Is My House Haunted? How to Find Out

By PropertyClub Team
Jul 19th 2024
If you recently bought a home but feel like something isn’t right, you probably want to know whether there’s a chance that your house is haunted. Here's how to find out if your house is haunted and what to do if it is.

hash-markTable of Contents

How To Find Out If Your House Is Haunted Online
Finding If Your House Is Haunted: Key Questions
Can I Sue Someone For Selling Me a Haunted House?
What Should I Do If My House Is Haunted?
What Should You Do If You Can’t Get Rid Of A Hostile Ghost?
Is My House Haunted? Bottom Line

hash-markHow To Find Out If Your House Is Haunted Online

If you think your house might be haunted, you can quickly find out if someone died in your house online. Several websites exist that allow you to get complete records for a small fee. One thing you need to be aware of is that getting the full record of deaths in the home isn’t always possible. Sometimes, a house is too old, and records from the 19th century weren’t always reliable. 

Determining if a house is haunted is a subjective experience that typically involves a combination of personal feelings, strange occurrences, and sometimes historical research. While there's no scientific method to confirm a haunting definitively, here are some common signs and steps to consider.

Common Signs of a House Being Haunting

  1. Unexplained Noises

    • Sounds like footsteps, knocks, bangs, or whispers with no identifiable source.
  2. Temperature Changes

    • Sudden, unexplained cold spots or drafts in certain areas of the house.
  3. Unusual Odors

    • Strange smells like perfume, cigar smoke, or rotting food that cannot be traced to a source.
  4. Objects Moving

    • Items disappearing and reappearing in different places, or objects moving on their own.
  5. Strange Behavior from Pets

    • Animals acting unusually scared, agitated, or focused on something invisible.
  6. Feeling of Being Watched

    • A persistent sensation that someone is watching you when no one is around.
  7. Electrical Disturbances

    • Flickering lights, electronics turning on and off by themselves, or batteries draining rapidly.
  8. Visual Phenomena

    • Seeing shadows, apparitions, or unexplained lights.

While many signs of a house being haunting can have logical explanations, the persistent presence of unexplained phenomena might lead you to suspect something paranormal. Investigating thoroughly, documenting experiences, and consulting with professionals can help you understand and address these occurrences. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, ensuring your home feels safe and comfortable is the most important thing.

hash-markFinding If Your House Is Haunted: Key Questions

Trying to handle a ghost in your house is not exactly the most normal issue that you could have. However, it’s still an issue you need to be aware of. There’s no single way to figure out if it’s legitimately haunted. With that said, these questions can help you find the truth.

1. Can you find out if someone died in the house?

One of the easiest ways to get a partial confirmation of a haunting is to ask your real estate agent if someone died in the house. In several states, your agent has the legal obligation to tell you if a home has a “stigma” attached to it. 

If you aren’t in an area where Stigma Laws exist, your best bet is to uncover what state records have to say about deaths in the home.

2. Should you ask your neighbors?

YES! Most of the time, long-term neighbors can tell you volumes about the family who last lived there. In most small towns, neighbors talk about what’s going on. If your house has a reputation for being haunted, it’s your neighbors who will be most likely to let you know. 

3. Should you hire a psychic?

If your neighbors remain mum on the topic, then a psychic might be able to help you out. However, there are a lot of people claiming to be psychic who aren’t. In some cases, it may end up being a cheap bid for money. So, if you choose to go this route, you may want to check a reference or two. 

hash-markWhat Should I Do If My House Is Haunted?

The first thing you should do is stop panicking. Though your home may be haunted, there are some things that you might want to try to make life easier. The following steps can be remarkably helpful.

1. Stay Calm

If your house is haunted, it's important to stay calm. Fear can amplify experiences, so remaining calm and rational is essential to handling the situation. If you believe in spirits, you can also calmly ask them to leave or set boundaries.

2. Determine if the Ghost is Friendly or Hostile

First, determine if the ghost is friendly. In many cases, ghosts are friendly and mean no harm. In these cases, learning to live with them is often the best option. Sometimes, just asking them to tone down their activity can do the trick. 

If the ghost is clearly hostile, try to tell it to leave. Believe it or not, it works in a lot of cases. A firm voice will usually help make the ghost realize that you are serious. 

3. Cleanse the Space

Should the ghost get violent or otherwise scare the daylights out of you, try to do a home cleansing or blessing. At this point, you have a hostile entity in your room and it’s not happy. You need to find a way to oust it if you want to live in your home peacefully. 

4. Consult a Professional

If your ghost is unfriendly or you notice extreme hostility, contact a professional or a spiritual leader immediately. Any spiritual expert will be able to help out or at least refer you to someone who can help cleanse the home of whatever is fighting you. 

Should You Use A Ouija Board To Talk To The Ghost?

Absolutely not. Ouija boards are not safe and can actually act as a portal to open up the spiritual door to other less-friendly ghosts. Do not even think of bringing one into your home. If you don’t believe us, just Google some of the horror stories that can come with a ouija board. 

hash-markCan I Sue Someone For Selling Me a Haunted House?

If you find out that you were sold a haunted house, it might be possible to file a lawsuit against the seller. However, you will need to live in a state where there is a legal requirement to tell people about any stigmatized events that may have occurred within the home—and that can include deaths or reported hauntings. 

In most cases, you may also have to prove that you asked about this home’s history to the seller or real estate agent. With that said, the chances of being able to win this are slim, and there are a lot of hurdles you may have to overcome.   

hash-markWhat Should You Do If You Can’t Get Rid Of A Hostile Ghost?

Ghosts can almost always be forced out by a person. If you’ve had no luck with typical methods, it might not be a ghost. Ghosts are people who passed on. While it’s highly unlikely, there is a chance that you might have something that was never human to begin with. The best thing that you can do with a paranormal entity that’s something inhuman is to call a professional. 

Of course, there are times when you just aren’t getting good results regardless of what you do. If this is the case with your haunting, you might be better off selling your home. 

hash-markIs My House Haunted? Bottom Line

When you first move in somewhere, it’s so easy to psyche yourself out and start asking yourself if your house is haunted. What was that weird noise you heard in the middle of the night? Was that your curtain or a ghostly figure? Before you assume your house is haunted, try to figure out what mundane issues could be causing the seemingly paranormal activity. Some of the more common reasons for things that go “bump” in the night include the house settling, lousy plumbing, or temperature changes. If things still seem to be going strangely after you call a handyman, then you might need to do a little investigation.