Haunted Courtney

I hope you're sitting down, because I'm about to burst your ectoplasmic bubble. Is "ectoplasmic" even a word? Let's just pretend I didn't make that up for the sake of this article. First, a little history. Ectoplasm first became popular in the late 1800s when mediums claimed they could produce a mysterious substance during séances. It was said to emerge from the nose or mouth and was supposedly too "light sensitive" to exist outside complete darkness. Convenient, right? As it turned out, many of those famous demonstrations were exactly what skeptics suspected. Once the lights came on, the "ectoplasm" often turned out to be tissue paper, cheesecloth, or some wonderfully appetizing mixture of gelatin, soap, and egg whites. Some mediums even swallowed the material beforehand so they could dramatically regurgitate it during the séance. I don't know about you, but I think I'd rather meet an actual ghost. So... Is tradi...

I have a love-hate relationship with technology. I love that I can find information in seconds or catch up with family and friends from my phone. But I also think technology has a way of clouding our minds if we let it. Ghost hunting has come a long way over the years, but I'm not entirely convinced it's been for the better. Don't get me wrong. I love new ghost hunting gadgets as much as the next investigator. Some of them are incredibly interesting. But somewhere along the way, I think we started relying on electronic beeps and flashing lights to tell us what our own senses used to. Years ago, if someone thought they were in the presence of something paranormal, they paid attention to how they felt. The hair on the back of their neck stood up. Their ears rang. Something just felt...different. Now we tend to stare at a screen waiting for it to tell us whether there's a ghost in the room. Sometimes I wonder if we've become so focused on the equipment that we...

I recently watched an episode of Paranormal Challenge , hosted by Zak Bagans. What a clown show. I've always respected Zak as an investigator, and for the most part, I still do. When Ghost Adventures  started, I was psyched to see people investigate the way I would. A small team, no camera crew, and raw curiosity. But this show...what a disappointment. When it was over, I remember thinking... "What the hell?" Is this really what ghost hunting has become? A competition? I thought it was terrible. Ghost hunting has spent decades trying to be taken seriously, and then along comes a show where teams compete against each other as if investigating the paranormal is some kind of game show. That just doesn't sit right with me. What bothered me even more was the way some of the teams handled the equipment. In one episode, one of the investigators referred to technical equipment as "the thingy" and "the blinky thing." Really? Ghost hunting already ...

Can a ghost attach itself to an object? Can an object record a powerful event that happened with or around it and replay that event over and over? I've always found that idea fascinating. Personally, I believe that a ghost can become attached to an object. However, I think most reports of haunted objects are actually the result of something else. One theory I've always found interesting is the idea of a residual haunting . A residual haunting is thought to happen when an object, or even a home, absorbs the energy from an intense event and later "replays" it. Some people believe these events can replay randomly or at a certain time, on a certain day, or even every year under the same conditions. The events most often associated with residual hauntings tend to be emotionally charged or violent. That's one reason battlefields are so often considered haunted. If residual hauntings are real, what people are witnessing may not be intelligent spirits at all, but ech...

One thing I think we sometimes forget is that ghosts were people at one point. That means they probably weren't all the same. Just like the living, there would be kind spirits, grumpy spirits, sarcastic spirits, mischievous spirits, quiet spirits, and maybe even a few that are terrifying. We tend to lump all ghosts into one category, but people have never been that simple. Why would the afterlife be any different? I know the paranormal can be unsettling because there's still so much we don't understand. But sometimes it helps me to remember that, if I'm dealing with the spirit of a person, then I'm probably dealing with...well...a person. Someone with a personality. Someone with a sense of humor. Someone who had good days and bad days. Someone like you. Or me. Most ghosts probably aren't going to come floating down your hallway with blood dripping from a mangled stump while moaning, "My leg! Where's my missing leg?!" I mean... Unless they t...

Have you ever noticed that your house just feels a little creepier during a thunderstorm? The floorboards seem to creak a little more. Shadows stretch across the walls. Every little noise suddenly has your full attention, and for just a split second, you wonder if someone whispered your name from the next room. Most people would say it's just your imagination. Maybe. But what if there was another reason thunderstorms have earned such an eerie reputation? Before we go any further, let's talk about something called EMF. EMF stands for electromagnetic field , and it's something many paranormal investigators pay close attention to during investigations. Some even use devices called EMF pumps, which are designed to increase electromagnetic fields to see whether this affects reported paranormal activity. Now let's get back to the storm. Lightning generates powerful electromagnetic energy. During a thunderstorm, the atmosphere is literally crackling with electricity. I...

This is something I've wondered about for years. In my experience and from the stories I've read over the years, it seems like many cemetery hauntings involve people who died in their mid-to-late teens or early twenties. I've often wondered if there's a reason for that. One theory I have is that, as young adults, we're much more attached to our physical bodies. At that age, it's easy to feel like who we are is tied to what we look like. Our appearance becomes a big part of our identity. If spirits really can become attached to this world, maybe that attachment doesn't disappear overnight. On the other hand, people who pass away later in life have had decades to build memories, relationships, and experiences. Their sense of identity may be less about the physical body and more about the life they've lived. If they were to remain behind, I sometimes wonder if they'd be more likely to linger around a favorite home, a family property, or another plac...