Maybe it’s a flickering light. A sudden drop in temperature. A random waft of...wait, is that aftershave? Whatever it is, something seems to be off, but how do you know whether that unsettled feeling you’re experiencing is the result of an honest-to-goodness ghost?
If you are feeling spooked, you’re not alone. According to a 2024 survey by Angi (formerly Angie’s List), the home improvement platform, 60 percent of homeowners suspect their house may be haunted. But even if those suspicions are correct, not all hauntings are created equal.
“Many hauntings seem to be residual energy, sort of like a recording playing on a loop,” says Amy Bruni, a professional paranormal investigator, television host (“Ghost Hunters,” “Kindred Spirits”), podcaster (Haunted Road), and author (Life with the Afterlife). Other hauntings seem to be more interactive. “Those usually stem from the classic idea of unfinished business,” but not necessarily anything sinister, she says. “I once investigated a home where the family had an old headstone in their backyard. It turned out it had been made years prior to correct a misspelling on a grave at a local cemetery. The spirit of that man would not rest until the correct headstone was finally put on his grave.”
Another reason a ghost might be lingering: fondness for their old home. “Spirits and ghosts tend to like to spend time in the same spaces they enjoyed while they were alive,” says Lesley Ann Hyde, medium, paranormal investigator, and founder and owner of The Southern Ghost Girls. “In my team’s research, we have found that theaters, libraries, and even restaurants have a lot of ghostly paranormal phenomenon that occurs. We think they just want to be where they were the happiest in life.”
Before you work yourself into a sage-burning tizzy, remember that those weird sounds may just be a squirrel. “I always suggest that people try to first figure out the natural causes for these experiences, like old pipes or animals in the attic,” says author Adam Berry, who is also co-star and Executive Producer of “Kindred Spirits”. “However, when you can’t naturally explain it away, then you never know if someone has decided to reach out to you from the afterlife.”
Here, according to experts in the paranormal field, are a few common indicators that you’re dealing with more than a rodent.
1) You feel like you’re being watched.
This is one of the most commonly cited disturbances of homeowners who suspect their homes are haunted. “People tell me and my team this all of the time,” says Lesley. (Is this song stuck in your head now? You’re welcome.)
2) You hear weird noises.
Strange knocks, creaky doors, unexplained footsteps, unsettling sounds in the walls—it could be as simple as that aforementioned squirrel, but then again...maybe not? “Some people report hearing conversations of people in their basement or attic and clearly no one is down there,” says Adam. “I know one person who actually caught disembodied voices on recording devices,” says Lesley. “The final straw, however, was an apparition of a boy in the house, which convinced the guy to move into a rental home.”
3) You notice odd electrical glitches.
Flickering lights may be a staple of haunted houses, but that hardly scratches the surface. of electronic interruption. “Televisions turning on by themselves, computers freezing up, and batteries draining quickly without explanation can also be signs of a paranormal presence,” says Lesley.
4) Strange things happen when you renovate.
“We find that home renovations really stir up paranormal activity,” says Lesley. “It’s like the ghosts make themselves more known and are acting up. I feel that more activity during renovations occurs because they are protesting the person or persons making the changes. The ghost or spirit liked the way things were when they were alive, and they think they still live there and are the ones in charge.”
Adam has observed the same: “We have seen upticks in activity when people renovate their home. This was fairly prominent during the pandemic, when people were at their house doing all those projects they never got time to do before. I am not 100% sure what a spirit sees on the other side, but I do know that when you change your home, you’re changing the energy of the space, and I think that can have an effect on those otherworldly spirits that might still be living in your house.”
Amy, for the record, says she kinda sides with the ghosts on this one. “I can’t blame them—the number of gorgeous Victorians I’ve seen turned into plain gray or white modern interiors inside would probably drive me back from the grave also!”
5) Items seem to mysteriously move around.
If things are getting moved and showing up in places you didn’t put them, that’s another sign a house may be haunted.
6) There are strange smells.
“Atypical odors such as perfume, cigar smoke, or tobacco may signify the presence of a spirit from the past is near by,” says Lesley.
7) It suddenly feels cold.
Spirits are said to draw energy from the environment, which is what many say accounts for these sudden cold spots.
8) Your pet senses something is off.
“There is no doubt that dogs and cats can sense ghosts on a different plane or dimension than we can,” says Lesley. “Dogs will bark at what seems to be nothing; cats will bristle up and hiss or chatter.”
“I also believe that spirits are more attracted to pets,” says Amy. “Us living people can’t walk by a cute dog or cat without squatting down and saying hello—I think it’s the same for ghosts. We had a case where something showed up on one of our night cameras, and in the room opposite, there was a cat, and that cat stopped what it was doing looked toward where the anomaly showed up on our camera walked into that room curled up and sat down, right where the anomaly appeared. So I believe that cat saw what we caught on camera and wasn’t threatened by it, but actually welcomed the attention.”
9) You live in a Victorian house.
While it’s true that a lot of Victorian-style homes mistakenly fall victim to the “it’s gotta be haunted” stereotype, Amy does note that the idea of a haunted Victorian makes a lot of sense. “Many people during the Victorian era were very into spiritualism, conducting séances and such. I think it’s why we see so many Victorian ghosts—they’re from the era that was most obsessed with the afterlife and spirits. They *expected* to become ghosts.”
10) Your house has a haunted backstory.
If you suspect paranormal activity, research your home’s history. “In addition to public records, seek out records from your real estate agency,” says Lesley. “In a lot of states, homeowners must disclose if they have had any hauntings or unusual activity.”
“I always tell people to start with old deeds and land records,” says Amy. “That gives you a set of names to research associated with the house. Also, don’t be afraid to knock on the neighbors’ doors. If your house has a history of a haunting, many times people in the neighborhood will know about it.” Adam also recommends the aptly named website diedinhouse.com. “I know it sounds silly, but it lists anyone who’s ever actually died in your property.”
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