The thought of living in a haunted house may conjure up horrifying scenes of possessed dolls or blood streaming down walls, and while actually cohabitating with the deceased—per those who’ve experienced a supernatural presence and lived to tell their tales to AD—is perhaps a bit less cinematic, it’s no less terrifying.
Chelsea Smith hated the Palmdale, California, home her parents rented in the spring of 1997 from the moment she first stepped inside at the age of seven. She recalls seeing figures and hearing the doors to the Jack-and-Jill bathroom she shared with her sister, Courtney, slam in succession. Courtney remembers the TV and faucets turning on randomly. One day, when the family was enjoying some time together at the home’s pool, Chelsea went into the house alone, and upon heading for the exit to rejoin her family outside, she saw that the sliding glass door, which she had left open, was closed, locked, and secured with a dowel rod. Even then, her parents insisted that shadows or the air conditioner, not a supernatural presence, were to blame for the strange occurrences.
For those who believe their homes are haunted, dealing with the problem can be a bit trickier than handling other household issues. While everyone believes in bedbugs, the same cannot be said for ghosts. According to a 2021 YouGov poll, 41% of Americans believe that ghosts exist, and about 20% say they have encountered one. Jane Phillips, a paranormal investigator, psychic medium, and medical intuitive, says that common signs of paranormal activity include hearing noises, seeing dark shadows in the house or on outdoor cameras, and a general feeling of unease.
MacKenzie Koncher, a paranormal investigator and cofounder of XX Paranormal Communications, an all-female paranormal team based in Colorado, says that people might feel like they’re being watched or as though someone else is in the room. “We hear a lot about things moving,” she says. “Like, ‘This picture fell off the wall, and I keep hanging it, but it keeps flying off the wall.’” Koncher’s fellow paranormal investigator at XX, Christine Hendrickson, says that in her experience, children can be particularly perceptive when it comes to sensing paranormal activity.
It was one of the family’s more surreal experiences in the house that finally convinced Chelsea and Courtney’s parents that something was wrong; five-year-old Courtney exhibited a strange behavior once after getting out of the shower. “My mom says my face just went kind of blank, and I just kept repeating, ‘I don’t want to die, but I know I have to,’” says Courtney. “Then she said as quickly as my face had gone blank, I blinked, came to, and had no idea what she was talking about.” The family, who had planned to buy the house, moved out shortly after. “This is how you know Courtney was the favorite because I had been complaining for almost an entire year that the house is haunted,” jokes Chelsea. While the Smith family opted to leave their ghosts behind, there are other things you can try before calling the movers.
Learn to live together
While a person’s initial instinct may be to “bust” the ghost, Koncher suggests a gut check. “I would ask the person, Is what you’re experiencing uncomfortable?” she says. “Does it give you a feeling that it’s negative or bad, or do you feel like you can coexist with this spirit?”