Sue St.Clair and Matthew Didier's Paranormal Blog

For a family or individual who is living with a haunting the stress and psychological effects of coping with the unknown can be devastating. Whether the perceived phenomena is natural in your opinion or something supernatural the fear felt by some is very real and must be dealt with in an appropriate manner.

The following is a list of things you can do if you are currently living with a haunting. It is followed by a warning about certain individuals that will attempt to take advantage of or con you if not careful.

1.) The first thing you as a home owner or tenant can do is take ownership of the situation. After all it is your home! State out loud with firmness, but politeness that "This is my home now, you may stay, but the following behaviour is not acceptable ......" Again be firm, but polite. And please do not feel any shame or silliness when doing this. By taking charge not only will you feel empowered, but things tend to quiet down very quickly if not completely stop. Our witnesses have reported an overwhelming success rate with this seemingly simple method. One reason may be that the ghost has no idea it's causing you any fright!

Please remember that real hauntings are not like Hollywood films or Stephen King novels. The types of experiences described in popular media are fictional and designed to thrill and scare people even those so-called reality shows are usually sexed up to make them appear more exciting then they really are. The reality of hauntings is far more mundane and boring. Ask yourself if your fear is based on what might happen as opposed to what is really happening? Many people are quite happy to live with their resident ghost and once they get over their initial fear of the unknown are more curious about the phenomenon than afraid. I know several people that have nicknamed their ghosts and have expressed that they would be sad to see them go!

Also most hauntings that involve poltergeist type phenomena, objects that disappear/reappear, footsteps, bangs and rattles, etc are of short duration. They almost always last only a few months and then gradually stop completely never to occur again. So, hang in there!

2.) If you wish to have someone come into your home and offer a blessing ask your priest or minister to do so. It is their clerical duty, and they will be happy to assist! If you do not have a priest or minister speak to one at a local non-denominational church and again they will be happy to help. All faiths have knowledge of the supernatural and no official will ever ridicule you or your situation. Blessings are almost always offered at no charge or a small affordable donation to the church will be suggested, but not required depending on your own financial circumstances.

3.) If you have already tried the above and still feel you require assistance you may contact:
Spiritualist Church of Canada - http://www.lighthousespiritualcentre.ca/Churches/churchcanada.html
They are not as much a traditional church as a serious group of psychics and sensitives that will help people, if needed, free of charge.

Things that you should never do:

1.) Be very wary of anyone who claims to be an "expert" in ghost removal and wishes to charge you a fee for their services. Simply put, these types of phenomena are unknown and NOBODY can guarantee a clearing will work. If anything we have received complaints from people over the years who have told us that the clearing not only didn't work, but has seemingly escalated the activity!

There are also many charlatans and con artists who will prey on people's fears and take advantage of them during troubled times.

Please consider the following:

I received a complaint from a young family who spent several hundreds of dollars on the services of a very media friendly "ghost buster" in Southern Ontario and (the family) still have a ghost "problem." Additionally the family through their own research have found out the story given them by the "ghost buster" is historically impossible. I have suggested that they contact the police fraud squad as they feel they are the victims of a con artist. Unfortunately, they are just one of many who believe they were "taken in" after the fact. The worst to date that was reported to us was a widow living on a fixed income, who contacted us in tears after spending her entire savings of $6000.00 on various self-proclaimed psychics and shaman and still had a haunting to contend with. On a personal level this was heartbreaking for me. And no, she never recovered her money.

The "ghost buster" involved with the family mentioned above has many media credits, and this otherwise intelligent, nice family were fooled into thinking that this "house clearer" was well respected and legitimate because they saw him on television and an article about him was printed in a large, very well known, respectable newspaper. Please remember long lists of media credits usually equal media whoring not legitimacy, knowledge, expertise, ethics or morality when it comes to the "paranormal."

2.) It is NOT a good idea to try and use Ouija boards or other devices to "communicate" with your ghost/s. As a general rule, Ouija seems to exasperate the problems more than solve them.

We at Pararesearchers are focused on research, investigation, and documentation of reported paranormal activity. We will assist you if possible in finding ways to cope with your own situation and any personal information collected by us is covered under our privacy policy, which is compliant with current Ontario laws. Please feel free to contact us at any time admin@pararesearchers.org You will never be charged any kind of fee whatsoever by us, our parent organization PSICAN, or our sister website The Toronto Ghosts & Hauntings Research Society. It is highly beneficial to discuss what one is experiencing with others who understand what you are going through and can provide a sympathetic ear. You are not alone, many others are going through or have gone through what you are experiencing right now and have learned to come to terms with it. Remember that ghosts and hauntings have been reported for thousands of years and are indeed a natural extension of the human experience.