Do you think your home might be haunted? Perhaps your flat gets strangely cold at night? Does your apartment develop eerily dark shadows or do you sometimes catch sight of things just at the corner of your sight when you’re awake at midnight?

If you do believe your house is haunted then you might be interested in researching what type of ghost, monster or entity is living with you. Myth and legend has plenty of stories about these horrors and those who do believe know that there are different types of haunting.

#1: Poltergeist

Thanks to the movie Poltergeist this particular ghost is well known but not well understood. If you’re worried that the ghosts on this list don’t seem very “English” then keep in mind that poltergeist is a German ghost. It means; “noisy ghost”.

For the most part Poltergeists are more troublesome than they’re are powerful. They’re the ghosts that knock books off shelves or pans off tables. If you think you’re seeing things when you’re home alone then it won’t be a poltergeist.

Many paranormal investigators who believe in ghosts do not believe in poltergeists. They’ll suggest that the effects of apparent poltergeist activity are almost always rogue psychokinesis from a source elsewhere in the house.

Artisan Witchcrafts on Etsy sell ”Spirits Depart” a folk hoodoo oil that mentions Poltergeists.

#2: Lady in Grey

There are many “Lady in…” ghosts The Lady in Grey, The Lady in White, The Lady in Green and the Lady in Red just to name a few. The colour normally applies to some sort of characteristic of the apparition. The Lady in Grey is the most common and typically manifests as a visual phantasm that can be seen floating down a corridor.

The Lady in Grey can usually be seen (unlike a Poltergeist). The spirit is usually trapped after some sort of wrong-doing. Famous Ladies in Grey include one at Bishops Stortford in England, one in Cumberland College in Dunedin, New Zealand, Denbigh Castle in Wales, Glamis Castle in Scotland and Rufford Old Hall in Lancashire in England.

There are tourism opportunities with some famous Lady in Grey encounters. Sites like Red Letter Days offer ghost tours. That said; it’s not generally advised to mention such a haunting if you are trying to sell your own house.

#3: Bhoot

Known either as bhoot or bhut this is a ghost that is too restless to carry on to nirvana, heaven, hell or non-being. It can be the case that a funeral not to the liking of the spirit will create a Bhoot.

Bhoots normally look human but can take the form of almost any animal. They frequently haunt houses and the term “bhoot bungalows” or “bhoot banglas” are used in India to describe such places.

The main danger from Bhoots is their obsession with milk. They wish to immerse themselves in milk and bhoot-contaminated milk is the usual path to bhoost-possessed humans.

Bhoots dislike the ground and will take measures to avoid touching it. Some bhoot have feet that point backwards and they may cast no shadow. It is said that bhoots fear iron object and the scent of burnt turmeric. As it happens Tulasi Turmeric Incense is regularly available at Amazon.

#4: Churel

Churel are ghosts of women who died in childbirth. As such these ghosts are often associated with homes and hospitals. In some parts of the world the word Churel (or chudel) is also used to mean witch.

Churel look horrible but can disguise themselves as beautiful young women. They do so to seduce young men; draining them of blood and semen to age them prematurely and use their life-energy.

Churel are often associated with impurity too and while cleaning a home is not enough to turn back a Churel keeping a home clean is a good first step.

It is said that four iron nails used to support red flowers have been used to restrain churel entities in the gravesite where their body is buried. Iron nail vases aren’t a think and so a trip to B&Q online may be necessary.

#5: Tikoloshe

Tikoloshe are small water spirits that can completely vanish into drinking water. Almost exclusively, Tikoloshe are summoned by someone to scare and harass others.

Typically offending a local witch doctor (or equivalent) is the usual path to troubles with Tikoloshe. Another witch doctor is usually able to unsummon the spirit and in Zulu mythology n’anga will perform these.

Another way to defend against a Tokoloshe is to put a brick under each leg of the target’s bed. This protects the target while they rest on the bed but not others in the household.

#6: Di Fu Ling

Di Fu Ling are ghosts that have been bound to a certain place. This binding may be natural such as the Di Fu Ling ghost haunting a location it had strong ties to in life or may be unnatural such as the unwelcome invention of someone else.

It is believed that chanting “hum, hum, hum, hum” as a very basic mantra, the foundation of many prayers and spells, can be enough to offer you some protection from Di Fu Ling class entities. Keeping the lights, especially red candles on the window (better still; outside your house), is another method of prevention associated with these spirits.

As it happens a lot of the practises recommended by Feng Shui align to many of the defences against these location bound spirits. Sites like Buy FengShui.com offer a range of talismans, coins and crystals.

#7: Phi Tai Hong

Phi Tai Hong are ghosts of those who have died suddenly or unexpectedly. It tends to be the case that such deaths are violent, horrible and sometimes murder. They are one of the hardest entities to exorcise.
The worst incarnation of a Phi Tai Hong is a Phi Tai Hong Tong Glom or Phi Tai Tong Glom which are ghosts of women who died giving birth and who lost her child at the same time. They’ve the strength.

Those who believe and know about ghosts of this nature will warn that they are very hard to get rid of. Where one cannot commit to exorcism a handmade Protection Amulet may be a necessary stop gap.

#8: Bogles

It is the Bogles from where we get the phrase Bogeyman. These are entities with a temper and a dislike of children – especially those who are lazy, commit crimes or disobey their mothers. Bogles strike households by teasing and tricking people, driving them more angry and unstable or possibly even insane.

There are some who believe that bogles are a type of fairy and therefore can’t really be removed from the house. They can only be appeased. Growing up or being more obedient to one’s family would be the Bogles’ recommended approach. Leaving gifts out for Bogles will not work; as such gifts only create more clutter which the Bogle will object too.

#9: Lemures

Lemures are shades and spirits out for revenge. They wander the Earth and will come to haunt houses they have no previous association with.

The supposed cries and nocturnal activities of the dreadful Lemures are the inspiration for the name “Lemur”. Lemurs are cute, active at night, primates native to Madagascar. Lemures are formless and associated with darkness.

In ancient Roman times the head of the household would throw black beans out of the doorway, without looking, at midnight to distract the evil Lemures. It was believed then that the spirits would feast on the beans as a substitute for life source.

Borlotti beans, also known as Roman beans, are native to the Mediterranean but are not naturally black. Black Turtle beans are and work well in Latin American cuisine. Either way; services like Graze or Hello Fresh which can supply households with a regular shipment of beans may be useful to anyone worrying about Lemures.

#10: Quod Possederunt

One translation of “Quad Possederent” from Latin to English is simply “Possessed Object”. It may well be the case that the entity causing a disturbance in the house is neither associated with the location or any of the people in it. The horror may be associated with a particular item.

Haunted items are fairly common. It is possible to find tens of thousands of listings for haunted objects on Ebay at any given time although most of those so-called “haunted dolls” are nothing more than a seller’s attempt to earn some extra pennies.

In most cases the cure is straight forward – get rid of the item. This isn’t always the case. Sometimes the item will ‘fight back’. Other cases of Quad Possederunt require the items to be disposed of in a special way. Often a straight forward, if unpleasant method, to remove the spirit is to gift the haunted object to someone else.

In Pure Spirit

How many of this list of 10 entities did you know about already? Would you add any more?

Do you worry that there is something haunting your home? Do you believe in any of this or is this all just superstitious nonsense?

 

Image Credit: Lord Orgl for Haunting and Debu of Course Who Else for the Churel. Pictures via Deviant Art.