To many people, paranormal activity, and especially the possibility of seeing a ghost, sounds fun and exciting. There are some, however, for whom these occurences are very real, and often unwanted. Such things as strange noises, lights turning on and off by themselves and seeing ghostly figures are just a few ways that paranormal activity can be detected. The hard part is proving that such activity is caused by something out of this world.

The most commonly reported types of paranormal activity are ghostly hauntings, of which there are two types: conscious and residual. There are many widely varied theories on how hauntings start and how people become ghosts. One of the prevailing theories states that the ghost, for whatever reason, does not know that he or she is actually dead and, therefore, either refuses or is unable to leave the physical plain. This belief is widely accepted because it accounts not only for the presence of the entity, but also for the disruptive and confrontational nature of many hauntings.

Conscious hauntings are just as their name suggests. In these cases, the ghost is aware of the people and things in its environment and can interact with the living as it pleases. Such ghosts are usually the most active and therefore most frightening, although accounts of apparently benevolent and welcoming entities have been reported. Conscious hauntings have been linked with poltergeist activity, which will be discussed later in this article.

A residual haunting is quite a different matter. In this type of haunting, the ghost is believed to be stuck in their own time in history, reliving a specific event or action over and over again. The event is often traumatic or otherwise highly energized and therefore has literally left an energy imprint on the exact place where it occurred. The resulting paranormal activity appears to be on a loop and happens like clockwork at certain times of day, year, etc. While residuals can be just as disruptive to everyday life as conscious hauntings, the ghosts involved are not aware of the effect they have on their modern day surroundings.

The most common ways to stop either type of haunting are usually religious in nature. That said, there are basic elements to all of these methods which suggest that they can be tailored to suit any religion. They almost always involve addressing the ghost directly and informing them that they are dead and can no longer hold onto their place in this world. If necessary, the homeowner can be forceful and order the entity to leave. Success is not guaranteed and depends on many factors, including the strength of the homeowner's command and the strength of the ghost's hold on the property.

About as common as hauntings is poltergeist activity. The world "poltergeist," in German, literally means "noisy ghost," and such activity is usually of a physical nature. Objects will be picked up and moved by unseen hands, doors will open and slam, walls will be knocked on, etc. While this activity is often associated with conscious hauntings, this is not always the case, and so it deserves its own category.

A possible explanation for poltergeist activity, other than a haunting, is telekinesis, the ability to move objects with one's mind. It is theorized, in these cases, that at least one person in the affected household possesses telekinetic power. At moments of high stress or emotion, this power manifests itself by moving objects, slamming doors, etc. This is usually difficult to prove, however, as in many cases, the people in the afflicted household may be unaware of their telekinetic powers and have had no similar experiences prior to the poltergeist activity.

Paranormal activity can be confirmed or denied with a thorough investigation. The job of a paranormal investigator is to rule out all possible worldly explanations for the percieved activity. To help in this task, they employ the use of many tools, inluding cameras, tape recorders and other devices.

It is very common for paranormal investigators to designate "hot spots," places where the most paranormal activity has been reported. Here, they usually leave a camera or a tape recorder and allow it to record for the duration of the investigation, which can last several hours. Thermal cameras that measure heat are often used to detect cold spots, which sometimes indicate the presence of a ghost. Tape recorders often catch electronic voice phenomena, or EVPs. These sounds, usually voices, occur at a lower frequency than is audible to the human ear and therefore go undetected during the investigation only to be discovered later upon reviewing the evidence.

Another commonly used device is one that measures electro-magnetic fields. It is believed that, when paranormal activity occurs, it costs the ghost a fair amount of energy, which it needs to draw from its surroundings. Many investigators believe this is detectable by noting changes in the electro-magnetic field reading of a given room. To determine this, the investigator first gets a base reading and then takes note of any considerable changes.

The subject of paranormal activity spans over a wide range of topics and theories. What you've read in this article has barely scratched the surface. If you wanted to learn more, there are many places to look such as the internet, your local library and even paranormal television shows such as SciFi's Ghost Hunters and Travel Channel's Most Haunted (check your local listings). Finally, hauntings are so common that, if you ask, I'm sure you'll find that some of your friends have ghostly encounters of their own to share.