Residual Hauntings and a Crazy Thought

Currently, its accepted that a residual haunting is the recording of an event on the environment due to the experience of a traumatic death or a repetitive event that took place at the location.  Later, when conditions are the same as when the event was recorded, or the right person comes along and the recording plays back.  Some put a lot of focus on the observer of residual haunting, suspecting that they have some sort of psychic ability, are sensitive to electromagnetic energy, or somehow are just be able to pick up the recording.  It isn't possible to interact with the "ghost" because it is not an active haunting, but rather an imprint or recording.


First, lets review some of the more commonly accepted theories about residual haunting.  I think you’ll notice that there is a common thread between these theories.

• The “Stone Tape” theory gained popularity in the 1970’s due to a televised play called “The Stone Tape”.  Per Wikipedia (which says it better than any way I’ve attempted) “it speculates that inanimate materials can absorb some form of energy from living beings; the hypothesis speculates that this "recording" happens especially during moments of high tension, such as murder, or during intense moments of someone's life. This stored energy can be released, resulting in a display of the recorded activity.” 
• Similar to how a video or cassette tape works (which uses an electromagnet to apply magnetic flux to metal-oxides).  Go here for a detailed explanation of cassette recording: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/audio-music/cassette2.htm.  Rather than a cassette tape, the electromagnetic energy of the location places the recording on the materials in the building or area (slate, granite, metal beams, etc).  
• Energy cannot be created, nor destroyed.  When we die, the energy in our bodies dissipates into the immediate environment surrounding our place of death, or somehow returns to a place we loved (e.g. home).  That energy isn’t intelligent enough to interact, but retains memory.  When someone comes into a place where this energy exists, their mind is temporarily taken over by the memories of this energy.  Most believe this person must have brainwaves similar or the same as the energy (as the deceased individual had while they were alive).  Basically, a case of memory possession.
• Similar to the above, an event is so traumatic that the emotional and mental energy expended by the experiencers of this event leave an imprint on the environment.
• Genius Loci - basically the spirit of a place that is formed by all who have walked its halls, whether they are living or dead, still there or long absent.  This theory basically says that is not any one person or one event, but rather a sum of all the people who have been to a location and give it its "personality."

Residual hauntings can be of every day rather mundane events, while others may more traumatic and emotionally charged; however, the witnessed activity will be very consistent and may occur in at the exact same each time at equal intervals; of course, as with anything, there are exceptions to the rule.  Some of the more common phenomena include footsteps in the hallway or on the stairs, smelling perfume, seeing a figure, hearing sounds or voices, or the event may be much more intense up to a full "playback" of an event.  Many battlefields have stories of visitors witnessing a reenactment only to find out later that there wasn't a reenactment planned for that day and that no one else was out on the battlefield; this is considered to be a form of residual haunting.


To briefly review the common characteristics of residual hauntings:

•  All senses may be involved, but touch is the least common with visual and auditory being the most common.
• The haunting is not "intelligent" and cannot interact with, manipulate, or influence the environment.
• Communication is not possible between the haunting and the observer
• Activity seems to be fairly consistent, following the same pattern over and over again (again there can be exceptions to this)

Common locations of residual haunting activity include:

• Commonly used areas of a location (doorways, stairs, hallways)
• Locations where intensely emotional events occurred (battlefields, hospitals, murder locations)

With all that said, I don't think every case of a residual haunting can be explained by one of the above theories, which all pretty much include some sort of recording on the environment.  Much like rare medical syndromes, maybe some of them are being misdiagnosed.  Is it possible that what some people decide is a residual haunting is something more profound, more amazing?  Dare I say it?  Inter-dimenstional bleed through, time warps, wormholes, synchronicity between time lines....

Actually, I think that ghosts, hauntings, UFOs, and many other paranormal entities/phenomena have something in common.  There is more to this world than has been dreamt of in our philosophies.  When you get down to it, everything on this planet, in this universe is made up of the same stuff.  Nothing is as separate as we think or wish, and nothing is as simple as we would like.  Maybe that's best saved for another blog entry....