There are many theories on ghosts and hauntings. Some believe ghosts are the spirits of the dead, returning to complete unfinished business.  Others believe that there is a scientific explanation for the haunting. To an investigator, there are a few classifications of hauntings.

Residual - The most common type of haunting. Energy  from the living is imprinted on the environment, and later releasing that energy, causing ghost sightings. Stair cases are a good example. Imagine people over years and years walking up and down a star case, going through the same motions of up and down the stairs. Years later the energy with in the stairs is released, so people can see “ghosts” on the stair case or hear the footsteps.
 

Poltergeist - The German word poltergeist means  “noisy ghost”.  In this case activity would include noises, items moving by themselves, and lights turning on and off. This is usually caused by, believe it or not, a living person. The person, usually a young girl (hormonal), can subconsciously manipulate items by psycokinesis. This is a very misunderstood classification of haunting.

Intelligent Spirit -The most accepted form of a ghost. In this case, the ghost is able to somewhat interact with the living. They will show as a human who has lived there before death, or has a connection to the area. This type of haunting is uncommon and the hardest to investigate with results, due to the “spirit” having somewhat of a personality.
 

Crisis Apparitions - This happens one of two ways: A sighting of a persons ghost, just following death, to say good-bye to a friend or family member or seeing a “ghost” of someone who is not dead, an out of body experience. These hauntings are very brief and the purpose is to relay a message.
 

Portal Haunting - In this haunting there is a “doorway” to the spirit world involved. This is one of the newer theories. This type of haunting is most common in graveyards. Graveyards, having no traumatic history behind them to cause a haunting, are thought to be passages to another world. This theory is still being investigated, it does sound a little far fetched. We must stay open minded to this however.

Orb - Many believe this is a ghost in its natural state. An orb shows on 35mm film as a white streak (when in motion) or as a clear gobule.

Ectoplasm - A condensed white mist or fog. This is believed to be the stage between orb and full apparition in a morphing ghost.
 

     Could this be the dead returning or simply an unexplained natural energy caused by electro magnetic fields? This is what we hope to solve in the future, but it will take a lot of work from a lot of people. The truth could be closer than we think!