possession and poltergeists - how do they work?
543693
Possesion generally affects an individual, and a poltergeist affects a location? Not sure what my stance is on the two. Have done enough secular or spiritual research to know.
714207
I’m an amateur ghost hunter myself. It helps that I grew up around ghosts in my childhood home and in my Grandmother’s house. So, even though stuff would happen all the time, I was kind of used to it. Until my brother took it upon himself to explain to me what a ghost really was and I spent several months when I was 8 years old hiding under the blankets. Thanks for that, Bro. Now, I chase spirits and accidentally let a woman ghost into the house. Which my mother just loves me for...
583247
First off, learn to become aware. Practice sensing energy. Once you can do that, you can tell what's coming at you, and from where. My motto in this instance is "do unto others what they have done unto you."\n\nyou may wish to put wards up around your house. These are magical protections that will sort of act as bouncers for any unwanted visitors or intrusive magics. Not sure how? Start with statues of gargoyles or fu dogs. \n\nThe book Psychic Self Defense by Dion Fortune may prove helpful. Most of the good books on magic in general were written in the late eighteen hundreds or early nineteen hundreds. Check them out. \n\nUntil you get your bearings, don't get into any magical fights. The good news is, almost nobody is very competent at the darker magics these days. Even if someone IS casting spells at you, the likelihood of them accomplishing anything is pretty slim.
1025915
Demonic possession is extremely rare.  Most cases of assumed possession is really severe mental disorders, or self hypnosis.  That is why (if you are catholic) if you say someone is possessed they send out a priest to perform tests and to see if the afflicted meet certain criteria for possession.  There must be very specific happenings and unexplained occurences that are dictated by the Catholic Church.  \n\nPersonally I do not believe in Demons or the Devil or their existance, they do not exist in my religion.  So if someone is "possessed" in my religion then it is a case of bad karma and unbalanced energies.
840747
My understanding is that you are asking if other people out there are having paranormal experiences. So you're having unexplained things happening to you? My friend at work had a problem with some mild poltergeist activity in her home. But it did stop when she moved house. Its a fascinating subject. At times it gets even the best of skeptics flummoxed. I even know of another person who have problems with electrical items, computers, etc. She is a medium/clairvoyant/healer and its not much fun for her when things go faulty when she's using elecrics. Don't have to believe me, but I do see it happening.
1114561
ghosts which cause trouble are known as poltergiests. In reality they cannot do anything to the living flesh and blood ( YOU! ) so tell it to get out of the house .....within no time the ghost will feel scared of you and will run away like a chicken !
368757
I have one. The Phantom is on the side of the house under the living room window(living room in on 2nd floor). I hear knocking some nights on the wall. There is no plumbing on that side of the house. At first, I thought it was a joke. So while the knocking was going on I snuck down stairs, all the lights where off and looked out the window. Nothing, and it stopped as soon as I got near the window. My dogs never barked either, very strange. I don't think about it much but it still happens about every month or so. I ignore it now.
321911
I saw some people I knew get possessed by a bad, or mischievous, spirit through the Ouija Board. It was like mass hysteria and it scared me out of ever messing with Ouija Boards. It provides an opening for any old spirit to get to you. I don't think they should sell them as children's games.
724016
Yes, this is indeed probable.  Living spirits inhabit pets just as they do human beings.  Often times the spirit can be so strong, that when the animal or person passes away, effects of them linger around the dwelling where they used to live.  If you feel an unexplained cold draft nearby you, this is conclusive evidence that there is a spirit lingering in your presence.  This is nothing to be totally afraid of, as long as they are friendly, but just talk nice to it, and most importantly be sure to treat it with respect.  Maybe put out a few scraps of food or water too, just as a symbol of respect.  If you really want to know more about what is in your house, I suggest that you contact a poltergeist specialist.  These people have bery special instruments to test places and determine whether there are remaining hauntings in a house.  Good luck, and enjoy your friend!
651710
I am a paranormal investigator.  I have collected quite a bit of EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon).  I have recorded moans, long drawn out breaths, kids laughing and phrases such as:  "Can you hear that?",  "Don't leave", "Interesting" and "It's coming" to mention just a few.  On one investigation I asked if anyone would make their presence known.  About 20 seconds later, someone played with my ponytail.\n\nI also live in a house right now that has a good amount of activity.  My 2 yr old son and I were in my room one morning and he said, "That not ghost dog!"  Then he ran and hid under my covers.  He stayed there for quite some time and wouldn't let me talk about the dog.\n\nMy daughter has seen a bearded man in army fatigues and a little girl in her bedroom playing with the blinds.  She has also seen a cat running around our house numerous times.\n\nI have many times seen shadows all around me.  I've seen a cat running across the floor in my bedroom 3 different times.  One day, I saw a large drop of water fall from the ceiling.  I heard it land in a bowl that was sitting in the middle of the tub.  I even saw ripples.  There was no sign of water on the ceiling and the bowl was nowhere near the faucet.  I have also felt someone nudge my knee while I laid in bed.\n\nMy strangest experience happened one night in my bedroom.  I looked up to see my daughter standing across the room staring at me.  I looked away and looked back.  She was still there motionless.  I did that again and she was gone.  It wasn't her because she's really afraid of the upstairs and I would have heard her go up and down the squeaky wooden stairs.
1068712
I find it interesting that you reference the planchette rather than the Ouija board since really it is the planchette which is most directly influenced by the spirit, since it's the the thing which moves. As for whether or not the spirit gives the right answers, that depends on the spirit.
629983
"What specifically causes poltergeist activities?"\n\nalcohol and/or overactive imaginations
1114189
I've never seen anyone possessed. But yes.....I have felt ghosts. Certain family members....My self and my mom and brother can feel when they are around. Especially when my Dad is around! It's like I could reach out and touch where he is.  You know when you can sense that someone is standing near you.......say in back of you....or you can tell that someone has walked into the room when your eyes are closed. Same feeling. And it usually is the feeling that you associated with that person.......you recognize the energy! It's very cool! A ghost is just a natural transition of the human condition. We are spiritual beings having a physical experience. When that experience is over........we transition back into the spirit form. All very natural. Nothing spooky!
892931
I believe in ghostly events.  Having witnessed 5 events personally and watched my daughter holding a conversation with my mother after my mother had died.  As I have told of one of my experiences in a Wiltshire pub previously I will not re-tell that one, however I  will share these 2 with you.\n\nSome years ago, whilst working as a Security Supervisor at a Retail Outlet my colleague started out on his patrol.  As he wandered sown the mall he shouted back to me, "look at the clock".  The clock he was referring to was an old railway platform clock that had been restored and worked fine.  The hands on the clock were spinning furiously in different directions, they continued to do so for about 10 minutes then they stopped at the correct time and kept time for the remainder of the shift. (The whole thing was recorded on CCTV as we knew no-one would believe us).\n\nAt the same venue, I observed a man wearing a burgundy waistcoat walk into a children's playing area and towards some glass doors linking two of the malls. These doors were locked, the fire exits to the left of the doors were secured by plastic seals  and the only way back out would have been to return the same way as he had entered. Back through the children's playing area and along the concourse. Once again all the CCTV cameras in that area (there was 3) were pointing at this man who would be about 50-55 years old, quite a portly figure wearing a burgundy waistcoat and white shirt (please bear in mind that it was in the early hours of the morning and quite cold).  When my colleague went to investigate the man was no where to be seen. He checked the fire exits and all seals were intact, all the mall doors were locked. The only way that he could have gone was back through the playing area.  After the shift we pulled the CCTV tapes and you could follow this man's steps all the way up to the mall doors, where he goes out of sight behind a brick pillar, then moments later my colleague arrives at the location to find no-one there.\n\n(The outlet is a regenerated Railway building - could it have been an old station master?)\n\nThere will always be some people who do not believe - but I have seen too much to believe there is nothing after this life for us.
518692
I tend to distinguish between ghosts and spirits. When people think of haunted houses, they tend to think of ghosts (I tend to think of them as psychic echoes), whereas my house is filled with spirits. I love my household spirits. They're my kind of spirits. Very wonderful to have around. So I don't really have many stories about them because they're just so darned good. Mostly, everything in this house works better and lasts longer than normal, like the 27 year old water heater I just replaced. \n\nBut I imagine that what you really want are some good stories, so here are a few of mine.\n\nOne time on a camping trip I was walking back from the bathrooms at that moment right between day and night and I saw someone walk across the front of the site and stop behind a tree. So I figure one of the people is going to jump out and try to surprise me, so I pull out my flashlight, walk up to the tree, turn on the light, and there's no one there.\n\nAs a child the chandelier used to swing from side to side, and the radio would turn on by itself in the middle of the night.\n\nOne time I was alone in a house, and I felt a presence. I looked a mobile hanging motionless, and said, "If there is anyone else here, make the mobile spin." The next moment, the mobile began to spin.\n\nI rarely ever actually see ghosts, but one time I was driving into Ponca State Park to set up a Pagan festival, and the sides of the road were lined with spirits. All standing there, calmly welcoming us back.\n\nMy grandmother died while my niece was in utero. After my niece was born, she would look up at areas where no one was standing, and laugh and giggle. We all knew that she was looking at gramma, so we never showed her any pictures. Finally, at about a year old, she could speak, and my sister showed her the family photo album. My niece picked out her photo and said, "That's Old Gramma."
235174
I live in a really old city, that has plenty of hauntings.  I used to live in an apartment building, in an older part of town that is down the street from an old asylum (1800's), and not to far from old forts, and other potentially creepy things. It always gave me the willies walking near there.  Anyhow, late one might while I was sleeping I got a really weird feeling, I sat bolt upright in bed to see a dark shiny ghost ball hovering about 5 feet in the air at the end of my bed.  My son also had the creepy felling, and came in to see the ghost ball, it then "imploded" on itself. I moved 3 weeks later.
706165
It's a tough question.  If you're the only one who can see the ghost, maybe the ghost is in your head (altering your perception) rather than outside in the phsyical world.  If it is the case that the ghost is only in your head, maybe the ghost could be a living person--or not a person at all.\n\nI do think there are strange phenomena, but it seems more likely that the individual's mind is involved--if not entirely responsible.  Maybe electromagnetic fields can become imprinted with "thought" data or emotional energies.  Maybe something like feng shui (arrangement of objects) is responsible for creating "mental" illusions, much like optical illusions.  For example, I often see a black cat by the stairs, but I don't suspect a ghost cat; I think it's just a strange illusion that "suggests" the appearance of a cat, and then my brain fills in the blanks for just a split-second before I realize that nothing looking remotely like a cat is there...but the MEMORY of seeing a cat remains, and so I get this weird "ghost" image.\n\nAlso, combining these concepts (internal ghosts, imprinting, and illusions), you can come up with all kinds of other phenomena.  For example, I was hungover all the time a couple of years ago--and I get nervous when I'm hungover--so I would freak out every time I got into my car.  I'd feel like I was going to lose control and just swerve into oncoming traffic.  Then I started "sensing" things behind me, like someone was hiding there ready to cut my throat.  This went on for several weeks before I sobered up, and continued for several weeks after.  I had conditioned myself to expect these feelings and to become suggestable to the point that I'd "see" things in the shadows.  In my mind at the time, though, I felt certain that my car was haunted by a vengeful spirit.\n\nI think this weird interplay of imagination and physiology happens more often than people realize.  Just getting prepped for a "spooky" experience can trigger spooky illusions.  Or you may completely lose your mind and go through this kind of thing during every waking hour instead of just the occassional chill down your spine.