Haunting and haunted are words that are used to describe an area in which events believed to be caused by ghosts are prevalent. Saying that a place is haunted can have consequences which could be either desired or undesired. For example, a quaint little bed and breakfast may wish to be labeled as being haunted. This can bring in more business and helps inspire interest. A homeowner may not be so keen on hearing that his or her home is haunted. It is important for those of us in the paranormal field to exercise caution when using the terms haunted or haunting. Let us examine those terms and what they mean.

There are a few different ideas for the types of hauntings. We will cover a basic classification system that is generally accepted by most paranormal researchers. To say a place is haunted implies that there is evidence to support the conclusion that spirits or ghosts manifest in an area. This area can be a house, a business, or an open field. The occurrences of unexplained phenomenon should not be the sole determination of whether a place is haunted.

There are four basic classifications to describe what type of haunting is occurring in an area. These classifications can blend together and in many circumstances may prove to coexist in the area.

The first type of haunting is the infamous Poltergeist haunting. The movie is a classic and has entertained and scared people for years. However, the real poltergeist haunting is seldom like the movie. The old idea of a poltergeist is that it is a spirit that likes to make lots of noise and move things. The word poltergeist is of German origin and means "noisy ghost". There are plenty who still believe that a poltergeist is a spirit that likes to scare people. Some believe that poltergeist activity is not caused by spirits but rather by people. The theory of psychokinesis is gaining traction as an explanation of poltergeist activity. You can read more about psychokinesis by clicking on the titled section to the left. Most of the time, poltergeist activity is linked to a person and quite often follows that person when they try to escape it.

The second type is a portal haunting. The theory rests on the belief that portals exist which act as doorways between the spirit world and ours. There is no concrete evidence that portals exist or that they act as doorways. however, some areas seem to have strangely high energy readings and are rife with paranormal activity which constantly changes. The idea is that these portals allow all types of spirits access to our world and are haunted because of the spirits roaming around the portal area.

The third type of haunting is the intelligent haunting. Intelligent hauntings can be broken down into malevolent and benevolent intelligent hauntings. An intelligent haunting is believed to occur when the spirit of a being, be it the spirit of a dead human or the spirit of a non-human entity, is able to interact with purpose and intent. The spirit is aware of the living and actively works to interact. The actions of the spirit give rise to the nature of the intelligent haunting. A benevolent intelligent haunting is one in which a friendly spirit is trying to convey a message or simply be acknowledged by the living. They do not wish to harm anyone and often seem satisfied to know that their presence has been noted. The malevolent haunting is the scary type. This type of haunting occurs when the spirit is actively working to scare, intimidate and bully anyone in sight. Again, both types will act with specific intent and purpose, hence the term "intelligent" haunting.

The fourth type is the most common: the residual haunting. A residual haunting occurs when past events seem to replay with no regard for the spectators. The theory behind a residual haunting relies on the belief that the environment of an area or place can record the energies of an event and play them back. An example of this would be witnesses seeing the Battle of Gettysburg replaying on the field. The soldiers simply replay the events of the battle. they are unaware and unaffected by living people who witness it. A ghost may walk the same stretch of road each night as if stuck in a loop. Many of the paranormal events witness by people would probably fit into the residual haunting category.