I still remember the day my father took me to see the movie Poltergeist.  I can still see myself standing in line looking at the movie poster of Carole Anne with her hands on a TV.  I remember thinking this can’t be too scary; she looks like my little sister.  I wasn’t scared at first because I knew I was with the bravest man I know…my dad.  Well sadly the feeling of safety didn’t last long.  That movie scared the crap out me!

But for some reason, after all these years, I have always felt something for the poor Freeling family.  As a ghost hunter, I have always felt that our purpose when investigating a private home is to supply proof, or lack thereof, the potential existence of spirit, provide useful information, help, comfort and support to the family that must reside there and essentially deal with this unanticipated and sometimes unwanted house guest.

I also feel  a team should follow-up, or check in with the family after an investigation, especially if some pretty solid evidence was presented to them.  If the homeowners are anything like me, they will have played that EVP or watched that video over and over again.  Even showed it to their friends, neighbors, family members, the UPS guy (okay, that was me…he was hot).  So I would think the first few days or weeks after the investigation their minds and imagination could be going into paranormal hyper drive!

In a perfect world, full support to the homeowner and family should be essential.  The family looks to paranormal investigators for answers, they trust in us to believe in their claims, to understand their fears, and to help them co-exist with something that, to be completely honest, can be really scary.

Even I will admit that living in a haunted house can be unsettling.  I currently live on the property of what could possibly be (and has arguably been considered) one of the most haunted locations in America.  There were previous buildings, associated with this historic location, where my now beautiful apartment stands.  So it is not surprising that my wonderful oasis has a supernatural visitor.

I’ve had my dresser drawers open, paper and other objects on my desk move right before my eyes.  I have heard disembodied voices, and have watched my two cats (at the same time) follow unseen energy move across the room.  I have even had someone sit next to me on my bed.  Truthfully that did freak me out a bit.  I pretended to be asleep the first time it happened and held my breath until it left.  But I was braver and I bolted upright the second time hoping to capture a true glimpse of the departed soul I was sharing my California King bed with.  Okay, now that I think back on it that was kind of stupid. I think I would have screamed if I found a spirit sitting next to me. Come on, admit it! So would you!

But I have never felt threatened; it has always been harmless and playful attention.  And I have found it all relatively easy to live with, until recently when I finally collected solid evidence of my spectral roommate.   I have caught EVPs of him reacting to what I am doing.

That means he has enough awareness and can be standing right beside me seeing and understanding everything I am doing without me knowing it.  That gives me unease.  And the fact that it is a male presence has also put a little fear into me.  Being a single woman and now knowing that there is a MAN, walking around my house, watching me without my knowledge, nor my permission, creeps me out!

Mr. Shadow Man could be leaning over my shoulder as we speak.  Watching me write this post, make mistakes with my grammar or my sentence structure.  He could be frustrated with my spelling errors and the wrong use of a word.  He could be scrutinizing the outfit I put on today, or judging me for eating ice-cream for lunch.  Yes, these are the insecure thoughts that run through my head.

I think the most disturbing part is this spirit has been in my room while I’m sleeping during the time I am most vulnerable.  What else is he consciously aware off?  I’d like to think, and this is what I tell myself all the time, that he is well mannered enough to not watch me while I am in the bathroom, or dressing, or when I am entertaining a date or have…cough, cough…sleepovers.  But of course I don’t know for sure and that drives me bonkers!  I wonder if it would freak out my dates if I told them “you know we are not really alone”?

Living with a spirit has given me more insight to what other families are dealing with, and the possible thought of intrusion they may feel.  It’s how I feel.  The fact of the matter is people live with spirits and most are normal, average families not really equipped to deal with it.  They are not ghost hunters that are intrigued with the idea or thrilled to be living side-by-side with one.  So we have to remind of ourselves of that when we are doing home investigations.  Don’t let ourselves get caught up in simply trying to capture the next best and most amazing paranormal footage.  We need to show deep compassion and understanding and help to the family that has let down their walls, show us their embarrassment, their weakness and opened their home to someone they hope will bring them answers and comfort.

I’ve attached my personal home EVPS. I hope you enjoy them.  I am looking a picture on my computer and you can clearly hear a man’s voice saying “picture”.  I have one more bit of audio of the same man but I can’t really figure out what he was saying.  Maybe that’s a good thing.

Picture_EVP      Man Voice_EVP

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, even your experiences, or fears of living with spirits.

Now that this is on my mind…I think I just might sleep with the TV on tonight…or maybe just the lights.