It would seem almost everyone you talk to has had an experience of ghosts or something spooky they just cannot explain. Most can relate a tale of a haunted house where strange occurences have taken place. Ghosts are a lot more common than you might think!

So what exactly are the tell tales signs that your own home is haunted?

1. Have you heard unexplained noises? The most commonly reported sounds in haunted homes are knocking, raps, footsteps, disembodied voices, bells ringing or children crying. Sometimes they are psychic echoes or attempts by the ghost/s in residence to grab your attention. At other times they are a replay of a scene that has taken place in the past.

2. Do objects move around of their own accord?Could you swear that you left a personal effect in a particular place and now it's gone? Some ghosts have a sense and humour and enjoy a joke at your expense. If this is something that happens on a regular basis it's probably not just your bad memory or someone else in the family moving it. It could be a being from another world.

3. Do you ever smell unusual or explained fragrances? Sometimes the odours can be quite unpleasant other times its almost as if an elegant lady wearing a beautiful floral perfume has wafted by. The spectral scent may linger as a supernatural reminder of a resident who lived there long ago.

4. Do animals behave strangely in any area of your home? Cats and dogs are well known for having a heightened perception of the spirit world. They could be seeing what you are unable to and reacting accordingly.

5. Is there a room in your home that always feels cold even if outside temperatures are soaring? Or is there a room where you never feel quite comfortable - as if you are being watched? Try investigating the history of your home, enquire from elderly neighbours - perhaps something unpleasant has happened there in the past.

6. Do you feel as you are not alone in your home, even though there is no one else home?

7. Have lights been seen in rooms that are unoccupied by earthly beings? If so, they could very well be occupied by a visitor from beyond?

Whilst many noises, electrical faults, cold spots can be traced to natural causes - in many cases they cannot. You may arrive at the conclusion that you have a long term ghostly guest who you may have to take steps to remove (if troublesome) or learn to live in harmony together.

Remember, as the saying goes you have more to fear from the living than the dead!

First of all you have to ask yourself why do you want to see a ghost. If you are a thrill seeker then you would be better off taking up skydiving or white water rafting. Seeing a ghost can be a profoundly disturbing experience and one that may linger in your mind for the rest of your life. I have many people contact me in a state of terror because they have encountered a ghost in their home or work place. They want me to rid them of it immediately if not sooner! The last thing they want is to study it. You need to consider this fact carefully before you actively seek contact with another world!

However, if you are someone who is genuine in your intentions to learn more about other dimensions,then I will share with you details of places you are most likely to encounter a ghost,based on my years of experience of working with the paranormal.

A further word of warning though before you set out on a ghost hunting trip you need to take a few minutes to prepare yourself mentally.It is important that you take steps to protect yourself emotionally, as any contact with the spirit world without proper barriers in place could lead to psychic attack from malicious entities.I am constantly amazed by ghost hunting groups who just charge into alleged haunted situations without taking even the most basic of self-protection precautions.

A good way to defend yourself from harm would be to imagine that you have a circle of white light encompassing your whole body - see it as a barrier so strong that even a missile could not penetrate it. As you proceed with your venture from time to time keep this image in mind.

TOP TEN MOST LIKELY PLACES TO ENCOUNTER GHOSTS

1. Hospitals

If you consider the emotion that is generated in hospitals it's not hard to understand why many people who work there reports strange occurrences particularly late at night. It's not only the spirits of former patients who have passed on that linger there but often spirits of past employees i.e. doctors and nurses so dedicated to duty they don't realise their shift ended many years ago.

2. Monasteries/Nunneries/Abbeys

Monks and nuns are the most ardent of religious folk so commited to their religious life that they often continue their ritual prayers even when they have passed into the afterlife. They are so completely caught up in this they are totally oblivious to any human prescence around them.

3. Churches

Similar to the above - often members of long ago congregations who have found peace and comfort in the church in the past.

4. Motorway (Freeway) Bridges

Sadly,places often chosen by unhappy people to end their lives. The emotion they felt at the time being so strong that it often lingers in the air for many decades. The sensitive would immediately tune into their aura.

5. Battlefields

Anger, fear, sadness at being parted from loved ones - replays of terrible pointless battles. Many who live near these places report cries and sounds of gunfire can be heard even hundreds of years later

6. Cemeteries

Needs no explaination - though imagination of ghost hunters who visit there can often go into overdrive particularly if it's dark. It's important to retain a detached manner.

7. Paths by the sides of rivers or canals.

Similar to No.4 but I personally believe as water represents emotion that spirits are naturally drawn there)

8. Castles

Dramatic scenes of sieges, torture and executions are of course more than likely to have lost souls lingering there.

9. Old pubs

Some former customers find it difficult to move on from last orders but often there's been more sinister occurances in these places (i.e. murders)so ideal places to spot a ghost.

10. Places where "ley lines" cross (check them out on local maps)

Lay lines in my opinion are doorways swinging wide open to twilight zones, and ghosts find it easy to cross back and forth.

After you have taken part in any attempt to encounter other worlds it is important that you take steps to ground yourself afterwards to avoid any psychic overlap. It can be as simple as imagining yourself being immersed in a bath of crystal clear cleansing water. As you step out of the bath the water gradually drains from your body leaving you refreshed, and clear of any contamination ready to continue your day!

copyright Linda Preston 2007