If ghosts are real, why are there no new ghosts?” I get this half serious question all the time. It’s usually followed up with a jab about stuffy ghosts from the 1800s. It’s true, the majority of well-known ghost stories are decades or centuries old. It doesn’t mean there are no fresh hauntings. You just don’t hear about them.
For a story to become well-known, it has to be told and retold. It takes time. Haunted hotels and businesses will often try to hide a past. Unless, it’s part of their marketing plan. Many residential hauntings are covered up out of fear or shame. Leaving just the old legends floating around… Until word gets out.
Generally speaking, you won’t find an account of the recently departed coming back to haunt the living unless you go looking for it— or it finds you.
For a story to become well-known, it has to be told and retold
In 2009, I was called on to investigate a possible haunting. The owners of the small rancher were contemplating leaving the home. Their children were being terrorized by unseen forces. The parents hadn’t acutely seen an apparition, but were aware of a strange presence and an uneasy feeling inside the home. Little things would go missing, and they would find the kitchen cabinets open from time to time.
Their two children, however, were being awoken almost nightly by a strange pudgy man standing in their room. They described him as a shadow — a solid shadow — dense and featureless. It was just the three-dimensional outline of a tall fat man. They told me of an over whelming feeling of dreed, and insisted the specter would shake the beds screaming, “Get out of my room.”
The younger of the boys took the brunt of the activity. The entity seemed to take a special interest in the child. Once, he sat alone playing in the bedroom. The phantom appeared in a more complete form, showing the boy his face. It chased him out, and slammed the door just as the child exited the room.
After that incident, things escalated. More objects went missing, and would reappeared in the bedroom. Cabinet doors slammed violently, when no one was in the room. The door to the bedroom would often shut itself, and everyone started seeing a shadow move through the house, cast by an unseen occupant. The situation spiraled wildly out of their control. They reaching a breaking point with no other options, they called a ghost hunter for help.
I began my investigation with a detailed history of the property. I found the only death recorded on the land was that of the last occupant. He died in the room now occupied by the boys. From what neighbors said, he wasn’t the most beloved man. Before his death in 2003, he managed to stir up trouble with everyone on his street. The house sat vacant for a couple of years. Eventually, it was purchased and renovated by a house flipper, who was unwilling to talk about the property.
A little more digging turned up an old photo of the deceased former owner. He matched the description given by the child. He was a tall chunky man with a Fred Flintstone jawline. He had the air of a guy who would preemptively scream at children to not to step foot on his lawn, as they played across the street.
I spent a few nights at the residence conducting EVP experiments, looking for drafts in the kitchen, and checking for EM radiation that would explain the dreed or cause hallucinations. I spent one night completely alone at the residence. The family had checked into a hotel. As I sat on the living room couch, a tapping sound drew my attention to the window. The tapping persisted as I checked the panes. Nothing visible was causing the constant tap tap tap. I could see the pane vibrate as though an invisible finger was hitting the glass, until it abruptly stopped.
I spent the rest of that night in the children’s room with an audio recorder. I sat asking questions, calling the spirit by name. Why it was it tormenting the children? Did it know it was dead? Why didn’t it just leave?
While lying in the room, I heard something move around the house, but it could have been the house settling or me just creeping myself out. Nothing dramatic happened the rest of time I was there.
One night the following week, I was reviewing the audio recordings I’d taken. There were no answers to my questions and long periods of listening static and silence. Then, I heard my name, “Tanner,” said in a low whisper. I startled and fumbled for the buttons on my digital recorder. I listened to it several times to verify what I had heard. I noted it and moved on. “GET OUT” bellowed in an unmistakable class A EVP. It caught me off guard. I almost threw my headphones.
Two EPVs, weird tapping, and a few shadows caught by the camera were the only evidence collected. It wasn’t much, but it did help the family make their final decision. They opted to sell.
We don’t often hear about “new ghosts” because the legend is still being written. Haunted house tales are told and retold by a handful of occupants and neighbors. They take on a life of their own growing with every encounter and every retelling. The stories make their way to schools, churches, and social gathering over the course of several decades. Finally, they make it onto podcasts or television shows, and make their way to your ears. The recently departed are out there. You just won’t hear about them anytime soon.
