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It’s easy to be so swept up in the mystery and adventure of ghost hunting, our eagerness actually gets in the way.
Like so many other aspects of life, if we have very specific expectations and insist it has to happen when, where, and exactly how we’ve decided it should…
Well, it might prevent us from noticing the breadcrumbs.
Or from noticing what’s right in front of us.
As author Andrew Green suggested, apparitions can be quirky.
Almost always, when I’ve seen them, it’s when I didn’t expect them.
Of course, each ghost hunter may think of “apparitions” differently.
The Oxford dictionary defines apparition as:
apparition: a ghost or ghostlike image of a person.
But what is “ghostlike” for you?
- A shadow person?
- A fleeting, translucent white figure?
- A solid-looking person, who appears to be in outdated clothing (if it’s a historical ghost)?
I’ve seen all three.
The most notable shadow person seemed so real, I thought it was an actual, cast shadow. (You can see that photo – and learn more about shadow people – at my Ghosts 101 article, Are Shadow People Dangerous?)
This short video explains a little more about apparitions:
Want to See an Apparition? #shorts
Quick tips about what ghosts might (and might not) look like.
(See more ghost-related videos at my YouTube channel: Ghost Hunting with Fiona Broome.)
In our current, short-term home, which we jokingly call “the Amityville apartment,” we regularly see fleeting, translucent figures. I’m pretty sure they’re residual energy. They seem to be accessing other parts of the building through closets that – in the Victorian era – probably led to other rooms. We usually see them so fleetingly, they’re gone by the time we realize no one else was in that room, and it wasn’t a trick of the light.
Solid-looking apparitions are incredibly rare. I’m sure I’ve seen one, and possibly more. The problem is, they look so real, it’s easy to confuse them with actual, living people wearing costumes. (I talked about that recently, in connection with costume parties and reenactments.)
My point is: Whether you’re looking for apparitions or something else that’s ghostly, it’s best to relax.
Drop your expectations.
Be open to the cues, clues, and actual anomalies that can appear when we least expect them.
That can be the difference between a disappointing investigation and a wildly successful one.