Hauntings: When a Residual Ghost Shares Your Home

A residual ghost appears at the same time and place over and over. It may appear nightly, weekly, or even yearly; but whenever it appears it repeats the same patterns observed on previous sightings. It is believed that residual hauntings make up the vast majority of 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. 

If you are experiencing repeated appearances of a ghost at regular intervals, chances are it is a residual ghost. You may hear footsteps creaking up the stairs every night at midnight or hear laughter every Friday at dawn. You may see an apparition that walks the seashore mournfully searching for her long lost love during the full moon.

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 be replayed at a later time. There are certain conditions that appear to be conducive to a residual haunting.

Most residual hauntings occur in locations that have been built over limestone, quartz, or water. It is believed 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 be connected to the imprinting of the image and the resulting residual haunting.