Debi Chestnut - Is Your House Haunted?: Poltergeists, Ghosts or Bad Wiring

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

Is Your House Haunted? Poltergeists, Ghosts or Bad Wiring 2011 by Debi Chestnut.

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First e-book edition 2011

E-book ISBN: 9780738728599

Cover images: House: iStockphoto.com/Christine Glade, Girl: iStockphoto.com/Debi Bishop

Cover design by Lisa Novak

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Your House Could Be Haunted If...

A Brief History of Ghosts

What Kind of Haunting Is It?

Types of Ghosts

How to Talk to Your Children About Ghosts

Gathering Proof

Research the Past

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About the Paranormal

Whats a Person to Do, or Not Do, as the Case May Be?

When and Where to Get Help

The Bottom Line

I dedicate this book to my husband, Lonnie, for his patience; to James and the rest of the team at Black River Paranormal for their assistance and friendship; to all of the spirits Ive met on my journey; and, most of all, to my readers, who make it all worthwhile.

Happy hauntings!

Because I grew up in a house occupied by spirits, I understand how terrifying such an experience can be. However, most spirits are friendly and dont mean to scare us. Its just that weve been conditioned since childhood to be afraid of ghosts, and in some cases that fear is justified. Yet when it comes to spirits, fear is your real enemy. Some spirits feed off the fear and become stronger. Your best defense is to show no fear and deal with spirits in a logical, calm, and assertive manner.

How do I know this? Im a sensitive. To put it bluntly, I was born with the ability to see and talk to dead people. Ive also been a paranormal researcher for the past twenty-five years.

One of my earliest memories as a child is of a ghost named Nathaniel, who lived on the second story, which was only used for storage, of my great-aunts home in southeastern Michigan. Nathaniel and I spent countless hours up there playing amongst the books, furniture, and other miscellaneous items that, as a child, I found fascinating. Nathaniel was my first best friend.

Other spirits who visited me in the dark of night, however, were not so friendly, and I can remember being terrorized by them. They would wake me up and loom by my bed, asking for help. At that age, I had no idea how to help them.

My parents were fond of museums, antique stores, and other places filled with history, and we would often visit these places on the weekends. For me, these trips were torturous. Spirits would come forward and surround me. They always wanted something, and I still dont know what that something was. They would touch my hair, my shoulders, and be right up in my face yelling at me to help them. This would scare me, and it soon led me to being punished, because I became almost hysterical wanting to get out of there. You see, back when I was a child, most people didnt know how to deal with a gifted or psychic child, and we were often labeled mentally ill.

From the time I was four or five years old, my parents, who had adopted me when I was a baby, took me from psychiatrist to psychiatrist trying to find out what was wrong with me. Finally, when none of them had answers, and my parents refused to institutionalize me, my gifts were chalked up to an overactive imagination. A psychiatrist told my parents as much, but I know he knew the truth. My parents were comfortable with his answer and were relieved that I wasnt mentally disturbed, so they accepted his label for me: I was a creative child with an overactive imagination. It worked for them.

I think I was one of the lucky ones, because I cant imagine how many children in the 1950s and 1960s were institutionalized because they were gifted. I learned quickly how to hide my gifts, and I spent a lot of my childhood living in quiet terror of the ghostly specters who frequently visited my room.

As I got older, I learned how to help them and how to communicate with them, but this was not by choiceit was by necessity. I also learned how to control my gift and only let in the spirits I wanted, when I wanted. I wish I could share with you how I did that, but honestly I dont know. Its different for everyone who can do what I do, who sees what I see. We all come up with defense mechanisms and ways not only to protect ourselves but also to cope with everyday life. For me, everyday life includes dealing with the ghosts and spirits of people who have passed on.

As an adult, I honed my abilities so that I could help people who are experiencing paranormal events and dont know or understand how to deal with them. This led me to the field of paranormal research.

Its been my experience that ghosts and spirits mostly want to be acknowledged in some way. Sometimes they have a message they want to convey, and other times I think they are as curious about me as I am about them.

Almost all of the e-mails and telephone conversations I have with people who may be experiencing the paranormal start out with one of two sentences: Youre going to think Im crazy or This may sound weird, but . . . The truth is youre not going crazy, and weird is pretty much my normal.

Thousands of people, if not hundreds of thousands of people, are living in fear of possible ghosts or spirits in their homes. A 2007 poll by the Associated Press revealed that one in three Americans believe in ghosts. Another poll by Pew Research showed that almost one in five Americans believe they have been in the presence of a ghost or have seen a ghost. These are quite startling statistics, given that there are more than 300 million people in the United States. Yet what many people dont realize is that help is available. No reason exists for you to live in fear in your own home.

My years as a paranormal researcher have taught me that some people who are living with apparent ghosts or spirits are often either afraid or embarrassed to tell anyone about what theyre experiencing. These people might be worried that whoever they tell will laugh at them, not believe them, or think less of them. The truth of the matter is that no one should have to suffer in silence. Dont be afraid to tell someone what youre experiencing.