A Residual Haunt! Is It Considered a Ghost or Not? by Chad Stambaugh

I have a posing question that I’m sure will spark some great debate today. I encourage everyone to chime in on this one. I really want to hear your opinions on this. A residual haunting is classified as the following.


Residual Haunting: “When a Residual Ghost shares your home or residence. A residual ghost appears at the same time and place over and over. It may appear nightly, weekly, or even yearly. Whenever it does appear, it repeats the same patterns observed on previous sightings.” It is believed that residual hauntings make up the vast majority of an investigators reported experiences. A residual ghost is the stuff legends are made of. When generation after generation reports apparitions and ghostly behavior that repeats the same tasks each time, they are undoubtedly experiencing visits from a residual ghost. The residual ghost does not interact with those around it. It seems to be oblivious to your presence and continues with its nightly travels whether or not you are there to observe it.


Generally, a residual haunting is associated with a traumatic event that replays the exact sequence of events at the same place to many different observers. The theory is that a traumatic event can somehow etch itself into the fabric of time and attach itself to the setting in which it occurred. It is not known how the image of this event is able to be recorded and replayed at a later time. There appears to be certain conditions that appear to be conductive to a residual ghost. Most residual hauntings occur in locations that have been built over limestone, quartz, or water. It is believed also that natural rock formations play a major role in the formation of a residual Image. Buildings made of bricks and stones are also known to harbor residual ghosts.


Many ghost hunters believe that the release of intense energy from the original event is somehow imprinted on the area in which it occurred. The weather conditions at the time of the event may also be connected to the imprinting of the image and thus, the resulting residual haunting. A residual ghost may appear as an apparition. Or, it may simply be the repeated sounds of a door opening and closing, footsteps, or even voices. You may hear some unknown person singing mournfully or crying in the night. You may hear the quiet sounds of laughter coming from the hallway. Or even children playing in the hallway when there are no children present. Residual ghosts always repeat the same actions as though it were a movie being replayed. Residual hauntings do not always replay the traumatic event though. Often these actions are from whatever the person or persons energy that they have left behind. Most often, it’s something that was strongly tied to their life.


What you are observing is simply a recording of the energy left behind. There is no real entity present. It is more like a distant memory of events long ago that has somehow managed to imprint itself on the environment. From the standpoint of the paranormal investigator, residual ghosts are completely harmless and are nothing to be afraid of. Because there is no real entity involved, a residual ghost cannot interact with you or harm you in any way. Another interesting point of interest is that it does not appear that a cleansing or an exorcism will have any effect on a residual ghost. Essentially, there is no way to rid yourself of a residual haunt other than to move, but since they are harmless there is no need in that.


So, here is my question. Since a “Ghost” is thought to be something that is interactive and we can communicate with it to a certain extent. We can get it to move on or do a blessing and have it leave and things of that nature. Can a residual presence really be classified as a Ghost?!…..