Types of Ghosts: Poltergeist, Doppelganger, Residual and More

It’s midnight. Someone calls your name from down the hall. You peak from your bedroom door and notice that everyone is sound asleep in their own beds. You turn to go back to your bed and catch a glimpse of a shadow out of the corner of your eye. So you figure you’re being haunted. But the question is, by what? Believe it or not, there are multiple types of ghosts, and what type you’re dealing with will determine how you should handle the haunting. Let’s dive in and resolve this paranormal activity together, shall we?

First, What IS a Ghost, Exactly?
Please note. The way this post will be written is not coming from a paranormal investigator’s perspective, but from an individual who has had multiple personal experiences with spirits since childhood. Unprovoked. Meaning, I didn’t hunt down ghosts with cameras and fancy equipment in order to create a personal belief system around spirits, what they are and what they go about doing on this plane of existence. I am a magical practitioner, Reiki healer, nurse, and I have some abilities including claircognizance, clairsalience, clairaudience and physical empathy. That doesn’t mean that I see/hear/smell/feel etc. ghosts all of the time. But when the timing is right and spirits want to be sensed, I typically do sense them in one way or another. Often through dreams and in passing moments when I least expect them. This is something I feel many people might experience if they were open to it.

So, let me get to the point here. What is a ghost, exactly? I think the definition might vary a bit per person; however, most people come to the conclusion that a ghost is a spirit. Usually a spirit of a human being who has passed away and somehow got “stuck” on this plane or somewhere between this plane and the next. While I agree with this definition, I believe it’s much more complicated than that. Ghosts can’t be put into boxes (well, sometimes but that’s for another post). They can’t be put into proverbial boxes…But I will try my best to delineate between the types of ghosts that I am aware of below. And to further the definition, I’m including any spirit that interacts with human beings that isn’t a god/goddess, angel, saint, etc. of that order. But more earthly beings.

Types of Ghosts: The Human Souls
In this first section, we will meet the types of ghosts that likely arose from human existence in way form or another. Meaning, these are souls that once inhabited a human body. Or so we like to think. Or something close to it.

1. . Intelligent Ghosts and Classic Hauntings
This is probably the most iconic type of ghost or what we also call a “classic” haunting. This spirit is the disembodied soul that once inhabited a human body. That can’t seem to find its way onto the next phase of the afterlife. There are likely different reasons for this phenomenon, including the individual might have died an unexpected or violent death and doesn’t realize they are indeed dead.

Or sometimes they have the cliche “unfinished business” to tend to before they feel they can move on. The intelligent ghost or haunting is often seen, heard, or felt in various ways and tends to stay in one place. This place might be their home when they were alive or the place where they died. A couple examples of this type of ghost include the the ghost of Anne Boleyn and President Abraham Lincoln. We believe these two are intelligent hauntings because they show up in different places AND seem to be aware of what they are doing (to an extent).

2. . Wandering Souls
While also apparently a Spanish flamenco song, wandering ghosts are a type of ghost that I am all too familiar with. I don’t know the song, but I know the ghost. I call this type of spirit a wandering soul or wandering ghost because any time I’ve had contact with them, they seem lost. Not just in the typical way we assume a ghost is lost but like…literally lost. They don’t know where they are going and seem to travel from place to place on this physical plane. They are not attached to a specific location or object and seem to be the “rolling stone” of the spiritual world. This is the random passerby-type-ghost that might even end up in your house…seemingly out of nowhere.

In my experience, these types of ghosts are indeed of a human origin. But I don’t know why they get stuck wandering this plane. Did they follow you home or just happen to walk through the wall and into your domain? We aren’t entirely sure. You could be nice and ask what they want. And if you get bad vibes, you promptly open some windows and do a full house cleansing. They’ll be on their way soon. I promise.

3. Residual Energy or “Imprints”
This type of ghost isn’t intelligent, meaning it isn’t a sentient being with its own thoughts, feelings, or form, necessarily. A residual energy ghost or what I also call an “imprint” is more of a supernatural phenomenon instead of an actual spirit. This is when something so traumatic or intense happened that the situation itself imprinted on the environment. The energy was SO strong that it held onto the energy in that place. These residual energies or imprint ghosts will manifest in a way that the witness will think they are seeing a movie being played on an invisible screen. And often, these residual imprints will replay themselves over and over again in the same place, same time, and various witnesses will encounter it. A well-known example of this type of haunting is the Battle of Gettysburg in Gettysburg, PA.

4. Doppelganger and Fetch Spirits
Now the doppelganger is a ghost that could be the soul of a dead human being OR the fetch of a human being. This spirit is the “spiritual twin” of a living individual. What is a fetch, you ask? A fetch spirit is a person’s astral double that may separate from the human’s body ad may go out to do the person’s bidding. Sometimes they might have a mind of their own. However, another theory is the doppelganger is more of an omen…meaning it’s the spirit of a person who is on death’s door that comes to warn his or her loved ones of their own impending death.

I see these two types of ghosts as nearly the same thing. One of the most famous historical examples of a doppelganger is the story of teacher Emilie Sagee. Multiple students saw her doppelganger standing beside her, mirroring her image at the chalkboard. And a few times following this event, her doppelganger was seen again at different places at the school. Keep in mind, the fetch spirit is frequently employed by witches to travel otherworldly realms and do their own bidding. And as for a famous story of a fetch spirit, how about the Bell Witch? This was a living woman who was able to haunt her enemy’s home to an extent that hundreds of people witnessed it!

5. Hitchhiking Ghosts (Attachers)
You’ve heard those creepy stories about people pulling over to the side of the road to give a girl in a prom dress a ride home? And then they find out later on that the girl is dead? This is the classic story of the hitchhiking ghost. There are many variations of the story including with hitchhiking men, as well. When I refer to the hitchhiking ghost, however, I’m not referring specifically to this type of hitchhiker. I’m referring to the ghosts who like to “hitch a ride” on YOUR back. These spirits follow or attach themselves to humans for one reason or another.

This happens to sensitive people who visit haunted places. For example, I visited the historic district of Savannah, GA and literally brought two ghosts home with me. CLEANSING, Banishing, and Warding rituals are a necessity if you feel a spirit has followed you home. Protection when going to graveyards, cemeteries, haunted places, and liminal places is a MUST for highly sensitive individuals and mediums.

6. Wraiths
A wraith is described like any other ghost, as a spirit of someone who died that has stuck around after leaving its body. However, a wraith is a ghost that has attached itself to someone or something. That something is often an object like a ring (think the Ring wraiths in Lord of the Rings), a piece of furniture, a doll, or heirloom of some kind. They are so obsessed with that object that they don’t want to leave it and their spirit sticks to it like flies to sticky tape. In the case of the infamous dolls Annabelle and Rober the Doll, I believe there may be wraiths attached to these items. Although I know the common theory is that these dolls are possessed by demons. There have been plenty of pieces of furniture and art that are inhabited or haunted by wraiths.

MORE Types of Ghosts: Spirits that are “Other”
Now that we’ve covered the corporeal (if you will) ghosts, we will go on to meet ghosts that are of the “other” kind. Meaning spirits that not incarnated in a human body, that we know of.

1. Animal Spirits
Sometimes an animal’s soul lingers at the site of its death, at its physical home, OR around his or her human friend. Sometimes animal ghosts aren’t of this world at all, but are otherworldly beings like the Hounds of Hell, for example. And, to further complicate things, sometimes animal spirits might even be a witch’s familiar spirit OR her fetch spirit (see above section). Or the animal spirit could even be a shapeshifted witch, shaman, etc. A legitimate example of an animal ghostly haunting comes to us from Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin Ireland. Where a large hound haunts the site of his late master. Another example is the phantom blue dog of Rose Hill in Maryland, US.

2. Shadow People, The Hat Man, and Shadow Spiders
Some people believe shadow people were once of a human nature, though I’m not quite sure I believe in this theory. I’ve encountered a shadow person in my lifetime and it didn’t feel quite human…but something else entirely. These shadow people tend to dart out of the corner of your eye and are frequently seen in corners, darting down hallways, or even lurking over your bed at night. The Hat Man is particularly known to watch people while they are asleep. Shadow spiders is another phenomenon related to the “Shadow” spirit encounter. Are these beings wraiths? Demonic? Time travelers? No one truly knows. There’s also quite a lot of debate as to whether they mean us harm or are neutral beings. The shadow spirit I encountered was NOT friendly and gave stalker vibes.

3. Demons / Low Level Entities
I don’t want to get into the debate as to whether demons are actually ancient gods or not, suffice to say, there is a type of spirit out there that I also like to call a low level entity. Whatever you prefer to call them, these are the guys that most folks are afraid of. They are the spirits that enjoy causing fear and feed off of fear. Sometimes they are brought into our world through portals that someone opens either knowingly or unknowingly. They can be dangerous when fed with that fear, but remember…we are human. We are incarnate. We have the power over them, not the other way around. Strong cleansing, exorcising, and warding rituals are required to be rid of these entities. Salt, holy water, and angel statues are effective.

4. Elementals: Fairies Are a Type of Ghosts?
Maybe you think I’m crazy for saying elementals and fairies are a type of ghost. But hear me out. There’s a fine line between fairies and ancestors. There are NUMEROUS stories in Celtic and Norse lore that talk about the dead being taken up by the fairies. Or how someone loses a loved one, only to see them walking down the hill with a troop of fairies the next day. There are even some theories that fairies ARE the dead…so YES. I believe fairies CAN be a type of ghost. If you ever visit Knockma Hill in Galway, Ireland, the King of the Fairies who resides under the hill is also called the King of the Dead. But perhaps not every fairy is a ghost.

5. Poltergeist
I’m including the poltergeist under the “other” type of ghosts for a reason. When we break down the term poltergeist, it is a German word for “noisy ghost“. And while it very could be the soul of a departed human being, there is much evidence to suggest this phenomenon is a psychic projection instead. When poltergeists manifest, they frequently seem to revolve around teenagers. Young women, to be exact. So there is a theory that the phenomenon is actually the young woman’s pent-up emotions being pushed out into the environment wreaking havoc on those around it. Including the teenager doing the actual projecting. Now, could this be just a theory and could poltergeists be something else entirely? Of course.

Ghostly Connections

Ghosts are universal, some quiet, some noisy, most benevolent, some malevolent. However a ghost presents itself to the individual or the many, you are forced to take notice. Ghosts make contact for a variety of reasons, they will find one way or another to contact those on the earth plane if they choose. Whether you believe or not the supernatural is all around you, and for centuries people have been drawn to and fearful of anything they cannot logically pinpoint. That fleeting shadow out of the corner of your eye, the feeling that someone is standing behind you, or leaning over you, that bump in the night. Can you really just brush everything aside and put it down to your imagination? Anyone can see spirits at any time, at any age, in any place, anywhere in the world, ghosts disregard doors and windows, they enter at will.

Often if someone you love leaves the earth plane suddenly and they are unprepared, their spirit will remain near where the death occurred, they may not be aware that they are in fact dead. In this instance they will attempt to make contact with loved ones through a spirit medium or someone who is especially sensitive and aware. At the time of death the usual occurrence is for the physical form to be left behind, the soul is set free and moves to a higher realm. For whatever reason a spirit at times remains earthbound, whether this is unfinished business, a powerful bond with another person or an overwhelming connection to a place or situation.

Every haunting is different and by seeing a ghost we understand that death is but a doorway to a different realm. We leave our physical body behind and become an ethereal entity that vibrates at a different frequency. There are different types of apparitions, one is in its own world oblivious to anything else going on, it is the echo of a person no longer on the earth plane. The more powerful and quite often noticeable ghost, the one that usually makes its presence known, is the actual spirit of a person, usually this spirit is attached to a person or place, very tuned in to the earth plane and those living on this plane of existence.

Many fear ghosts, some welcome them, while others dismiss them as nonsense, but still look over their shoulder when they feel a presence they can’t explain or turn their head when they catch sight of something out of the corner of their eye. Ghosts will always be there whether we like it or not, whether or not we believe. In human terms it would be difficult to define ghosts absolutely, as they appear in so many different ways and in so many forms. Ghosts are there all the time and it is the more intuitive or sensitive individuals who are aware of them, they are walking the earth and are all around us when we are awake and while we are sleeping.

It is usually those who die tragically, suddenly or by the hand of another, who remain attached to the earth plane, there is possibly unfinished business or an intense tie to people or a place. Spirits remain earthbound for various reasons, some only for a short period of times, others for longer, some remaining for centuries leading to the tales of haunting we hear about. On occasion a spirit feels compelled to pass on a message, and through the assistance of a well schooled medium they manage to do this, they are then at peace, having moved into the light and eternal rest or to await their reincarnation.

Fear of the unknown, and individual fear based belief systems may cause a spirit to remain earthbound, these spirits tend to remain between the earth and the next realm until their fears subside or are released completely. Others stay because they are worried about their families and the affect their death will have on them. Sometimes the living can interfere with the dead’s ability to pass over, especially if they are unable to let go and think about the person all the time. Maybe even going to the extreme of constantly trying to contact them hoping to hold onto them, once they accept that their loved one is gone the spirit is then released and readily crosses over.

Spirit, comes from the Latin spiritus (breath), a supernatural being or essence, spirits are less definitive than ghosts, who are the apparitions seen by the living, ghosts are quite tuned in to the earth plane and aware of the living. Spirits attempt to communicate with the living usually for a specific reason and once their task is complete they cease contact.

Anyone with ghostly experience or encounters will tell you that the first sensation is a feeling of coldness, a chill in the air like someone has turned on the air-conditioning just above their head, or an extreme drop in temperature regardless of the weather. This chilled feeling often occurs in a place of worship during religious ceremonies, in occult gatherings or cemeteries. If a home or any abode for that matter is haunted, there is usually one particular spot or area that is especially cold. Cold spots can also be doorways between the earth plane and the ethereal. When the living want to make contact with spirit they will hold a seance or use a Ouija board, this is a way of opening a portal through which a spirit may pass, it is important when working in this way to close the portal after the session has ended. If the doorway isn’t closed, and this can happen in the hands of beginners, a home can become full of ghostly activity. If this happens the best way to remedy it is to cleanse the entire house, this can be done by carrying a lighted candle and incense into every room in the house and placing incense in each room. When you enter the individual room, walk around with the candle holding it to every corner of the room moving clockwise, gently but firmly ask the spirit to leave and return to its own plane. You may also use a classic broomstick with a little lavender, geranium and rose essence dotted on it, then symbolically sweep the entire house ending at the front door where the spirit is released to return to the place from whence it came.

A determined spirit will transmit a message to the living one way or another, there may be signs such as items moved around the home, or even taken out of drawers and placed in specific places where they will no doubt be noticed. You may have an overwhelming urge to do something or see someone, you may have been procrastinating about something and are suddenly compelled to attend to it. If the spirit is unable to contact you in your waking state it will most likely contact you through your dreams.

Much loved animals often stay close to their owners when they die, and both seem comforted by this continued relationship. Cats and dogs can feel as though they are sitting next to, or on the lap of their owners, they may brush against their legs or be seen in a flash moving across the floor. Many elderly people who loved their beloved pet are often comforted by the continued spirit contact with them until the time of their own death.

Samhain (Night of the Dead), Halloween, All Hallows Eve, the last night of October when the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. The ancient Celts celebrated Samhain by lighting bonfires to help the souls of the dead to the Celtic underworld and to protect against evil spirits. Food and drink was left for the spirits, faeries, elves and nature spirits gathered at this time.

The Chinese celebrate the Feast of the Hungry Ghosts, beginning on the Ghost Month, which is 15 August, the seventh month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar, and lasts for six days. The Buddhist ceremony of putu (the deliverance of the spirits of the dead), is also celebrated at this time. Feasts are prepared and left out for the spirits walking the earth, while Taoist priests and Buddhist priests chant, perform rituals and burn incense in honour of the ghosts. During this celebration the ancestral spirits of Chinese families are asked to join their families for a meal and ritual of burning items such as paper clothing, radios, shoes, cars and other items. This is done to ensure the families, present and future generations, are blessed and protected.

The Feast of the Hungry Ghosts is dedicated to bringing peace to the abandoned and forgotten dead who are not associated with any particular family. It is believed bad luck to marry during the Ghost Month, to relocate, or to die, as the dead will not be able to rest. On the final day the Feast of the Hungry Ghosts, a bonfire is lit and paper effigies of ancient deities, paper currency known as hell money, and other gifts for the dead are thrown into the flames. It is believed that as soon as midnight strikes on the 30th day of the Ghost Month, wandering souls of the dead return to the underworld where the gates are then closed for another year.

Spiritualism became popular throughout England and America in the 19th century, it came about as people felt the need to gather with others and share a new faith beyond anything scientific. There was a need to confirm life after death, mediums were coveted worldwide due to the new collective unconscious. Many fraudulent mediums surfaced at this time which stifled the new thinking until after the First World War, when many people consulted mediums in order to contact loved ones who had died. The 20th century has given rise to spiritualist churches, mediums, meditation groups and spiritual healers around the world, with England boasting the greatest number of spiritualist churches.

Labeled in the late 1900?s were crisis apparitions, these are the ghosts of people who are still alive and due to a crisis in their life are able to appear to a loved who is hundreds or thousands of miles away. The living person may be in pain or danger, they may be in mortal peril, their anxiety such that they appear at times on the verge of death, other times in crisis, or distressed. The person who is projecting is unaware of what they are doing, unaware they are projecting their image possibly to the other side of the world. The person projecting can be perceived by their loved one either in the mind’s eye like a psychic vision, or as the actual person appearing in front of them. Like any matters to do with the occult, scientists have been unable to explain the phenomena of a person being in two places at once. On occasion a person will see their doppelganger (double walker), appear before them. It is believed that we are able to detach from the physical body for a short period of time and be visible to others, and then return to our physical body.

The ancient Egyptians believed every soul had a double (ka). Other beliefs are that a living person can project their astral body or their soul which is a reflection of their physical form. It is also thought to be a type of telepathic and clairvoyant projection, an expansion of a person’s consciousness. Crisis apparitions show that a living being is capable somehow of projecting themselves and presenting themselves as a complete entity far away from their physical form.

If you are curious, daring or fearless, you may choose to go in search of ghostly encounters, finding such in all places where the dead rest, these being ancient burial grounds, graveyards, mausoleums, or historic buildings, churches, battlefields, old theatres, school buildings from previous centuries, old houses and hotels. Nighttime is the best time to encounter ghosts and spirits, occasionally ghosts can be caught on camera, usually seen as a misty blur. If you do hear, see, or feel something, document everything that takes place, it may not make sense in the moment but when you go over your notes and images later you will have a clearer sense of what took place. Take candles, a lighter or matches and incense with you so you can have a quiet meditation before you begin ghost hunting. Many witches carry amulets with them for protection. Take your time and allow your intuition to guide you, often you will feel a chill, you may see an aura and there could possibly be a strange smell, this often precedes a ghostly presence.

Those who are beginning their occult journey may wish to try a Ouija board, with one or several people, the best conduits are wooden. Each person touches the message indicator lightly with the tip of their finger and one person asks one question at a time, then waits for the indicator to spell out the answer. Contact with spirit depends on the awareness, sensitivity and receptiveness of the individuals involved. Before beginning, all those taking part should hold hands and silently ask for spirit guidance, then hold hands at the end of the session and quietly thank the spirits who came through. Throughout the session take notes of everything that occurs from words to feeling and any smells, or auras. If, when you are working with the Ouija board, you feel at all uncomfortable or unsafe, end the session immediately and close off communication.

If you choose to conduct a seance (in French means sitting) where several people gather to communicate with the spirits of those deceased, seances have more power when conducted at night, although they can be carried out in a darkened room lit only by candles. The attendees sit around a round or oval table with no objects on it but a lighted candle, or several lighted candles. Before you begin turn off all power points in the home and work with only candlelight, burn incense and fragrant oils. Ideally work with no more than twelve and no less than three. It is necessary to have at least one medium to conduct the seance and it is not recommended for novices without the guidance of a seasoned medium. Children should not be present during a session.

Some mediums work with a particular spirit guide, while others call upon spirit assistance and wait for one to make contact. To begin each person closes their eyes and holds hands with the person on either side of them, left palm down, right palm up. The circle is not to be broken while the session is in progress and all participants must remain holding hands until the session is ended. Once the medium verbally ends the session all participants are to place their hands face down on the table and give quiet thanks to spirit.

The session will begin after everyone has joined hands and closed their eyes, the medium then calls on spirit for messages and guidance and waits for the portal between the two worlds to open, and words, feelings, auras, smells to occur, confirming there is spirit presence. A voice may be heard, there could be a message for one or more people, or a communal message, there may be sounds such as tapping or bumping, some may feel something touch them. It is necessary to be open to communication in any way shape or form. During a seance one or more participants may find words pop into their head or an image may appear in their mind’s eye. Others may witness an apparition clearly as though someone is physically standing in the room, as no two seances are the same the outcome cannot be anticipated.

On occasion during a seance, someone who has not before beheld any phenomena may find that quite suddenly they become aware and that their nascent abilities have been kick started. This usually happens to someone who has a natural latent ability and just needed the right catalyst to awaken it. Generally a seance will go for one hour, any longer will be tiring for all concerned, especially the leader of the circle. Always treat spirit with dignity and thank those who have come through to assist.

There are certain herbs associated with ghosts, these can be used before ghost hunting, seances and Ouija board participation or psychic work. These herbs can be fresh or dried depending on availability. If using dried herbs, place a container with the herbs in near a window in your home where moonlight streams through, this will charge the herbs before use. The herbs to use are bamboo, althea, anise, balsam tree, pipsissewa, sandalwood, dandelion, catnip, thistle, willow, wormwood and tobacco.

When you embark on your search for spirits and ghosts, do so with love in your heart. You are entering a portal of multiple dimensions and entities, proceed with care, dignity, reverence, and respect for the ethereal encounters that await. When you ask for guidance and receive a response, make sure you thank those who travel through the portal to assist you on your life path.

Old Ancestral Magik