How to Get a Ghost out of Your House

Last Updated: March 10, 2023 References Approved

Not everyone believes in ghosts, but for those that do a haunting can be scary business. This article gives some pointers for how to determine if your house is haunted, how to rule out common (and not paranormal) causes of a ghostly visitor and how to get rid of one if you do have a ghost.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Gathering Evidence

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Record your experiences. Once you've gotten rid of any natural causes, you will need to catalog your haunting to better understand how to deal with it.
- Use a record player to try to communicate with the haunting. Ask it questions and record it to see if the ghost answers. It won't always, but you may be given some sort of message which can help with getting rid of it. You will want to ask easy questions with simple answers, usually yes or no. This is simplest if you try to communicate with the ghost by asking questions and having it answer with knocking. Ask it to use one knock for yes and two knocks for no.
- Take photos of the areas where you experience the haunting to see if anything turns up in the final image. Use a flash when you're in a dark space, like a room, otherwise your camera will only capture darkness. Otherwise, it is best to rely on natural lighting so that lens flare doesn't confuse you. Remember that often ghostly seeming orbs and other phenomena are often simply dust on the camera lens, or light refracting from dust particles in the air.
2
Have someone corroborate your findings. See if your family members, or roommates sense and see similar things to you. Do they hear ghostly footsteps, a knock on the bedroom door, or other manifestations? Try not to influence them with your own findings.
- If you can find a reputable ghost hunter or psychic, talk to them about what you've discovered and see what they think. If you can afford it, have them come to your house and see what they can find separate from your experiences.
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Don't be disappointed if your haunting turns out to be nothing. As any reputable ghost hunter will tell you, most of the ghostly visitations turn out to have a natural explanation. That doesn't mean ghosts don't exist!

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Getting the Ghost to Leave

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Be confident when dealing with your ghost. Like animals, ghosts are supposed to react to and feed off of fear. Since there are very few (if any) true cases where someone was hurt by a ghost, mostly what you'll be dealing with is irritating and possibly unsettling.
- If you talk to the ghost, use a no-nonsense tone of voice, as you would with a misbehaving animal. Be stern, but not mean. Ghosts may be the left-over spirits of other people. The fact that they are dead might already be traumatizing to the ghost.
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Perform an exorcism. This is specifically for Christians, as an exorcism means casting out Satan and his minions. If you aren't Christian, this way will be unlikely to work for you. Check in your specific religion, as all religions have possibilities for dealing with a type of spirit world. If you are Christian, don't perform the exorcism yourself. Instead, contact a local church and see what they recommend.^{[1]
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- In Hinduism reaching the 3rd, 7th and 9th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita and offering the result to the ghost it will help release them from their bondage. Likewise, chanting mantras, keeping holy pictures of deities or burning incense offered during a Puja can help release the trapped spirit.
- The Jewish ritual helps both the possessed and the possessor find healing. The ritual should only be performed by a rabbi who has mastered practical Kabbalah.
- There are a variety of banishing rituals for all cultures and religions so you should be able to find one that suits your need. These rituals take into account different culture's views on ghosts and the afterlife, as there is no one true doctrine on ghosts.
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Cleanse the house. Once your ghost has been banished, you must cleanse the space so that it doesn't return and to discourage other spiritual and ghostly visitors. Again, there are as many ways to cleanse a physical space as there are religions in the world. The ones offered below are only some of the more common ones.
- Burn sage or cedar. This is said to clear negative energy and burning incense is considered a purifying force in many cultures.
- Ring a bell in each corner of your home. This is said to break up the negative energy and encourage positive energy. It is important to do this more than once as negative energy can come from many different sources.
- Physically clean your home. This will help to create an atmosphere of cleanliness and to discourage negative energy from coming back.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Making Sure You’re Dealing with a Ghost

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Make sure the haunting has not been caused by infrasound. These low frequency hums can cause nausea, feelings of fear and even manifest shadows at the corners of your vision. These are caused by the vibrations of the infrasound, depending on the intensity of the sound wave. French robotics researcher, Vladimir Gavreau, allegedly produced such effects on himself and his fellow researchers through infrasound.^{[2]
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- Animals can pick up infrasound in ways that humans can't. Scientists believe that this might be how many animals can sense natural disasters.^{[4]
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- Building an infrasonic microphone. The antenna itself has to be bought, but these are easy to find at an electronics store and relatively inexpensive. Once you have the microphone, get a glass jar with the diameter of 2.25 inches (5.7 cm). Stretch a 12 inch (30.5 cm) balloon over the touch. Cut off the part of the balloon which you use to inflate it, and tape the rest tightly and without wrinkles to the jar. Tape an NdFeB type magnet of ¹⁄₂ inch (1.3 cm) to 1 inch (2.5 cm) diameter magnet of 5000 gauss or more (you can get this from Walmart). You will need an oscilloscope to convert the electrical signals into waveform patterns. These are more expensive, but can be found for about $45 on eBay.^{[5]
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- Alternately, call your local university's science department and see if they have any recommendations for putting together an infrasonic microphone.
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Eliminate other non-supernatural factors. Check around where the house is situated. Is there a garbage dump nearby? Sometimes methane gas can seep up through the ground, giving a smell of brimstone and bursts of fire.
- Often ghost sightings are simply light bouncing off of a reflective surface in an unusual way. Human sight and senses are incredibly error prone, so it can be difficult to trust what your eyes might be telling you without serious further investigation.
3
Get psychiatric evaluation. Often people who see "ghosts" are primed to do so because of their mental health. Before you start doing odd things to your home, seek out some professional help. This doesn't mean that you don't have a ghost, it is simply a way to rule out one outside possibility.
- Likewise, try to have someone confirm your experience. If you're the only one seeing or sensing anything, that's the best time to get psychiatric evaluation. If others experience the possible haunting as well, look first to other natural causes.

Expert Q&A

Question

How do you catch a ghost in your house?

Jennifer McVey, Cht
Spiritual Director
Jennifer McVey is a Spiritualist, Seer, and the Spiritual Director of Spiritual Answers and Solutions. With more than 22 years of experience, she specializes in manifesting, ghosts and spirit attachments, hypnotherapy, channeling, and spiritually based life coaching. Jennifer has also published 13 Affirmation Image and six Word Search Puzzle books in spirituality and self-help and has produced over 600 audio sessions.

Jennifer McVey, Cht

Spiritual Director

Expert Answer

Never do that! Instead of trying to catch the ghost, focus on sending the spirit to its proper place. Imagine that place and ask your higher self to take them where they need to be (or should be). Then, envision an open door and try to shoot the spirit out of your house.
Question

What if I hear a girl scream in my basement, what could that mean?

Community Answer

It could mean that you have a ghost in your basement that is very upset. You could also be hearing someone's television or something going on outside or in a neighbor's house.
Question

What do I do if ghosts are haunting paintings in my house?

Community Answer

If the ghosts are haunting paintings, take them down - either permanently, or put them back up in places where you don't normally go (in your house).

Warnings

Avoid using ouija boards or other spirit games or else another entity might be summoned

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Make sure that the "experts" you talk to are actual experts. There are a lot of charlatans working in the psychic fields.

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