Having had some experience in dealing with spirits, we have a little advice to offer would-be paranormal investigators. If you think your home might be haunted and plan to look into those creaks, squeaks and whispers yourself, pay attention. This could save you some trouble.
The Risks of Provocation: the importance of speaking to spirits with respect….at least at first.
People wanting to communicate with ghosts – especially ghosts with whom they may be sharing their home with – should try to remember that ghosts were living people like them once, and would still appreciate a little courtesy and manners.
It helps to speak to ghosts like one would speak to living people.
A lot of people investigating hauntings subscribe to the notion of “provocation” in order to elicit responses from spirits – such as doing or saying things to anger the spirits into giving them not just evidence of their presence, but an overreaction. After all, having videos of slamming doors or moving chairs – or flying crockery looks great on the old Youtube channel, right?
Yes, provocation delivers results – but you need to be sure they are the desired results.
Think how you might react if someone came into your house uninvited and started insulting and being belligerent towards you. Perhaps this might help you understand why spirits sometimes react in anger to intruders in their space – and how easily an angry ghost might be misidentified as “a demon” because of its hostility.
People who use provocation often seem to conveniently forget that the people who live there or work there, still have to share that premises with subsequently angry spirits once they’ve got their evidence and left for greener pastures!
Shows like “Ghost Adventures” which rely on provocation provide a prime example of this practice, and we often are left wondering how people who have to deal with the messes Zak and co. leave behind, cope!
Referring to a ghost as “it” in the presence of that spirit is rude and is unlikely to elicit friendly responses. If you do happen to figure out the gender or name of spirits in your home, it would be wise to refer to them by their name or in a gender-appropriate sense i.e. “he, she” etc. or “you”. Imagine how you would feel being referred to as “it” in your presence, and being spoken about rather than to, and you’d likely understand why this can be considered provocative.
It doesn’t solve all the problems that may come with a haunting, but if a spirit doesn’t at first contact demonstrate hostility, a little politeness would go a long way to forming a cordial relationship, for the duration. If of course, hostility or violence ensues, initiated on the part of the spirit, even after explaining certain facts (such as the ghost being dead and no longer owning the property for example) then it’s a good time to consider the other avenues of house cleansing and etc.
Provocation is bad practice and simply bad manners.
That’s all for this time, don’t let the spookies bite!