Poltergeists and
• How to "Bust The Ghost"

For information on general parapsychology, please see this page.

Identifying Apparitions from Hauntings from Poltergeists

Apparitions

• Consciousness being broadcasted, acts with human consciousness or awareness, often described as "interactive"
• True apparitions have "true personality or intelligence".
• Perceived/sensed by one of the five senses or by ESP
• May be an apparition of the dead or a projection from a living person (out-of-body/astral projection)
• Can move from place to place as they want

Hauntings

• A recording from the past repeating the same actions over and over, usually at the same time each day.
• Tied to a specific location, a haunting is living people's actions that were imprinted on the location.
• The figures/feelings sensed in a should haunting make sense. Old apartment buildings have figures of people doing daily tasks, you may hear phantom prayer in a church, and battlefields are notorious for having a looming energy of fear.
• Might hear sounds and see figures, much like apparitions, but more common than apparition cases. However, no "awareness" is sensed.
• Perceived through ESP
• Activity can last years or decades
• Activity seems independent of the people or objects in the location. `
• Incredibly hard to pin down, as haunting events can depend on the psi abilities/mood/beliefs of the observer(s), time of day, tidal influence/phase/position of the moon, weather conditions, and much more.
• EMF readers may read a little higher around hauntings, but not around apparitions.
• Haunting activity tends to happen during the night when people are "more prone" to sensing it.

Poltergeists

• Exclusively physical disturbances (objects moving, etc.), no apparitions seen. Though may be accompanied by paranormal visions and voices, as well as electrical interferences.
• Not perceived through ESP, anyone can witness the activity.
• Caused by the stress of a living person (this person is called the "agent"). This happens when the polt. agent has no outlet and is not dealing with their stress. Seen most commonly around adolescents, but not exclusively.
• Usually last a few days to a few weeks, and almost always less than a year
• "Thrown" objects have been known to pass through walls and other objects without damaging them.
• Activity may be area- or object-focused, or focused on a specific object (for example, respectively: affecting in one room or corner of a room, affecting wall-hangings or furniture only, or affecting just one chair).
• Poltergeist activity tends to happen during the day while people are active.

Note: If the activity does not seem to match any of these three descriptions, consider other psi phenomena that could be causing it. ESP and PK abilities can be used subconsciously, creating (what seems to them to be) an entity. If someone with psi abilities wants to see a ghost, they will.

Some Questions to Ask:

1. Look at the symbolic content of the experiences. What do the incidents represent? Who or what might the apparitions represent? What are the patterns of occurrence of the phenomena? Lok at the experiences as one would a dream to understand what things might symbolize.
2. Is there an indication that the phenomena point to someone's need to communicate about a deep issue or to gain attention? What are the phenomena trying to say to others or to oneself about need?
3. Are the phenomena truly unrelated to the people experiencing it (as in a haunting)? Or is the fact that people are perceiving these past events indication that there is something going on with the living person(s) that causes them to perceive the information in the first place?
4. Check the fear factor. Does fear of the phenomena truly indicate a fear of the paranormal? Or does it indicate a fear of something else that is just being expressed in the form of a subjective paranormal experience?
5. How much of the experience/phenomena is verifiable? Who are the witnesses and what is their involvement? Do the experiences of apparitions and hauntings truly reflect people or events in the past (check facts and history carefully, including channels of information to the people other than paranormal ones)? Or are they reflective of ideas, beliefs, or emotions of the subconscious?

How to "Bust The Ghost"

The most important thing to do when addressing any parapsychological activity, is examining the psychology itself. Get to know the interpersonal dynamics of the household, how each person fits into the group, and what each person is going through.

"The symbolism of what is seen is important, looking at what the meaning of the experience is. For example, if a woman is reporting apparitions or poltergeist phenomena a lot of it may have to do with the fact that the husband is working nights ... all of a sudden, and the wife is very nervous about being left alone in the house. The greatest fear is that there's something there that she feels helpless to defend herself against, and sure enough, all of a sudden shadow and apparitions start appearing."

Apparitions

• Sometimes, simply asking the apparition to leave works.
• Apparitions sometimes stick around for loved ones who are grieving over their death. In order to help both the living and dead move on, we direct them to the Forever Family Foundation or another type of counseling. After working through the grief, the apparition may no longer see the need to stick around.
• Mediums may also be helpful with contacting the apparition, finding out why it lingers, and what can be done about it.

Hauntings

• Because hauntings are simply replays of past events, there isn't much we can do about them. We do our best to inform the client of what exactly is happening, and that it is not at all dangerous. A lot of the time, just ignoring the activity eventually makes it go away. If that's not enough for the client, we recommend they move.

Poltergeists

Several actions may contribute to at least reducing poltergeist activity. It is relatively easy to stop once you've figured out who is causing it.

• First is the action of investigating the phenomena. This often places a different emotional set on the situation, and may sufficiently change people's reactions and perceptions to stop the disturbances.
• A second intervention is explaining the motivation or emotional causes of the events, relating them to individual needs where appropriate... This may release enough of the tension so that the poltergeist activity is not necessary to express the emotional needs.
• In conjunction with this, a third approach may be to facilitate individual or group counseling for psychological or emotional issues. Additionally, hobbies and other outlets can help.
• A fourth avenue is to intervene in the situation by shifting the circumstance. This can include changing living arrangements, family rules, having the poltergeist source transferred or work at home, etc.
• Additionally, in folklore it is common to "sweep" the poltergeist out the front door with a broom.
• Note: if the source of the stress is not present, the activity may not happen at all. Even the presense of an outsider (the investigator) may upset the family dynamics enough to stop the activity. Make sure to blend into the background for long enough that the dynamics resume as normal.
• To identify the poltergeist agent, it may be helpful to look into the medical history of the family. In many cases, the source of the poltergeist has neurological issues, epilepsy, or brain activity similar to that of an epileptic.
• People capable of poltergeist activities are often also capable of controlling their abilities. We direct these folks to the top respected parapsychologists if they wish to explore it further.

This information is CONFIDENTIAL and may only be accessed by authorized personnel of LICE.

For corrections, questions, or further information, please contact your advisor.

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