Ghosts are often misinterpreted or underestimated by more people than you would think. Many of us at SPRG have been made the subject of fun by our colleagues, friends or even family, "ghosts don't exist" they'll say, "what a load of rubbish" they'll say. "Well, come on a investigation and really see what happens! " is what we would say!

However we can tell you that, ghosts or spirits can go far beyond the predictable stereotypes of "white sheets" or "rattling chains". Here we will break down as much information as possible as to what ghosts are, and how they are perceived and sometimes misunderstood, remember it's the living that hurt you.....not the dead.

Types of ghosts:- First of all there is the traditional haunting ghost. These are ghosts that will appear in the same building, area or house and be visible by by different people at different time. Usually if a person felt very comfortable in their surroundings whilst in this life, its common that they will come back to haunt where they felt happiest, their home if you will. Some will have a purpose or others will be like a stuck record, who will just keep doing the same thing over and over. On rare occasions the spirit may try its best to spook current residents or inhabitants and force them out of the buildings or houses, as some ghosts don't realise they have passed over, and wonder why these people seem to be in their space. Although this is rare, many spirits may just be happy going about their business as they once did.

 Anniversary ghosts are very common indeed, and are sighted every year all over the world at specific dates or times, usually to coincide with an event from days gone by. There are reports of  unexplainable eerie noises on famous empty battlefields around the world such as Dunkirk in France, and even Battle Abbey in Hastings and there have been many reports of civil war re-enactments in the USA over time. Apparently every 4th November, the ghost of one of Henry VIII's wives Catherine Howard, is said to run through the gallery at Hampton Court Palace, sobbing and pleading for her life to be spared. Also many executions that occurred at Tower Bridge in London over the years, are said to be eerily re-enacted on given times and dates.

Poltergeists are considered to be very active and very dangerous entities. Most of the time poltergeist activity can be the result of a very oppressive negative energy that will manifest into a force that will move objects, or break things. Objects involved in poltergeist activity can behave in strange ways, objects may appear where you wouldn't expect them to, or suddenly become very hot to handle, or just appear in mid-air and crash to the ground. This can be a nasty destructive spirit who is trying to make a point, or as mentioned an energy or emotion. More on energy in a moment. On rare occasions some poltergeists have been known to physically harm humans, this very serious when this happens, although its rare, it has happened, and exorcisms have known to be carried out to clear the spirit or move it on.

Crisis Ghosts/spirits appear as visions or apparitions, sometimes a witness may see a vision of a friend or relative, that may be in trouble, suffering or near death, despite the fact that the person may actually be miles away, this is usually the time around death, and is very common.

Residual Energy is very fascinating indeed, particularly in older buildings where certain emotional  events have occurred over time and these emotions and feelings are absorbed and stored in the fabrics of the building, almost like a filling system of events or early tape recorder. This is normally how a sensitive will pick up on what the building used to be, or even in as much detail as what occurred there. The stronger the energy the more a sensitive is likely to pick up, for example Angie managed to feel an oppressive feel to the air and felt lots of pain and suffering upon entering the building on our first visit to arundel gaol in November of 2005, the rest of us felt very uneasy here anyway. Residual energy can be very strong in buildings such as old prisons, manor houses, castles, theatres.....basically anywhere where people have constantly passed through over time, this is why ghost sightings are very common on staircases for example in older buildings due the constant use over the years. A sensitive can also pick up residual energy from objects that may have belonged to someone and almost tell a story about an event or whom the object belonged to.

Guardian Ghosts are not really anything to be afraid of. Most commonly a guardian spirit will be a recently departed friend or relative who will return to "haunt" a person in which they feel close to, and watch over them until they feel their work is done. Many people have had dreams or brief visitations of a friend or loved one who will pass on a message, or just reassure them that they are ok where they are. If in a dream you see lost loved ones or friends, and for no reason you hear music, or experience unusually bright lights this is deemed to be them actually making contact with you and just stopping by to say hi. Children are the most receptive to this type of spirits. There have been many reports of parents saying that they have caught their children talking to "nothing" in their rooms, or playing with their "imaginary" friends, alarmingly the children always seem to name them and can become agitated if they are told to stop being silly, there's no such thing etc... More often that not it will be a genuine spirit that is watching over them and communicating with them, some spirits have been known to educate the children and help them during their early stages in life. Most commonly it will be grandparents or great grandparents.

Well for now we hope this has been of some use, as to what it is we look for and what answers we are trying to get from our investigations. Soon, check back for recommended equipment to take with you should you choose to investigate a haunted location for yourself. Until then, thanks for believing, the SPRG team.

SPRG 2007